SPOTLIGHT ON
BRITAIN
SECOND EDITION
Susan Sheerin
Jonathan Seath
GiIIian White
Oxford University Press
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ISBN 0 19 432788 4
First published 1985
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0Susan Sheerin, Jonathnn Senth, Gillinn White 1985,
1990
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Contents
The United Kingdom
Who are the British?
The political system
Religion
Family life
Festivals
Glossary
London
A city with a difference
The City
Historic buildings in the City
The East End
The West End
Westminster
Whitehall
Royal London
Kensington and Knightsbridge
Glossary
The Southeast
Welcome to Britain
The Garden of England
Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!
Are you a railway buff?
A tale of Canterbury
The stockbroker belt
Glossary
East Anglia
Cambridge
The Fen Counuy
Let's go shoppingin Norwich
Britain's oldest recorded town
Glossary
The Heart of England
The Swan of Avon
Birmingham -the market place
A cathedral of our time
Oxford
Liverpool and the Beades
Glossary
The Dales to the Border
Northumbria
The most beautiful corner of England
Ghosts of Yorkshire
The historic city of York
Glossary
The Southwest
Holiday time in the West Country
Magic circles
Offshore islands
The sea - ships and sailors
Glossary
Scotland
Folk music
Beating the 'Sassenachs'!
The Highland games
Tattoo spectacular
Welcome to the Festival
A tragic queen
Scotland seen from abroad
L i e on the rigs
Glasgow
The Highlands
Clans and tartans
Scottish festivals
Glossary
Wales
Language
History
Life in the Valleys
The Welsh and their words
The National Parks
Energy inside a Welsh mountain
Cardiff: a modern capital
Glossary
Northern Ireland
The troubles
Two nations?
The search for a solution
Belfast
The Glens of Antrim and the
Causeway coast
The Giant's Causeway
Fermanagh
Londonderry
Glossary
In and out of School
TV and radio
More than 30 years of Rock Music
Sport
The education system
L i e at college
Glossary
Answers
Historical Chart
This chart covers the most important
periods of British history. It shows the chief
inhabitants or invaders of England until the
Middle Ages, then the royal houses of
England (until 1603) and of Britain (after
1603). Only monarchs or rulers mentioned
in the text appear on the chart.
The Celts
The Romans
The Anglo-Saxons
The Viking Invaders
The Normans
900 B.C.-55 B.C.
55 B.C.-450 A.D.
450-1066
8th-11th cennuies
1066-1 154
The Plantagenets
11561399
The Houses of York and
Lancaster
The Tudors
1399-1485
The SNarts
(The Civil War
The Republic
1603-1649
1628-1649)
1649-1660
The Smarts
1660-1714
The Hanoverians
17161901
The House of SaxeCoburg
The House of Windsor
1901-1910
1485-1603
1910-
1
1
I
Offa (8th century)
William the Conqueror
(1066-1087)
Henry11 (11561189)
Edward I(1212-1307)
Henry VII (14861509)
Henry VIII (1509-1547)
Mary I ('Bloody Mary')
(1553-1558)
Elizabeth I(1558-1603)
Tames I(1603-1625)
Charles i (1625-1649)
Oliver Cromwell
(1649-1660)
W i a m and Mary
(1688-1702)
George I, 11,111, TV
(17141830)
('Georgian' period)
Victoria (1837-1901)
('Victorian' period)
Edward VII (1901-1910)
('Edwardian' period)
Elizabeth I1 (1952- )
The United Kingdom is very small
compared with many other countries in the
world. However, there are only nine other
countries with more people, and London is
the world's seventh biggest city.
The main areas of high land are in
Scotland, Wales and Cumbria. In the
centre of England is a range of hills called
the Pennines, which are also known as the
'backbone of England'. The highest
mountains are in Scotland and Wales: Ben
Nevis is 4,406 feet (1,343 m.) and Snowdon
is 3,560 feet (1,085 m.). Of course, these
are very small compared with other
mountains in the world - Everest, the
highest mountain in the world, is 29,000
feet (8,839 m.). In fact everything in the
United Kingdom is rather small- the
longest rivers are the Severn (220 miles, 354
km.) and the River Thames (215 miles, 346
Icm.). Compare these with the River
Amazon in South America which is 4,195
miles (6,751 km.)long!
Despite its size, there is a great deal of
variety within the islands of the United
Kingdom, and this book aims to show the
particular character of each country and
region.
Who are the British?
Why British not English?
Many foreigners say 'England' and
'English' when they mean 'Britain', or the
'UK'. and 'British'. This is verv annovine
for &e 5 million people who live in
Scotland, the 2.8 million in Wales and 1.5
million in Northern Ireland who are
cenainly not English. (46 million people
live in England.) However, the people from
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and
England are all British. So what is the
diffhrence between the names 'Great
Britain' and 'the United Kingdom' - and
what about 'the British Isles'?
A
-
The United Kingdom
This is an abbreviation of 'the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland'. It is often further abbreviated to
'UK', and is the political name of the
counuy which is made up of England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
(sometimes known as Ulster). Several
islands off the British coast are also part of
the United Kingdom (for example, the Isle
of Wight, the Orkneys, Hebrides and
Shetlands, and the Isles of Scilly), although
the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are
not. However, all these islands do recognize
the Queen.
Great Britain
This is the name of the island which is
made up of England, Scotland and Wales
and so, strictly speaking, it does not include
Northern Ireland. The orikn of the word
'Great' is a reference to size, because in
many European languages the words for
Britain and Brittany in France are the same.
In fact, it was the French who fust talked
about Grande Bretagne! In everyday speech
'Britain' is used to mean the UnitedKingdom.
-
But it is important to remember that
Southern Ireland - that is the Republic of
Ireland (also called 'Eire')- is completely
indeoendent.
So you can see that 'The United Kingdom'
is the correct name use ifyou are
referring to the counuy in a political, rather
than in a geographical way. 'British' refers
to people from them, G~~~~Britain or the
British Isles in general.
The IVelsliflag, called tlze Welsli dragon.
How was the United Kingdom formed?
This took centuries, and a lot of armed
struggle was involved. In the 15th century,
a Welsh prince, Henry Tudor, became
King Henry VII of England. Then his son,
King Henry VLZI, united England and
Wales under one Parliament in 1536.
In Scotland a similar thing happened. The
King of Scotland inherited the crown of
England and Wales in 1603, so he became
King James I of England and Wales and
King James VI of Scotland. The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland
were united a century later in 1707.
The Scottish and Welsh are proud and
independent people. In recent years there
have been attempts at devolution in the two
countries, particularly in Scotland where
the Scottish Nationalist Party was very
strong for a while. However. in a
referendum in 1978 the welsh rejected
The British Isles
devolution and in 1979 the Scots did the
This is the geographical name that refers to
same. So it seems that most Welsh and
all the islands off the north west coast of the
Scottish ~ e o o l eare h a o ~ vto form oart of
Euro~eancontinent: Great Britain. the
the UK even though
sometimes
whole orIreland (Northern and ~ ~ " t h e r n ) , complain that rheiare dbminared by
the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
England, and particularly by London.
&e;
2
Unit one
The whole of Ireland was united with Great
Britain fiom 1801 up until 1922. In that
year the independent Republic of Ireland
was formed in the South, while Northern
Ireland became part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. The story of this particular union is
long and complicated and you will read
more about it in Unit 10.
from France. These invasions drove the
Celts into what is now Wales and Scotland,
and they remained, of course, in Ireland.
The English, on the orher hand, are the
descendants of all the invaders, but are
more Anglo-Saxon than anything else.
These various origins explain many of the
differences to be found between England,
Wales, Scotland and Ireland - differences
in education, religion and the legal systems,
but most obviously, in language.
The Union Jack
Language
The Celts spoke Celtic which survives
today in the form of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic
and Irish Gaelic. Less than a quarter of all
Welsh people (600,000, out of 2,800,000)
speak Welsh. Scottish Gaelic and Irish
Gaelic are still spoken, although they have
suffered more than Welsh from the spread
of English. However, all three languages
are now officially encouraged and taught in
schools.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as
the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses.
The upright red cross is the cross of St
George, the patron saint of England. The
white diagonal cross (with the arms going
into the corners) is the cross of St Andrew,
the patron saint of Scotland. The red
diagonal cross is the cross of St Patrick, the
patron saint of Ireland. St David is the
patron saint of Wales.
Invasion
What makes the Scottish, Welsh, English
and Northern Irish different from each
other? About 2,000 years ago the British
Isles were inhabited by the Celts who
originally came from continental Europe.
During the next 1,000 years there were
many invasions. The Romans came from
Italy in m 43 and, in calling the counuy
'Britannia', gave Britain its name. The
Angles and Saxons came from Germany,
Denmark and the Netherlands in the 5th
century, and England gets its name from
this invasion (Angle-land). The Vikings
arrived from Denmark and Norway
throughout the 9th century, and in 1066
(the one date in history which every British
school-child linows) the Normans invaded
English developed from Anglo-Saxon and
is a Germanic language. However, all the
invading peoples, particularly the Norman
French, influenced the English language
and you can 6nd many words in English
which are French in origin. Nowadays all
Welsh, Scottish and Irish people speak
English (even if they speak their own
language as well), but all the counmes have
their own special accents and dialects, and
their people are easily recognizable as soon
as they spunk. Occasionally, people from
the four countries in the UK have difficulrv
in understanding one another because of
these different accents. A southern English
accent is generally accepted to be the most
easily understood, and is the accent usually
taught to foreigners.
Multiracial Britain
Recently, there have been many waves of
immigration into Britain and movement
within the UK. For example, many people
from Wales, Scotland and Ireland have
settled in England; and Jews, Russians,
Germans, and Pales have come to Britain
(particularly London) during political
changes in the rest of Europe.
The United Kingdom
3
Commonwealth citizens were allowed free
entry into Britain until 1962. Before the
were
Second World War these imminrants
mostly people from Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa. In the
19505, people from the West Indies, India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong
were encouraged to come and work in
Britain. Today, 2 million British people
are of West Indian or Asian origin and over
50 per cent of them were born in Brilain.
which they wish to keep alive. They also
have their own newspapers, and radio and
television programmes.
. This latest wave of immigration has of
course caused problems. There is certainly
racial tension and racial prejudice in Britain
today. In spite of laws passed to protect
them, there is still discrimination against
Asian and black people, many of whom are
unemployed or in low-paid jobs. However,
the atmosphere is improving and the
different races are slowly learning to trust
one another. In a wide educational
programme white school-children,
teachers, policemen and social workers are
learning about the problems and customs of
their new neighbours. There are many
areas in Britain now where racial harmony
is a reality.
British culture is being enriched through its
contact with other cultures. For example,
the British are becoming more adventurous
in their cooking and eating habits, and
Chinese, Indian and Palusrani restaurants
are very popular. Another example can be
found in the pop music scene where West
Indian reggae music has become very
intluential.
WORDS
The new immigrant communities are
concentrated in the following towns and
cities: London, Slough, Leicester,
Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Luton,
Bradford, Coventry, Bedford, Reading and
Sandwell. The main languages of the Asian
immigrants are Urdu, Hindi, Bengali,
Punjabi, Gujarati, and Cantonese
(Chinese). Nowadays the policy is to
encourage these communities to conrinue
speaking their own languages as well as
English. The children of immigrants are
often taught their own languages in school,
and there are special newspapers,
magazines, and radio and television
programmes for the Asian community. The
West Indians, of course, arrive speaking
English, but they do have their own culture
4
Unir one
The English come from England, the Scots
from Scotland, the Welsh from Wales and
the Irish from Ireland. Thinkof as many
European countries as you can. What are
the people called? What language do they
speak?
TALKING POINTS
.What invasions has your country suffered
in the past 2.000 years? What effects
have these invasions had?
A r e there any immigrants in your country?
Have there been any problems associated
with immigrants? If so, what should be
done to solve these problems?
Do many people from your country go to
live and work in other countries? Are they
treated well?
The political system
The United Kingdom is a constitutional
monarchy. This means that it has a
monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of
State. The monarch has very little power
and can only reign with the support of
Parliament. Parliament consists of two
chambers known as the House of Commons
and the House of Lords. Parliament and the
monarch have different roles in the
government of the country, and they only
meet together on symbolic occasions such
as the coronation of a new monarch or the
opening olParliament. In reality, the
House of Commons is the only one of the
three which has true power. It is here that
new bids are introduced and debated. If the
majority of the members are in favour of a
hill it goes to the House of Lords to be
debated and finally to the monarch to be
signed. Only then does it become law.
Although a bill must be supported by all
three bodies, the House of Lords only has
limited powers, and the monarch has not
refused to sign one since the modern
political system began over 200 years ago.
The House of Commons and the
electoral system
The House of Commons is made up of 650
elected members, known as Members of
Parliament (abbreviated to MPs), each of
whom represents an area (or constituency)
of the United Kingdom. They are elected
either at a general election, or at a byelection following the death or retirement of
an MP. The election campaign usually lasts
about three weeks. Everyone over the age of
18 can vote in an election, which is decided
on a simple majority - the candidate with
the most votes wins. Under this svstem. an
MF who wins by a small numberbf votes
may have more vores againsr him ([ha is,
for rhe other candidarcs) than fur him. T h ~ s
is a very simple system, hut many people
think that it is unfair because the wishes of
those who voted for the unsuccessful
candidares are nor represenred ar all.
Farliamentan~elections must be held every
five \'ears ar the Ialcsr. bur rhe Prime
k s t e r can decide on the exact date within
those five years.
I Voting figures for the 1987 election 1
The party system
The British democratic system depends on
political parties, and there has been a party
svstem of some kind since the 17th centurv.
he political parties choose candidates in elections (there are sometimes independent
candidates, but they are rarely elected).
The party which wins the majority of seats
forms the Government and its leader
usually becomes Prime Minister. The
largest minority party becomes the
Opposition. In doing so it accepts the right
of the majority party to run the country,
while the majority party accepts the right of
the minority party to criticize it. Without
this agreement between tbe political
parties, the British parliamentary system
would break down.
The Prime Minister chooses about twenty
AU's from his or her parry 10 become
Cahinet .llinisters. Each minister is
responsible for a particular area of
government, and for a Civil Service
department. For example, the Minister of
~ i f e n c is
e r~s~onsiblefor
defence polic!'
and the armed forces, ihe Chancellor ofthe
Exchuuuur for financial nolicv,
-.and the
Home Secretary for, among other things,
law and order and immigration. Their Civil
.
The Unired Kingdom
5
Service departments are called the Minis~ry
of Defence. the Treasury and the Home
are staffed by civil
Office respectively.
servants who are politically neutral and who
therefore do not change if the Go\~ernment
changes. The leader of the Opposition also
chooses MPs to take responsibility for
opposing the Government in these areas.
They are known as the 'Shadow Cabinet'.
s he>
The parliamentary parties
The Conservative and Liberal parties are
the oldest, and until the last years of the
19th century they were the only parties
elected to the House of Commons. Once
working-class men were given the vote,
however, Socialist MPs were elected, but it
was not until 1945 that Britain had its first
Labour Government. At this election, the
number of Liberal MPs was greatly reduced
and since then Governments have been
formed by either the Labour or the
Conservative party. Usually they have had
clear majorities -that is, one party has had
more MPs than all the others combined.
The Conservative Party can broadly be
described as the party of the middle and
upper classes although it does receive some
working-class support. Most of its voters
live in rural areas, small towns and the
suburbs of large cities. Much of its financial
supportcomes from large industrial
companies. The Labour Party, on the other
hand, has al\vays had strong links with the
trade unions and receives financial s u o ~ o r t
from them. While many Labour votei'are
middle-class or intellec~als,the traditional
Labour Party support is still strongest in
industrial areas.
In 1981, some MPs left the Labour Party to
form a new 'left-of-centre' party- the Social
Democratic Pany (SDP)- which they
hoped would win enough support to break
the two-party system of the previous forty
years. They fought the 1983 election in an
alliance with the Liberals, but only a small
number of their MPs were elected. In
1988, the majority of SDP and Liberal
MPs and party members decided to form a
permanent single party, to be called the
Social, Democratic and Liberal Party or
The Social and Liberal Democrats.
However, some SDP MPs and party
members disagreed with the idea, and so
the SDP still exists as a separate party.
They (and other small minority parties in
the House of Commons) would like to
change the electoral system; they want
MPs to be elected by proportional
representation. Under this system, the
number of MPs from each party would
correspond to the total number of votes
each party receives in the election. The
table on page 5 shows clearly why the
Social, Democratic and Liberal Party
thinks the present system is unfair.
I Tlze Speaker's clmirhe keeps order dztrilzg
debates.
2 Tlze Gouenaneat sit kere.
Cabiizet Mitzisters sit 011 the
Front Be~zch.
3 The Opposilimz sit on
this side. Tlze Shadow
Cabinetface the Cabitlet.
4 Otker M P s sir kere
according to their party.
Tlze debatingcl~anzbwoftlze Home of Co~~onotts.
6
Unit one
The House of Lords
The House of Lords has more than 1,000
members, although only about 250 take an
active part in the work of the House. There
are 26 Anglican bishops, 950 hereditary
peers, 11 judges and 185 life peers, and
unlike MPs they do not receive a salary.
They debate a bill after it has been passed
by the House of Commons. Changes may
be recommended, and agreement between
the two Houses is reached by negotiation.
The Lords' main power consists of being
able to delay non-financial bills for a period
n introduce
of a year, but they c ~ also
cerrnin types of bill. The House of Lords is
the only non-elected second chamber
among all the democracies in the world,
and some people in Britain would like to
abolish it.
The monarchy
The powers of the monarch are not defined
precisely. Theoretically every act of
government is done in the Queen's name every letter sent out by a govenunent
department is marked 'On Her Majesty's
Service'- and she appoints all tbe
Ministers, including the Prime Minister. In
reality, everything is done on the advice of
the elected Government, and the monarch
takes no part in the decision-making
process.
Local government
parliament in London is responsible for
deciding national policy, but many public
services are provided by local government.
The United Kingdom is divided into
administrative areas known as 'counties'
and each county has a 'county town' where
the offices of the local govenunenr are
located. Local government is responsible
for organising such services as education,
libraries, police and fire services, roadbuilding and many others.
TALKING POINT
Some people think thatthe monarchy
should be abolished because it has no
power and it costs the State a lot of money
to maintain. How useful do you thinkthe
monarchy is in Britain today?
Religion
Throughout British history religion has
been closely connected with kings, queens
and politics. England was a Roman
Catholic counny until 1534. Why did this
change?
..
When a king and a pope quarrelled.
In 1525 King Henry VIII decided to
divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon
who, at the age of forty, was five years older
than H e m . Also. she had only ~ v e him
n a
daughter, and ~ e - & ywanted i s i n . He fell
in love with Anne Boleyn who was
younger, but when Henry asked the Popc
for ocrmission to divorce Catherine. he
reh;sed. Henry was so angry with tde Pope
that he ended all contact between England
and Rome, divorced Catherine of Aragon
without the Pope's permission and married
Anne Boleyn. In 1534 Parliament named
Henry head of the Church of England. This
was the beginning of the Anglican Church.
This quarrel with Rome was political, not
religious. The Anglican Church did not
start as a Protestant Church and Henry
certainly did not regard himself as a
Protestant. In fact, the Pope had given
Henry the title of 'Defender of the Faith' in
1521 for words he wrote attacking Martin
Luther, the German Protestant. (British
kings and queens still have this title, and
~o'can seethe letters m DEF or F.D. on
British coins today.) However the
Protestant movement in Europe was
mowina-verv.strona at this time. When
Henry quarrelled with Rome and ordered
the Bible to be translated into English, the
way was open for Protestantism to spread
in England. Over the next years many
people changed to this new religion.
The United Kingdom
7
4 Anne of Cleves diuowed.
therine of Aragon
divorced.
Anne Boleyn
menrted.
Catherine Howard -*
executed.
-
!atzging wives became a habit with He
Altogetlzer he had six!
3 Jane Seymour died in cl~ildbirtlz.
In 1553 Mary, Henry's daughter by
Catherine of Aragon, became Queen of
England. Because she was a Roman
Catholic, the country re-entered the Roman
Church. While Mary was Queen, many
Protestants were burned at the stake for
their beliefs. She also put her non-Roman
Catholic sister, Elizabeth (the daughter of
Henry and Anne Boleyn), into prison in the
Tower of London. Protestants were glad
when Mary died in 1558 and Elizabeth
became Queen. Elizabeth also became
head of the Anglican Church, like her
father, and Roman Catholicism was never
again the established (official) religion in
England.
The Puritans
After Elizabeth became Queen, a group of
Protestants wanted to 'purify' the Church
of England of all Roman Catholic influence.
These people were called Puritans- they
were the English Protestants. They dressed
very simply and believed that all pleasures,
8
Unit one
6 Catherine Pan- lived lo~zgel.tllan Heniy
such as fine clothes and the theatre, were
wicked.
When James I was King(1603-1625) the
Puritans were often put in prison and
sometimes even killed. Some of them
decided to leave England to find freedom in
a new country.
They sailed from Plymouth in 1620 in a
ship called the 'MayBower', and these
'Pilgrim Fathers' - as they were calledstarted a new life in America. The senice
which they held to thank God for their
arrival, became a traditional annual festival
in America, called 'Thanksgiving'.
Under the rule of James 1's son, Charles I,
the Puritans were treated even worse. Many
people sympathized with the Puritans, and
the Court was unpopular because it was
suspected of being a centre of Roman
Catholicism. (This was because Charles's
*There nreno picrurrr ofcnrherine Howurd. This was once
bought to he hm.
wife was a Roman Catholic.) This religious
split between the Puritans and the Court
was one cause of the outbreak of civil war in
1628 and [he e~,cnrwlexecution of Charles I.
Followinr this. from 1649 to 1660.' Brirain
was a republic for a short while.
Britain's immigrants have also brought
with them their own religions which they
continue to practise. There are Muslims,
Hindus and Sikhs from the Indian
suhconunenr. Kasrafarians -from
ihc
---.
--- \Verr
.. .
.
.
Indies, and the largest group of Jews living
in Europe.
The United Kingdom
9
1
I
Family life
A 'typical' British family used to consist of
mother, father and two children, but in
recent years there have been many changes
in family life. Some of these have been
caused by new laws and others are the
result of changes in society. For example,
since the law made it easier to get a divorce,
the number of divorces has increased. In
fact one marriage in every three now ends
in divorce. This means that there are a lot of
one-parent families. Society is now more
tolerant than it used to be of unmarried
people, unmarried couples and single
parents.
