Oksana Hrytsiuk

 

About Arts, Culture and Customs

 

Tests for Reading Comprehension

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Arts, Culture and Customs

Tests for Reading Comprehension

 

О. М. Грицюк,

вчитель англійської мови

Хмельницької СЗОШ № 21

 

 

 

Посібник містить цікаві й пізнавальні автентичні тексти із тестовими завданнями, спрямованими на перевірку однієї з найважливіших навичок — читання. Його можна використовувати для підготовки до зовнішнього незалежного оцінювання, поточного, підсумкового контролю навчальних досягнень учнів та самостійної роботи.

Посібник адресований  учням загальноосвітніх шкіл, ліцеїв, гімназій, абітурієнтам, студентам, учителям й широкому колу людей, які вивчають англійську мову та прагнуть ефективними методами перевірити рівень сформованості мовленнєвої компетенції.                                              

 

       

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

Part I      The British Arts

Tests 1-5 ………………………………………………………………………………………

Part II    Around the World

Tests 6-11 ……………………………………………………………………………………

Part III   Eccentric Britain

Tests 12-17 …………………………………………………………………………………

Keys …………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

THE BRITISH ARTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 1

Read the text below. For questions (1-5) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

BBC women of the year?

One of them is a panda

 

By John Stevens

First the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist didn’t feature a single woman.

Now the corporation has caused controversy by including a member of the fairer sex who is not even human among the 12 females on “Faces of 2011” list.

Giant panda Sweetie, also known as Tian Tian, was listed on the BBC’s website as the female face of December, after she made headlines when she was moved to Edinburg Zoo from China with a male panda to breed.

She joined 11 other notable names including shot U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Pauline Pearce – dubbed the heroine of Hackney after she was filmed standing up to rioters in North London – and Libyan Iman al-Obeidi, who burst into a press conference to reveal she had been gang-raped by Colonel Gaddafi’s officials.

Also featured was chart-topping singer Adele.

Yesterday MPs joined criticism of the decision on social networking sites. Labour MP Stella Creasy  said: “ Whilst we all love a good panda story, in a year when Christine Lagarde became head of the IMF or  Helle Thorning-Schmidt became prime minister of Denmark or even the sad death of Amy Wine-house, it’s frustrating the BBC couldn’t think of 12 human female faces who have made the news this year. Coming so soon after the lack of women from their Sports Personality of the Year award, it does seem as if the BBC hasn’t noticed the wide and varied contribution women make to public life”.

The faces on the male list did not include any of the animal variety. The BBC defended its decision, saying it was not the first year that animals – or even cartoon representations – have been chosen for its male or female list.

A spokesman said: “ Including Sweetie as one for the annual headline-makers was a light-hearted addition to the list.

In 2009, Benson, the Carp was August’s entry on the male list, and last year Peppa the Pig was on the female list”.

 

Text sourse:  Daily Mail, Thursday, December 29, 2011 

 

 

1. It can be inferred from the text that

1. Panda was among the unique animals in the “Faces of 2011” list.
2.  Animals’ rights were violated.
3. The BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist became an object of the criticism.
4. BBC published “Faces of the Year” list for the first time.

 

2. Everything is mentioned in the text, EXCEPT

1. Sweetie was transported from China.
2. Panda was specially bred.
3. The list was widely discussed on the social net-working sites.
4. BBC had to prove its decision.

3. The expression “a light-hearted addition” is closest in meaning to

1. Thought-provoking
2. Difficult to accept
3. Not intended to be serious
4. Tricky and puzzled

4. The author of the article claims that

1. Panda Sweetie was mentioned in the list along with the other 11 celebrities.
2. The BBC’s website chose 12 prominent women of December 2011.
3. The BBC corporation included 12 women in the list.
4. The BBC noted 12 women who contributed greatly to public life in 2011.

5.  According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?

1.  Sweetie was not an annual headline-maker.
2. “Faces of 2011” list contained exceptionally the political leaders’ names.
3. It was for the first time when BBC included the animal into the list.
4. The BBC didn’t use to speak about unmarried women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 2

Read the text below. For questions (1-5) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

The granddaughter who’s Bruice’s co-star

By Benn Todd

With Sir Bruce Forsyth as a grandfather, showbiz was always going to be in Sophie Purdie’s  (1) __________ .

But even the veteran entertainer was taken (2)  ____________ when he heard the quality of  her singing voice.

Sir Bruce, 83, asked 20-year-old Sophie to (3) ____________ with him on his latest album.

And in May, they will (4) _____________ the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in a concert to celebrate his 70 years in showbusiness.

“It must have been a (5) _______________ of years ago that I was getting demo tapes together and my voice was starting to (6) ____________ a bit,” she said.

“Then we were round his house and we put one on and he couldn’t believe how mature I had got. He (7) _______________ remembered me as a little kid singing. And he thought, “Oh, blimey. She can sing”.

Nevertheless, Sophie never (8) _____________ Sir Bruce would ask her to duet on his album, These Are My Favourites, singing the Charlie Chaplin classic, Smile.

She added: “I was walking down the road and he phoned me out of the blue. And I said, ”Oh, my God, of course I will”. I couldn’t believe it.

Sophie’s mother Julie is one of three daughters three-times- married Forsyth had with his first wife, singer Penny Calvert. Along with her husband Dominic Grant, whose (9) ____________ name is Purdie, Julie was in the 1970s pop group Guys ‘n’ Dolls with hits (10) _____________ There’s A Whole Lot of Loving.

 

Text sourse:  Daily Mail, Thursday, December 29, 2011 

 

 

1	A	mind	B	ideas	C	blood	D	body
2	A	aback	B	in	C	away	D	down
3	A	accompany	B	duet	C	join	D	stay
4	A	divide	B	decorate	C	held	D	share
5	A	pair	B	couple	C	dozen	D	lot
6	A	mature	B	break	C	collapse	D	grow
7	A	only	B	just	C	ever	D	already
8	A	tried	B	knew	C	realized	D	imagined
9	A	real	B	true	C	official	D	public
10	A	combined	B	performed	C	included	D	mentioned

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 3

Read the text below. For questions (1-10) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

The Sleeping Beauty

Theatre Royal, Glasgow

 By Zoe Anderson

 In Scottish Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty, Aurora’s christening (1) ____________ in a Victorian country house world, on the lawn by the cedar tree. Her wedding party is at (2)______________ 1940s nightclub, with a repentant bad fairy turning up to give the bride and groom a Bakelite toaster. The whole company gives bright, engaged   performances, bringing the twists of Ashley Page’s production to life.

 The dresses are luxurious in colour and cut; the scenery is (3) ____________ and inventive.

