Life in the UK Test 3rd Edition Practice 5

The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the political party in power. He or she appoints the members of the cabinet and has control over many important public appointments.

The countries that make up the UK all have flowers which are particularly associated with them and which are sometimes worn on national saints’ days:

• England – the rose
• Scotland – the thistle
• Wales – the daffodil
• Northern Ireland – the shamrock.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy with the monarch as head of state.

Around 4,000 years ago, people learned to make bronze. We call this period the Bronze Age. People lived in roundhouses and buried their dead in tombs called round barrows. 

There are peers who are specialists in particular areas, and their knowledge is useful in making and checking laws. The House of Commons has powers to overrule the House of Lords, but these are not used often.

Located on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway is a land formation of columns made from volcanic lava.

The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years. They built roads and public buildings, created a structure of law, and introduced new plants and animals. It was during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD that the first Christian communities began to appear in Britain.

From 1853 to 1856, Britain fought with Turkey and France against Russia in the Crimean War. Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross medal during this war. It honours acts of valour by soldiers.

One of the tribal leaders who fought against the Romans was Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England. 

The countries that make up the UK all have flowers which are particularly associated with them and which are sometimes worn on national saints’ days:

• England – the rose
• Scotland – the thistle
• Wales – the daffodil
• Northern Ireland – the shamrock

Bonfire Night, 5 November, is an occasion when people in Great Britain set off fireworks at home or in special displays. The origin of this celebration was an event in 1605, when a group of Catholics led by Guy Fawkes failed in their plan to kill the Protestant king with a bomb in the Houses of Parliament.

English kings also fought a long war with France, called the Hundred Years War (even though it actually lasted 116 years).

The UN was set up after the Second World War and aims to prevent war and promote international peace and security. 

The UK is historically a Christian country. In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, 70% of people identified themselves as Christian. Much smaller proportions identified themselves as Muslim (4%).

You can volunteer with the police, and become a special constable or a lay (non-police) representative. 

The modern game of golf can be traced back to 15th century Scotland. It is a popular sport played socially as well as professionally. There are public and private golf courses all over the UK. St Andrews in Scotland is known as the home of golf.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have a national saint, called a patron saint. Each saint has a special day:

• 1 March: St David’s Day, Wales
• 17 March: St Patrick’s Day, Northern Ireland
• 23 April: St George’s Day, England
• 30 November: St Andrew’s Day, Scotland.

Police officers must themselves obey the law. If police officers are corrupt or misuse their authority they are severely punished.

Between 1680 and 1720 many refugees called Huguenots came from France. They were Protestants and had been persecuted for their religion. 

The Normans used a system of land ownership known as feudalism. The king gave land to his lords in return for help in war. Landowners had to send certain numbers of men to serve in the army.

In 1837, Queen Victoria became queen of the UK at the age of 18. 

One of the most famous battles of the Hundred Years War was the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, where King Henry V’s vastly outnumbered English army defeated the French.

The House of Commons is regarded as the more important of the two chambers in Parliament because its members are democratically elected. 

The clock tower is named ‘Elizabeth Tower’ in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.