Another change bas been caused by the fact
that people are living longer nowadays, and
many old people live alone following the
death of their partners. As a result of these
changes in the pattern of people's lives,
there are many households which consist of
only one person or one adult and children.
You might think that marriage and the
family are not so popular as they once were.
However, the majority of divorced people
marry again, and they sometimes take
responsibility for a second family.
Members of a family-grandparents, aunts,
uncles, cousins - keep in touch, but they
see less of each other than they used to.
This is because people often move away
from their home town to work, and so the
family becomes scattered. Christmas is the
traditional season for reunions. Although
the family group is smaller nowadays than
it used to be, relatives often travel many
miles in order to spend the holiday
together.
In general, each generation is keen to
become independent of parents in
establishing its own family unit, and this
fact can lead to social as well as
geographical differences within the larger
family group.
Who looks after the older generation?
There are about 10 million old-age
pensioners in Britain, of whom about
750,000 cannot live entirely independently.
The government gives financial help in the
form of a pension but in the future it will be
10
Unit one
more and more m c u l t for the national
economy to support the increasing number
of elderly. At the present time, more than
half of all old people are looked after at
home. Many others live in Old Peoples'
Homes, which may be private or stateowned.
The individual and the family
Relationships within the family are
different now. Parents treat their children
more as equals than they used to, and
children have more freedom to make their
own decisions. The father is more involved
with bringing up children, often because
the mother goes out to work. Increased
leisure facilities and more money mean that
there are greater opportunities for the
individual to take part in activities outside
the home. Although the family holiday is
still an important part of family life (usually
taken in August, and often abroad) many
children have holidays away from their
parents, often with a school party or other
organized group.
TALKING POINT
People say that children today grow up
more quickly. The law sometimes makes
this possible. Look atthe information below
-how is the law differentin your country?
youNG PEOPLE AND
THE LAW
~g~ 19 may be employed partdime.
~g~ 14 allowed in bars but not to
drink alcohol.
Age 15 legany a 'young person' and
not a 'child'.
kge 16 school leaving age, Can leave
home, drive a moped, marry
with parents' consent (not
needed
in scotland), buy beer
-with a meal.
~g~ 17 can drive a car or motorbike.
~g~ 18 age of majority - can Vote, get
married without p~rents'
consent, own property, get
tattooed, drink in pubs . .
.
Festivals
On New Year's Eve, people traditionally
take a shower in the fountains in Trafalgar
Square! The Christmas tree is an annual
gift from Norway
I'm in love!
On 14th February, St Valentine's Day,
many people send a card to the one they
love or someone whom they have fallen in
love with. People usually do not sign these
cards and a lot of time is spent uying to
guess who has sent them!
Pancake Day
Ash Wednesday is the day in February
when the Christian period of Lent begins.
This refers to the time when Christ went
into the desert and fasted for forty days.
Although not many people acmally give up
eating during this period, on Pancake
Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday,
they eat lots of pancakes. These are made
from flour, milk and eggs, and fried in a hot
3X33~@3~-.1&-~-333
Easter eggs
At Easter time, the British celebrate the
idea of new birth by giving each other
chocolate Easter eggs which are opened and
eaten on Easter Sunday. On Good Friday
bakers sell hot cross buns, which are
toasted and eaten with butter. Easter
Monday is a holiday and many people
travel to the seaside for the day or go and
watch one of the many sporting events,
such as football or horse-racing.
Some towns also hold pancake races on that
day. People run through the streets holding
a frying pan and throwing the pancake in
the air. Of course if they drop the pancake
they lose the race!
The United Kingdom
11
M a y is here
As summer comes, Britain likes to
celebrate the end of the winter. In England
on 1st May, Morris men may be seen in
country areas celebrating traditional
dances, waving their white handkerchiefs
to drive away the evil spirits and welcome
in the new ones. At school and in smaller
village communities children may dance
traditional spring dances such as the
Maypole, when they weave their brightly
coloured scarves into a beautirul pattern
around a long pole.
sheets knock on doors at Hallowe'en and
ask if you would like a 'trick' or 'treat'. If
you give them something nice, a 'treat',
they go away. However, ifyou don't they
play a 'uick' on you, such as making a lot of
noise or spilling flour on your front
doorstep!
G u y Fawkes Night
In 1605 King James I was on the throne. As
a Protestant, he was very unpopular with
Roman Catholics. Some of them planned to
blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5th
November of that year, when the King was
going to open Parliament. Under the House
of Lords they had stored thirty-six barrels
of gun powder, which were to be exploded
by a man called Guy Fawkes. However one
of the plotters spoke about these plans and
Fawkes was discovered, arrested and later
hanged. Since that day the British
traditionally celebrate 5th November by
burning a dummy, made of straw and old
clothes, on a b o d r e , whilst at the same
time letting off fireworks.
This dummy is called a 'guy' (like Guy
Fawkes) and children can often be seen on
the pavements before 5th November
saying, 'Penny for the guy.' If they collect
enough money they can buy some
fireworks.
Ghosts a n d witches
Hallowe'en means'holy evening', and takes
place on 31st October. Although it is a
much more important festival in the United
States than Britain, it is celebrated by many
people in the UK. It is particularly
connected with witches and ghosts.
At parties people dress up in strange
costumes and pretend they are witches.
They cut horrible faces in potatoes and
other vegetables and put a candle inside,
which shines through the eyes. Peoplemay
play difficult games such as trying to eat an
apple from a bucket of water without using
their hands.
In recent years children dressed in white
12
Unit one
*a@
%a@
%
Christmas
If you uy to catch a main on 24th December
you may have difficulty in iinding a seat.
This is the day when many people are
travelling home to be with their families on
Christmas Day, 25th December. For most
British families, this is the most important
festival of the year, it combines the
Christian celebration of the birth of Christ
with the traditional festivities of winter.
There are a lot of traditions connected with-~
Christmas but perhaps the most important
one is the giving of presents. Family
members wrap u p their gifts and leave them
at the bottom of the Christmas tree to be
found on Christmas morning. Children
leave a long sock or stocking at the end of
their bed on Christmas Eve, 24th
December, hoping that Father Christmas
will come down the chimney during the
night and bring them small presents, fruit
and nuts. They are usually not
disappointed! At some time on Christmas
Day the family will sit down to a big turkey
dinner followed by Christmas pudding.
They will probably pull a cracker with
another member of the family. It will make
a loud crack and a coloured hat, small toy
and joke will fall out1
~
Later in the afternoon they may watch the
Queen on television as she delivers her
rnditional Christmas message ro [he Unired
Kingdom and the Commonwealth. If they
have room for even more food they may
enjoy a piece of Christmas cake or eat a hot
mince pie. 26th December is also a public
holiday, Boxing Day, and this is the rime to
visit friends and relatives or be a spectator
at one of the
~.
. .
t
..
The United Kingdom
13
1 Who was the mother of Queen
Elizabeth I?
2 From which group of invaders did
England gets its name?
3 What happens to a bill after it has been
passed by the House of Commons?
4 Where would you find a kirk?
5 What do families usually give each
other on Easter Sunday?
6 What is the name of Britain's highest
mountain?
7 Name two areas in Britain where a lot of
immigrants live.
8 What is the connection between the
'Mayflower' and the United States of
America?
9 At what age can you drive a car in
Britain?
10 What is the maximum length
- of a
Parliament?
11 What happens on St Valentine's Day?
12 Describetwo of the three flags which
make up the Union Jack.
13 Which countrv is sometimes called
Ulster?
14 When do the British open their
Christmas presents?
15 Why do some MPs want to change the
electoral system?
16 A red dragon is the symbol of which
country?
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
A FESTIVAL CROSSWORD
Across
1
5
6
9
10
You may see them at Hallowe'en.
'Trick.. .treat'.
...James I.
You can't buy much with this.
Send a card on Valentine's Day if you
are.. . love.
11 The eleventh month.
Down
2 A lot of people go there at Christmas.
3 The English eat it on Christmas Day.
4 Would you like to . . . some carols?
7 Fireworks make a lot of this!
8 People dance.. . May 1st.
9 You cook pancakes in this.
I
I
I
I
I
I
b
i
d the special name for a proposal before
i t becomes law
14
Unit one
I
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
Glossary
abbreviate to make short
abolish to end
Anglican of the Church of England
annoying causing anger or irritation
appoint to choose
armed struggle fighting with weapons
I
blow up to explode
break down (a) not to worlc
broadly approximately
bun a sweet bread roll
carol a Christmas hymn
caught up with involved with
the Civil Service government
administration
I
the Commonwealth an organization of
independent states which were part of
the British empire
continental Europe the part of Europe
that excludes the British Isles
coronation a ceremony when a new
monarch is crowned
correspond to to represent
criticize to 6nd faults with
cruelty pleasure in causing pain
debate (u) to discuss formally
devolution giving part of the power of
government to a smaller area or country
diagonal a line going from one corner of a
rectangle to the opposite comer
discrimination treating someone
differently because of their colour, race,
religion or sex
dragon a mythical animal
dreadlocks long strands of tightly-curled
hau- a style typical of Rastafarian men
dummy an object made to look like a real
person
elderly old (people)
election campaign an organized attempt to
persuade people to vote for a particular
political party
enrich make richer or more interesting
evil had
execute to kill
the Faith Christianity
fast (a) to stop eating
festivity a celebration
ghost a spirit
glitter .to shine
hanged killed by hanging from a rope tied
round the neck
harmful causing harm or injury
hereditary peer a lord who has aained
his
title b y birth
Hindu a member of an Indian religion
hoUy a plant with prickly leaves
hymn a song
- sunn- in Church
&migrate to come and live in a new
country
life peer a lord whose title will not be
inherited hv his children
maintain to keep
mince-pie a small pie filled with dried fruit
and spices
moped a motorized bicycle
Morris men traditional dancers
multiracial having many races
Muslim a member of the Islamic religion
negotiation discussion
neutral not belonging to any one party
old-age pensioner a woman over 60 or a
man over 65, receiving a state pension
outbreak (n) the start
patron saint a saint who is strongly
associated with a particular country
political party a group of people united in
politics
prejudice (n) thinking badly of people
without really knowing them
Protestantism a form of Christianity
started by Martin Luther in the 16th
cennuy, when be 'protested' against
Roman Catholicism
public holiday a day when nobody goes to
work
range a line
Rastafarian a member of a West Indian
religion
referendum a vote 'yes' or 'no' on one
question only
reggae West Indian pop music with a
strong rhythm
reign (u) (of a monarch) to rule
reunion a meeting, usually after a long
period of separation
m a 1 of or in the counuy
scattered in different places
Sikh a member of an Indian religion
social worker a person employed to give
help or advice
staff (u) to supply an institution (e.g. a
school or a department) with workers
stake (71) a piece of wood to which people
were tied to be Idled, especially by
burning
suburb an area on the edge of a city
tattoo (a) to mark skin with words or
pictures
tolerant accepting (different ideas or
people)
in touch in contact
trade union an organization of a group of
worlcers
turkey a big bud
wave (n) a period
wicked bad
witch a woman who uses magic
working class people who work, for
example, in factories (contrast upper
class and middle class)
The United Kingdom
15
London Regional Transport
The easiest way to travel around London is
by a London Regional Transport bus or
underground train. These run from the
centre of the city right out into the
countryside.
British people queue up when waiting for a
bus (and lots of other things!). They get
very annoyed with queue-jumpers - people
who don't wait their turn in the queue.
The London Underground - or 'tube'- has
nine lines. It's very fast, and in Central
London you're never more than a few
minutes' walk away fiom a station.
Visitor Excuse me, please. Can you tell me
h o w to getto Buckingham Palace?
Londoner Well, Euston station is just
across the road, and Buckingham Palace
is near St James's Park. So you'd better
take the Northern Line going south. Then
change at Embankment on to the Circle
or District Line going west.
Visitor Thanks a lot1
You are at Piccadilly Circus. Using the maps
above, choose a place to visit, and practise
similar dialogues with a partner. Take it in
turns to be the visitor. .
ANSWER
1 What is the tube?
2 What must you do when waiting for a
bus?
3 Would you prefer to travel in London by
bus or by taxi or by tube? Why?
London
17
A city with a difference
London was not b~rilfas a city in the same
way as Paris or New York. It began Life as a
Roman fortification at a place where it was
possible to cross the River Thames. A wall
was built around the town for defence, but
during the long period of peace which
followed the Norman Conquest, people
huilt outside the walls. This building
continued over the years, especially to the
west of the city. In 1665 there was a terrible
plague in London, so many people left the
city and escaped to the villages in the
surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great
Fire of London ended the plague, but it also
destroyed much of the city. Although
people renuned to live in the rebuilt city
after the plague and the Great Fire, there
were never again so many Londoners living
in the city centre.
These days not many people live in the city
centre, but London has spread further
outwards into the counw. includinn
surrounding villages. ~ d d a the
y mekopolis
of Greater London covers some 610 square
miles (1580 sq. km.)and the suburbs of
London continue even beyond this area.
Some people even commute over 100 miles
(over 150 km.)every day to work in
London, while living fur away from the city
in the country or in other towns.
The gradual growth of the city helps to
explain the fact that London does not have
just one centrc, it has a number ofcentres,
each with a distinct character: the financial
and business centre called the City (spelt
with a capital 'C'),the shopping and
entertainment centre in the West End, the
government centre in Westminster. Places
like Highgate and Hampstead have kept
their village-like character - they have their
own newspapers and the famous
Hampstead Heath is a reminder of country
origins.
TALKING POINTS
What do you know aboutthe origins of
the capital city of your country?
Manv, .oeoole in Britain do not like livinq- in
city centres and so they commute to work
from the suburbs and the surrounding
countryside.
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of this?
.
The City
Tradition
The City does not refer to the whole of
central London but rather to a small area
east of the centre, which includes the site of
the original Roman town. It is an area with
a long and exciting history, and it is proud
of its independence and traditional role as a
centre of trade and commerce. This
tradition is focussed on the City's Lord
Mayor, whose official residence is the
Mansion House. Once a year, in
November, the Lord Mayor's Show takes
place. This is a colourful street parade in
which the newly elected Lord Mayor travels
18
Unit two
in a golden coach, which is over 200 years
old. In the evening a splendid meal is
served in the Guildhall, to which the
Prime Minister and members of the
Government are invited.
Commerce and finance
The City of London is one of the major
banking centres of the world and you can
find the banks of many nations in the
famous Threadneedle Street and the
surrounding area. Here, too, you will find
the Bank of England. Nearby is the Stock
Exchange which is like a busy market,
except that here not food but shares in
commercial companies are bought and
sold. A little further along in Leadenhall
Street is Lloyds, the most famous insurance
company in the world.
During weekdays in the City you can see
the City gents with their bowler hats, p@striped suits and rolled umbrellas. Tlus 1s
the 'uniform' only of those men involved in
banking and business in the City, and
outside this small area you will probably
not see anyone dressed like this.
The Old Bailey
The centre of the country's judicial system
is to be found in the western part of the
City. The Old Bailey houses many courts
and some of Britain's most famous murder
trials have taken place here. Many solicitors
and banisters haie their offices (called
'chambers') nearby, particularly in the area
known as the 'Temple'.
AU criminal mals in Britain are held before
a judge and a jury consisting of twelve
ordinary people. It is the jury, not the
judge, who decides ifa person is guilty or
not. An accused person is considered
innocent until proved guilty. All defendants
are entitled to legal representation, which
will be provided free ifthey cannot pay for
it.
Quality Daily
Newspapers
The Times, The Guardian,
The Daily Telegraph,
The Financial Times,
The Independent.
Popular Daily Newspapers
The Daily Express, The Sun,
The Mirror, The Daily Mail,
Today, The Star.
Quality Sunday
Newspapers
The Sunday Times, The
Observer, The Sunday
Telegraph.
Popular Sunday
Newspapers
The News of the World,
The
The Mail on sunday,
The Sunday Mirror, he sunday
Express.
The press
Fleet Street is famous as the home of the
nation's newspapers but, in fact, only two
of them - Tlle Daily Express and The Daily
Telegraph-are stillin Fleet Street.
However, people still say 'Fleet Street' to
mean 'the press'.
The British are a nation of newspaper
readers. Many of them even have a daily
paper delivered to their homes in time for
breakfast1
British newsvauers can be divided into two
groups: quac6and popular. Qualitv
newspapers are more serious and c&er
home and foreign news thoughtfully wlule
the popular newspapers like shocking,
personal stories as well as some news.
These nvo groups of papers can be
distinguished easily because the quality
newspapers are twice the size of the popular
newspapers.
~
More uniforms! Barristers on tlzeir wny to the
courts at tlze OldBniley.
London
19
Historic buildings in the City
S f Parrl's Catliedral was designed by rhe/alrious arclrirect Sir Clriisrophe~.I V ~ L ~u/rer
I I , [he CrL~ur
Filr o/Loirdo~ibi 1666. Plirlce Clrarles arid Lad>'Dialla Sp~'ilceruerei~raniedrhere br J ~ r b
1981.
0UlZ
TIre Tmuer oflondoiz wasfirst built by
Williain the Coizauerorntore tlran 900 vea1.s
ago, and wasfaiirous as apiisoiz. TFOqueeru
were execlitcd here, and iwopr-inces nrtrrdered.
-
20
Unit two
1 One influential daily newspaper in Britain
is printed on pink paper. True or false?
2 One of the queens who was beheaded in
theTowerwas Catherine Howard. She
was not the only wife to be beheaded.
Who was the husband?
3 How do tali ships pass up the Thames
beyond Tower Bridge?
4 What famous marriage took place at St
Paul's Cathedral in July 19817
5 What ancient London landmark was
bought by an American, shipped stone
by stone to the USAand rebuilt in
Arizona?
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
The East End
The East End grew with the spread of
industries to the east of the City, and the
growth of the port of London. It covers a
wide area. A part like Bethnal Green, which
was once a country village, is quite different
fiom the areas down by the river, where
there are many wharfs and warehouses.
It is also one of those areas of London
where people from abroad have come to
h d work. For centuries foreigners have
made London their home. Some have had
to leave their country for religious or
political reasons. Others have wanted to
6nd a better life. Some brought new skills
and started new industries. These days,
many Jews and Bengalis live in the East
End, and within a small area you can see a
mosque, a church and a synagogue! The
East End is especially famous as the centre
of the clothing industry (or 'rag-trade') in
London.
The East End marltets are famous
throughout the world. Petticoat Lane
market takes place every Sunday morning
and has become one of the sights of
London. Street-salesmen promise that the
goods are of the highest quality and much
cheaper than those you can buy in the West
End! 'Come on darlin' . . . amazin' bargain
. . . you ain't seen nuffink like itl'
~raditionall~someone
born in the East End
is known as a coclcney although this name is
now given to anyone who speaks like a
Londoner. Typically they change certain
vowel sounds so that the sound in 'late'
becomes more like that in 'linht'. In
addition they don't use the usual 't' sound
of standard English but stop the air in their
throat. (Try saying 'bu'er' instead of
'butter'!) Like some foreign learners of
English they seem to have a few problems
with 'th' and use an 'f' insteadl
During the last cennuy, East End criminals
developed a special kind of slang or
lanruare which made it difficult for the
o; understand them. In certain parts
of London this slang is still used, and some
expressions have passed into normal,
everyday English. It is called 'rhyming
slang' because words are replaced by other
words or phrases which rhyme. For
example 'loaf of bread' means 'head', and
'butcher's hook' means 'look'. However,
usually only the first word of the phrase is
used, for example, 'Use your loafl' means
'Use your head. . don't be silly!' and 'Let
me have a butcher's.' means 'Let me have a
look.'
.
PUZZLE
Here are some examples of rhyming slan
Match the words on the right with the
rhyming slang on the left.
Barnet Fair
London
21
The West End
The West End is the name given to the area
of central London north from The Mall to
Oxford Street. It includes Trafalgar
Square, the main shopping areas of Oxford
Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, and
the entertainment centres of Soho,
Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and
Shaftesbury Avenue. Its name is associated
with glamour and bright lights.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square was built early in the last
cennuy to commemorate the Battle of
Trafalgar. Admiral Lord Nelson's statue
standson top of a column in the middle of
Trafalgar Square. The square makes a good
place for people to meet - coaches pick up
parties of visitors, marchers unite for
Trafalgar Square is a fa~aol~s
?neetingplace.
22
Unit two
protest meedngs, and at Christmas time
carol singers gather round a huge
Christmas tree which is sent to Britain from
Norway every year. Behind Nelson's
Column is the National Gallery, an art
gallery in which you can find many old
masters.
Shopping
Alost of London's big department stores are
in Oxford Street and Reaent Street. Thev
are always crowded, but at sale times, in .
January and July, there are so many people
that it is difficult to move and it is usually
safer to go in the direction of the majority1
These days, it is often difficult to
disdnguish the goods in one large store
from those in another.
-
DO YOU KNOW?
A department store is a large shop which
sells a wide range of goods in different
departments, each wlth a spec~alname.
Here are some of them and bes~dethem 1s
a list of goods. In which department would
vou buvthem? Look uo the answer in vour
COlYFECTlOIilERY
HARDVJARE
ELECTRICAL
qABERDASHERY
STATIONER\[
CLAFETEAIA
BEDDING
I
to eat and drink. The opening hours are
different from most other shops: they open
at 10a.m. and close at 8 p.m., whereas most
shops open from 9a.m. to 5.30p.m. As
well as shopping, there is entertainment
with lunch-time theatre groups and
classical, jazz, folk and pop music.
Mrs Tl~atcherat Madaale Tussaud's.
If you are looking for something 'different'
(but cannot afford the prices of Bond
Street) it is certainly worth going to New
Covent Garden. This used to be England's
biggest fruit and vegetable market, but a
few years ago, the market was moved to a
new site on the other side of the River
Thames. The old market, now called 'New
Covent Garden', was restored and
converted into a shopping centre. There are
now more than forty shops of many
different kinds, and there are several places
Entertainment
Piccadilly Circus is the centre of night life
in the West End. It is usually top of
everyone's list of things to see in London,
because it is so well known. It is a c ~ a u y
quite small, and most people are rather
disappointed when they see it for the first
time because they had imagined it would be
much bigger! To the north of Piccadilly
Circus is Soho, which has been the foreign
quarter of London since the 17th century.
Now it has restaurants offering food from a
variety of different countries, especially
Chinese and Italian ones, as well as 'adult'
entertainment.
London is famous for its live theatre, and
there are over thirty theatres within a
square mile. Naturally there is a great
variety of shows to choose from:
'whodunnits', opera, musicals, drama,
comedies and so on. If you want to know
what is on in London, the best place to look
is in a newspaper.
London
23
ACTIT OUT
Look at these advertisements.