 Sophie Martin is a soft-grained Aurora, with delicate line. She could bring (4)____________ attack to her speedy solos, but she’s never rushed or strained. She’s most at home in the dreamier dances of the Vision scene, which (5)_________ off her gentle elegance. As her Prince, Adam Blyde is (6) ____________ and darting, buoyant in his solos. Eve Mutso brings some grandeur to the Lilac Fairy, with Sophie Laplane as a gleeful bad fairy.

 The soloist roles are danced with conviction. Page’s prince keeps (7)________ other fairytale characters in the magic forest, which is why they all (8) _________ to dance at his wedding. The meetings are wittily performed.

 This Beauty  (9) _____________ the strongest of Page’s updated classics for Scottish Ballet, with more warmth and (10)_____________ invention.

 

Text source: I (From The Independent ) Thursday, December 29, 2011

 

 

 

1	A	was celebrated	B	is celebrated	C	is celebrating	D	was celebrating
2	A	the	B	an	C	a	D	-------------
3	A	airy	B	airless	C	airing	D	airily
4	A	such	B	many	C	most	D	more
5	A	shows	B	showing	C	show	D	shown
6	A	quick	B	quicken	C	quickly	D	quickie
7	A	meet	B	to be met	C	to meet	D	meeting
8	A	came	B	come	C	are coming	D	has come
9	A	is	B	was	C	has been	D	is being
10	A	sharpest	B	sharp	C	sharper	D	sharpen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 4

Read the text below. For questions (1-11) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

Slava’s Snowshow

Royal Festival Hall, London

By Paul Taylor

Compared  with the Gale Force 10 blizzard that (1) __________

into the auditorium at the end of Slava’s Snowshow, the tornado at the  start of The Wizard of Oz is for wimps.

This is the third time I (2) ______________ the piece and the finale never fails (3) __________ . The climax comes with a flood of (4) __________  white light and the ear-splitting strains of Carmina Burana.

Suddenly the billions of bits of paper-snow that (5) _____________ down from the heavens are redirected into a full frontal storm, engulfing everyone  in the theatre, (6) _____________ the vulnerable figure of Slava himself, with his trademark mad professor hair,  custard yellow romper suit and red nose and fluffy slippers. This is a true ticker-tape torrent.

And as an (7) ___________ delight, they release a batch of gigantic (8) ____

_______ balls that you (9) __________ jump up and bat around.  Slava once again (10) _______________ that there’s no show like Snowshow.

 

 

Text source: I (From The Independent ) Thursday, December 29, 2011

 

 

 

 

1	A	is blasted	B	blasted	C	has blasted	D	was blastered
2	A	experienced	B	have experienced	C	experience	D	experiencing
3	A	to amaze	B	amazed	C	amazing	D	be amazing
4	A	blinder	B	blindingly	C	blind	D	blinding
5	A	fluttered	B	are fluttering	C	were fluttering	D	are fluttered
6	A	include	B	included	C	is including	D	including
7	A	additional	B	addition	C	additionally	D	added
8	A	colored	B	color	C	colorfully	D	coloring
9	A	could	B	can	C	were able to	D	can’t
10	A	proved	B	was proved	C	proves	D	is proving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 5

Read the text below. For questions (1-11) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

James Yorkston

Union Chapel, London

By Nick Hasted

 

 One of the several rambling, funny tales James Yorkston tells tonight has him bumping into an old (1) _________________ he hasn’t seen (2) _________________ years who, worried he’s looking “a bit rough”, inquires if he has a job (3) _________ days. Yorkston, considering his wandering (4) _______________ life, (5) __________ him to think he’s unemployed, just scraping by. He’s offered a house-painting job, but can’t (6) ___________ it as, dressed in the clothes that had him tagged as destitute, he’s playing this gig.

 Yorkston could have offered a (7) ____________ impressive resume. He’s the leading light of File’s Fence Collective, an informal community ranging from KT Tunstall to King Creosote who, over six albums, has ranged from pure folk, which helped (8) _____________ the form’s recent revival, to searching songs of his own. But that story’s extreme self-deprecation is in character.

 Though Yorkston is as usual (9) _____________ company, there’s an almost (10) ______________ modesty just beneath the surface, something agonized and (11) ______________. 

 

Text source: I (From The Independent ) Thursday, December 29, 2011

 

 

 

 

1	A	acquaint	B	acquainted	C	acquaintanceship	D	acquaintance
2	A	after	B	for	C	by	D	in
3	A	those	B	such	C	these	D	so
4	A	singer	B	singer’s	C	singers	D	singers’
5	A	is allowing	B	is allowed	C	allows	D	allowing
6	A	make	B	made	C	to make	D	making
7	A	most	B	more	C	much	D	many
8	A	start	B	starting	C	starts	D	started
9	A	entertained	B	entertainment	C	entertainer	D	entertaining
10	A	painful	B	painfully	C	pained	D	pain
11	A	doubt	B	doubting	C	doubtfully	D	doubter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART II

 

 

AROUND THE WORLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 6

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

1. Sandro Botticelli

• 1444/1445–1510
• Nationality: Italian

Sandro Botticelli was one of the Early Renaissance's leading painters. But despite his success in his lifetime, his work became unfashionable for centuries. He was rediscovered in the 19th Century by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Botticelli was most active during the 1480s. He worked for wealthy clients, such as the Medici family in Florence. Lorenzo de Medici is alleged to have commissioned Botticelli's masterpiece Primavera as a tribute to spring.

In 1481 Botticelli was commissioned by the Pope to paint the walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Soon after, he created his best-known work, The Birth Of Venus.

 

2. Peter Paul Rubens

• 1577–1640
• Nationality: Flemish

Peter Paul Rubens was the most influential Baroque artist in Northern Europe. His sensual paintings of full-bodied women gave rise to the term Rubenesque.

Rubens painted many extravagant portraits of European royalty. One critic called him a "prince of painters and painter of princes". But he also painted his violent, audience-gripping war paintings, which critiqued European politics. Rubens also pursued his political interests as a diplomat, working for the Spanish. In the late 1620s, he brokered a treaty between Spain and England. During this time Rubens befriended the great Spanish artist, Diego Velazquez.

Rubens' most important works include Massacre Of The Innocents, The Horrors Of War and Venus And Adonis.

 

3. William Blake

• 1757–1827
• Nationality: British

William Blake was a British poet, painter and printmaker. He was also a maverick, rebelling against authority in all its forms. This is clear from poems such as The Tyger and Jerusalem, as well as from his art, where he operated entirely outside the mainstream.

He hated oils - the paints used by most artists - and he devised his own personal mythology to illustrate his mystical view of the universe. At the time, the art world regarded him as eccentric, perhaps even mad, but his reputation has grown enormously since his death.

