UK Citizenship Practice Test 8

Boudicca is still remembered today and there is a statue of her on Westminster Bridge in London, near the Houses of Parliament.

Any man who forces a woman to have sex, including a woman’s husband, can be charged with rape.

If it is difficult for you to get to a polling station or polling place, you can register for a postal ballot. Your ballot paper will be sent to your home before the election. You then fill it in and post it back. You can choose to do this when you register to vote.

William of Normandy invaded England in 1066 and defeated Harold, the Saxon king of England, at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1928, at St. Mary's Hospital, London, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. This discovery led to the introduction of antibiotics that greatly reduced the number of deaths from infection. Fleming won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945. Penicillin is still used to treat bacterial infections today.

County Courts deal with a wide range of civil disputes. These include people trying to get back money that is owed to them, cases involving personal injury, family matters, breaches of contract, and divorce.

In 1945 the British people elected a Labour government. The new Prime Minister was Clement Attlee, who promised to introduce the welfare state outlined in the Beveridge Report.

The UK is governed by the parliament sitting in Westminster. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have parliaments or assemblies of their own, with devolved powers in defined areas.

There are many principles included in the European Convention on Human Rights, including prohibition of slavery and forced labour, and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Alexander Fleming (1881–1955): was researching influenza (the ‘flu’) in 1928 when he discovered penicillin. Fleming won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945. Penicillin is still used to treat bacterial infections today.

In Scotland, Gaelic (again, a different language) is spoken in some parts of the Highlands and Islands, and in Northern Ireland some people speak Irish Gaelic.

Second world war was initially fought between the Axis powers (Germany and Italy and the Empire of Japan) and the Allies. The main countries on the allied side were the UK, France, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Union of South Africa.

The Queen is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth.

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can pass laws on matters that directly affect them, including health and education.

Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom was a movement to fight for women's right to vote. It finally succeeded through two laws in 1918 and 1928. It became a national movement in the Victorian era.

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

The Speaker is neutral and does not represent a political party, even though he or she is an MP, represents a constituency and deals with constituents’ problems like any other MP. The Speaker is chosen by other MPs in a secret ballot.

The UK belongs to many International bodies including NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Commonwealth.

The war against Japan ended in August 1945 when the United States dropped its newly developed atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Mary was a devout Catholic and persecuted Protestants (for this reason, she became known as ‘Bloody Mary’). Mary also died after a short reign and the next monarch was her half-sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

The decade of the 1960s was a period of significant social change. It was known as ‘the Swinging Sixties’. There was growth in British fashion, cinema and popular music.

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.

Members of the House of Lords are not elected by the people and do not represent a constituency.

Queen Elizabeth II has reigned since her father’s death in 1952, and in 2012 she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee (60 years as queen). She is married to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Her eldest son, Prince Charles (the Prince of Wales), is the heir to the throne.