Decide with a Partner what you would like
to see, then imagine that you have to
telephone the theatre to book tickets. Plan
what to say ( d e c i d e on the price, day.
~erformance,etc.) before acting out the
dialogue with your partner.
MAYFAIR. S. CC 629 3036. Man.N E LONDON.
~
cc umryLZPE WCZ.
~ h u r 8.0.
~ . Fri. & Sat. 5.40 & 8.10.
01405 0072 or 01404 4019 EVSS
Grp. 930 6173.
7.45. Tue. & Sut. 3.0 & 7.45.
RICHARD TODD
THE I W D m I V LLOYD WEBBER
ERIC LANDER, VIRGINIA STRIDE in
T. S. ELIOT INTERNATIONAL
AWAR!J WINNINGMUSICAL
THE BUSINESS OF MURDER
he best U d e r for years."-S.
CATS
THIRD GREAT YEAR
G~~~~~ooldngs01405 1567 or 01OVER 1,000 PERFORMANCES
930 6123. ~ p p didy
~ y to BOX Ofice
for returns. LATECOMERS NOT
M M I T T E O WHILE AUDITORIUM IS
DUKE OF YORK'S. S CC 836 5122. CC
IN MOTION. PLEASE BE PROMPT.
~ n l y836 0641. CC Hotlie 930 9232.
Burs open 6.45 p.m.
Mon. to Thun. Evss 8.0. Friday and
OVER 1,000 SOLD OUT PERFS
Svturdvy 5.45 end 8.30.
IAN OGILVY
ANGELA
STEPHANIE
LONDON PALLADIUM. 01437 7373.
THORNE BEACHAM
E~~~7.30. M a e Wed & Sat 2.45.
JAMES LAURENSON In
FIRST EVER STAGE PRODUCTlON
TOMMY STEELE in
SINGIN'IN THE RAIN
wilh ROY CASTLE
HAYMARKET THEATRE ROYAL. 930
9832. Group Sdcs 01-930 6173. Eves
7.30. M a e Weds 2.30. Sub at 3.0.
Reduced prices at Mat. far Senior
Citizens.
JOAN
FRANK
PLOWRIGHT FINLAY
LESLIE PHILLIPS
JVE:;N:NIb\
in
THECHERRYORCHARD
in ANTON CHEKHOV
Directed by LINDSAY ANDERSON
LIMITED SEASON ONLY
ST MARTIN'S. 836 1443. Specid CC No
930 9732. Evgs 8.0. Tues. 2.45. Sae
5.0 and 8.0
AGATHA CHRISTIE'S
HAPPY FAMILY
THE MOUSETRAP
31st Year
BY Gides Cwper
Directed by Maria Aitken
SORRY, no reduced prices from any
souice, but seats boobble from E3.
Westminster
24
Unit two
FfgER
[EL&'",
BERNARD MILES
Every day when people in the UK and
overseas switch on their radio to listen to
BBC radio news, they can hear one of the
most famous sounds in London. On the
hour, the bells of Big Ben ring loud and
clear. Many people think that Big Ben is the
clock or the whole tower next to the Houses
of Parliament. In fact, it is the largest of the
five bells at the top of the tower. Parliament
itself is in Westminster, a part of London
that has long been connected with royalty
and government.
King Edward the Confessor first decided to
build a palace beside the River Thames in
the 1lth century. His successors extended
the palace and made it their main residence.
Gradually, Westminster became the centre
of government and justice. At first,
Parliament was organized by the monarch
as a way of governing the country. He or
she called different groups together: the
Lords represented the Church and
aristocracy whilst the Commons were used
by the rich land-owners to put forward the
views and interests of their own town or
villaee. Over the centuries Dower eraduallv
passid from the monarch to parliament b i t
not without a few problems!
During the reign of James I, for example,
Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament
(see page 12).
James' son, Charles I, thought that he
could rule the country without the help of
Parliament, but these dreams led to his
death. He tried to make parliament do what
he wanted, but after years of quarrelling he
finally lost his patience. One day he burst
into the House of Commons with several
hundred men and tried to arrest its leaders.
They had already escaped. But the struggle
between king and parliament was not
finished and the country was thrown into a
civil war, which only stopped when Charles
was finally beheaded in 1649.
The Queen still opens the new session of
Parliament each autumn by reading 'the
Queen's Speech', which describes the main
policies of the Government. However, this
takes place in the House of Lords and she is
not allowed to enter the House of
Commons. This tradition goes back to the
time of Charles I, more than three hundred
years ago, and reminds everybody that the
monarch must not try to govern the
country.
The Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in
1835 after being completely destroyed by
lire. In addition, the House of Commons
needed more repairs after being bombed
during the Second World War. Parliament
is in session every afternoon and evening
except Friday and the weekend, and if you
are lucky you might be able to watch a
debate from the public gallery.
ASK
Ask questions for these answers
1 Big Ben.
2 Guy Fawkes.
3 ~ h a r l e I.s
4 The Queen's Speech.
5 1835.
Westminster Abbey
Opposite the Houses of Parliament stands
Wesuninster Abbey. A church has stood
here since Saxon times when, in the year
750 AD, a Benedictine Abbey was founded.
It was lcnown as West Monastery (Westminster), from its position 3 miles (five
kilometres) west of London's centre. From
Norman times British monarchs have been
crowned there and since [he 13th century
the!, have been buried there. Alan!, other
famous people are also buried in
Wesuninster Abbey including statesmen,
musicians and writers. In Poet's Corner can
be found StaNeS and the tombs of poets
such as T.S. Eliot.
PRACTISE
Lookat the photograph of Westminster and
Whitehall opposite and describe the
different buildings and where they are
located. Give as much information as you
can about each building or monument.
London
25
Whitehall
The street called Whitehall stretches from
Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square.
Just as Wesuninster or the Palace of
Wesuninster frequently stands for the
Houses of Parliament, so Whitehall is often
used as a name for the Civil Service.
Downing Sueet, which is a small side street
off Whitehall, is the home of the Prime
Minister, who lives at number ten. Next
door at number eleven lives the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, who is responsible for
financial planning and the British economy.
Tust around the corner in Whitehall itself
are all the important ministries: the Foreign
Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Home
Office and the Treasury.
In the middle of Whitehall is the Cenotaph
where the Queen lays the h s t wreath of
poppies on Remembrance Day. On that
day each year the people of Britain
remember their dead from the two world
wars of this CenNry by wearing a red paper
POPPY.
HOW MUCH DO YOU
REMEMBER?
Which ministers and ministries are
responsible forthe following areas of
government?
Income tax
The army
Law and order
Nuclearweapons
Prisons
Immigration
Government
spending
The police
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
Royal London
26
Unit two
You cannot go far in London without being
aware ofthe city's close connecuon with the
Crown. There &e royal palaces, royal parks
and colourful ceremonies; if you look at the
souvenirs you can see how important
royalty is to the capital's tourist indusuy.
The most important building, hut not the
most beautiful, is Buckingham Palace,
which is the official residence of the Queen.
WORD SEARCH
Can you find five words connected with
royalty in the square? They are not all in the
text. Some have been written vertically.
some horizontally and some diagonally.
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
B
W
R
Y
l
F
S
M
Q
C
O
M
B
D
E
O
U
R
V
G
M
C
P
N
G
O
A
T
A
S
W
T
St James's Park is one of ten royal parks in
and around London which are owned by
the Crown hut are open to the public free of
charge. They make a special contribution to
city-Living because their existence has
ensured that there are areas of green
between the flats, office blocks and other
buildings, and that there is somewhere
quiet and attractive to escape to, away from
traffic jams, crowded shops and congested
pavements.
N l W L b K A l
W
C
N
A
S
I
R
N
G
J
P
M
O
N
E
C
L
Each park has its own character. Hyde
Park, for example, was originally a hunting
forest and is still popular with horseriders.
People who enjoy a good argument can go
to Speakers' Corner (near Marble Arch
tube station), where they can listen to
people giving their views on a variety of
topics to anyone who will listen.
hunting park, is now the home of London
Zoo, and an open air theatre which delights
summer audiences with performances of
Shakespeare's plays.
It overlooks St James's Park where the
previous royal residence, St James's Palace,
can be found. Running through the park,
Erom Trafalgar Square to the front of
Buckingham Palace is The Mall, a wide
tree-lined avenue designed for royal
processions on ceremonial occasions.
Regent's Park, which was also originally a
K W W A P G T E P
Not all the parks are in the centre of
London. Greenwich, where theMaritime
Museum is, and Richmond, famous for its
heauriful trees and wild deer, are both in
the suburbs.
Speakers' Corner.
London
27
Kensington and Knightsbridge
If you live in this area, the rent on your flat
is probably very high - it is an exclusive
part of London where you can find many
foreign embassies, large, glamorous hotels,
and the department store that is the symbol
of expensive and high-class living Harrods.
People say you can buy anything in
Harrods, including wild animals - they
even have a zoo which will sell you lion
cubs as well as more common pets such as
dogs, cats or parrots. Harrods succeeded in
supplying one customer with a baby
elephant, although it had to be ordered
specially!
I-larrods is not the only artraction here;
there is the Albert 1-lall,where there is a
festival of popular classical music concerts
every summer known as 'the Proms'.
Sporting events such as tennis tournaments
and boxing matches are also held there.
Museums
Three of London's most interesting
museums - the Victoria and Albert, the
TIze azldience at a 'Proat' coizcert.
28
Unit nvo
Science Museum and the Natural History
Museum- are also in this area. The last, as
its name suggests, has exhibits of birds,
animals and reptiles as well as life-size
reconstructions of prehistoric animals. The
Victoria and Albert was founded with the
aim of improving design in British
manufacturing, but over the years it has
expanded to include things from almost
every place and period, including COSNmeS
from the theatre, and paintings. Finally
there is the Science Museum, which is
always crowded and is certainly the noisiest
museum in London. It covers every aspect
of science and technology, and the
collections are constantly being moved
round to make room for new acquisiuoni.
Thev
have inventions thar did not become
- -~
popular, such as the steam bicycle of 1912,
and technological landmarks like the Cody
biplane - the f i s t aircraft to fly in England
in 1912. In many of the rooms there are
machines and computers that visitors can
work themselves.
WRITE
This is a I
plan of part of the
Science 2
. If you come up
the escalator, you will s e e the 3
on the right. Next to them are the
4
. If you come up in the
5
, however, the first things
you will s e e are the computers. The
6
is nearthem. At the other
end of the room, nearthe 7
, and in the
are some old 8
. If you need
centre are the 9
the 10
, they are opposite!
What are the missinn words? The answers
are below.
slal!ol 01
saxoq lea!snw 6
sadoasalel 8
sl!els L
qde~fiows!asg
==#!I
9
so!pel p
syseli wnnaeA &
wnasnw z
JOOli 1
I
I
~1
Tsloso~pe~
Floor plan of Science Museum
Glossary
acquisition an item they have bought
ain't haven't (sla71g)
aristocracy the 'ruling class', sometimes
connected with royalty
arrest to take prisoner
Barnet fair a festival in Barnet, an area of
East London
barrister a lawyer who argues cases in a
high court
behead to cut off someone's head
bowler hat a roundish black hat with a
short brim
carol singers people who sing religious
songs at Christmas, often to collect
money for charity
charge (it) cost, expense, money
Civil Service government administration
civil war a war between two parts of the
same country
coach a four-wheeled carriage with seats
inside, pulled by horses
commemorate to honour the memory
commute to travel regularly a long
distance benveen home and work
congested crowded
the Crown the King or Queen
daisy a small white and yellow flower
defendant an accused person
gent humorous word for 'gentleman'
goods things for sale
green (it) grass and trees
haberdashery a shop or department which
sells small articles of clothing and sewing
materials
house (a) to contain
in session working (a session is the time
taken by one meeting of Parliament)
influential having influence; powerful
insurance a company which promises to
pay a sum of money in case of illness or
death, in return for regular payments
judicial legal
jury twelve people who decide in court if a
defendant is innocent or guilty
legal representation help given to a
defendant, usually by a barrister in
court
Lord Mayor the leader of the group of
people elected to govern London
marchers people in a procession,
particularly on a protest march
metropolis the chief city of a counuy
nuclear weapons bombs which release
atomic energy
nuffink nothing (slang)
old masters great painters of the 16th to
19th centuries
pillowcase a cover for a pillow (a cushion
for your head on a bed)
pin-striped suit a suit made from material
with very thin stripes
plague a deadly disease carried by rats
poppy a bright red flower
the press newspapers
in
- . and magazines
general
Prime Minister the chief minister of a
government
reptile a cold-blooded animal
30
Unit two
residence a grand house where a public
figure lives
restore to repair
sale when things are reduced in price in
the shops
share (71) part ownership in a company
ship (v) to send by ship
slang very informal language (unsuitable
for many situations)
solicitor a lawyer who gives advice and
prepares legal documents
souvenir a thing bought or kept as a
reminder of a place
stone by stone (to move) every stone of a
building so that it can be exactly rebuilt
in another place
store a shop
suburb an area on the edge of a city
tax money paid by citizens to the
government for public purposes
traffic jam a queue of cars, lorries, buses,
etc.
trial examination in a law court
warehouse a large building for storing
things
whad a place for tying up boats and ships
whodnnnit a detective story (who's done it?)
wide range a large selection
wreath flowers woven in a circle
writing pad paper for writing letters
The Southeast is the most denselypopulated region of England. It is only 11
per cent of the land area of the country, but
a third of the total populntion lives here.
Because ofthis, n large par1 ofthe region is
affected by urban deveiopment: housing,
factories, offices and a complex network of
roads and motorways. However, thereis
still attractive countryside to be found in all
counties outside the influence of London.
The south coast has a mild and sunny
climate which makes ir oooular
-s
- with
---- bnrh
holiday-makers andthe elderly, who find it
a comfortable area to rerire to.
L~
~~~~
31
Welcome to Britain
When you travel to Britain by sea or air, it
is very likely that you will arrive in the
Southeast, for this is where the main
passenger ports and airports are located.
Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest
airport for international traffic, is about 20
miles (33 km.) east of central London,
while Ganvick, the second major airport, is
about thirty miles (50 km.) to the south.
Heathrow has around twenty-eight million
passengers per year and Gatwick
approximately ten million.
Most travellers from continental Europe
arrive at the east coast ports of Dover,
Folkestone and Ramsgate. Of these, Dover
is by far the busiest -it has 50 per cent of
the total traffic to and from the Continent.
The Channel Tunnel, linking France to
Britain, starts here.
The Garden of England
1:
!
.!
.%
,?
*
9u
h-
Do you lcnow the names of these varieties of
fruit?
They all grow in Kent, the county which is
known as the Garden of England because it
produces a lot of the fruit and vegetables
which are eaten all over the country. The
soil and climate male ideal growing
conditions. It is also the main arca for
crowinc! another kind of fruir called hoos.
You cannot eat them because thev are ;erv
bitter, bur they are an important navouri&
for Brirain's most popular alcoholic drinkbeer! Iris said that they also have medicinal
properties, and local people sometimes put
them in their pillows to sleep on as a cure
for headaches!
32
Unit three
harvested in early autumn, and in the past
people used to come from London in large
numbers to pick hops. They often used to
come in family groups and stay in specially
oreanized accommodation.
-
They did not think it was hard work, for it
was like a holiday with pay. Nowadays,
most people in the area have jobs which
include paid holidays, so it is not such a
popular activity. And, as you might expect,
a machine has been invented that will do
the job!
Near the hop gardens are the oast-houses in
which the hops are dried. They are of a very
unusual design and are a very familiar sight
in Kent.
These days, farmers have found that it is
more economical to dry the hops in
factories. Many of the oast-houses have
been converted into fashionable houses.
GAME
As you have just been reading about the
Garden of England, perhaps you would like
to play this 'shopping' game. The first
player begins by saying 'I went to the
market and I bought' (for example) 'some
apples'. The second player repeats this, and
adds another item, for example. 'I went to
the market and I bought some apples and
some potatoes.'The third player has to
repeatthis sentence and add another item,
and so it continues round the group until no
one can remember any more!
TALKING POINT
Kent is known as the Garden of England.
Which area of your country do you think
could be called its garden?
Oh, I do like to be beside the
seaside!
The Southeast
33
DID YOU KNOW?
LOOKAND SAY
The major political parties in Britain are:
Talkabout what you can see in the pictures
below with a partner. Say what you like or
like doing and find out what your
partner enjoys. Also, say why you like or
don't like these things.
the Conservative Party (theTory P a w l
the Labour Party
the Liberal Party
the Social Democratic Party (the SOP)
the Social, Democratic and Liberal
Party (also called the Social and
Liberal Democrats)
Can you think of some more activities to
talkabout?
TUC stands for 'Trades Union Congress'.
This is an association of nearly all the
unions.
The CBI is the equivalent association for
employers. It stands for 'Confederationof
British Industry'.
0UlZ
What do the following initials stand for?
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
2BR 3BA
4MP 5UN sEEC
I
Disco Dancing
Candy Floss
Space Ii~vaders
Fish
'it'
Chips
PRACTISE AND WRITE
Christopher has written a letterto his
overseas penfriend, Ralf, telling him all
about a typical British seaside holiday.
Write Ralf's letter in reply to Christopher
saying what a seaside holiday is like in your
country.
Use Christopher's letter as a model of how
to start and finish your letter, and use
contractions (eg it's not itis), because this
isa letterto afriend you know well
Seaview Brad*
B e a h Avenue,
BrighQn,
House,
S u w .
10th Avgost
DearRQ.41
On hdlrida~~
at k t !This IS uhaf Cve hi
w k % . b
~
far weeks. 1 w
e ip a h a d * at t h i Sea~dt?i s h e
Same-inp . ~3 05 Ljl ihik;tbim?I'~( i t 1 1 YLRA whnt it5
like rm B n ~ h * m y ~ y .
EVeryone goes tb -the beadr, of m e , ~d evtn when tke
watlurls not very wl~rrny m
s e e +he farYlilies thwe
wrapped up in slucaten shelt
0-iiB their wGdbrcal;s!
SW
~ h i l d r C nlike mnL% E%U%t(es)
w h i l ~@HIUS LIIIOY
~
9
t
%
a
l
l
.
Some.tc.\erP
we danreys
paddlq
nde on,but best *at(
wr W sands + IhP chikirm
~ h m 6. s IS a p o p e show-~ m c h is ttte P W C 4
~ J
a wicked
d m Ke$
hitby peopk(rum h S b b r !) and
)vi$ wi@, Sudy. S t l S vw3 @wn3!
Off & beach, r like the ruwsement arc&
whert ym
p!a;l 3 q m e ~like ~ p c + in^^^^ and hm a~ w w
nd s I l k +he big & p w uv -th~?
big &.
Ym r n
&.~+aUy *d all -thew -tkclrqs along the .p'br(f ov m
pi*.
+d h t people eat at t
k
T F e m.e ~ ( C Ocerta;m khds
seaside, Of unwre,nD sea&&
h d k 4 w+d
be m p *
w&m$ fish'nlcMpS! Thay W a &t k?eW.!'a~
CAW
maghe, as weLl as camdy @S'S [made flm q w
wnd w&F&-) 0,mA rock. Rocrr is a hcwd wMLt * W l [ y
Shaped 1iK-E a & k , but ike c W +
is thaS * 9 ' S
~I'IGUJ
un it & c h
goes aU +luway m g h .S: dmlt
huw hDul
do I t .
+byway,to end &'r [Mu b - 4 is a soaside joke
Questim: What do sea m e < eat?. A n s w : ''Fish& ~ h t p !s':
-
-
-
Best W ishe<,
CGu;sbphw
The Southeast
35
Are you a railway buff?
'Buff' is another word for enthusiast or fan.
A railway buff is a person who is very
interested in trains and railways and who
b o w s a lot about them. Anyone who is a
railway buffwould be'keen to visit the
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
If you look closely at the photograph, it is
clear why the railway is unusual. Its engines
and carriages are one third the normal size.
But this is not a toy railway. Hundreds of
school children from Dymchurch use the
train to go to school at New Romney
throughout the year.
It was opened in 1927, and runs for 13.5
miles (22.5 Ian.) across Romney Marsh
from Hythe to Dungeness -it is the longest
miniature railway in the world. There are
36
Unit three
eleven steam locomotives and one diesel,
over sixty coaches, fully equipped stations,
and the trains pass at speed on the double
track so that passengers get a good
impression of what steam travel was like. It
is privately owned, but there is a
supporters' organization whose members
(they are all railway buffsl) provide
financial support and voluntary labour.
TALKAND WRITE
What is yourfavourite form of transport.
and why do you prefer it?
Do you have a hobby? Write a paragraph
about it saying what you do and why you
find it interesting.
A tale of Canterbury
Canterbury is a town in Kent with a
population of about 120,000. I t is the
religious capital of England because its
cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of
Canterbury who is head of the Church of
England.
From the 12th to the 15th cennuies, it was
place of pilgrimage. Thousands of people
came to pray at the shrine of a former
Archbishop of Canrerbury who was
murdered in the Cathedral in 1170. His
name was Thomas Becket.
Murder in the Cathedral
During the 12th century, King Henty I1
decided that the Church had too much
power. In 1162, he made Thomas Becket
Archbisho~of Canterbutv, thinking that
his friend would help him to weaken the
position of the Church. Although the King
himself liked Thomas, he was not popular
with other powerful men in England. They
were jealous of his friendship with the
King, and they also disliked him because he
was not a nobleman. As Thomas was not
even a priest, many people were very angry
that he had been made Archbishop.
The King was amazed when Thomas began
to defend the position of the Church against
the King. After a while, Thomas had to
leave England because relations between
him and the King had become very bad,
and Thomas was afraid that he might be
killed. He lived in exile for five years until
the King asked him to come back. The
people, the bishops and the Pope were
causing the Iting problems because they all
wanted Thomas to continue as Archbishop
of Canrerbury.
WhenThomas renuned, in 1170, he
brought authorization from the Pope to
excommunicate the priests and noblemen
who had acted against him. The King was
furious when he learned this - soon
afterwards, four of Henry's knights entered
Canterbury Cathedral and murdered the
Archbishop on the steps of the altar.
Three years later in 1173, Becket was made
a saint, and his tomb became the
destination of thousands of pilgrims for
three cennuies. It was said that miracles
happened there, and many sick people went
there in the hope of finding a cure.
In the 16th century, when King Henry VIII
separated from the Roman Catholic Church
and established the Church of England, he
said that Becket was no longer a saint, and
his tomb was destroyed.
The story of Thomas Becket is the subject
of two modem plays, Murder in the
Cathedral by T.S. Eliot and Becket by
Jean Anouilh.