Blake is most famous for imaginary scenes such as The Dance Of Albion and startlingly original versions of religious subjects, such as God Creating The Universe and Nebuchadnezzar.

 

4. Édouard Manet

• 1832–1883
• Nationality: French

 

Edouard Manet is regarded as one of the founders of modern art. His boldly painted images of modern life had a huge influence on the Impressionists and later artists.

Manet rejected the smooth technique and conventional themes of academic art, believing that "one must be of one's time and paint what one sees". These radical ideas earned him a reputation as a revolutionary, although he saw himself as following in the footsteps of the Old Masters.

. He sought public recognition by exhibiting at the official Salon in Paris. He eventually achieved the honours he craved in 1881, winning a second-class medal at the Salon and being awarded the Legion of Honour.

 

5. Vincent van Gogh

• 1853–1890
• Nationality: Dutch

The Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh is celebrated for his originality and his passionate devotion to his art. Though almost totally unappreciated during his lifetime, his paintings have since proved enormously influential and remain hugely popular.

An intense, troubled character, Van Gogh worked for his uncle's firm of art dealers, and spent time as a teacher and an evangelical preacher before resolving to become an artist in 1880. Although his artistic career lasted only a decade, he created some 1,000 paintings and drawings

Among his most famous works are The Potato Eaters, Starry Night and Sunflowers. His powerful self portraits are greatly admired.

6. Pablo Picasso

• 1881–1973
• Nationality: Spanish

Pablo Picasso is the most famous artist of the 20th Century. He was at the cutting edge of new artistic styles including Cubism. He was incredibly prolific and created about 50,000 paintings, sculptures, ceramics and drawings.

Picasso and fellow artist Georges Braque pioneered Cubism in 1907. In 1925, Picasso became close friends with Surrealists such as Andre Breton, and started painting Surrealist pictures.

Picasso continued to paint for the rest of his life. During the 1960s he reinterpreted the work of his heroes including Velazquez, Manet and Delacroix. Typically for Picasso, this was not only a tribute but also a confident declaration that he had arrived as a great master.

 

 

 

Text source: BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/

 

 

This artist ________________

A      affected the followers by his daring art outlook.

B     was inspired by the Impressionists.

C      practiced different painting styles.

D     had tried different jobs before he decided to be a painter.

E      was engaged in a government service.

F      came from a rich Spanish family.

G      was lucky to become famous again some centuries after his death.

H      created his own extraordinary painting methods.

 

 

.

TEST 7

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

 

1. National Museum – Department of Industry

 

The National Museum received its Royal Charter in 1907 as a museum of natural science, archaeology, history and the arts. The massive changes to all aspects of Welsh industry in the post Second World War years prompted the National Museum of Wales in 1959 to establish the Department of Industry to collect and record in the fields of industry, maritime trade and transport and our art collection reflects this.

One of the highlights is the ship portrait collection – a collection of over 250 portraits of ships of all kinds captured for posterity in watercolours, gouache and oils. Today the collection continues to grow with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and many generous private donors

 

2. Tynwald

 

Tynwald is the oldest continuous Parliament in the world and can trace its beginnings back to Viking times. The most significant images in the collection of Tynwald are the portraits of the various Speakers of the House of Keys from 1867 to now

Portraits of Speakers of the House are only displayed after the member has retired as an MHK. We are shortly to acquire two more Speaker portraits following retirements at the end of July 2011, which lead into our General election in September. Tynwald has benefited from a number of generous gifts including paintings by Franz Hoepfner, and we are privileged to have the loan of a number of contemporary and historical works from other public collections, which change from time to time

 

3. Grosvenor Museum

The Grosvenor Museum was built in 1885–1886 to house the collections of the Chester Architectural, Archaeological and Historic Society, and the Chester Society of Natural Science, Literature and Art, together with Schools of Science and Art. The costs were met by Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, and by a major public appeal.

The Museum’s art collection spans half a millennium, from the 16th to the 21st century, and is strongly focused on people and places, artists and collectors from Cheshire and North Wales. Paintings comprise just seven per cent of the fine art collection, which is formed mostly from works on paper, and the Museum also holds an outstanding collection of silver. The majority of the paintings are permanently displayed in the Art Gallery, the period rooms, and elsewhere in the Museum.

 

 

4. Aberdeen Maritime Museum

This award-winning museum was built in 1593 by master-mason Andrew Jamieson. It became the residence of Provost John Ross of Arnage in 1702 who was a ship owner.

The collections at Aberdeen Maritime Museum reflect the lives of the people who built and sailed ships in Aberdeen, fished the seas and worked in the harbour from the medieval period to today’s busy oil port.

Aberdeen Maritime Museum houses a unique collection covering shipbuilding, fast sailing ships, fishing and port history. It is also the only place in the UK where you can see displays on the North Sea oil and gas industry. The museum is also proud to display works by contemporary artists such as George Mackie, who has captured the changes brought to the city with the advent of the oil industry over the past 30 years.

 

 

 

5. Essex Police Museum

 

The Essex Police Museum was established in 1991 as a registered charity (No.1042055). Its aim is to preserve the history of Essex Police and provide visitors with a friendly and educational service, with information on how Essex Police has developed to become what it is today.

The collection consists of objects, documents and photographs relating to the history of the force from 1840 to the present day. A special series of paintings were commissioned for Essex Police in 1990 for the force's 150th anniversary.

In 2005, Essex Police Museum opened to the public on a regular basis, all thanks to a £43,000 grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project included a new education programme (for children and adults) as well as a complete refurbishment of the displays, which have helped to increase our visitor numbers and make us more easily accessible.

 

 

6. Torquay Museum

Torquay Museum is Devon’s oldest established Museum still operating, founded in 1844 and still owned and run by Torquay Museum Society. The Accredited Museum holds collections of natural history, palaeontology, archaeology, social history, ethnography, Torquay pottery, pictorial records, and archives, relating to the Torbay area, as well as from across the world.

The collections are exceptional for a Museum of this size, over 300,000 specimens are held in the stores with about one per cent on display. The galleries include displays of local natural history, South Devon prehistory and finds from Kent's Cavern, Egyptology, the life of Agatha Christie, South Devon Explorers and the old Devon Farmhouse. The Museum has regular temporary exhibitions, and programmes of events for all age.

 

Text source: BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

 

 

The visitors of this museum can __________________

A enjoy the famous exhibits made of a valuable metal.

B get acquainted with the display of the Second World War weapon.

C look at the fuel resources production in the surrounding sea waters.

D have a chance to discover a unique collection of space equipment.

E admire a great number of various drawings of vessels.

F find out a one hundredth part of the whole exhibition.

G see some new pictures of politicians in the nearest future.

