READING – B2-C1 | core excerpts

Carefully read the text below and choose correct answers.

The full text is given at once

The Bayeux Tapestry

1 The Bayeux Tapestry (also known in France as a Tapestry of Queen Matilda) is a unique medieval artifact that dates back to the 11th century. Nearly 70 metres of embroidered cloth expand on the events that led up to the Norman conquest of England, culminating with the fateful Battle of Hastings.

2 Technically not a tapestry (as tapestries are woven, not embroidered), this exquisite piece of cloth shows about 70 historical scenes and is narrated with Latin tituli. It’s origins and the history of creation are still hotly debated in scholarly circles, but the two main theories give the credit either to the Queen Matilda of Flanders who was a wife of William the Conqueror, or to a bishop Odo of Bayeux, who was William’s half-brother and eventually became a regent of England in his absence.

3 The tapestry is made largely of plain weave linen and embroidered with wool yarn. The woolen crewelwork is made in various shades of brown, blue and green, mainly terracotta, russet, and olive green. Later restorations have also added some brighter colours, such as orange and light yellow. Attempts at restoration of both the beginning and the end of the tapestry were made at some points, adding some missing tituli and numerals, although an ongoing debate disputes the validity of these restorations.

4 The events unfolding on a tapestry took place in the years 1064 to 1066. Anglo-Saxon earl Harold Godwinson is depicted receiving the English crown from Edward the Confessor, a deathly ill English monarch. An invading Norman force is then shown, which soon engages Saxon forces in a bloody battle. Ultimately king Harold is slain, and English forces flee the battlefield. The last part of the tapestry was supposedly lost and a newer piece was added in its place roughly in 1810.

5 The tapestry allows for an unique insight into the mind of a medieval craftsman, and, as it was commissioned by victorious Normans, gives us a chance to see how the medieval history was customarily chronicled by the winning side.

6 Since 1945 the Tapestry rests in Bayeux Museum, although as recently as 2018 the plans were put in motion to move it to an exhibit of the British Museum in London before the end of 2022. If everything proceeds as planned, it will be the first time the Tapestry has left France in over 950 years.

Who became regent of England several times in the XI century?

What was done during the so-called restorations?

What did the tapestry mean?

Where is the tapestry placed?

Which part is not disclosed in the text?

Carefully read the text below and choose correct answers.

The Bayeux Tapestry

1 The Bayeux Tapestry (also known in France as a Tapestry of Queen Matilda) is a unique medieval artifact that dates back to the 11th century. Nearly 70 metres of embroidered cloth expand on the events that _____¹ the Norman conquest of England, culminating² with the fateful Battle of Hastings.

2 Technically not a tapestry (as tapestries are woven, not embroidered), this exquisite piece of cloth shows about 70 historical scenes and is narrated with Latin tituli. It’s origins and the history of creation ____³ still hotly debat___⁴ in scholarly circles, but the two main theories give the credit either to the Queen Matilda of Flanders who was a wife of William the Conqueror, or to a bishop Odo of Bayeux, who was William’s half-brother and eventually became a regent of England in his absence.

3 The tapestry is made largely of plain weave linen and embroidered with wool yarn. The woolen crewelwork is made in various shades of brown, blue and green, mainly terracotta, russet, and olive green. Later restorations ____⁵ also ____⁵ some brighter colours, such as orange and light yellow. Attempts at restoration of both the beginning and the end of the tapestry were made at some points, adding some missing tituli and numerals, ______⁶ an ongoing debate disputes the validity of these restorations.

What forms of words are omitted in these gaps?

The 4 (fourth) part we can name:

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

1. A newer piece

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

2. As it was

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

3. Medieval artifact

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

4. Restorations

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

5. Tapestry ...... and it at the first time has left France in over 950 years.

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

6. The very first Bayeux Tapestry ___ , parts of which are lost, but are still disputed in scholarly circles.

Match the definitions (1-7) with the vocabulary (A-H).

7. The woolen crewelwork

Britain is often regarded as “the cradle of democracy” and the Palace of Westminster: the “Mother of all Parliaments”. The British state is described as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The correct constitutional definition of Parliament is the ‘Queen-inParliament‘. A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen is the Head of State (the official head of the country), but an elected government has most of the real power.

Great Britain is a...

The British monarch holds a formal role. Succession to the throne is still hereditary, but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent. Queen Elizabeth II, who is the current monarch, has a number of roles, but serves formally as the head of state, head of the three governmental branches, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the supreme governor of the Church of England. She remains politically impartial and with limited powers, it means she cannot make laws, impose taxes, or spend public money. Time has reduced the power of the monarchy, and today it is broadly ceremonial, like appointing the government, opening and dissolving the Parliament, the Queen’s speech, and the Royal Assent.

Queen Elizabeth II is a...

Tapestry