WORDS
Find a word or words in the text which are
similar in meaning to the following:
a hundred years liked by a lot of people
envious very surprised return very angry
Chaucer's pilgrims
The best-known Canterbury pilgrims are
probably those who appear in the book by
Geoffrey Chaucer, Tlze Canterbnly Tales. It
was written in the 14th century, when the
pilgrimage had become a rather pleasant
holiday for the groups of people who
travelled together for protection and
companionship.
The Southeast
37
Tlre Canterbuiy Tales is a collection of
stories told by the members of a group of
pilgrims. Through the stories we get a vivid
p i c h e not only of the narrators themselves
but also ofthe rebrious and social life of the
14th cennuy. There were twenty-nine
pilgrims altogether, including a knight, a
doctor, a miller, a middle-aged widow and
numerous members of religious orders of
one kind or another.
-
The Pilgrim's Way is the name of an old
path stardng at Winchester which, it is
adi it ion ally thought, was taken by pilgrims
travelling to Canterbury. However, there is
no real evidence of this. You can still walk
along some of the route, which is part of a
long-distance footpath called the North
Downs Way. It is protected by law, so it
cannot be ploughed by farmers or made
into a motonvay!
If you have the energy to follow the route as
far as Canterbury, you will h d that
although there is no tomb, Becket is not
forgotten. His face and name are s d l there,
on postcards and souvenirs in every other
shop!
A twentieth-century visitor
The most famous modem 'pilgrim' is
without doubt Pope John Paul 11. His visit
to Canterbury in 1982 was an important
historical event because it showed the spirit
of understanding that exists now between
the Roman Catholic and the hnelican
The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Archbishop Runcie, and the Pope knelt in
silence on Becket's steps - just 817 years
after his murder.
38
Unit three
Pilpiiils on tlreir way to Canterbrny.
ASKAND ANSWER
Use the correct form of the verb in brackets.
1 Where ..... Becket .....(murder)?
2 When .. . .. Becket .....(die)?
3 Why.. . . . (be) noblemen jealous of
Becket?
4 How long.. . . . (stay). . . . . in exile?
5 Who.. . . . (writelaMurderin the
Cathedral'?
6 What.. . . . Chaucer . . . . . (write)?
7 Why.. . . . the footpath.. . . . (protect)?
8 Why.. .. . the Pope.. ... (visit) Canterbury?
WHAT DO THEY DO?
Chaucer's pilgrims had different jobs. Do
you know what w e call people who do
these jobs?
a "My mothertries to cure people who are
ill."
She's a , . ..
b "His brother drives lorries all overthe
country."
He's a , . ..
c "My great-grandfather used to make
flour."
Hewasa ....
d "I want to lookafter people's teeth when
I grow up."
Iwanttobea ....
e "John repairs cars for a living."
He'sa ....
f "Do you know anyone who designs
houses?"
Do you know any.. . ?
The stockbroker belt
The Stockbroker Belt is the popular name
for the county of Surrey, which has become
a residential area (or 'belt') for London
commuters. Although the word
'stockbroker' refers to a particular
occupation -it is someone who works at the
Stock Exchange - many different
professional groups live here. The roads are
lined with trees and there are large
detached houses with well-kept gardens.
Most people associate this area with the rich
life-style of those people who work in the
City of London.
Commuters are not only found in Surrey of
course1 People travel daily to work in
London from all over the Southeast: from
Brighton on the south coast, from
Chelmsford in the north-east of the region,
from Reading in the west, and from
e v e w h e r e in between!
People who can live close to their place of
work usually hate the idea of spending so
much of their lives travelling. No doubt
many commuters feel the same way, but
there are some for whom it has become
quite an enjoyable way of life. Train
commuters pass the time in a variety of
ways. There is the crossword, the
newspaper, a good book, or office work,
but some people have found more unusual
activities. One set of travellers wanted to
make the most of the two hours they spent
travelling each day and so they organized
themselves into groups, each with a
'teacher', to study French, car maintenance
and other subjects ofinterest. One train
even had a club called the 6.18 club (it was
called this because their train left the station
at 6.18 each morning). It had about thirty
members who all played golftogether after
work. They had their own newsletter and a
club tie, and the committee meetings were
held on the train!
From time to time, proposals are put
forward to try and improve the situation at
the 'rush-hour' when over a million and a
quarter commuters arrive and leave Central
London at the same time each day. Until
now, none of these has been acceptable to
either employers or employees. So people
who are not commuters still have to make
sure that they travel at quieter times in
order to avoid being crushed to death by
the workforce of London!
FIND QUESTIONS FOR
THESEANSWERS
1 They work atthe London Stock
Exchange.
2 From all overthe Southeast of England.
3 Because they don'twant to spend a lot
of time travelling.
4 They do office work.
5 Because the train leftthe station atthat
time.
6 Over a million and a quarter.
7 To avoid the crowds.
The Southeast
39
Glossary
authorization permission to do something
big dipper small carriages on a big curved
track that take you up and down through
water at the fair
big wheel a huge wheel which you can sit
in as it rotates high into the air
boarding house a private house where you
pay to stay and have breakfast and
perhaps an evening meal
carriage the place for passengers on a train
cement grey powder mixed with water and
used for building
club tie a neckrie with a special design
worn by members of a group or club
conference a meeting to exchange ideas
and opinions
continental Europe the mainland of
Europe
contraction abbreviation
convert (v) to change
county an administrative area of the UK
crush (v) to press till something breaks
destination the place to which someone or
something is going
detached a house which is not attached to
any others
diesel engine a train which uses oil as fuel
excomm&cate to expel from the Church
framework the part of a structure that
gives support
front a road beside the sea where people
can walk
M a i r an amusement park
koight a nobleman, usually military
lined with things in lines
live in exile having to live away from one's
own country, usually as a punishment
living (n) way of earning money
locomotive engine
maintenance keeping in good working
condition
medicinal properties capable of curing
illness
miniature very small but exactly like the
normal sized object
40
Unit three
miracle an act which cannot be explained
by the laws of nature
monster a huge and frightening animal
'n' abbreviation of 'and'
narrator a person telling a story
nobleman a man in a position of power
through his birth
in large numbers many people together
paddle (v) to walk in water just a few
inches deep
pier a metal consuuction stretching out to
sea
pilgrimage a journey to a holy place
power station a building where electric
power is generated
priest a minister of the Christian Church
properties qualities, characteristics
refinery place where oil is purified
(rehed)
religious order group of people living
under religious rules
residential area the part of the town where
people live
retire to give up work, usually around the
age of 60
rush-hour times when crowds of people
travel to and from work
sandcastle a small castle made at the beach
out of sand, usually by children
seat the place, or base, from which the
Archbishop works
shrine a tomb containing holy remains eg
bones or clothing
space invaders a computerized game
sweater a woollen piece of clothing with
long sleeves
tomb the place where a dead person is
buried, usually large and decorated
track a steel line on which trains run
urban of the town or city
vine a plant which produces grapes
voluntary not paid to do a job
windbreak something made of cloth which
is used to give protection from the wind
windsurf to surf on a board with a sail
East Anglia is extremely flat, and it is
dominated by agriculture. It has beautiful
cities with fine historic buildings (such as
Cambridge, Ely, Norwich, Peterborough
and Colchester), and it has many sandy
beaches and inland waterways.
In medieval times, it became rich because
of the wool trade. It was not affected by the
industrial revolution, and even today there
is very little heavy industry. It was,
however, the home of the agricultural
revolution and is now best known as a
farming region.
It is rather isolated from the rest of Britain
because of its position away from the main
national routes and because of its shape. It
is more than half surrounded by sea.
Cambridge must be one of the best-known
towns in the world, and can be found on
most tourists' lists ofplaces to visit. The
principal reason for its fame is its
University, which started during the 13th
century and grew steadily, until today there
are more than twenty colleges.
mixed, but it will be many years before
there are equal numbers of both sexes.
Most of them allow visitors to enter the
grounds and courtyards. The most popular
place from which to view them is from the
Backs, where the college grounds go down
to the River Cam.
The oldest college is Peterhouse, which was
founded in 1284, and the most recent is
Robinson College, which was opened in
1977. The most famous is probably King's,
because of its magnificent chapel. Its choir
of boys and undergraduates is also very well
known.
Cambridge Science Park
To the North of this ancient city is the
modern face of the University - the
Cambridge Science Park, which has
developed in response to the need for
universities to increase their contact with
high technology industry. It was
established in 1970 by Trinity College,
which has a long scientific tradition going
back to Sir Isaac Newton. It is now home
to more than sixty companies and research
institutes.
The ideas of 'science' and 'parks' may not
seem to go together naturally, but the
whole area is in fact very attractively
designed, with a lot of space between each
building. The planners thought that it was
important for people to have a pleasant,
park-like environment in which to work.
King's College Chapel.
The University was exclusively for men
until 1871when the 6rst women's college
was opened. Another was opened two years
later and a third in 1954. In the 1970s. most
colleges opened their doors to both men
and women. Almost all the colleges are now
42
Unit four
TALKING POINTS
What is the purpose of a science park?
What are the advantages to the
University and to industry?
WRlTE
Every year, thousands of students come to
Cambridge from overseas to study English.
Here is a letter from Frieda, a German
student, to an Italian friend. Write a reply to
Frieda's letter, telling herwhat has
happened to you recently.
East Anglia
43
1
The Fen Country
The area known as the Fens covers part of
three different counties: Licolnshire,
Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The main
part is about 40 miles (67 km)northwards
from Cambridge to the Wash and about 40
miles south-easnvards fiom Peterborouah.
stilts to move across flooded areas. They
have a reputation for being fighters (they
are known even today as 'Fen Tigers')
which is partly because a well-known
English rebel, Oliver Cromwell, came from
the Fens.
A fen is land which is low-lying and wet,
often partly covered with water. The Fen
Country consists of miles of flat land with
almost no trees or hedges. It is divided by
high banks that contain the rivers and
drains, which help to control the level of
water in the fields. The small fenland towns
and villages used to he islands in the time
before the area was drained, and many of
their names show this - eg Whittlesq,
Ramsty, Thorney, Manea. Both -ey and -ea
mean 'island'.
Fenland characters
Work on the drainage of the Fens was
started by a Dutchman, Cornelius
Vermuyden, in the 1630s, but they were
not completely drained until the late 19th
cenrurv. Because of this. the Fenland
village; were isolated from the rest of the
country for many centuries, and 'Fenmen'
were regarded with a lot of suspicion. Some
people thought they had webbed feet1 This,
of course, was not m e , but they did use
44
Unit four
Oliver Cromwell was brought up in
Huntingdon, on the edge of the Fens, and
found plenty of support there when he
formed an army against the King at the start
of the Civil War.
The Fens today
Now that rhe drainage of the Fens is
complete, the arca has some of the richest
and most expensive farmland in the
country. The black, fertile soil produces
sugar-beet, potatoes, and celery, as well as
cereals.
A lot of fruit is grown in this area too.
During the summer, when the fruit is
picked, students come from different
countries in Europe to work on the farms.
In this way, they can earn some money,
have a holiday and improve their English
all at the same time!
The area is, of course, much richer than it
was in the days when men made their living
from fishing and catching wildfowl,
although mechanized farming has caused
some social problems: there are fewer jobs,
and the population is smaller because
young people have moved to the larger
towns and cities to look for work.
However, it is not short of visitors,
particularly those who are interested in
wildfowl (watchingit, more than shooting it
these daysl).
An area known as the Ouse Washes is
allowed to flood naturally and provides a
perfect area for thousands of ducks, geese
and swans which spend the winter there.
The swans are of two types, Bewick and
Whooper, and they fly from eastern Russia
each year. Sometimes therc are as many as
2,000 swans which arrive in fi~milyparties,
having survived the dangerous journey. At
night, part of the Wash where many of the
swans come to be fed is floodlit, and the
sight and sound of so many beautiful birds
is magical.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1 Before the Fens were drained, people in
the Fens used to make their living from
farming.
2 Work began on draining the Fens in the
first half of the 17th century.
3 People were suspicious of Fenmen
because they did not know very much
aboutthem.
4 The swans can be found on the Ouse
Washes all the year round.
5 Part of the Wash is floodlit so thatthe
swans can be fed.
6 Modern farming methods have made the
area prosperous.
WORD SEARCH
In the square below, ten words are hidden.
They are all connected with the Fens. How
many can you find?
S
H
A
D
P
S
T
K
L
G
Y
B
T
O
B
L
T
I
G
E
R
P
I
O
I
D
I
N
R
S
P
A
B
I
S
R
N
K
U
L
F
W
H
T
D
M
L
Q
C
Y
O
T
D
A
N
E
R
J
A
N
A
F
E
N
V
N
L
Q
A
D
N
C
F
W
H
Z
O
P
C
J
I
U
D
V
L G R l
K
M
E
T
N
F
S
W
A
J
E
N
S
D
L
F
L
O
O
D
T
O
A
F
O
B
E
G
B
Z
K
O
A
B
T
G
L
F
R
I
P
E
F
E
H
E
Y
H
M
A
Y
A
Y
M
R
H
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
East Anglia
45
Let's g o shopping in Norwich
Nonvich is the most important city of East
Anglia and of course it has a large shopping
centre for the rural area surrounding it. It
also has to cater for the tourists who are
amacted to the city by such features as the
cathedral, museums and castle.
Unlike many cities, where small specialist
shops have gradually been replaced by large
department stores and supermarkets,
Nonvich still has a wide variety of shops.
One of the mbst unusual must be the
Mustard Shop. As its name suggests, it sells
nothing but mustard, and there are as many
different kinds as it is possible to imagine.
It has a mustard museum, which describes
the history of Colman's mustard. The
Colmans were a famous Nonvich family
who started a mustard-making business
over 150 years ago.
Then there is the outdoor market, with its
multi-coloured stall-covers, where you can
buy everything &om books to bananas.
.
Britain's oldest recorded
town
46
Unit four
If you go for a walk through the streets of
Colchester, you will he able to see evidence
of its long history (and indeed the history of
England) almost everywhere you look. This
town trail will take you past the most
famous buildings and give you some
information about their importance in the
development of the town. As you read,
follow the route on the map. There are
piciures in show you the locations of the
buildings which are described.
Colchester town trail
1 The trail starts at Balkerne Gate, which
used to be the West Gate of the town in
Roman times, and is one of the bestpreserved Roman gateways in Britain.
The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43,
and Colchester became a town for retired
Roman soldiers. The road beyond the
gateway is a modem by-pass, but beside
it you can see the original Roman walls.
Balkerne Gate.
2 Walk towards the town centre along
Balkerne Passage and you cannot miss
'Jumbo', the town's most famous
landmark. It is a Victorian water-tower
which took its name From a famous
elephant sold to a circus in 1882, the year
. of the tower's construction.
3 Go up the hill into the High Street, one of
the main streets during Roman times,
past the Town Hall, and turn left into
West Stockwell Street. Walk down to
Northgate Street and back up East
Stockwell Street and you will see some
fine mediaeval and Georgian houses,
most of which have been restored. This
area is known as the Dutch Quarter
becausc it is where Flemish weavers Lived
when thev fled from the Netherlands in
the 16th &nw. They helped to
improve the Colchester cloth industry.
4 Turn left along St Helen's Lane. Near
St Helen's Chapel, on the comer, are the
remains of one of the walls of a Roman
Theatre.
5 Next on the itinerary are the Castle and
Museum, so our route takes us hack to
the High Street and left a short way, to
the gates of Castle Park. The Castle,
which dates From the 11th cennuy, was
built on the site of a Roman temple. Now
The Dutch Quarter.
East Anglia
47
there is a museum inside, where you will
find a wonderful collection of Roman
antiquities and a lot of information about
Roman Colchester.
6 Leaving the Castle, turn left down East
Hill to look at the Siege House. During
the Civil War, Colchester was defended
by a Royalist Army and was besiegedfor
eleven weeks before finally surrendering.
Bullet-holes made during the siege can
still be seen clearly in the walls.
Of course there are many other interesting
places to visit in this historic town, but no
doubt by now you will be ready to return to
the Town Centre in search of tea and cakes!
D o you like oysters?
Colchester has been famous for its oysters
from the River Colne since the time of the
Romans. The season starts in October, and
every year the Mayor of Colchester goes out
in a boat with a party of guests to fish the
first oysters. In the evening, the Oyster
Feast is held in the Town Hall. Well-known
people, usually television personalities, are
invited as well as local people.
Colchester Castle
DO YOU KNOW?
1 If you were shopping in a British town.
where would you go to buy:
apples a joint of beef carrots
a jar of jam a newspaper books7
2 What could you buy in these shops:
an ironmonger's a delicatessen
a tobacconist's?
LOOKAND WRITE
It is said that oysters
The cloth industry used to be more
important in Colchester. Of course, in an old
town like this, a lot of things have changed.
For example, buildings that used to be
there have been replaced by others, orthey
no longer exist.
Write sentences about Colchester with
used to.
Here are some ideas:
Flemish weaversiThe Dutch Quarter
Roman TheatreiSt Helen's Chapel
Colchester CastleiRoman Temple
Baikerne GatelWest Gate
48
Unit four
Glossary
agriculhue fanning
antiquities works of art remaining from
old times
ball a formal dance
besiege to attack
bow tie a tie made in the shape of a bow,
usually worn with a dinner jacket
bullet something fired from a gun
by-pass a road which goes round the edge
of a town, avoiding the town centre
cater for to provide facilities (shops,
hotels, etc) for
celery a kind of vegetable
cereal grains such as corn, wheat, oats and
barley
continental Europe Europe except the
British Isles
dawn (11) sunrise
delicatessen a shop that sells 'special',
usually non-British, food
dinner-jacket a man's black jacket worn on
formal occasions
dominated by agriculture mainly
fannland
drain (u) to reduce or get rid of water
exoression a ~ h r a s e
fan (n) an a&er,
supporter
fertile rich soil where things grow
easily
flood (u) to cover with water
floodlit lit with very strong lights
grounds large gardens of a house
hedge a line of bushes, often forming a
boundary between fields
inland waterway a system of rivers and
lakes joined together and not connect(:d
with the sea
itinerary a route
ironmonger a person who sells things
made of metal
joint a particular cut of meat
landmark usually a building that is easily
seen from a distance
location a position in the town
marquee a very large tent
mechanized farming fanning which makes
use of machines
oyster a kind of shellfish
preserved in good condition
prosperous rich, wealthy
quarter an area (of a town)
rebel (n) a person who rejects authority, eg
a government
recorded town a town described in old
books
remains the parts of an old building which
are left after it has fallen down or
disappeared
reputation what people say
restored repaired and modernized
retired too old to work
rural of the country
season the time when the oysters are ready
to eat
siege an attack
stilts long wooden poles with support for
the feet, desiened so that vou can walk
withou;you;feet touching the ground
sugar-beet a plant from which sugar is
made
tent a construction made of canvas, used
for sleeping in when camping
trail a path, a route that can be followed
TVpersonalities people who are famous
because they appear on TV
water tower a reservoir or tank for the
distribution of water in an area
weaver a person who makes cloth
webbed feet feet with the toes joined, eg
ducks have webbed feet
wildfowl wild duclis or geese
East Anglia
49
Birmingham is the most important city in
the Midlands, one of England's most
productive regions, with large industrial
areas such as the Black Country in the West
Midlands. However, there is also a lot of
fanning country, for example in the
counties of Shopshire, Worcestershire and
Leicestershire. This region has some
beautiful countryside in the Peak District
National Park, the Cotswold W s and the
Malvern Hills.
The Swan of Avon
We don't know how he earned his living
during these early years. He may have
helped his father in the family business or
he may have been a country schoolmaster
for a time. During these years his three
children were born: Susannah, the eldest,
then nvins - a son, Harnnet (not Hamlet!),
and another girl, Judith. In 1587
Shakespeare went to work in London,
leaving Anne and the children at home.
One story says this is because he killed
some deer which belonged to a rich
landowner nearby, and that he had to run
away from the law.
In April 1564a son was horn to John and
Mary Shakespeare at Henley Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon. His mother was the
daughter of Robert Arden, an important
farmer in Warwickshire. His father was a
rich citizen whose business was making and
selling leather gloves.
The parents did not guess that their son,
W i a m , was going to be such an important
figure in English poetry and drama, and
that his plays would still he acted four
hundred years later - not only in England,
hut all over the world!
While still a teenager of nineteen, William
married Anne Hathaway, a farmer's
daughter some years older than himself.
Shakespeare soon began to act and to write
plays. By 1592 he was animportant
memberof a well-known acGng company,
and in 1599 the famous Globe Theatre was
built on the south hank of the river
Thames. It was in this theatre that most of
his plays were performed and, like all
Elizabethan theatres, it was a round
building with the stage in the centre open to
the sky. Ifit rained, the actors got wet! If
the weather was too had, there was no
performance.
By 1603, the year when Queen Elizabeth I
died, Shakespearewas already the leading
poet and dramatist of his time. He
continued to write for the next ten years,
but in 1613he h a U y stopped writing and
went to live in Stratford where he died in
1616. He is buried in Holy Trinity Church,
Stratford-upon-Avon.
Ben Jonson, who lived from 1572 to 1637,
and who was also a famous writer of plays,
called Shakespeare 'Sweet swan of Avon'.
Shakespeare has been known as the 'Swan
of Avon' ever since.
LOOKAND PRACTISE
Can you say these dates?
1600
1608
1610
1621
1632
sixteen hundred
sixteen oh eight
sixteen ten
sixteen twenty-one
sixteen thirty-two
Aisle Hatlraway's cottage
The Hean of England
51
1
ASK
Askquestions to get these answers.
1 1564.
2 For four hundred years.
3 In 1583.
4 Susannah.
5 In the Globe Theatre.
6 In 1603.
7 In Holy Trinity Church.
8 Because it lies beside the River Avon.
BIRTH
Wherewas
1 1
Shakespeare
Elizabeth I
he born?
she
was born in
I
Stratford.
Greenwich
MARRIAGE
When did he get married7
Shakespeare got married at nineteen.
Who did he marry?
He married Anne Hathaway.
When did she get married?
Elizabeth I nevergot married,
DEATH
When did he die?
Shakespeare died in 1616.
When did she die?
Elizabeth I died in 1603.
Now talkabout these people in the same
way with a partner.