H learn about the development of the constabulary from the 19^th cent. till now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 8

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-G) to 1-5. There are two choices you do not need to use.

 

1.Chinese New Year’s Day, or Spring Festival

On this first day of the lunar New Year, everyone lets off firecrackers from midnight onwards in order to drive away all evil ghosts. In every household the spirit tablets of the ancestors are worshipped, as well as the household gods, and members of the family exchange new-year greetings.Sweet rice cakes are eaten over the new year holiday to ensure the birth of many sons and grandsons, and as symbols of increasing prosperity and success. No inauspicious words may be spoken, nor any unlucky actions performed. One should avoid picking up any knife, breaking any utensil, eating rice congee, taking a midday nap, or sweeping the floor.

 

 

2.The Jade Emperor’s Birthday

This is celebrated on the ninth day of the first lunar month. The night before, the entire family fasts and washes, and after midnight everyone is led by the head of the household to worship the Jade Emperor with incense and kneeling prostrations. Red tortoise-shellshaped rice cakes are presented as offerings, red being an auspicious colour and the tortoise symbolizing longevity. The Jade Emperor is regarded as the creator and sustainer of all things, an almighty God ranking above human ancestors and other spirits, and the controller of the whole spirit world. Many abstinences and taboos are observed on this day as expression of respect and awe for the Jade Emperor.

 

 

3.The Lantern Festival

On this day each family gathers in the morning to worship the heavenly officials, or messengers, and pray for prosperity. Small rice-flour dumplings are prepared, offered first to the ancestors and then enjoined by the whole family in a communal feast, symbolizing reunion. In the evening colourful lanterns are lit and paraded through the streets, which come alive with dancing  lions lamp-guessing games and other festivities.

It is said that if an unmarried woman can steal some scallions from a neighbour’s garden on this night, she will soon find a good husband. A woman who has had no children, moreover, can enchance her fertility by weawing in and out between the lamps and praying for a child.

 

 

 

4.First (Head) Feast

Falling on the second day of the second lunar month, this feast and the Final (Tale) Feast on the 16^th of the 12^th month form a pair. This day is concidereda sort of birthday party for the T’u-ti-kung, the god of the land, for whom imitation money paper is burnt, meat sacrifices are offered and fireworks are lit.  At the same time the spirits of former residentsof the land are worshipped. Businessmen usually hold a banquet for all their employees on this day.

This day is also celebrated as the God of Culture’s Birthday. Scholars and teachers give offerings to their patron on this day, students pray to him for progress and success in their studies.

 

 

5.Tomb-sweeping Festival

This falls on the 105^th day after the winter solstice, and marks the 15^th day after the beginning of  Spring. On this day people go out into the country-side to clean their ancestral tombs, pay their respects to the dead and picnic by the tomb.Various offerings are made to the ancestors, which, after worship, are distributed by the head of the family to all present to be shared in communion. Egg-shells are also placed on the tomb, to symbolize the eternal force of life and the successive flow of generations. The children come forward and request treats, which are then granted as an expression of the ancestor’s kindness, a virtue that lives forever in the hearts of their descendants.   

Taken from A Visit into Taiwan’s History and Culture, compiled by Taiwan Provincial Administration Information Hall, 1998

 

 

During this feast people__________________

A walk together carrying lighted lamps.

B pay tribute to the ancestors.

C tidy up the graves of their relatives.

D sacrify their harvest to the god.

E involved in education show respect for their patron.

F glorify their state leader.

G usually have picnics in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 9

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-G) to 1-5. There are two choices you do not need to use.

 

1. Dragon Boat Festival

This takes place on the 5^th day of the 5^th lunar month. Sprays of iris, calamus and mugwort are hung up in doorways, and people wear perfume sachets in their clothing as a talisman against harm. Drinking hsiung-huang wine and bathing in water with calamus and mugwort are said to give protection against disease. According to legend this day is dedicated to the memory of Ch’u Yuan, a famous poet and minister of the ancient state of Ch’u in southern China, who is said to have drowned himself in a river in despair. Offerings were thrown into the river to appease his spirit, and to prevent these from dispersing in the water they were they were wrapped in bamboo leaves. This is the origin of rice and meat dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves which are customarily eaten on this day. Dragon boat races are also held on this day in various old harbours in Taiwan.

 

 

2. Birthday of the Seventh Goddess

This festival falls on the seventh day of the seventh month, and celebrates the birth of the seventh guardian goddess believed to protect all children under the age of 16. Children reaching this age are “emancipated” from the goddess’ supervision on this day and initiated into adulthood. The adults in the family make cakes and offerings to be presented to the seventh goddess and burn a paper placard with their name on it. In addition, fresh flowers and makeup are thrown onto the roof of the house for the goddess.

It is said that if lovers exchange a gift of fruit on this day, their matrimonial hopes will come to fruition.

 

 

3. Mid-Autumn Festival

This festival falls on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month, when the full moon is at its largest and brightest in the whole year. The custom of going outside to admire the moon is observed in Taiwan. Each household worships its family ancestors and household gods, presenting offerings of moon cakes, sacrificial wine and rice noodles. Rice noodles are eaten as a way of ensuring the protection of one’s ancestors and success in one’s trade or profession. In the evening, most families set up an altar with joss-sticks outside in a garden or courtyard in the moonlight. On this altar are placed a pair of red candlesticks, four types of fruit, and some moon cakes. Incense is burned in honour of the moon. This is termed “worshipping the moon goddess”.

 

 

4. Double Nine Festival 

The ninthmday of the ninth month, the height of autumn, is a perfect day for outdoor excursions in the countryside. It is believed that mounting climbing on this day will protect one against calamites, a concept inherited from ancient times, when the lowlands were susceptible to floods aroundthis time. Pious ancestor worship is conducted on this day, as are expressions of respect for elderly. In former times children would fly kites on the day, as is reflected in the saying, “On the ningth day of the ninth month, the sky is filled with windblown kites, the gales roaring through them”.

 

 

5. Final (Tail) Feast

This falls on the 16^th day of the 12^th month, and is marked by the making of meat offerings to the T’u-ti-kung. Businessmen usually use a rooster for this sacrifice, as a sign of flourishing business. Often this takes the form of a banquet to which all his employes are invited, to reward and thank them for a year of service. If the head of the rooster is pointed at an employee, this means he has been fired. After the offerings to the T’u-ti-kung, five bowls of mixed offerings are placed in the doorway, and cloths and imitation money are burned for the ghosts of former tenants of the land.

 

Taken from A Visit into Taiwan’s History and Culture, compiled by Taiwan Provincial Administration Information Hall, 1998

 

 

One of the peculiarities of this festival is______________

A to glorify the planet in different ways

B to cook sweet rice dumplings

C to roast a chicken as a symbol of prosperity in trade

D to perform a ritual to be healthy

E to organize activities in the open air

F to mark the beginning of growing-up

G to exhibit the Dragon boats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 10

Read the text below. For questions (1-15) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

Popular Customs

Taken from A Visit into Taiwan’s History and Culture, compiled by Taiwan Provincial Administration Information Hall, 1998

 

 Popular customs develop (1) _______________ in a community over a long period of coexistence within a shared natural and social environment. Thus the existence of any kind of popular custom is under-pinned by its particular (2) ______ ____________ background and social function, by which it (3) ________________ the needs of society at different periods.

 The annual festivals of Taiwan’s Chinese population are arranged round the cycle of the (4) _____________ calendar. They (5) _______________ the rhythms of agrarian society and also incorporate the festivals and anniversaries of many local gods and spirits.

 On each of the (6) ______________ there take place various appropriate activities related to (7) ______________ religious beliefs, including sacrifice to the ancestors, worshipping gods, and adoration of the Buddha. Such festival (8) ______

_______ have been passed down and maintained for generations, and have even

 (9) ________________ the half century of the Japanese occupation of Taiwain.

 Ancestor worship is a traditional form of (10) ______________ which is indigenous to China. The (11) ________________ of ancestor worship is to

(12) ________________ attention on one’s own departed ancestors and fulfill the demands of filial piety, as well as to allow one’s ancestors to participate in the life of the living and bestow their (13) _____________ upon their living descendants. Therefore in Taiwanese folk belief as much stress is placed on ancestor worship as on the worship of gods and spirits. At every annual festival and at wedding

(14) ______________ and in mourning rites, the ancestors must be (15) __________ in addition to the gods. 

 

 

 

1	A	hopefully	B	gradually	C	rapidly	D	unexpectedly
2	A	social	B	public	C	state	D	historical
3	A	satisfies	B	guarantees	C	provides	D	protects
4	A	industrial	B	cultural	C	agricultural	D	scientific
5	A	describe	B	reflect	C	add	D	enrich
6	A	parades	B	events	C	cases	D	occasions
7	A	folk	B	personal	C	official	D	popular
8	A	offerings	B	advertisements	C	customs	D	decorations
9	A	saved	B	survived	C	defeated	D	won
10	A	thinking	B	organisation	C	celebration	D	belief
11	A	aim	B	subject	C	task	D	way
12	A	pay	B	take	C	focus	D	give
13	A	treasure	B	protection	C	idea	D	power
14	A	competitions	B	season	C	presents	D	ceremonies
15	A	worshipped	B	mentioned	C	saved	D	kept

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 11

Read the text below. For questions (1-12) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D)

 

Kitchen God Ascension Day

Taken from A Visit into Taiwan’s History and Culture, compiled by Taiwan Provincial Administration Information Hall, 1998

 

 On this day, the 24^th of the 12^th lunar month, it (1) _______________ that the Kitchen God of every household goes up to heaven to file his report with the Jade Emperor. Thus meat and rice balls are offered and imitation money (2) ___________ burned to send the Kitchen God, or God of the Stove, on this way. After worship the rice balls are placed on the lip of the door of the stove, to (3) ________________ the god’s words in his report of the (4) _________________ doings in the past year. Thus it is said, “Good words are reported to heaven, bad words are discarded on one side.” Afterwords the kitchen is extensively (5) ______________ and cleaned to sweep away bad luck; this is also a remnant of a primitive magical practice. After the sweeping, foods and accessories for the upcoming New Year’s (6) _______________ are purchased and prepared, and banners with auspicious couplets and sayings are pasted to the doorway (7) ____________ good fortune. (8) ________________ practice is richly (9) _________________ by ancient religious ways of thinking,

(10) ________________worshipful respect for the (11) ______________ word with primitive (12) _______________ in magic spells and incantations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1	A	believes	B	believed	C	is believed	D	is believing
2	A	are	B	is	C	was	D	were
3	A	sweeten	B	sweet	C	sweetie	D	sweetly
4	A	family	B	families	C	families’	D	family’s
5	A	sweep	B	sweeps	C	swept	D	sweeping
6	A	celebrating	B	celebration	C	celebrate	D	celebrated
7	A	to atract	B	attracting	C	attract	D	attracted
8	A	these	B	that	C	this	D	those
9	A	colouful	B	coloured	C	colour	D	colouring
10	A	combining	B	combined	C	combines	D	is combining
11	A	writing	B	written	C	wrote	D	write
12	A	believes	B	believing	C	believe	D	beliefs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART III

 

 

ECCENTRIC BRITAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 12

Read the text below. For questions (1-8) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D)

 

Eccentric Britain

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

 The British have always been slightly odd. It (1) ______________ from living on an extremely (2) _______________ , yet incredibly diverse, offshore and off-centre island; one that’s big enough to (3)______________ every corner of the world, yet small enough to be (4)_________________ insular—unique, fascinating and delightfully eccentric.

 Eccentricity (5) ______________ across across the face of (6) ____________ . From north to south and from east to west, the (7) ______________ and magnificent story of Britain has always been leavened (8)__________ the quirky, the bizarre, the irrelevant and the downright dotty.

 

 

1	A	came	B	comes	C	is coming	D	come
2	A	crowd	B	crowding	C	crowded	D	crowds
3	A	have influenced	B	influence	C	have been influenced	D	be influenced
4	A	recognize	B	recognition	C	recognizable	D	recognizably
5	A	is writing	B	is written	C	has written	D	was writing
6	A	British	B	Britons	C	Britain	D	Britain’s
7	A	dramatise	B	dramatist	C	drama	D	dramatic
8	A	by	B	with	C	through	D	at

 

 

 

 

TEST 13

Read the text below. For questions (1-12) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D)

 

Closing the Circle

Lamorna, Cornwall

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

 Free the spirit! Hug a rock! Seems to be the (1) ________________ for certain happy people who hunt out the (2)__________________ standing stones and stone circles of  Britain’s prehistoric monuments.

 Archaeologists say that such structures were probably ceremonial sites or gathering (3) ___________ for social and commercial events, thousands of years ago. Other people say they were aligned with the sun, moon and stars and thst they possessed magic (4) _________________ of healing and prediction. Modern devotees of these latter theories still gather at many of  Britain’s ancient sites on midsummer midnights, and on other “sacred” days, to enact what they imagine were the rituals of the (5)_______________. They hug the stones for comfort and for inspiration and even get married at their “sacred” centres.

 One of Cornwall’s most famous stone circles stands in a roadside field near Lamorna. It’s official name is Rosemodress Circle, but its better known as The Merry Maidens after popular “scare” stories of later Christian times that warned of young girls being (6)______________ stone for dancing on the Sabbath.