Marriage
Birth
Queen Vlctorla
London, 1819
I
Death
/
Sir Winston Churchill
Blenheim Palace, 1874
Albert of Saxe-Coburq
Clementine Hozier
Jane Austen
Steventon, Hampshire, 1775
-
1817
JohnLennon
Liverpool, 1940
Yoto Ono
1980
Henry Vlli
Greenwich Palace. 1491
1 Catherine of Aragon
2 Anne Boleyn
3 Jane Seymour
4 Anne of Cleves
5 Catherine Howard
6 Catherine Parr
1901
1965
1547
Birmingham
- the market place
Buying and selling has been an important
oar1 of Life in Birminaham for more than
iight hundred years.-1n fact men used to
sell their wives there as recently as the 18th
century! (In 1733 Samuel \~hi;ehousesold
his wife to Thomas Griffiths in Lhe marker
place for a little more than one poundl)
Although neither husbands nor wives are
for sale nowadays, Birmingham's markets
offer a large choice of other goods.
Years ago farmers used to sell their animals
ar the Bull Rine.
-,but now iris one of the
biggest open-air markets and shopping
centres in the United Kingdom. People
enjoy shopping there because it has modern
shops, together with the aunosphere of a
traditional street market.
Each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the
colourful rag market can be found. People
used to come to buy and sell old clothes
(rags) hut now there is a wide selection of
modem fashions for everybody.
Describe any famous markets you have
visited and the kinds of things you have
bought.
TALKING POINT
The Heart of England
53
A cathedral of our time
Covenny Cathedral. Thegreat entranceporch links the new cathedral to the ruins of the old
cathedral. On the wall is Epstein's famous statue ofSt Michael in triumph over the dmil.
In 1962 a magnificent new cathedral was
consecrated in Covenuy, and bishops and
archbishops from a l l over the world
attended. They came to see a cathedral of
our time, built using the skills and ideas of
our day.
During the Second World War, the old
cathedral had been destroyed in a terrible
night of bombs which killed many people in
the city. Only the walls of the cathedral
remained but people immediately made a
new altar 'kith the fallen stones. The altar
cross was made from burnt wood and nails
from the ruins. Immediately after the war, a
similar nail cross was taken to Kiel in
Germany as a sign of fiiendship, and a
stone from the ruins of Kiel Cathedral was
given to Coventry in return. This is the Kiel
Stone of Forgiveness, now in the Chapel of
unity.
Also after the war a group of young
54
Unit five
Germans helped to clear one corner of the
ruined cathedral.
Today this area is the Centre for
International Understanding where young
people of all nationalities can meet.
The new cathedral looks very modern, but
it is joined physically and spiritually with
the old. Together they remind us of the
madness of war.
TALKING POINTS
W h y do you think the ruins of the old
cathedral were left standing?
T h e title calls this a cathedral of ourtime.
Why? Can you think of more than one
reason?
*The author of this text writes of 'the
madness of war'. Do you agree? Is war
ever justified?
Oxford
Town and gown
There has been a town where Oxford now
stands for many centuries - even before
912, the 6rst written record of its existence.
The University began to establish itselfin
the middle of the 12th century, and by 1300
there were already 1,500 students. At this
time, Oxford was a wealthy town, but by
the middle of the 14th century, it was
poorer, because of a decline in trade and
because of the terrible plague, which killed
many people in England. Relations
between the students and the townspeople
and there was
were very
fiehtine in the streets. On 10th Februarv
1555, rhe festival of St Scholastica, a b a k e
began which lasted two days. Sixty-two
students were killed. The townspeople were
punished for this in two ways: they had to
walk through the town to attend a special
service on every St Scholastics's day until
1825. Worse &an this, the UniverGtywas
given conttol of the town for nearly 600
years.
Nowadays, there are about 12,000 students
in Oxford, and the University and the town
live happily side by side!
The Rover Groupfactory in Cowley.
City of dreaming spires
The best-known description of Oxford is by
the 19th cenw poet,
sweet city with her
who wrote about
dreaming spires,,
However, Ododordis not onlyfamous for its
architecture. In the 20th cennw. it has
developed quickly as an indus&& and
commercial centre. The Rover Group
factory at Cowley, for example, is an
important part of Britain's motor industry.
Sotne of thefanlous 0xfol.d colleges.
The Heart of England
55
It is also an importailt centre in the world of
medicine; it is the home of Oxfam, the
charity which raises millions of pounds to
help poor people all over the world; and its
airport contains Europe's leading airtraining school.
Oxford words
The Oxford English Dictionary is wellknown to students of English everywhere.
The new edition, published in 1989,
defines more than halfa million words,
and there are nventy volumes.
Some of the words are special Oxford
words. For example, 'bulldog' in Oxford is
the name given to University policemen
who wear bowler hats and sometimes patrol
the streets at night. They are very fast
runners. 'Punt' is a word often used in both
Oxford and Cambridge. It refers to a flatbottomed boat with sloping ends which is
moved by pushing a long pole in the water.
An Oxford 'bulldog'
Oxford University Press, the publishing
house which produces the Oxford English
Dictionary, has a special department called
the Oxford Word and Language Senice
(OWLS for short). If you have a question
about the meaning of a word or its origin,
you can write or telephone, and the staff
there will help you.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1 There was no town at Oxford before 912.
2 Oxford has always been a wealthy town.
3 The people of Oxford were punished for
the trouble with the students.
4 The University used to be more
importantthan the town.
5 Oxford is famous for its architecture.
6 Britain's motor industry is based in
Cowley.
7 The word 'bulldog' usually means
'policeman'.
8 Oxford is a city of contrasts.
Asking the way is easy. Understanding the
answer is much more difficult1 Here are
some replies. Can you say what the
question was? One of you should read the
replies while your partner looks a t the map.
1 You are standing outside Christ Church
College.
'Turn right towards Carfax. Continue in
the same direction until you get to the
Randolph Hotel. Then turn left and it is
immediately on your right.'
2 You are in Broad Street outside the
Sheldonian Theatre.
'Turn right and walkto the crossroads.
Keep straight on into Holywell Street and
continue down Longwall Street to the
High Street. Turn right and then first left
into Merton Street. Follow this and you
will find it on your left.'
3 You are in front of theTown Hall.
'Turn right at Carfax, and walk all the way
down High Street. You'll see it just
before the bridge, opposite Magdalen
College. It's about a ten-minute walk.'
4 You are on Magdalen Bridge.
'Follow High Street in the direction of
Carfax. Turn right intoTurl Street, and
then left into Market Street. Then it'll be
on your left.'
Now describe howto get to these places:
the hotel from the Cathedral, theTown Hall
from the Sheldonian, the Botanic Garden
from Jesus College, the deer park from
Blue Boar Street. Try and practise the
expressions you have just used.
The Heart of England
57
TALKING POINT
Britain has over 2,000 miles of canals, and
some of the most interesting can be found
in this area of England. In recent years,
canal boat holidays have become more and
more popular because they offer an
opportunity to see the countryside away
from the noise of busy roads.
Here is an advertisement for a canal cruiser
holiday. Discuss what you will need for
such a holiday and who you would like to go
with!
CASTLINE CRUISERS
Over 80 Boats Operating from 4 Bases
58
Unit five
Liverpool and the Beatles
On Wednesday 24th October 1962, Love
Me DO,entered the British Top Thirty. It
was the f i s t single by an unknown group
from Liverpool called the Beatles. It was
the f i s t of a number of big hits that would
make John Lennon, Paul McCarmey,
George Harrison and Ringo Starr the most
successful pop group the world has ever
known.
ASKAND ANSWER
The early years
However, the road to success was not
always easy. John and Paul had spent many
afternoons listening to American stars like
Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley before they
were able to write the famous Lennon and
McCarmey songs.
Bring this week's TopThirIy to class and
asksimilarauestions.
Look atthe hit parade then askand answer
questions like the following examples.
Whatwas number one? Telstar
two places?
Which
Venus in Blue Jeans by Mark Wynter.
.Which record came in at number 277 Love
Me Do by the Beatles.
Although the long evenings spent playing
in hot nightclubs in Liverpool and
Hamburg in Germany had not earned them
much money, they found the experience
very useful when playing to huge audiences
later on.
Not only was their style of singing new and
exciting but their unusual haircuts-Beatle
'mops'l -and crazy sense of humour
immediately became the latest fashion.
Influences
One of the most important people at the
start of their careers was Brian Epstein, a
Liverpudlian record-dealer. He managed to
change four ordinary working-class lads
into international superstars. George
Martin, their record producer, encouraged
them to introduce all kinds of unusual
instruments on their records and combined
popular and classical styles in a new and
original way.
The 1960s
During the 1960s the Beatles were always in
the news headlines; films, world tours and
sometimes scandal. John once suggested
that the Beatles were better known than
Jesus Christ. This caused hundreds of
young Americans to burn their Beatle
records. In addition some people thought
there were hidden messages about drugs in
some of the songs.
The Heart of England
59
Break-up
After a decade of successful music and
films, the B e a h finally decided to break
up in the early seventies, after public
disagreements about money and
personalities.
Althou~hmany fans h o ~ e dthere would be
a reunion ihro;ghour &e 1970s, this
became impossible with the tragic murder
of John Lennon in New York in 1980.
The sur\vi\ring Beatles are still deeply
in\wliredin musical and film projects, but
many fans srill long for the music of the 60s.
LOOK AND PRACTISE
Someone from Liverpoo is ca leo a
Liverpudt~an.f yo, come from rhe Ln'reo
Stares yol are ca .ed an Arnerkan.
Wnar do you ca. tne people wno come
from these rowns ano co~ntries?
1 Eng ano 2 Scorland 3 lrelano
4 D~bl'n 5 Greece 6 Spain
7 rlollano 8 France 9 Lonoon
10 Tne LSSR.
(You will find the answers on page 138.)
60
Unit five
ASKAND ANSWER
Afriend of yours is writing an article about
the history of pop music for a new rock
magazine. Helshe wants some information
on the Beatles. See if you can help himlher.
'
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Glossary
altar a special table at the front of a church
architecture art of designing buildings
bowler hats a roundish black hat with a
short brim
break up to separate
charity an organisation which helps
people, without making a profit
county an adminisuative area of the UK
cruiser a small pleasure boat with an
engine which has room for sleeping.
decade ten years
decline (n) a decrease
dramatist writer of plays
fans enthusiastic supporters
forgiveness willingness to pardon, not to
want to punish someone
get together to join, unite
headlines the most important pieces of
news in the newspaper or on TV or radio
hidden messages secret information
hit a successful record
lad a young man
leading most important
long (adv) for a long time
madness insanity
navigating steering a boat in the right
direction
paeol(v) to go round the streets to make
sure that everything is all right
plague a deadly disease carried by rats
pole a long rounded piece of wood or metal
run away from the law to run away from
the police
single a record with one song on each side
skius knowledge and experience; abilities
staff a group of assistants who work under
a manager
superstars extremely famous people in
entertainment
top thirty the 30 most popular songs based
on the sales of records in the shops
wealthy very rich
wharf a place to tie up boats and ships
working class belonging to the class of
people who work in manual labour eg in
factories
The Heart of England
61
This northernmost region of England
conrains some of the wildest and loneliest
parts in the country, but also some of the
busiest industrial centres. The Ice Age
formed many deep valleys in the counties of
Cumbria and North Yorkshire, made rivers
into waterfalls and left behind hills and
mountains. Beneath the earth is coal - the
foundation of the region's industry.
l r n bria
5,000 years of industry
There are four counties in the region of
Northumbria. They are Tyne and Wear,
Cleveland, Durham and Northumberland.
This is a region of great natural beauty
although industry of some kind has existed
here for thousands of years.
There was also an important textile
industry. Both Yorkshire with its wool and
Lancashire with its cotton were major
textile-producing areas at this time.
You can learn a lot about this period by
visiting an indusuial museum like the one
at Beamish.
Industry and the sea
There has been a fishing industry in
Northumbria probably since the middle of
the 13th century. Wooden ships were built
for fishing and for trading and this industry
grew and grew, particularly during the 18th
cennuy. By 1850 the building of iron
steamships became a major industry on the
rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees. One hundred
years ago a quarter of the world's ships
were built in Northumbria. Today,
sadly, this industry is disappearing.
TALKING POINTS
Would vou like to visit a museum like this?
Why?
a What would interest you most?
*Are museums generally boring?
How can they be made interesting?
Above is a picture of H.M.S. Warrior, the
world's first iron battleship. It is over 130
years old. Now it lies in Portsmouth
harbour, where it is open to visitors.
The Industrial Revolution
About 200 years ago a period of great
industrial growth began in Britain. This
growth was fed by coal and steam power.
During the 19th century the Northeast of
England led the world in many types of
heavy industry. You have already read
about iron steamships. In addition, there
were railway engineering, bridge building,
industrial machinery, and for the making of
all this - iron and steel production.
The Dales to the Border
63
LOOKAND PRACTISE
There is a major
shipbuilding industry in.. .
an important fishing
near.. .
textile
engineering
Coal is mined in . . .
Oil is refined near.. .
Iron and steel are produced i n . .
Chemicals are made near.. .
.
Cars are manufactured i n .
Work with a partner and take it in turns to
make similar sentences using the map and
the key opposite. Then write down all the
sentences you have made.
LOOK IT UP
1 Use the map on page 62 to label the
major rivers on this map.
2 Write in the names of the four counties.
3 Work with a partner. Askand answer
questions on your maps beginning with:
Where.. . 7 What's the name of.. . ?
Industrial misery
During the Industrial Revolution, many
people moved from the country to the
towns, where they usually lived in dirty and
overcrowded conditions. They worked long
hours for very little money. Even small
children had to work in the factories and
mines. Many writers, in particular Charles
Dickens, have written about their misery.
He wrote this description of one of the new
industrial towns:
'It was a town of red brick, or of brick
that would have been red if the smoke
and ashes had allowed it. It was a town of
machinery and tall chimneys out of
which smoke came for ever and ever. It
had a black canal in it and a river that ran
purple with bad-smelling dye.'
64
Unit six
Today the noise and smoke of factories
from the time of Dickens have been
replaced by modem industry, and the 19th
century slums have been cleared. But this
region- like many others - has been badly
aEected by the post-industrial recession.
Unemployment is very high, as it was in the
1930s when economic depression forced
men and women on to the dole queues, and
things became so bad that a hunger march
was organized from Jarrow to London. The
1980s have also seen dole queues and
unemployment marches from the North
towards London. Many of the traditional
heavy industries are disappearing, and the
region is developing new technological
industries to help it overcome its
difficulties. These include electrical
engineering, plastics, fine chemicals,
computers, and North Sea oil and gas.
TALKING POINTS
a Is unemployment a problem in your
country7
a Do you know anyone who is unemployed?
.What can be done to solve the problem?
1
The most beautiful corner of
England
The Lake District is the central
mountainous area of Cumbria in the
Northwest and has some of England's most
beautiful scenery. Several other names are
used to describe this area, for example
Lakeland, and the English Lakes. Since the
Lake District is a National Park, there is
special control over building, to make sure
that the beauty of the countryside is not
spoiled. Nearly one quarter of the Lake
District National Park is owned by the
National Trust.
The National Trust is a charity, which
means it is financed by ordinary people who
pay to become members. It is not financed
or run by the government.
The Trust was set up in 1895 by three
people who thought a a t industrialization
could spoil the countryside and ancient
buildings of England and Wales.
Today the Trust is the third largest
landowner in $e country. It owns about
586,000 acres (almost 2,400 sq. km.) of
land. Its properties include famous
gardens, whole villages, farms, wind- and
water-mills, lakes and hills, abbeys,
prehistoric and Roman antiquities
(including part of Hadrian's Wall),
important bird sanctuaries such as
Lindisfarne Island in Northumberland, and
examples of industrial archaeology.
The aim of the Trust is to conserve all these
things for our enjoyment.
TALKING POINTS
a Is there an organization in your country
that is similarto the National Trust?
a How important is it to conserve areas and
buildings?
a Can conservation stop progress?
The Dales to the Border
65
Ghosts of Yorkshire
The BrontEs of Haworth
The parsonage at Haworth is haunted. .
In one of the loneliest parts of the wild
Yorkshire moors lies the village of
Haworth.
People say the parsonage at Haworth is
haunted by the ghosts of the brilliant, tragic
Brontes. Along ancient streets, the ghosts
of the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and
Anne w a k among the crowds. Branwell,
their brother, still sits silently in the comer
of the old pub.
Imagination perhaps, but this is a place of
dreams. Lost in a world of windswept
loneliness, the Brontes wrote those 19th
cennuy stories that we still love to read:
Jane Eyre, WutheringHeights, The Tenant of
Wildfell Hall, are as dramatic today as ever.
And for miles around the moors, the grim,
grey stones remind us of their novels,
which take place in this wild countryside.
But fame came to them late, and this
talented family all died young: Branwell, a
ruined man; solitary Emily; gentle Anne
within months of her success. Charlotte was
the only one of the family to get married.
Tragically, she died before giving birth to
her 6rst child.
In spite of the sadness of their lives, the
Brontes have passed on their experience of
beauty and passion. In their novels, you can
breathe the atmosphere of the moors and
feel the powerful personalities of these
famous novelists.
66
Unit six
COMPLETE
Emily. Charlotte and Anne are the names of
three ... and Branwell was their brother.
Their ... was Bronte.They lived in a ... in
Haworth some time between the year ...
and the year 1900, and they are famous for
the ... which they ....Jane Eyre, Wuthering
Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hallare
... of their ....Their own story is sad
becausethey were all ...when they died
and only oneofthem was ever ....
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
LOOKAND READ
1 The author writes about the 'tragic'
Brontes. What words and phrases can
you find which give the idea of sadness
and tragedy? Example: 'loneliness'.
2 Notice the poetic effect of combining the
real, physical world with the world of
innerfeelings as in 'a place of dreams'.
Can you find another example?
3 Repetition of certain sounds can create
an atmosphere. Notice the repetition of
'I' and 'w' in 'lost in a world of
windswept loneliness'. Can you find
another example of alliteration (sound
repetition)?
Draculal
The Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby is a
busy little fishing port which has changed
little for the past 300 years. The town is
famous for its associations with Captain
Cook- the famous 18th century explorer and for one other thing. . .
From the old streets around the harbour
199 steps lead up to the church of St Mary.
It was the churchyard to St Mary's which
gave the writer, Bram Stoker, the idea for
his world-famous book Dracula.
For a long time people have believed that
creatures called vampires lived in Central
Europe. Vampires are dead people who
come back at night to drink the blood of
living people1
Dmcula, written in 1897, is the story of a
vampire from Transylvania who travelled
to England. When his ship was damaged in
a terrible storm, Dracula- the vampire jumped to land at Whitby in the shape of a
huge dog1
Then, the churchyard became a place of
horror!
The oldest ghost?
The city of York was an important centre
for the Romans, who built a camp where
York Minster stands today. During recent
excavations under the Minster a man who
was working there saw halfa Roman soldier
marching towards him. As the soldier came
nearer he saw the other half below the level
of the floor. Then he understood that the
man was walking at the level of the old
Roman Road. The soldier walked past and
slowly disappeared.
Mosr ghosts seem to die afier about four
centuries, but the ghost of the Roman
soldier in York is nearly nineteen hundred
years old!
TALKING POINTS
Do you know any ghost stories about the
area where you live? If so, tell them to the
class.
a Would you spend the night alone in a
haunted house? What would you take
with you?
a Do you believe in ghosts? Whylwhy not?
What about vampires?
The Dales to the Border
67
The historic city of York
Yorvik was the capital of a V i g
kingdom. In mediaeval times, York was
the second city of the land. Georgian York
was the social centre of the North,
Victorian York was an important railway
centre, and 20th cenrury York is, among
other things, the home of world-famous
chocolate and one of the most beautiful
cities in the world.
Think of York and then think of historic
things: battlements, glorious churches,
ancient narrow streets, old houses and
welcoming pubs where stories of ghosts are
told around the fire. Then visit York and
find these impressions true, even the ghost
stories!
As well as being an example of living
history, the city knows well how to show its
history to visitors. The National Railway
Museum's collection of steam trains and
Royal Carriages is world-famous. In the
Castle Museum one can imagine oneselfin
a 19th century world of Victorian streets,
shops, farmhouses and homes. York Story,
in Castlegate, is a lively museum showing
how the city of York grew during 1900
68
Unit six
years. In the newest museum visitors travel
in a special electric car (like a time machine)
through an original Viking street with the
sights, sounds and smells which a Viking in
York would have experienced.
Most splendid of all, of course, is the
magnificent Minster. It is the largest Gothic
cathedral in northern Europe and the most
important church in the North of England.
It is famous for its mediaeval stained glass
windows, and the interior is full of colour
and light. You can see the huge Minster for
miles. You can climb to the top of the
tower, go on a guided tour or take a trip
into history below ground, where you can
see the Roman remains.
Feeling energetic? Nothing could be better
than a walk along the top of the three-mile
city walls.
In today's York there is a festival of music
and the arts every summer, which includes
the famous miracle plays. These are the
religious plays which were performed in the
streets in mediaeval York and which are
still enjoyed in York today.
PUZZLE
Many streets in Yorn end n tne woro 'gate'.
I<e Cast.egare. 'Gate' was tne Vkng word
for 'street'. How many words can yo^ ma<e
from the erters in CAST-EGATE?
Glossary
associations connections
battlements a wall around a castle or town,
with holes to shoot through
causeway a raised road across water
churchyard a burial ground round a
church
conserve (v) to keep and protect
dole money given by the government to
unemployed people. 'To be on the dole'
or 'to join the dole queue' means to be
unemployed
dye (11) a chemical used to colour things
excavation digging to find old, historical
things
grim severe, unfriendly
haunt (v) to live in a house as a ghost
hunge; march (n) a wall<organized by
people who are protesting against
unemployment and hunger
mainland the main part of a country or
continent, without islands
mediaeval of the period of history between
1100 and 1500, theMiddle Ages
monastery a place where monks live as a
community
moor a wild, open, often high area
overcrowded with too many people
parsonage a house where a parson (priest)
lives
recession decline of business and trade
refine to make pure
ruined (adj) destroyed by failure, caused
for example by drinking too much
run (v) to organize, administer
sanctuary an area where birds, animals or
plants are protected from man and other
enemies
slums area of poor, dirty houses or flats
stained glass coloured glass
talented (a@ with a natural ability to do
something well
textile concerned with cloth
time machine a machine which takes you
into the past or future
vampire a dead person who drinks the
blood of living people
waterfall a river which falls over rocks or
cliffs
windswept without shelter from cold
winds
The Dales to the Border
69
The principal industries here are farming
and tourism. Although there are some very
big farms, most are small family farms
with a mixture ofcows, sheep and ccrcal
crops. The ma@ emphasis idon dairy
products -milk and butter. On Exmoor
and Dartmoor, two areas of higher land,
conditions are ideal for rearing sheep and
beef-cattle.