 In the face of all this excited attention the stones have maintained a (7)_______________siilence. They did so in the face of a (8)____________  event in the 1980s when a well-known chocolate manufacturer ran a series of adverts featuring clues to the to the whereabouts of bejewelled “egg” buried somewhere in Britain and worth several thousand pounds.Frantic searching ensued, with manic egg-(9)____________ even digging up people’s gardens and, in one case, a private grave-site. The Mary Maidens did not escape and one morning the farmer found a devoted egg-hunter digging up one of the stones, convinced that the “golden egg” lay (10)______________ .

 Ancient monuments such as The Mery Maidens are (11) _________________ by law from such vandalism, of course. (12)_______________ them and you may even be turned to stone yourself…  

 

 

      

1	A	inspiration	B	motto	C	task	D	aim
2	A	strange	B	ordinary	C	unusual	D	mysterious
3	A	seats	B	places	C	points	D	tops
4	A	treats	B	features	C	properties	D	sides
5	A	adults	B	ancients	C	children	D	descendants
6	A	turned to	B	changed into	C	taken away	D	brought up to
7	A	wooden	B	strong	C	solid	D	stony
8	A	minor	B	annual	C	notorious	D	eternal
9	A	painters	B	hunters	C	makers	D	producers
10	A	beneath	B	down	C	next to	D	apart
11	A	guaranteed	B	prohibited	C	protected	D	promoted
12	A	take	B	touch	C	move	D	disturb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 14

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

1. A Chiswick Charmer

 Chiswick, London

 The 18^th-century Chiswick House is said to be the finest Palladian villa in Britain, although it is less of a villa and more of a Temple of Art. Chiswick’s marvelous eccentricity lies in a triumph of design over function that created sumptuous reception rooms but eschewed such domestic essentials as a kitchen; there was a fine wine cellar all the same.

 

 

2. Saharan Sepulchre in Suburbia

 Mortlake, London

 Deep in the heart of suburban London, in the leafy graveyard of the Church of St Mary Magdalene at Mortlake, lies an exotic Arabian tent – made entirely of marble and stone. Utterly lifelike in its subtle folds and drapes, the “tent” is in fact a mausoleum, the grave of the fantastic 19^th-century explorer and adventurer, Sir Richard Burton. It’s a magnificent, eccentric memorial to a magnificent eccentric.

 

 

3. A Pirate Policeman’s Castle

 Shooter’s Hill, London

 High on Shooter’s Hill in Castlewood Park, south-east  London, stands Severndroog Castle, which was built as a memorial to Sir William James who policed the pirate-haunted Indian coast during the heyday of the British East India Company. The castle is really a tower and, three-sided and three-storeyed, has all the gloomy delights of 18^th-century Gothic, including hexagonal turrets. It is a good 12 metres higher in altitude than St Paul’s Cathedral.

 

4. Red Brick Ruminations

 

River Orwell, Suffolk

 The original “red-brick” university could well have been Freston Tower, a six-storey tower above the estuary of the River Orwell, south of Ipswich. The tower was built by Lord de Frenston in the 1560s. Its purpose in those uncertain times may have been as a lookout for keeping watch on shipping on the Orwell, but a more eccentric tale suggests that it was used as a bizarre school for Lord de F’s daughter, Ellen.

 

 

 

5. Peter Pan’s Wendy Water House

 

Thorpeness, Suffolk

 The Peter Pan House in the mock-Tudor village of Thorpeness is also known as the House in the Clouds. It’s a fitting name, given that the house once played the dual role of dwelling and water tower. Tenants of its lower rooms with a potential cloudburst of 30,000 gallons of water just above their heads.The House in the Clouds is no longer used as a water tower, but it survives in its house-like form.

 

6. Bristol Bizzare

Horringer, Suffolk

 

The eccentric but enchanting Ickworth House in Horringer was the inspiration of the equally eccentric 4^th Earl of Bristol, Frederick Hervey.He conceived Ickworth as being a suitable repository for his formidable collection of paintings.Today Ickworth House and its parks and gardens are in the care of the Natinal Trust.It contains sculpture, the other paintings, including works by Titian, Velazques and Gainsborough. The 4^th Earl’s superb collection of Georgian silver is also on display.             

 

 

 The designer created a building as__________

 A an unusual education centre.

 B a fortification.

 C a  luxurious country house.

 D a tomb of a famous discoverer.

 E a storage house.

 F a water tank in the upper storey.

 H an art gallery.

 G a monument to a famous sea captain.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 15

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

1. Helter-Skelter House

Potter Heigham, Norflock

On the banks of a Broad, near Potter Heigham, stands a charming little house with  a roof  like an old-fashioned soldier’s helmet, or a slightly squashed bowler hat. At first glance the building looks as if it might be a truncated windmill, which would be no surprise in Norflock. But a closer look reveals that adjacent to the house are other similar buildings. All are sections of a helter-skelter tower that once graced the pier at Yarmouth and was a great favourite during the early years of the 20^th century.

 

2. Three-Cornered Token of the Trinity

Rushton, Northamptonshire

Sir Thomas Treshman had no great love for all things square, but took to triangles in a big way.The problem was, he had spent too many years languishing in square prison cells because of his determined devotion to the Roman Catholic faith.During his time in prison Sir Thomas mulled over ways of enshrining his beliefs, and his defiance, and came up with the idea of creating a unique building that would reflect his fixation with the concept of the Holy Trinity. On his release in 1593 he set about building the Triangular Lodge.

 

 

 

 

 

3. A Touch of the Orient

Sezincote, Gloucesteshire

The sensational Sezincote House, with its huge, copper-clad, onion-shaped dome and its minarets, looks more like a Mughal mosque than a Geogrian country pile.It’s a triumph of imagination over manners. The Sezincote estate was bought by Colonel Sir Charles Cockerell when he returned from many years of service with the British East India Company in Bengal in the early years of the 19^th century. Sezincote is a marvelous mix of Indian styles and is a rare reflection of the early days of the British Empire in India.

 

 

4. Hungover Castle

Bridgnorth, Shropshire

Forget the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you’ll get a crick in the neck if you spend too much time staring at the Leaning Tower of Bridgnorth.This remarkable 20-metre high tower at the heart of the Shropshire countryside leans at an angle of 15 degrees, three times the angle of Pisa’s famous landmark. It’s Oliver Cromwell’s fault. He and Civil War gunners left Bridgnorth Castle wrecked after a siege in 1646.

 

5. A Slip of a Church

 

Cwmyoy, Gwent

You need to look twice at St Martin’s Church at Cwmyoy in the Black Mountains;

otherwise you may think that your eyes deceive you. St Martin’s is a resilient survivor of the surrounding landscape’s tendency to slip and slither all over the place. The sturdy little Gothic building looks as if giant hands have wrung it out and dropped it back in place. The tower leans drunkenly, the walls flex in the opposite direction, and masonry buttresses shore up the whole structure.

 

 

6. Fabulous Fruitery

 

Dunmore, Stirling

India’s Taj Mahal may have a head start when it comes to majestic domes, but Scotland takes the crown (or the pineapple) when it comes to topping off a building with a flourish. The remarkable Pineapple House at Dunmore near Stirling is a magnificent summer house built in the shape of a pineapple by the 4^th Earl of Dunmore in 1777. The dome was a brilliant piece of structural engineering. The architraves of the lower building were extended to encompass the stony shoots and prickly leaves of a huge stone pineapple that rises nearly 14 metres into the air.

 

 

This building is remarkable for its ________________

A       mediaeval pillars and arches.

B         nearly ruined construction.

C           strange shape of the roof.

D           luxurious interior of the rooms and halls.

E            unique combination of Eastern and British styles.

F           resemblance to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

G           non-traditional ( not square) shape.

H         exotic fruit-shaped dome.

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 16

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

1. A Madcap May Day

 Padstow, Cornwall

 

 Summer comes in with a flourish at the Cornish port of Padstow, every madcap May Day. That’s when the town celebrates the Obby Oss Ceremony, an ancient festival aimed at welcoming the summer and ensuring a fruitful harvest. On the day, two hooped “masks”, painted and plumed and representing symbolic horses with trailing black skirts, are paraded through the town from dawn to dusk. Musicians accompany the entire cavalcade playing the repetitive but haunting tune, “The Obby Oss May Song”. The event turns Padstow’s narrow streets and harbourside into a riotous festival of colour, noise and general horsing about.

 If you ever get the chance to be in Padstow on May Day, it’s a wonderful experience; but expect a quiet time as, in the words of the May Day song, “Summer is icumen in…”

 

 

2. Hold Your Breath

Isle of Wight, Hampshire

 

“Anyone for garlic ice cream?” is not entirely the kind of cry that would draw the seaside crowds, but at the Garlic Festival every August on the Isle of Wight you can even sample a garlic beer after your garlic ice cream. Whether or not garlic and chips would ever catch on is anyone’s vampire. The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival grew from bulb-like beginnings in the early 1980s to a successful annual event. The island is a major producer of the pungent perennial.

Garlic has a hallowed reputation as a protection against vampires, especially in central Europe. All the vampirism apart, garlic’s true reputation rests on its culinary excellence and on its claimed health-giving qualities. The Isle of Wight Festival does an outstanding job of promoting the breathy bulb and features a fantastic variety of garlicky treats.

 

 

 

3. Barrels of Fiery Fun in Burghead

Burghead, Moray

 

Sparks really do fly in the Scottish harbour town of Burghead on the 11^th  of January. On this day the traditional, fiery way of seeing in the New Year, the Burning of the Clavie, takes place in Burghead.

About ten local men --- traditionally they should be fishermen --- are chosen each year to take turns carrying the flaming barrel clockwise around the town. They stop at the homes of eminent citizens to present a glowing ember from the clavie, an act that is said to confer good luck upon the household. Eventually the procession makes its way through the chilly winter night to a stone altar in the old fort on Doorie Hill, where the clavier is set down. More fuel is added until a roaring bonfire lights up the hill. Embers from the fire are gathered by onlookers who use them to kindle lucky New Year at home. 

 

 

4. Mudlarking

Maldon, Essex

 

In midwinter Maldon, they have a unique way of welcoming in the New Year—they go mud racing. Maldon’s Mud Race is all for good causes, of course, and various charities benefit from the mudlarking of over 500 entrants each year. The race takes place on the first weekend after Christmas Day and is organized by the local Rotary and Lions Club.The course is 365 metres; but when it’s along the bed of the River Crouch, all black mud and slime, the conditions underfoot control the level of running--- or the crawling, for that matter. The head of the field gets the firmest footing. Stragglers end up it in treacle. Competitors can wear fancy dress; some wear wet suits, but the meeting of mud and neoprene turns mud racing into skid-surfing. The bravest simply thong it.

Entrants come from all over Britain and from as far afield as Italy and Japan. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.

 

 

5. Cheese Roll

Stilton, Cambridgeshire

 

The famous Stilton cheese is celebrated during the annual May Day celebrations at Stilton village.Cheese-rolling at Stilton is one of those fascinating customs that you would expect to have come rolling out of the mists of time. But cheese-rolling seems to have been the mid-20^th century creation of an inspired pub landlord, keen to promote the village on the tourist trail. It worked a treat.Stilton cheese enjoys a rich, ripe and reeking pedigree as it is.

The village has a colourful May Day festival anyway, but the highlight of the day is definitely the afternoon cheese-rolling, during which about 20 teams of four race and roll cheeses along a 45-metre course for the coveted title of Stilton Cheese Rolling Champion of Champions.Some teams are in fancy dress and the mood of the event is unfailingly fun-filled and full of spirits, in more ways than one. Prizes are a whole Stilton cheese, and bottles of port.

 

 

6. More Than One Way To Crack a Nut

Ashton, Northamptonshire

Cracking conkers may be seen as a traditional pastime for schoolkids, but in the village of Ashton by the River Nene, near Oundle, they take the game of conkers very seriously. It’s here the annual World Conker Championships is staged on the second weekend in October each year.

Conkers are the hard, shiny fruit of the horse chestnut tree. The playground sport of threading a chestnut onto a length of cord and then bashing an opponent’s chestnut  by striking it with your own is said to have first  been recorded in the 1840s on the Isle of Wight.Today a couple of  hundred people take part and spectators run into the thousands. Money raised goes to the Royal National Institute for the Blind and the event is presided over by the reigning King Conker, who wears one string of conkers to mark each year of victory. Some champs even wear conker-covered shoes and caps. 

 

 

You should visit this festival if you want________________

A  to watch knight tournament.

B  to enjoy a unique spring competition.

C  to get a red-hot symbol of a successful coming year.

D  to join street cavalcade and welcome summer.

E  to experience meeting with vampires.

F  to support a conkering conquistador.

G  to taste some extraordinary dishes.

H  to take a dirty bath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST 17

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

Taken  from  Eccentric Britain by Des Hannigan, New Holand Publishers (UK) Ltd, 2004

 

1. Swanning Around on the Swashes

Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire

 

Calling all Ugly Ducklings --- you wil grow up to be beautiful, if the annual Festival of Swans on the wetlands of the Ouse Washes that straddle the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk border is anything to go by in terms of the seemingly flawless grace of swans en masse. The two-day festival takes place in the late November and celebrates the arrival of the wintering flocks. There are tours, events, lectures, an artist-in-residence, and, of course, plenty of swans.