Industry is centred on three large ports:
Bristol in the north, and Portsmouth and
Southampton in the south-east. In Bristol,
aircraft are desimed and built. In
Portsmouth and~outhampton,the main
industries are shipbuilding and oil-refining.
Holiday time in the
West Country
The counties of Devon, Cornwall and
Somerset are often called the West
Country. They have always been popular
with holiday-makers, so there are a large
number of hotels, caravan- and campingsites and private houses and farms which
offer bed and breakfast. People enjoy going
there because of the beauriful countryside,
where they can 'get away from it all', and
because the coastline offers the best beaches
and surfing in England. Also, the weather is
usually warmer than in the rest of the
country!
The completion of two motonvays, the M4
from London and the M5 from
Birmingham, has meant that people can
travel to the West Country much more
easily nowadays. However, the amval of
large numbers of people at certain times of
the year (especially at bank holidays, when
almost everyone has a day off) can lead to
traffic jams on the motonvays going in and
out of the West Country. Then you may
find the pretty Devon lanes blocked by
cars pulling caravans!
The Southwest
71
West Country food
Do you enjoy eating local food? If you do,
you will like the West Country.
Most people who visit Devon look forward
to having a cream tea. This consists of a pot
of tea (of course!) and scones served with
strawberry jam and cream. The cream is
not the same as that found in the rest of the
country. It is called clotted cream, and it is
much thicker and yellower than ordinary
cream. What are scones? Well, here is a
recipe which you can try yourselves. By the
way, in Devon they are called 'chudleighs'.
Ifyou are still hungry you could try a
Cornish pasty!
Pasties used to be the main food of Cornish
miners and fishermen about 150 years ago,
because they provided a convenient meal to
take to work. They were made of pastry
which had either sweet or savoury fillings,
and were marked with the owner's initials
on one end. This was so that if he did not
eat all his pasty at once he would know
which one belonged to him1
Now a visit to Somerset, which has always
been famous for its cheeses. The most
popular variety is probably 'Cheddar',
which is a 6rm cheese. It usually has a
rather mild flavour but ifit is left to ripen, it
tastes stronger, and is sold in the shops as
'mature Cheddar'. It takes its name from a
small town which is also a beauty-spot wellknown for its caves, which contain
stalagmites and stalactites.
72
Unit seven
Finally, a West Counuy drink. No visit
would be complete without a pint of
Somerset cider, or 'Scrumpy' as it is called.
Cider is made from apples and is sold all
over the United Kingdom, but scrumpy is
much stronger, and usually has small pieces
of the fruit floating in it. Most people find
that they have to be very careful about how
WRITE
Write a recipe in the same way as the one
for scones. If possible, choose a local
speciality.
FOOD QUIZ
1 Why do you have to be careful about
drinking 'scrumpy'?
2 What is 'mature' cheddar?
3 How is ordinary cream different from
clotted cream?
4 Why were Cornish pasties popular with
workmen?
Magic circles
The county of Wiltshire is most famous for
the great stone monuments of Stonehenge
and Avebury, and the huge earth pyramid
of Silbury. No written records exist of the
origins of these features and they have
always been surrounded by mystery.
Stonehenge is the best known and probably
the most remarkable of prehistoricremains
in the UK. 11 has stood on Salisbury Plain
for about 4,000 years. There have been
many different theories about its original
use and although modern methods of
investigation have extended our
knowledge, no one is certain why it was
built.
One theory is that it was a place from where
stars and planets could be observed. It was
discovered that the positions of some of the
stones related to the movements of the sun
and moon, so that the stones could be used
as a calendar to predict such things as
eclipses.
At one time, people thought that
Slonehenge was a Druid temple. The
Druids were a Celtic religious group who
were suppressed in Great Britain soon after
the Roman Conquest. Some people believe
that they were a group of priests, while
others regard them as medicine-men who
practised human sacrifice and cannibalism.
The Southwest
73
Because Stonehenge had existed 1,000
years before the amval of the Druids, this
theory has been rejected, but it is possible
that the Druids used it as a temple. The
is
by members a
group called the 'Most Ancient Order of
Druids' who perform mystic rites at dawn
on the summer solstice. Every year,
meet at Stonehenge to greet the first
midsummer sunlight as it falls on the
stones and they lay Out symbolic elements
of fue, water, bread, salt and a rose.
b o t h e r intereshg theory is that the great
stone circle was used to store terrestrial
energy, which was then generated across
the country, possibly through 'ley lines'.
'Ley lines' is the name given to invisible
lines which link up ancient sites throughout
Britain. They were thought to be tracks by
which prehistoric man travelled about the
country, but now many people believe that
they are mysterious channels for a specid
kind of power. ~~y lines are international.
In Ireland, they are known as 'fairy roads',
in China they are known as lungn~eiand are
believed to extend all over the Earth, and in
Australia, the Aborigines make ceremonial
journeys for hundreds of miles along these
secret tracks.
WRITE
Write down the questions for these
answers.
1 Because there are no written records.
2 About 4,000 years.
3 Because of the way the stones were
arranged.
4 They were a Celtic religious group.
5 On t h e s u m m e r solstice.
6 Fire, water, bread, salt and a rose.
7 Fairy roads.
8 South Wales and north Wiltshire.
The text describes different theories and
stories about the origins of Stonehenge,
and about the people who used it. Look
carefully at the text and make a list of all the
theories, H~~~ are some examples:
Perhaps Stonehenge was a Druid temple.
It might have been used to store terrestial
energy.
Some people believe that the Druids were a
group of advanced thinkers.
Alongside the theories of the sch
local legends. Here is one.
Stonehenge was built by the devil
single night. He flew backwar
forwards between
Plain carrying the
setting them in place. As he worked, he
laughed to himself. 'That will make
people think. They'll never know how
the stones came here!' But a friar was
hiding in a ditch nearby. He surprised
the devil, who threw a stone which hit
the friar on the heel.
Is the story true? Well, the stone w
devil threw, known as the 'heel sto
still be seen by the si
However, geologists
stones came from South Wales and north
Wiltshire, not Ireland!
V
74
Unit seven
Offshore islands
There are between 120 and 130 offshore
islands which can be classified as part of
England's natural geography. Some are
privately owned, some are inhabited, while
others are only known to lighthousekeepers, sailors and naturalists. The
attraction of these islands is different to
different people. Ornithologists for
example might want to study a rare seabird;
archaeologists might be interested in a
prehistoric or early Christian site;
sociologists might study why certain islands
have been deserted or resettled.
Tlie Isle of Wight (1) is the largest island off
the south coast. Charles I was once
imprisoned here, and there is a large
prison, Parkhurst, on the island today. A
lot of its attractive scenery has formed as a
result of a thick layer of chalk- the white
teeth of the 'Needles' are the most famous
example.
Many of the inhabitants travel daily to the
mainland to work. Those who work on the
island are usually involved with the tourist
industry because the island is visited by
thousands of tourists every year. A
favourire activity is yachting.
T l ~ Isles
e of Scilly ( 2 ) can be found 28 miles
(45 km.)southwest of Land's End. There
are between 50 and 100 'islands' in the
group (some are just large rocks) but only
six are inhabited. In early spring, they
export beautiful flowers to the mainland.
StMichael'sMount (3) is linked to the
mainland at low tide by a causeway. It was a
base for the tin uade at one time and,
because of its religious connection with
Mont-Saint-Michel in France, it was also a
trading and migration centre from the
earliest days of Christianity.
Finally, between the coast of Devon nnd
South Wales is the island ofLundy (4),
which is three miles long and half a mile
wide. At one time it \sfasalmost a pirate
kinadom. bur todav it is a bird sancluarv.
w i i a reiiddet human population of ab&t
twelve.
The Southwest
75
The sea
- ships and sailors
The coastline of the Southwest of England
stretches for 650 miles (over 1,000 km.),
and has many different features: cliffs,
sand, sheltered harbours, estuaries and
marshes. It is not surprising tbat much of
the activity in this region has been inspired
by the sea.
Side by side on the south coast of
Hampshire are the two ports of Portsmouth
and Southampton. Portsmouth is the home
of the Royal Navy, and its dockyard has a
lot of interesting buildings and monuments.
There is also the Royal Naval museum,
where the main attraction is Horatio
Nelson's flagship, the 'Victory'.
Southampton, on the other hand, is a
civilian port for continental ferries, big
liners, and oil and general cargo.
Many great sailors had associations with the
West Counuy, for example Sir Walter
Raleigh, the Elizabethan explorer, and
Horatio Nelson, who lived in Bath in
Somerset. The most famous sailor of recent
times, was Sir Francis Chichester, who
returned to Plymouth after sailing round
the world alone in 'Gypsy Moth'.
76
Unit seven
In Bristol, to the north, one of the largest
Victoriansteamships,the'GreatBritain', has
been restored. It was the Erst iron oceangoing steamship in the world and was
designed by a civil and mechanical engineer
with the unusual name of Isambard
Kingdom Brunel(1806-1859). Henot only
designed three ships (including the first
transatlantic steamer, the 'Great Western'),
but also several docks and a new type of
railway that enabled trains to travel at
greater speeds. He also designed the first
ever tunnel underneath the Thames and the
Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Unfortunately, this coastline, in particular
that of Cornwall, is famous - or infamous in another way too. The 'foot' of Cornwall
has the worst of the winter gales, and in
recorded history there have been more than
fifteen shipwrecks for every mile of
coastline. There is even a shipwreck centre
and museum near St Austell where vou can
see an amazing collection of items &at have
been taken from wrecks over the years.
There are a lot of stories about Cornish
'wreckers' who, it is said, tied lanterns to
the tails of cows on cliff-tops or put them on
lonely beaches when the weather was bad,
so tbat ships would sail towards the lights
and break up on the dangerous rocks near
the coast. The wreckers would then be able
to steal anything valuable that was washed
up on to the shore.
GAME
'Shipwrecked'. Imagine that you have been
shipwrecked. Seven people have survived
but there is only room for four people in the
lifeboat.Work.in groups of seven. You must
each think of reasons why youshould have
a place in the boat and the others be thrown
into the seal (Oreach member chooses to
be a famous person and must explain why
they should survive.)Then tell the other
members of the group. Finally you should
all vote to decide who has the best reasons
for surviving!
A famous shipwreck
A shipwreck that has received a lot of
attention is the 'Mary Rose', which was
built at Portsmouth over 400 years ago on
the orders of Henry WI. He was watching
the ship sailing out with 60 others, when
suddenly she sank for no apparent reason.
Perhaps she was overloaded. Whatever the
reason, she sank within minutes, and
almost all of the 700 crew were drowned.
The ship lay undisturbed in soft mud until
the 1970s, when marine archaeologistsand
a team of divers began exploring the wreck.
They discovered that the hull was complete
and that there was a huge variety of
artefacts, for example clothes and shoes as
well as pottery and metal and wooden
objects.
The 'Maly Rose', and artefactsfound in her wreck.
WORDS
Here is a list of people and things they
studv. Match the aeoole in the left-hand
column with the subjects in the right-hand
column. Work with a partner and ask and
answer like this:
sociologists
animal life
geologists
living things
archaeologists people in groups
environment
The Southwest
77
Glossary
artefact something made by human beings
bakingpowder a powder used instead of
yeast to make cakes rise
Bank Holiday a public holiday
beauty-spot a place people visit because it
is beautiful
cannibalism eating human flesh
castor sugar very fine sugar
chaos great confusion
cliff a steep rock
deserted empty, lonely
devil the spirit of evil, Satan
ditch a narrow channel dug in a field
dough a mixture of flour and water or milk
eclipse (n) the disappearance of the light of
the sun or reflected light of the moon,
when the moon is between the sun and
the earth, or when the earth's shadow
falls on the moon
estuary the mouth of a river
friar a man who is a member of a religious
order
gale an extremely strong wind
gas mark a system for measuring
temperature in a gas oven
generate to produce and send
get away from it all to escape from the
noise and pressure of everyday life
heath area of sandy soil where you will
probably find heather (a plant)
hull the main body of a ship
infamous well-known for negative reasons
lantern a light out-of-doors
legend a story or folk-tale
lighthouse-keeper the person who looks
after the building with a Light which
warns ships
mainland a larger area of land in contrast
to small islands
78
Unit seven
.
marsh wet land
medicine-man a doctor in primitive
society
observe to watch careMIy
offshore a short way out to sea
pastry a mixture of flour and water, used
for pies
peninsula an area of land almost
surrounded by sea
pirate a person who robs ships at sea
rear (u) to bring up an animal
recipe instructions for preparing and
cooking food
ritelrihlal religious act($, usually
performed in a special order
savoury not sweet, salty
shipwreck a ship which has been
destroyed at sea, ofien on rocks
stalactite a long structute formed by
dripping water which hangs from the
roof of a cave
stalagmite like a stalactite, but it stands on
the floor of a cave
suppressed stopped by the law
surf to ride on top of the waves, balanced
on a long board
teaspoon a spoon used to stir tea
terrestrial of the earth or land
track a line or path
trafiic jam a long queue of cars, lorries,
buses, bicycles, etc
transatlantic steamer a large ship worked
by steam which crosses the Atlantic
Ocean
utensil a tool for use in the kitchen
washed up carried on to the beach by the
waves of the sea
At the beginning of the 6th century,
Scotland was ruled by Scottish kings and
queens, but was divided between different
groups of people. The Picu and Celts, who
were the oldest inhabitants, the Scots, who
came from Northern Ireland, the Blitons,
who were dsiven north by the Anglo-Saxon
invaders of England, and the Angles, who
originally came from what is now Germany.
The Romans had left two centuries earlier.
England and Scotland were finally united
when, in 1603, the son ofMary Queen of
Scots became James I of England. This was
because Mary's cousin Elizabeth I of
England had left no heir when she died.
Today Scotland is part of the United
Kingdom and is governed from London'
There is a special minister in the
Government, the Secretary of State for
Scotland, who is responsible for education,
local government and other important
matters in Scotland. Although the legal,
education and banking systems are slightly
different from those in England, life is very
similar to the rest of the United Kingdom.
All the inhabitants speak English although
about 100,000 still speak Scottish Gaelic.
Many of the Scottish accents of English are
very strong, and visitors from abroad (or
even England) sometimes have difficulty in
them!
Folk music
learn the 'ss well-lao- tra&tion~lsongs
and they still sing many of them today.
As well as singing, they play a variety of
instruments. The guitar is of course one of
themost important, but they also play the
mandolin and the penny whistle.
Rise and Follow Charlie! is-the title of one of
the most popular songs the McCalmans
sing. It dates from the time of the Jacobite
rebellions when Scotland fought her last
battle against the English.
In 1707 a special treaty united the
governments of Scotland and England.
The Protestant Church replaced the
Catholic Church as the ruling church in
Scotland.
However, many of the people who lived in
the Highlands and Western Isles did not
welcome this change. They still supported
the grandson of the Catholic James 11, who
had been exiled in 1688. His name was
80
Unit eight
Tlre McCali~zarrr.
Prince Charles Edward Stewart and he was
known as Bonnie Prince Charlie because he
was young and handsome ('bonnie').
Charlie spent twenty years in Rome
preparing to win back the Crown of Great
Britain for his father and himself, and then
returned to Scotland. The Highlanders
were very proud that he still spoke Gaelic,
and wore the traditional tartan kilt. In
1745, he landed in the Western Isles, then
with 2,500 men, he marched south to
Perth, Srirling and Edinburgh. There, on
17th September, his father was proclaimed
king of Scorland and England. Four days
later the Jacobites defeated the English
army at Prestonpans.
On 1st November Charlie led his men as far
south as Derby in England. However not as
many Jacobite supporters joined them in
England as they had hoped, and Charlie
decided to remeat. The Jacobites returned
to Scotland on 21st December and defeated
yet another English army at Falkirk on 17th
January 1746. By April, however, the
Duke of Cumberland had built up a huge
army of 9,000 Protestant soldiers from
England and Europe. On 16th April they
met Charlie's army of5,000 tired and
hungry men in the wind and the rain at
Culloden. There was a terrible and bloody
battle and the Jacobites were defeated.
Charlie wandered in exile in the Scottish
Highlands and in Europe. There was a
reward of £30,000 for his capture but the
Highlanders, though poor, never betrayed
the man they loved so much.
After the rebellion of 1745, the Highlanders
were forbidden to carry weapons, to speak
their own language, Gaelic, or wear their
own dress. Much of their land was sold by
the British government.
ANSWER
Look atthe map, and mark in Charlie's
journey. Describe what happened at each
dace, and the date when it took place.
SING
There are many songs like the McCalmans'
Rise and Follow Charlie! that tell Charlie's
sad story. The best known is Charlieis My
Darling.
Charlie is My Darling
CHORUS
Oh! Cl~arlieis n y darling,
M y darlirrg, 1ny darling,
Oh! Clrarlie is tty darling,
Theyoung Chevalier.
'Twas on aMo1tday ntontiltg,
Rigltt early in theyear,
Wlten Charlie cante to our town,
TI~eyoungCl~evalier.Oh!
CHORUS
A s he cante ntarchi?rgup the street,
The pipesplayed loud a~tdclear,
And tlte folk cante ninnittgout,
CHORUS
T o ttreer the c/levalier. Oh!
Tlrey've lefi tlreir botorie Higl~landIrills,
Their wives and bainries dear,
To draw tl~esword for Scotland's lord,
Tl~eyoungChevalier. Oh!
CHORUS
Beating the 'Sassenachs'!
Relations between England and Scotland
today are very good but sometimes there
are problems at sporting events between the
two counuies. At the end of every football
season England plays Scotland, and every
two years the game is played at the famous
Wembley Stadium in north London. Some
Londoners, however, are sure that the
Scots have never really forgotten that
terrible defeat at Culloden. They believe
that the uip to London is part of the
Scottish revenge on the 'sassenachs'- the
Scottish name for the English or 'AngloSaxons'!
Scotland versus England.
N . Irelaizd versus Eire.
Although England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland have their own national
football teams, in the Olympic Games
there is only one team that represents the
United Kingdom. The athletes from the
four countries work together as one team
to win for Britain. If they win a medal, all
four countries are equally proud. This
means, of course, that it is very r n c u l t for
Britain to send a football team to compete
in the Games!
Ian Ruslr (Wales).
TALKING POINT
English football fans have a very bad
reputation in Europe fortheir behaviour.
What in your opinion causes football
hooliganism, and how would you prevent
it?
82
Unit eight
The Highland games
The games which are now celebrated in the
Highlands first started in Celtic times and
were always held in front of the king.
Competitions were held to find the
strongest and fastest men to be body-guards
and messengers. Essential to the modem
games are the events such as putting the
stone, throwing the hammer and tossing the
caber.
Other events include running and jumping,
as well as competitions for playing the
bagpipes and dancing traditional Highland
dances.
The games held in the northeast are best
known for the athletic events, whilst the
best -Diving
- - is traditionallv found in the
Highlands and Islands oifthe west coast.
Tossing the caber.
Tattoo spectacular
perform under floodlights. They are
surrounded on three sides by an audience of
9,000. On the fourth side is the castle itself
which provides an exciting setting for the
evening's performance of military music,
marching and other spectacular displays.
The name tattoo has an interesting origin.
Traditionally soldiers were told to return to
the living-quarters each night by a beat of
the drum which sounded like 'tat-too'.
After this rime the pubs would serve them
no more whisky!
On the final night of the display the sky is
filled with the bright colours of exploding
fireworks.
WORDS
The Edinburgh military tattoo takes place
every August and September, and is known
throughout the world. For 90 minutes on
five or six nights a week, 600 people
The athletic events at the Highland games
are traditional, and not included in the
modern Olympic games. What are the
names of the different Highland events?
Compare them with the athletic events at
the Olympics.
Scotland
83
Welcome to the Festival
At the same time as the tattoo, you can go to
the famous Edinburgh festival. Since i t
started in 1947, the festival has had the aim
of bringing to Scotland's capital the finest
performers and productions from a l l over
the world.
WHATSHALL WE DO?
A
B
A
B
Lookat this section from the firstweek's
Programme. Discuss what you want to do
with a friend and make plans using the
conversation to help you.
84
Unit eight
What shall we do on Monday?
How about going to a concert7
O.K. What's on?
Well, there's a piano concert on at he
Queen's Hall.
A Fine. I'll see you outside just before it
starts.
B O.K. at 10.45 then.
A tragic queen
Prince's Street is Edinburgh's shopping
centre and it runs parallel with the Royal
Mile which goes from the Castle to
Holyrood House. This is the residence of
the Queen when she is in Edinburgh and it
was also the scene of one of the most famous
murders in Scottish history.
ASK
Find the questions forthese answers.
1 One end of the Royal Mile.
2 The Queen.
3 In France.
4 Because she was a Catholic in an
increasingly Protestant nation.
5 Rizzio.
6 9th March 1566.
WORDS
Describing people.
Match these adjectives with their
definitions. Most of them come from the
passage.
Maty Queen of Scots.
Mary Queen of Scots had been brought up
in France, and returned to Scotland in
1561. She was a Catholic in a country that
was becoming more and more Protestant.
This meant that all her life she was involved
in religious and political struggles.
Mary made many mistakes in her life. The
fust real one was her marriage to Henry
Lord Darnley in 1565. He was handsome
and ambitious but at the same time vain,
self-indulgent and weak. Their love did not
last. Darnley became suspicious ofMary's
Italian secretary, David Rizzio. On 9th
March 1566, while Mary and her friends
were having supper at Holyrood House,
Darnley and his friends broke into the
dining room, dragged Rizzio outside and
stabbed him to death. The spot where this
took place can still be seen today.
Mary continued to live an unhappy life and
was exiled for many years in England. Her
cousin Elizabeth I of England had always
been suspicious of her and decided that her
worries would stop only when Mary was
dead. Therefore, in 1587, she &ally
ordered that Mary should be executed.
People who..
.
wantto bevery successful
don't like working
are over-interested in their appearance
are only interested in themselves
have a very strong will
find meeting people difficult
like attacking people ortheir ideas
give way to their own desires too easily
don't trust others
always believe that only good things will
happen
Do any of these words describe you or your
friends?
Scotland
85
Scotland seen from abroad
Caroline from
FRANCE
CAROLINE
IGNARD.
20,
of
chasseneuil,
in south-west France,
works as an a u pair in Dundee, where s h e
is
taking a course in English.
she hopes to go,to univcrrity eventwdIi~
and study English ilterature.
Said caroline: -1 love Scotland and the
people I live with are very good to m,c. ,
-1 am an
~hild.My parents live in abls
hnllEe - in fact most people in our
Own
their own houses.
not very fond of Dundec - I prefer
~dihur~h.