The dramatic wetlands on the Ouse Washes are home to some of the most spectacular winter gatherings of wild swans. Swans are not the only birds present, of course, and the wetlands offer fine bird-watching all year round.

In the past swans were prized as a delicacy at upper-crust  banquets and came close to being seriously reduced in numbers. They are now protected by law. Fortunately, with 20,000 swans now thriving in Britain, there’s little chance of a swan’s swan song nowadays.

 

 

2. Bearing The Brunt

Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire

 

The  last wild bear in Britain was killed centuries ago, but a bear of sorts still dances through the streets of Whittlesey each January at the annual Straw Bear Festival .This is one of England’s most ancient and fascinating traditions, the precise origins of which are a mystery. The event originally took place on Plough Monday – the first Monday after Twelfth Night and the day when farm workers went back to work after the Christmas festivities.

Today a Straw Bear appears in the streets of Whittlesey and dances its way from pub to pub accompanied by a merry throng of musicians, dancers and spectators. It is now an annual event, with over 250 performers and musicians gathering in the town for a week of festivities. The Bear dances on the Saturday before Plough Monday and on Sunday the straw costume is ceremonially burned.

 

3. Alternative Olympicks

Dover’s Hill, Gloucestershire

 

 

Forget the stunning displays of athleticism at the Olympic Games - an equally thrilling alternative takes place each year at Dover’s  Hill. Dover’s Olympicks include   the delightfully esoteric sports of shin-kicking and cudgel and slingstick, all established in 1612 by Robert Dover, a Cambridge-educated lawyer. Spectators can watch all  manner of sports not seen at the real Olympics – a wheelbarrow marathon, tug of war, sack racing, and of course the noble game of shin-kicking. This is a game for two. Contestants stand face to face, grip each other by shoulder and by the belt, and then try to up-end each other by vigorous shin-kicking. The game is thought to have originated as a part of an early form of wrestling, and a couple of hundred years ago experts wore iron-tipped boots and trained for matches by beating their own shins with a hammer. The modern version permits the wearing of shin pads. Today’s Premier League footballers are tap dancers by comparison. 

 

 

4. Horns In Plenty

Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire

 

At  Abbots Bromley on the 26^th August, you may bump into a group of men prancing about with stags’ antlers on their shoulders. Say nothing; just accept that there’s a point to it all and enjoy one of England’s most revered traditions.

On the morning of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance the horns are collected from St Nicholas Church at 8 am. The dance group is made up six Deer-men, a Fool, Hobby Horse, Bowman and Maid Marion. Attendants collect money for the church during the day as the group dance their way through the village and surrounding countryside to the music of a melodeon player. Their route covers an exhausting 16 kilometres and at the end of the day the horns are returned to the church until the following year.

While the Deer-men are off dancing there’s lots of fun and games in the village with craft stalls, exhitions, children’s games and plenty of business for the five local pubs. The Deer-men are not the only ones with sore heads the next day.

 

5. Toereadors

Wetton, Staffordshire     

 

 

When the English poke fun at themselves, they do so obliquely by adding plenty of eccentricity, wit and irony. The annual World Toe-wrestling Championship, which takes place at Ye Olde Royal Oak pub in the Peak District village of Wetton every June, is a brilliant example of this.

Toe-wrestling started in 1976 when locals decided to find a sport that the English might stand a chance of winning.The idea seemed a toe-tal winner and the first competitions were held using bar stools as a “toedium”. The idea is simple: opponents rest their feet on the tedium and lock their big toes together in an inspired parody of arm-wrestling; the aim is to “toe-down”your opponent’s foot.

By 1994 toe-wrestling was a world sport and in 1997 a bid for Olympic Games status was made. It was turned down on the grounds that there was uncertainty over whether it was a summer or winter Olimpic discipline.

 

6. Ugly Mugs in Egremont

Egremont, Cumbria

A  pretty face counts for nothing in Egremont in September. The village’s famous Crab Fayre features plenty of traditional events – Cumberland wrestling, Morris dancing, races, and a fun-fair amongst them; but in the evening, at the market hall, no beautiful people need apply when the World Gurning Championship kicks off with a grotesque grin.

The contest’s rubber-faced hopefuls take turns to don a horse collar, and then twist, turn and “gurn” their faces into ultimate ugliness. The winner is decided by level of applause and appreciation from an enthusiastic audience. Only the British can face up to this kind of fun.

This gathering of gurners attracts media attention from all over the world. It’s a refreshing antidote to conventional beauty contests and to the modern trend towards cosmetic “beauty” at all costs. Gurners are gorgeous… because they’re worth it… 

 

 

It’s a special entertainment __________________

A  when people welcome Christmas.

B  where you can enjoy noble wild feathered creatures.

C  when people donate to the village chapel.

D  when the participants dance around the fire.

E  where attractive appearance is not evaluated.

F  after which its symbol is set on fire.

G  where the competitors use a particular part of the body.

H which helds annually unlike a popular sport international event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEYS

TEST 1

1C, 2B, 3C, 4A, 5D.

TEST 2

1C, 2A, 3B, 4D, 5B, 6A, 7B, 8D, 9A, 10C.

TEST 3

1B, 2C, 3A, 4D, 5C, 6A, 7D, 8B, 9A, 10C.

TEST 4

1A, 2B, 3A,4D, 5C, 6D,7A,8A, 9B, 10C.

TEST 5

1D, 2B, 3C, 4B, 5C, 6A, 7B, 8A, 9D, 10A, 11B.

TEST 6

1G, 2E, 3H, 4A, 5D, 6C.

TEST 7

1E, 2G, 3A, 4C, 5H, 6F.

TEST 8

1B, 2F, 3A, 4E, 5C.

TEST 9

1D, 2F, 3A, 4E, 5C.

TEST 10

1B, 2D, 3A, 4C, 5B, 6D, 7A, 8C, 9B, 10D, 11A, 12C, 13B, 14D, 15A.

TEST 11

1C, 2B, 3A, 4D, 5C, 6B, 7A, 8C, 9B, 10A, 11B, 12D.

TEST 12

1B, 2C, 3A, 4D, 5B, 6C, 7D, 8A.

TEST 13

1A, 2D, 3B, 4C, 5B, 6A, 7D, 8C, 9B, 10A, 11C, 12D.

TEST 14

1C, 2D, 3G, 4A, 5F, 6H. 

TEST 15

1C, 2E, 3G, 4F, 5B, 6H.

TEST 16

1D, 2G, 3C, 4H, 5B, 6F.

TEST 17

1B, 2F, 3H, 4C, 5G, 6E.