-me scots are nice, though. AS Soon as
they find out you're from France they become
,,.:
- friendly and helphi. They seem to
French people.
,.probably the biggest difference is in the
,
::
~t~~terrible herel"
/
"i;
,
a.
TALKING POINTS
Would you like to live in Scotland?What
work would you do? What subject would
you like to study at university?Why?
a Pubs close a t 10.30p.m. or ll.OOp.m. in
Scotland. Do you thinkthis is too early?
Why?
TALKING POINT
The people of Ferness have to choose
between theirtraditional way of life or a
quickand easy profit1What advice would
you give them?
Write down the advantages and
disadvantages of the oil industry and decide
on what would be the bestthing for them to
do.
86
Unit eight
Life on the rigs
Men working on the North Sea Oil rigs off
Scotland's east coast can earn large
salaries, but life can be very dangerous.
Men work either for seven or fourteen
days, with the same time back on land
when they have finished their working
period. At the end of each 12 hour day
they normally return to their cabins, which
are shared by two or four men. There is
usually a lot for men to do in their free
time with gymnasiums, video libraries,
and a large supply of books all being
available. The work is secure, and men
earn enough money, almost £30,000 a
year, to buy expensive homes in the
atuactive villages around Aberdeen. Many
workers do not mind the long hours on the
rigs because they have several days onshore, whicb they can spend with their
families. Alcohol is not normally allowed,
and smoking is only permitted in some
areas on the ries.
problems in raising the damaged living
quarters from the sea bed.
Many people are now worried about the
safety of these oil platforms and the
government bas asked for a special report.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1 Men generally like working on the rigs.
2 There is very little to do during free time
on the rigs.
3 Many of the workers live near Aberdeen.
4 The lonc~hours on the rios mean that
men haie longer periods at home with
their families.
5 Piper Alpha pumped only oil.
6 The explosion happened just after lunch.
7 More than two hundred men were killed.
8 The government has closed down all the
oil rigs.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
PUZZLE
9
1
2
However, there is always the risk of fire
and on Wednesday 6th July 1988, the
Piper Alpha oil rig, situated about 150 km.
north-east of Wick in Scotland, blew up
and caught fire immediately. Almost 190
men were killed in this tragedy, and there
followed a large emergency rescue
operation in the North Sea. Many workers
jumped into the sea from the burning
platform and were picked up by
helicopters and small boats. The 100m.
high platform was hit by an enormous
explosion at about 9.30 p.m. and quickly
caught fire. It is believed that the explosion
was caused by a fault in one or the gas
pipes. Piper Alpha was d r i i g for natural
gas as well as oil. It took a long time before
the fire was put out, and there were many
Read the text and complete the puzzle.
1 Onthesea2
gas.
3 Men don't m t h e long hours.
4 The damaged q u a r t e r s .
in the gas pipe.
5A
up by helicopters.
6 Men were
7 Where the men sleep.
is permitted in some areas.
8
9 The men are f
o
r oil and gas.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
Scotland
87
Glasgow
Glasgow in the 1890s.
Background
Glasgow used to be called the 'dear dirty
city', as its leading role during the
industrial revolution of the nineteenth
century caused a great deal of pollution.
Standing on the River Clyde, 32
kilometres from the sea, it is the largest
city in Scotland and the chief centre in the
Strathclyde region. During the nineteenth
century, its population increased almost
ten times as people moved from the poorer
Highlands and Islands to work in the
expandingindustries. Today, 800,000
people live there.
To allow the industries to grow during the
nineteenth century, the River Clyde was
widened. This allowed large ships from all
over the world to sail into the heart of the
city. Today many of the shipyards have
closed and some traditional manufacturing
industries have been replaced by the 'hightech' electronics industries.
Although it used to be a very dirty river,
the Clyde is now much cleaner. Recently,
Scotland's most famous fish, the salmon,
88
Unit eight
has been seen swimming once again in the
heart of the city. Glaswegians themselves
are discovering the beauty of their once
filthy and overcrowded buildings though
careful cleaning and restoration.
Perhaps because it has known so many
hard times, it is one of the friendliest
places in the world and is sometimes called
'the friendly city'.
The Arts
Glasgow is the home of the Scottish
National Orchestra, the Scottish Opera
and Scottish Ballet. These last two are
based at the maflcent Theatre Royal. It
has many smaller theatre companies, and
the Kellingrove galleries contain the finest
art collection in Britain outside London.
The Peoples' Palace, which was opened in
1898, has displays which uy to reflect the
lives of ordinary people. Not only are there
memories of famous sportsmen and once
popular theatres, but also sad reminders of
life during the Industrial Revolution and
records of those who tried to improve
conditions for ordinary working people.
Glasgow ill the 1980s.
WORDS
Find the eight words connected with
shipping, which are hidden in the word
circles. They may start anywhere and go
clockwise or anti-clockwise.
(You will find the answers on page
. - 139.)
The Tlzealre Royal, Glasgow.
Scotland
89
Education
At secondary schools in Scotland, pupils
may study as many as six subjects up to the
age of eighteen. In England, usually only
three subjects are studied during the last
two years of school, the sixth form. Most
Scottish Universities offer a four-year
undergraduate degree course whereas, in
England, the first degree course only lasts
three years.
Three of its eight universities were
founded in thcfifteenth century, and a
fourth in the siureenth. They are thus
much older than anv of the Enelish
universities, other than ~ x f o r z a n d
Cambridge.
Money
Although you can use the same money
anywhere in the United Kingdom, only
the Royal Bank of Scotland still prints onepound notes.
James Watt (1736-1819)
I t is said that James Watt developed his
idea for the steam engine by watching a
boiling kettle in his mother's kitchen and
seeing how the steam pushed things out!
He Jirst became interested in machines,
working as an ordinary mechanic at
Glasgow University, which had been
founded centuries before in 1451. His
interest in the steam engine turned it into
one of the most powerful and important
machines in the Industrial Revolution.
Throughout his life, he could not stop
inventing all kinds of machines, some of
which were still being used earlier this
century.
0 UlZ
Who invented.. .7
1 the electric battery
2 the telephone
3 the motor car
4 centigrade
5 the jet engine
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
90
Unit eight
The Highlands
The Scottish Highlands contain some of
the most magnificent scenery in Europe,
and the landscapes of northern Scotland
form one of the truly 'wild' areas of
Britain. Larger than East Anglia and the
South-East of England put together, it is
remarkable that the population is so small
and concentrated in the towns. However,
many of the places in the Highlands have
not always been as deserted as they are
today.
Many people left their small houses (called
crofts) in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries to find work in the large towns.
But others were told to leave by cruel
landlords who wanted to use their land for
sheep-farming and deer-hunting. The old,
the young and even the sick were rhrown
out of their homes. They had to move to
the towns, go abroad or live in some of the
newer villages on the Western Coast. They
were not protected against these
'clearances' until a law was introduced in
1886.
Nowadays, 'crofters' may often have other
part-time work, as well as looking after the
land around their croft.
Whisky
A typical sight in many Highland valleys or
glens are the white buildings ofthemalt
whisky distilleries. No two malt whiskies
are the same, and the tastecannot he copied
anywhere else in the world, as thc watcr
comes from the local hills. Whiskv was first
produced in Scotland in 1494andformany
years there was alot of smugglingto avoid
paying taxes. There aremore than 100 malt
whisky distilleriesin the Highlands andit is
not surprising that the wordCScotch'
(Scottishisused to describe someone or
something from Scotland) is used to mean
whisky throughout the world.
TALKING POINT
Would you preferto live in a town or in the
country? Give five reasons for your choice.
WRITE
Write down as many diferent drinks as you
can think of. How are they made?
Scotland
91
Clans and tartans
popular until the beginning of the 18th
century.
Each clan has its own tartan and, since the
first international gathering of the clans in
1972, many more people have become
interested in maditional forms of Scomsh
dress. Tartans are now part of international
fashion. However, many visitors to
Scotland are keen to 6nd out ifthey have
historical connections with any particular
clan so that they may proudly wear the
correct tartan.
LOOKAND PRACTISE
Tartans are described as coloured checks.
Describe the clothes of yourfriends. Use
these words to help you:
high-/low-lv-/round-necked
cotton, wool, silk, nylon, leather
plain, checked, striped, spotted
fashionable, old-fashioned
loose-/tight-fitting. casual, formal
pointed, round, short, long
TALKING POINT
What do you think of modern fashions7
What clothes do you enjoy wearing? Give
your reasons.
Scottish names
Many people in Scotland have the name
MacDonald or MacKenzie. 'Mac' means
'son o f and people with this name usually
feel they belong to the same family or clan.
Campbell or Cameron are other common
surnames. Common boys' names are
Angus, Donald or Duncan, and girls'
names are Morag, Fiona or Jean.
The names Jimmy and Jock are so common
that many English people call a man from
Scotland 'a Jimmy' or 'a Jock'l
92
Unit eight
Scottish festivals
Hogmanay
At midnight on 31st December throughout
Great Britain people celebrate the coming
of the new year, by holding hands in a large
circle and singing this song:
Boil f i e livevmd o ~ ~ i o y ~u u, r
for40 &;*later. D-,
and
keep fie Li%uid. M;ace#e
f i f i e ~and
, ckopffie
( 6 ~
hve*
OL~;OM
'For auld lang syne' means 'in memory of
past times' and the words were written by
Scotland's most famous poet, Robert
Bums. He wrotemuch of his poetry in the
Scots dialect.
New Year's Eve is a more important festival
in Scotland than it is in England, and it
even has a special name. It is not clear
where the word 'hogmanay' comes from,
but it is connected with the provision of
food and drink for all visitors to your home
on 31st December. In addition, many
people believe that you will have good luck
for the coming year if the f i s t person to
enter your house after midnight is a 'tall
dark stranger'. It is also thought lucky if
this person brings a piece of coal and some
white bread1 Most Scots take part in a
ceilidh (Gaelic for 'dance') on New Year's
Eve and there is much dancing and singing
until the early hours of the morning.
Scottish words
Burns' Night
25th January is celebrated all over the
world by Scotsmen wherever they are, as it
is the birthday of Robert Bums. As at
hogmanay, a special meal of haggis,
potatoes and turnip is eaten, washed down
by lots of whisky! The haggis is carried into
the dining room behind a piper wearing
traditional dress. He then reads a poem
written especially for the haggis!
Many Scottish people still use some
Scottish words when they speak English.
'Wee', meaning small, is often heard in
such expressions as 'wee laddie1- small
boy. 'A bonnie lass' is a pretty girl and a
'bairn' is a young child. If someone answers
your questions with 'aye' they are agreeing
with you: 'aye' means yes. Finally, if you
are offered a 'wee dram' be careful: you'll
be given some whisky to drink and you will
probably have to drink it all in one go!
Scotland
93
Glossary
accent ( 7 1 ) d way of pronouncing English
all in one go without tolung a breath \\,bile
drinking
auld old
background past, ancestry
bagpipes musical instrument with air
stored in a bae held under the arm
ban (v) to forbid; stop
beat (?I) the noise of the drum
behave oneself not to cause a dismrbance
betray to bepnfaithful to
bloody where many people are killed
break into to use force to enter a place
bring to mind to remember
build up to increase the number
the Crown the right to be king or queen
date from (v) to have existed since
draw (v) to attract
dress (n) national costume
execute to be killed on the orders of a
aovernment or iudee
Boodlights large ighkused for lighting a
big area
folk group a band which plays traditional
music of a country (folk music)
heir someone who has the legal right to
receive money or property or a tide
when someone dies
highlander a person who comes from or
lives in the Scottish Highlands
hooliganism activity of hooligans: rough,
noisy people who cause trouble by
fighting and breaking things
Jacobite supporter of King James I1
kilt a tartan skirt worn by men in the
Scottish Highlands
loose not tight-fitting, large
mandolin a musical instrument with 6 or 8
metal strings and a rounded body
94
Unit eight
marmalade jam made oforanges
oatmeal ground oats used to make
porridge and oatcakes
oil-field an area where petroleum is found
penny wbistIe a simplecheap musical pipe
piping playing the bagpipes
~roclaimto make known officiallv
putting the stone a sport in which n heavy
stone is thrown as far as possible
quarters the place where soldiers live
while in the army
rebellion fighting against someone in
power, usually a government
retreat (v) to go back
rise (v) to stand up, leave one's home
self-indulgent giving way to one's own
desires very easily
setting surroundings, place where
something happens
s o long as if, on condition that
spot the exact place
stab (v) to push a knife into
suet animal fat used in cooking
three part harmony singing three voices
singing together
tight-fitting fitting close to the body
toss the caber to throw a log of wood as far
as possible
treaty an agreement
hlmip a root vegetable
vain having a high opinion of one's looks
wander to go from one place to another
without a real purpose
wash down to swallow liquid with
something
we'll take a cup of kindness yet we'll
drink to our friendship
1
I
Wales is approximately 150 miles (242 l a . )
from north to south. About two-thirds of
the total population of 2.8 million people
live in the South Wales coastal area, where
the three biggest towns are located:
Swansea, Cardiff and Newport.
The Welsh are very proud of their language
and culture. These are best preserved in the
north and west of the country, for in the
south and east they have been more
challenged by industrialization. The west
coast, mid Wales and North Wales are wild
and beautiful!
Although visitors don't need passports to
cross the border from England into Wales
they soon realise that they are entering a
country with its own distinct geography,
culture, traditions and, of course, language.
Language
Welsh is one of the Celtic languages, like
Scottish and Irish Gaelic. It is estimated
that Welsh is spoken by 16 to 20 per cent of
the population, although in North and
West Wales 50 per cent speak the language.
The Welsh Language Act of 1967 said that
all official documents should he in both
languages, and most road signs are printed
in English and Welsh.
as a hrst or second language. Since 1982
there has also been an independent fourth
TV channel broadcasting mainly in Welsh.
Since the 1960s there has been increased
interest in Welsh. At secondary schools
almost 50 per cent of all pupils learn Welsh
Although not many Welsh words are wellknown in England, the word eisteddfodis
understood by almost everybody. This is
the Welsh name for an annual competition
where people meet to dance, sing and read
poems. Usually, only Welsh is spoken and
in recent years they have attracted people
who wish to protest against the influence of
English on the Welsh language and culture.
ANSWER
TALKING POINTS
1
2
3
4
a Why do people get so angry about
Why were the demonstrators arrested?
Why did they choose pictures of castles?
What were they protesting about?
How does the purchase of holiday
homes in Wales affectthe Welsh
themselves?
5 How would the organizers of the
eisteddfodprefer young people to
express their protest?
96
Unit nine
language? What can it represent?
Some people argue that it would be a
good idea if everybody in the world learnt
a common language such as Esperanto.
Do you agree?
*The organizers of the eisteddfodasked
the young people to 'discuss problems
ratherthan destroy property'. Is
discussion alwaysthe best way to solve a
problem?
His tory
To understand the feelings of the
demonstrators, we should look briefly at the
history of Wales.
The Celts who had &st arrived in Wales in
the 6th and 7th centuries Bc were defeated
by the invading Romans in 43 AD. The
Romans also lcilled large numbers of
Druids, the Celtic religious leaders, who
had formed communites in the north and
on the island of Anglesey.
gave the Welsh the freedom which the
English already enjoyed. Since the 16th
century Wales has been governed from
London and in 1978 the Welsh voted by a
large majority against a separate Welsh
Parliament. In today's Government there is
a special department and minister for
Welsh affairs.
In the 5th and 6th c e n ~ r i e AD
s many
European saints uavelled to WnIes as
Christian missionaries. Their names arc
remembered in some present-day Welsh
place names. St Teilo and St Cyhi are
remembered by Llandeilo and Llangybi.
Llan is the Welsh word for an area where a
church stands.
The Saxons pushed the Welsh further and
further towards the west until, in the 8th
century, a Saxon king called Offa built a
long ditch to keep them out of England!
This ditch or dyke is 167 miles (269 km.)
long and follows the line of much of today's
border for most of the way. Then came the
Normans who built enormous castles to
protect themselves from attack from the
west. Caerphilly Castle, 6 miles (10 km.)
north of Cardiff, was one of the strongest in
Europe. Even Oliver Cromwell, during the
EnglishCivilWar,was unable tohlowit up!
Caerna$en Castle, 1969-A neu Prince of
Wales.
The Welsh fought for many years to win
back their freedom. The Welsh king,
Llewellyn the Great, tried to unite his
people against the English, hut his
grandson, Llewellyn the Last, was finally
defeated in 1282. The English built great
castles ar Harlech and ~ a i m a r f o na, i d in
1301 Edward I of England made his eldesr
son Princc of \Vales. This tradition has
been kept until the present day and in 1969
a similar ceremony took place again. The
present Queen made her eldest son,
Charles, Prince of Wales at Caernarfon
castle.
~~~
In 1536 Henry VILI brought Wales under
the English parliament through a special
law. He insisted on the use of English for
official business, but at the same time he
Wales
97
Life in the Valleys
A lypical Soutlz Wales minirzg row71, around 1910
team was thought to be the best in the
world. The rules of the game are rather
complicated but mainly involve the
canying of an egg-shaped ball over your
During the industrial revolution of the 18th
opponents' line and pressing it firmly on
and 19th centuries, the valleys of South
the ground to score a ny. A team consists of
Wales became the iron and steel capital of
fifteen players, eight of whom are usually
the world. The small villages that grew up
much bigger and heavier than the rest.
around the pits and steel works developed
Their job is to win the ball so that the rlrreetheir own special character. When people
qziarceten can run forward over the line,
speak of life in the valleys they are usually
trying to avoid the tackles of the opposing
thinking of a particular Welsh way of life
team. Often the heavierfo~wardscan be
where families stay very close together and
seen pushing together in a so-n~rr,uying to
villagers are very proud of their traditions.
luck the ball backwards. Although the
In particular the valleys are famous for
game seems to be similar to American
producing male voice choirs, and rugbyfootball, the players are not allowed to
players.
throw the ball forward. Other points can be
won bv kickinn the ball between the suecial
The Rhvmnev and the Rhondda are two of
the bestknown South Wales vallevs.
'H'-shBped
- goal-uosts.
- .
Standing high on the hillsides, YOU can 1001~ men the Welsh side are playing at home at
down and see the linesof terraced houses
CardiffArt~uPark their supporters often try
on the riverbanks. Some pits are now open
to encourage them to play bener by singing
to the public so that visitors can see for
the Welsh National anthem, Land o f M y
themselves just what the life of a miner is
Fathers, The sound ofthousandsof welsh
like.
voices singing this famous song usually
The Welsh national game
helps the Welsh side to score another u y to
Rugby Union is the national game of
win the game. Naturally they are especially
pleased when this is against the English!
Wales, and during the 1970s the Welsh
Mining has been one of the great Welsh
industries for many years along with the
iron and steel trades.
98
Unit nine
PRACTISE
Describe the rules of any games that you
know. Say what the players have to doto
score points and what they are notallowed
to do.
'I
order.
-
MODERN lour-bedroomed detached house,
on large estate.
-
LOOKAND PRACTISE
SEMI-DETACHED three storey older-style
property, in need oi some repair.
You want to buy a house. Which house
would you like to live in?
4
Many British people own theirown houses.
A detachedhouse stands on its own, whilst
semi-detached houses are built in pairs.
Terraced houses are built in rows. If many
houses are built in a new part of a town, this
is called a housing estate.
SMALL terraced cottage in good decorative
BUNGALOW with large garden.
MODERN terraced house lor first-time
buyers. A bargain.
-
-
SEMI-DETACHED three bedroomed iarn~ly
houses. N e w t o m estate.
The Welsh and their words
The traditional culture in Wales has always
placed special emphasis on the reading of
poetry and the singing of choirs. In the 19th
century there was a powerful puritan
religious movement that preached a good
andsimple life. In the chapels the oratory of
the preacher and the strong singing of male
voice choirs were used to win the hearts of
the people and rum them away from bad
living.
the poor led him to start the first national
insurance scheme and system of old-age
pmsions. These were the foundation of the
present day National Health Service and
other forms of social welfare.
Politicians
This Welsh understanding of the power of
words lies behind a fine tradition of radical
and eloquent politicians who have
contributed a great deal to British politics
since the beginning of the century. David
Lloyd George, although horn in
Manchester of Welsh parents, was brought
u p in Wales. He entered the House of
Commons at the age of nventy-seven as a
member of the Liberal Party.
After holding various government offices,
he became the first Welsh Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom in 1916, a post he
held until 1922. His interest in the old and
David Lloyd George.
Like other Welsh politicians in the Labour
party, he is against a separate Parliament
for Wales. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh
Nationalist Party, was very angry when he
voted against this in 1978. Like Foot and
Bevan before him, his roots lie firmly with
the ordinary people of the Welsh valleys,
and he feels that separate government
would not really help them a great deal.
Equally inspired by fairness and justice,
Aneurin Bevan, who had worked in the
coal-mines of South Wales as a boy, became
one of the most powerful speakers ever
known in the House of Commons. His
battle with authority began when he led the
miners in the general strike of 1926. He
stood for Parliament as an independent
Labour candidate in 1929 and by 1931 was
the official Labour MP. During the Second
World War he was famous for his long and
bitter arguments with Winston Churchill
about matters of government policy and
defence. In 1948, as Minister of Health in
the new Labour Government, he
established the National Health Senrice to
ensure that both rich and poor have the
same health care. His commitment to the
poor, together with his willingness to
debate every issue with the opposition
party, inspired many post-war Labour
MPs.
ANSWER
1 For how many years was Lloyd George
Prime Minister?
2 What is he best remembered for?
3 What was Aneurin Bevan's most
important contribution to British politics?
4 Why were Welsh Nationalists angry in
19787
TALKING POINTS
Should the Government of a country be
responsible for health care or should there
be some form of private insurance? If you
can pay, should you be first in the queue
for special medical treatment?
*Wales voted against having its own
separate Parliament. Why do you think
this happened? Are there any regions in
yourown country that would like their
own government?
I
Aneutin Beunn.
His successor in the constituency of Ebbw
Vale was Michael Foot, who, although he
never became Prime Minister, is famous for
his speeches in the House of Commons and
for his role as Minister of Employment in
the Labour governments of the 1970s. His
role as leader of the Labour party was taken
over in 1983 by Neil Kinnock, another
radical Welshman. He was born in
Tredegar, the same village as Aneurin
Bevan, and would be happy to think he was
carrying on the same political rradition.
100
Unit nine
A poet
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea and
worked in London as a journalist writing
radio and 6hn scripts at the same time. One
of his most famous radio plays, UnderMilk
IVood, has been adapted for the stage and
performed all over the world. It creates the
atmosphere of a typical Welsh village by the
magical use ofwords and characters. Much
of his working life was spent in such a
village, Laugharne near Swansea on the
South Wales coast. After a very troubled
career, held back by his drinking, he died
an early death in New York at the age of 39.
The power of his poetry lies in its music
and use of suiking images.
One of his most famous poems begins with
the lines opposite, which he wrote sitting
beside the bed of his dying father.
What's in a name?
The way in which British surnames have
developed is very complicated. Before the
Normans arrived, the use of surnames
wasn't really known. Many English
surnames were originally connected with a
person's job - Charles Baker, Margaret
Tllatcher; someone's size - Jack Long, Mary
Little; or a family relationship -Robin
IVilliamson (Robin, son of William) Peter
Ricllardson.
The most common Welsh surnames were
a l l originally Christian names in some form:
Dylan Tllon~ar,Roger Davies (a form of
David), Geoffrey3ones (from John), David
IVillia~nsetc. Many other names come from
the tradition of calling a child 'son of' his
father using the Welsh word ap (or ab).
This 'p' can be found at the beginning of
many common Welsh names, eg Gary
Pritchard, which is the same as the English
Richardson. Other examples arePrees,
Price, P a l ~ yand
, P~rglt.
Welshmen living in England are often
called by the nickname ' T a w . This may
come from the River Taff, which runs
through the capital Cardiff, or it may come
from Dafydd, the Welsh form ofDavid.
WORDS
Divide these names into boys' and girls'
Christian names, and surnames. Some
names will fit more than one category.
Now lookat the following names. They are
not spelt correctly. Write them out correctly
and divide them into boys' and girls' names.
The first letter is always correct.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
Wales
101
'Fish and chips' comes into Welsh
Welsh is a Celtic language, and is very
difficult to learn. It has very musical
intonation, and difficult sounds such as cl~
and 11.
Because many people in Wales speak
English, the Welsh language has borrowed
a lot of English words. Many Welshspeakers going out to buy the most famous
British meal would ask for 'fish and chips i
swper' (for supper).
Parts of the motor-car such as 'clutch',
'brake' or 'radiator' have come into Welsh
almost unchanged.
Many Welsh-speakers use English words
and add a Welsh ending, so we hear
'switchio', 'climbio', and 'recommendio'.
Some people think that this is lazy and that
neiv \isordsshould be properly uanslatcd
intc Welsh before being used.
TALKING POINTS
A r e there English or otherforeign words
used in your own language? Why are they
used?
Do you think people should use English
words without translating them?
The National Parks
Tile engine oftl~eSnowdon vlolintain railway so~netiu~es
drives backwards!
There are three National Parks in Wales
You can reach the summit on foot or by the
which cover approximately one-6fth of the
Snowdon mountain railway, which is
whole country. These parks are protected
4.5 miles (7km.) long.
by law because of their natural beauty, but
Many people travel to the parks each year
ordinary people still live and work there.
for special holidays. These include a large
The most famous of the parks is Snowdonia
number
of outdoor activities such as
in the north-west. It covers 840 square
walking,
climbing, and riding, or watermiles (2,176 sq. km.) of some of Wales'
sports
such
as canoeing and fishing. People
most breathtaking countryside. The highest
camp
and
live
without all the usual
mountain range in Wales is in this area,
comforts
of
home.
with several peaks over 3,000 feet (910 m.).
The highest, Snowdon, is 3,560 feet
(1,085 m.).
102
Unit nine
Wales
103
Energy inside a
Welsh mountain
One of the biggest power-stations in the
world is being built in b e hean ofa \Velsh
mountain. It uses neither oil nor coal to
produce electricity, but the auter of a large
mountain lake.
From the top lake. .
.
. .the water nons tlte turbines toproduce
eleclrin'cv.
Front the bottom lake, the water ispun~ped
back up the mountain.
104
Unit nine
In a few thousand years people may
discover the machines and wonder what
had been happening there. Chief engineer
Bill Thompson says that some may think
that it was a church. Certainly the large
mountain cavcs remind us of a magnificent
cathedral, especially when they are quiet.
However, they are usually full of noise:
vehicles thundering through the dark
tunnels, tbe noise i f
hammering
and shouting.
The underground pumped power station is
the largest in Europe and is used to produce
electricity by pumping water again and
again between two lakes. The water is let
out through the bonom of the top lake,
Machlyn Mawr, and then it passes down to
drive the turbines inside the mountain. The
water turns the turbines which produce
electricity. Afterwards the water is collected
in the bottom lake, Llyn Peris, at the foot of
the mountain in the heart of Snowdonia.
The turbines then change direction and
w Is nuclear powerthe
energy crisis?
best way to solve the
1
Cardiff: a modern capital
Cardiff Town Hall.
Cardiff has been the official capital of
Wales since 1955. There has been a
community here for hundreds of years, but
it began to grow quickly and to become
prosperous during the nineteenth and
early twentieth cennuies. This was the
period when the coal, iron and steel
industries were developing in South
Wales, and Cardiff became a major
industrial town and an important port.
However, when these industries began to
decline, Cardiff suffered too. Today, the
docks are much smaller, but the city is
now expanding as a commercial and
administrative ccnuc. It is an atuactive
and interestine olace to live in. with eood
communications. olentv of parks and a
varied p o p u l a t i o ~ ~ h i cincludes
h
nearly
10,000 university and college srudents.
-.
-
As a tourist, you might want to visit the
castle and Llandaff cathedral, or the
National Museum of Wales. If you like
music, there is the famous national concert
hall, St David's Hall, or the New Theatre,
which is the home of the Welsh National
Opera Company.
WRITE
Re-write these sentences in the correct
order to form a paragraph about the history
of Cardiff.
1 It expanded suddenly during the
nineteenth century into a great port.
2 A community has existed here for nearly
2,000 years.
3 During the Middle Ages, it was a small
market town.
4 In AD76, the Romans reached Cardiff
and b ~ ' I at stronghold.
5 Wnen rnese nd-stries oecl ned. Card'ff
became less orosoerous too.
6 Haooilv,
. . . afteia difficult oeriod, the citv is
now prospering once again.
7 hor much s mown after rn s - n i l tne
Normans arrived in 1091.
8 This was because of the development of
coal and other industries in South Wales.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
Wales
105
WORD GAME
First find the answers to these clues. Then
take the first letter of each answer and rearrange them to find the name of another
Welsh city. The answers are in the text.
1 If you were born in Cardiff,you would be
this.- - - - 2 You can see the Welsh National Opera
here.
- - - - - - - - - -
3 This adjective describes Cardiff.
----------
4 Cardiff is the
--------------
centre of Wales.
5 This was once an important industry in
South Wales. --6 You can go to the theatre orto a concert
* .
In the- - - - - 7 10.000 people do this in Cardiff.
-
----The name of the city is
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
106
Unit nine
A student in Wales
After London, the University of Wales is
the largest university in the United
Kingdom. I t was established almost one
hundred years ago and incorporated three
existing colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor
and Cardiff. Since then, colleges at
Swansea and Lampeter have also become
part of the same university, together with
the College of Medicine and the Institute
of Science and Technology in CardXf.
Because of its size, the university is able to
offer a wide range of courses, and students
can choose the location they prefer. Each
college has a separate identity and
character. St David's College Lampeter is
in the middle ofbeautiiul countryside;
Aberystwyth is on the coast; Bangor is on
the edge of the mountainous region of
Snowdonia, and Swansea and Cardiff are
in an urban environment.
The table contains more information about
each of the University Colleges.
TALKING POINT
Discuss with a partner which University
College you would like to study at. Give
reasons, using information from the table
and from the text.
1
Wales
107
WORD SEARCH
WRITE
In the square below, six words are hidden.
They are all hobbies you could start at the
University of Wales.
Write a letterto one of the colleges asking
for information about courses for overseas
students.
A
L
P
B
O
C
A
R
T
S
R
A
C
L
T
I
H
E
A
N
L
I
S
D
A
N
F
U
L
B
K
N
T
S
I
N
G
I
N
G
R
U
G
B
Y
N
N
W
Books, books, books!!!
Hay-on-Wye is a Welsh border town on
the southern bank of the River Wye. It is
unique, because although its total
population is only 1,000, it has fourteen
bookshops which contain well over a
million antiquarian and second-hand
books. In fact, it is the largest second-hand
book-selling centre in the world. One of
the most amazing shops is a converted
cinema. This alone has more than a
quarter of a million books for sale. Hayon-Wye is the ideal holiday centre for
bookworms!
E
H
N
D
L
G
O
G
WORD GAME
How many words can you make from the
letters of Shakespeare? (There are at least
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
25.)
Big Pit Mining Museum
Coal mining has played a very important
part in the lives of generations of people
living in South Wales. For this reason, the
Mining Museum at Blaenavon has recreated the atmosphere of a working mine
of the past, to give visitors a taste of what
life was like for miners in the 'old days'.
On the surface, you can see such things as
a typical miner's cottage and the pithead
baths. For the underground tour, visitors
have to wear safety helmets and cap lamps.
They are taken down a shaft 100 metres
deep in a pit cage, and are shown the coal
faces, underground stables and workshops
by ex-miners.
TRUE OR FALSE?
Here is some information for people
wishing to visit the museum.
Open April to end of October. Tuesday to
Sunday from 10.00.
Closed on Mondays, except Bank Holidays.
The last complete tours start at 3.30.
If you are going on the underground tours,
you must wear strong shoes and warm
clothing.
Children underthe age of eight are not
allowed underground.
Cafeteriawhere you can buy hot food and
drinks.
Souvenir shop.
Party bookings, by arrangement. November
to March. Discounts available.
According to the information, are the
following statements true or false?
1 You cannot visit Bit Pit during the winter.
2 The museum closes at 3.30.
3 Special prices are available, if you go
with a group.
4 You will need to take your own food.
5 The museum is not usually open on
Mondays.
6 You do not need to wear special clothes.
7 Very young children are not allowed to
go on the underground tours.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
Wales
109
Glossary
breathtaking something so beautiful that it
stops you breathing for a moment
bungalow a small house with just one
storey
channel a TV station
clutch a pedal to connect and disconnect
the gear
common language a language spoken by
everybody
container-port a port dealing with cargo in
very large special containers
demonstrate to protest publicly
distinct separate and special
ditch a long hole dug in the ground
eisteddfod annual gathering of poets and
musicians in Wales
eloquent speaking well and fluently
Esperanto an artificial language designed
for world use
estate an area on which many houses are
built
hammer (v) to hit repeatedly
hold office to have various jobs in
government
insect repellent a cream or spray which
kills insects
inspired influenced
leek a long onion-like vegetable
manage without to live without, ie leave
behind
national anthem the song of a counuy
National Health Service the organization
which gives free health care to all citizens
national insurance money taken by the
government from one's pay, which acts
as insurance in case of sickness,
unemployment etc
old-age pension money received by people
over 60 when they stop work
110
Unit nine
oratory the skill of making persuasive,
emotional speeches
own (v) to possess, have as property
patriotic strongly supporting one's own
country
peak (n) the top of a mountain
pit (n) a hole in the ground where miners
dig out coal
Plaid Cymru Welsh Nationalist Party
preserved kept pure, unchanged by
outside influences
radical wanting political change
rage (v) to be very angry
rave (v) to behave as if mad
roots feeling of sharing a common past,
culture etc
rucksack a bag carried on the back
script the text for a radio or TV play
social welfare social services financed by
the government; health care, pensions,
insurance, dole, etc
solar of the sun
stand for Parliament to offer oneself for
election
strike (n) a time when workers refuse to
work, in order to get better pay and
conditions
striking images ideas or pictures in poetry
that are unusual and wild
summit the top of a mountain
tackle to anack an opponent, in order to
take the ball in rugby
target something to be hit
thunder (v) to make a noise like thunder in
a storm
try (n) (rugby) touching down the ball
behind the opponents' goal-line
hubme an engine whose driving-wheel is
turned by water
whale a large sea animal
The province of Northern Ireland
(sometimes called 'Ulster') consists of six
counties: Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone,
Fermanagh and Londonderry. Belfast is the
capital city. The province is surrounded by
sea to the north and east, by the Republican
counties ofDonegal to the west and Cavan
and Monaghan to the south.
111
The troubles
Tlte 'Peace Line' bemeen Catltolic and Protestant Belfast.
When trouble started in Northern Ireland
in the late 1960s it took many people bysurprise. However the violencu and
suffering \vhich Northern Ireland has becn
experiencing are simply the latest events in
an old story which began long ago.
Reformation and Plantation
The history of Anglo-Irish relations began
with the colonization of Ireland by the
Normans under Henry I1 of England in the
12th centmy. Over the next two centuries
these Norman settlers became 'more Irish
than the Irish', and it is possible that
Ireland might have ended up as a contented
Anglo-Irish society under the British
Crown. However, in the 16th cennuy
Henry VIII quarrelled with Rome and
declared himself head of the Anglican
Church. Resistance from Irish Catholics
was strong but was put down by Henry's
armies. And so by trying to force Irish
Catholics to become Anglican and by taking
a lot of their land, Henry began the two
lasting problems of Anglo-Irish relations religion and land.
What he started was continued by his
112
Unit ren
daughter Elizabeth I. Ulster was a specially
difficult area to brinp under her rule. The
soldters of Lhe province oCUlster
successfully fought against Elizabeth's
armies until 1603. but were finallv
defeated. Then tde 'Plantation o i ~ l s t e r '
began. 'Plantation' meant that twenty-thsee
new towns were built in Ulster to protect
the needs of 170,000 new, Protestant
settlers known as 'planters', most of whom
came from Scotland. This policy of
plantation soon changed the structure of
society in Ulster.
Religion separated the planters and native
Irishmen. The Scots planters were
Presbyterians, a form of Protestantism, and
they were deeply suspicious of Catholics
and Catholicism. But they brought with
them their own laws and customs relating to
land, which encouraged greater social
stability and economic growth. The Scots
also placed great emphasis on education
and hard work, and they were good at
business. All this sowed the seeds of
Ulster's 19th century industrialization,
which made it different from the rest of
Ireland.
ANSWER
1 What do you think is meant by 'the
2
3
4
5
6
troubles'?
Who were the Normans?
Why did Irish Catholics dislike Henry VIII?
Who were the 'planters'?
How did plantation change the structure
of Ulster society?
In what way did Ulster become different
from the rest of Ireland during the 19th
century?
enough to help the poor people during the
famine.
Although these events took place three
hundred years ago, they are still
remembered in Ulster today. The
Protestants still call themselves Orangemen
and annually celebrate William's victories
over the Catholics with parades and
banners. The bitterness of history is kept
alive in Northern Ireland.
TALKING POINTS
CromweU and William of Orange
During the Civil War in England, things
became even worse in Ireland. A Catholic
army was formed there in support of the
king, Charles I, but Cromwell's Puritan
(l'rotestant) force of 20,000 men was too
strong for them. Cromwell's army not only
defeated the Catholic, royalist army but also
killed many civilians as well. This caused
more bitterness between Protestant and
Catholic, planter and native.
.There are still parts of the world where
thousands, even millions, of people are
hungry and even die of starvation. Do you
know any places where this is happening?
Do the rich nations of the world do
enough to help poor countries?
Can an individual do anything to help
someone who is starving on the other
side of the world?
Forty years later there was again Irish
support for the deposed Catholic king,
James 11, but in 1690 the Protestant forces
of William of Orange (William 111) 6nally
defeated the Catholics led by James at the
Battle of the Boyne.
Famine
No event in Irish history has had a deeper
effect on Irish national feeling than the
Great Famine of 1845-9. In the 19th
century most of the Irish depended on
agriculture -indeed, most of them
depended on simple potato-farming for
their survival. The poor peasants made
their living from tiny pieces of land and had
to pay high rents for this land. Potatoes
were their main food and when the potato
harvest was bad for four years in
succession, there was a terrible famine in
the country.
The Great Famine left one million people
dead and forced another million to emigrate
to the United States of America. It also left
bitter feelings towards the British
Government because they had not done
Northern Ireland
113
Two nations?
Some people say that from the time of the
famine the gradual appearance of two
nations can be seen in Ireland. During the
19th century Ulster, and particularly
Belfast, became industrialized in a similar
way to the North of England. Because of its
industrial economy Ulster was not as badly
affected by the poor potato harvest as the
rest of Ireland, which depended on
agriculture. Also, the land laws in Ulster
were much fairer than in the rest of Ireland.
This meant that, whereas people in the
south of Ireland blamed British rule for
their poverty and suffering, the people of
Ulster found that union with Britain had
brought them prosperity, and markets for
their industrial products.
During the attempts between 1886 and
1914 to get Home Rule for Ireland
(independence from Britain in aU things
relating to internal affairs), the people of
Ulster resisted strongly and said they would
fight rather than give up union with Britain.
PUZZLE
Find the six words ending in '-ation' and
discover the word made by the letters in
the boxes. There are clues to help you.
CLUES
1 Number of people living in a country or
area.
2 The settling of people in a new country
which is governed by the mother
country.
3 The introduction of machines and
factories in the 19th century.
4 The settling of Protestants from the
British mainland in Ulster.
5 Movement which protested against the
Catholic church.
6 Extreme hunger.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
114
Unit ten
Partition
After a long and violent struggle, the
southern part of Ireland finally became a
Free State in 1921. Ulster chose to remain
part of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland. This division
of Ireland is known as 'partition'.
The Irish Free State declared itself a
republic in 1949 and is now known as the
Irish Republic, or Eire (an old Irish word
for Ireland). It is completely separate and
independent from Britain and Northern
Ireland, and its government is in the capital
city, Dublin.
In 1949, Northern Ireland still had its own
Prime Minister and its own Parliament at
Stormont in Belfast which was responsible
for the province's internal (not foreign)
affairs, but it was still part of the UK.
ConEict
From the beginning, the Stormont
Parliament was dominated by Protestants.
Northern Irish Catholics, who were now in
a minority, found that they did not have
equal opportunities with Protestants for
housing and employment. i\ carnplgn of
civil rirhts for Cathohcs was started but
very l i i e attention was paid to it by the
ruling Protestants.
INLA (Irish National Liberation h y ) .
Both these organizations want to achieve a
united Ireland by violent means, but they
are condemned today by the government of
the Irish Republic. On the Protestant side
are the UDA (LJlsterDefence Association)
and the WF (Ulster Volunteer Force).
WRITE
Write a short paragraph about each
group below, saying what you know
aboutthe people, what they want and
what they don't want.
1 Ordinary protestants living in Northern
Ireland.
2 Ordinarvcatholics living
- in Northern
Ireland.
3 Members of the IRA and INLA (catholic
secret armies).
4 Members of the UDA and UVF
(protestant secret armies).
5 The government of the Irish Republic.
6 The British government.
In 1969 there was rioting in Northern
Ireland between Catholics and Protestants.
By 1972 the hostility between the two
groups was so bad that Britain suspended
the Northern Irish Parliament at Stormont
and sent in the British army to keep the
peace. The soldiers were welcomed at &st
by the Catholics as protectors t?om
Protestant violence, but when the army
began house-to-house searches of Catholic
areas for men with guns, the welcome soon
turned to bitterness.
There have been many deaths since 1969.
In 1972, on what became known as 'Bloody
Sunday', British soldiers opened fire on
Catholic demonstrators in Londonderly
and thirteen people were killed. In
addition, many British soldiers have been
killed. Both the Protestant and the Catholic
communities have illegal secret armies
fighting a bloody war. On the Catholic side,
are the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and
A soldier of the British arnzy on a Bel/ast
street.
Northern Ireland
115
The search for a solution
Since 1969 there have been a number of
attempts to h d a political solution to the
Northern Ireland problem. In 1972 the
British Government ended the Stormont
Parliament, which had failed to give equal
rights to Catholics, and Direct Rule of the
province from Westminster was
introduced. In 1973 there was an
agreement - known as the Sunningdale
Agreement - behveen the British
Government, the Catholic Nationalists
(who wanted a united Ireland) and s o i ~ l e
Protestant Unionists (who wanted
Northern Ireland to stay part of the United
Kingdom). Many Unionists, however,
were against the agreement, because they
thought it gave too much power to the
Catholic minority in Ulster, and in May
1974 there was a General Strike by
Protestant workers, which led to the
breakdown of the agreement.
In 1975 there was another attempt at a
political solution- the Constitutional
Convention: This was an elected group of
Northern Irish people, who were to advise
the British Government and give their
opinions on plans for political change, but
the group did not have any real power and,
as there were Catholic Nationalists and
Stonl~ont,Belfast.
116
Unit ten
Protestant Unionists in the group, they
could not agree among themselves, and so
this attempt also failed.
For five years, no new political attempts
were made. Finallv, in 1980, the Irish
Government (ol~irc!)began.tdks with the
British Government. Therc were many
problems along the way, but these talks
between the two governments eventually
led to the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985.
ANSWER
1 What do you know about the Northern
Irish Parliament at Stormont, and why
did the British Government end it in
19727
2 Why was there a strike in May 1974?
3 What was the result of the strike in
1974?
4 In what way was the 'Constitutional
Convention' (1975)the same as a
parliament, and in what way was it
different?
5 Why do you think there were no new
attempts at a political solution from 1975
to 1980?
T h e Anglo-Irish Agreement
On 15th November 1985, the British and
Irish governments made a new political
agreement on Northern Ireland. The
Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed by the
British Prime Minister, Margaret
Thatcher, and the Irish Prime Minister,
Garret Fitzgerald, at Hillsborough Castle
near Belfast.
The Agreement gives the Kepublic of
Ir~.landa voice in the adminiswation of
Northern Ireland, and the Irish
Government recognizes that there will only
be a united Ireland if a majority of people
in Ulster agree to it. In addition, both
governments said that the Southern Irish
and Northern Irish police forces would
work together more closely to try to make
the border between the two states more
secure. They wanted to stop the IRA from
hiding in the Republic after they had
committed acts of terrorism in the North.
The British Government also hoped it
would become easier for them to get
suspected terrorists, who were in the
Republic of Ireland, sent to Britain for
trial.
Although the Agreement was welcomed by
all political parties in Britain, and by many
other countries with a large Irish
immigrant population, such as the United
States, it was not popular with everyone in
Northern Ireland. The Agreement was
rejected by many important leaders of the
Protestant community, such as Ian
Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist
Party. He told the British Prime Minister
of his view: 'Ulster is British, Mrs
Thatcher, and despite your treachery, will
remain so'. The Agreement was also
rejected by Gerry Adams, President of
Sinn Fein ('Ourselves Alone') - the
political party which is closely connected
to the IRA. These are extreme opinions,
however, and many moderate Catholics
and Protestants were prepared to give the
Agreement a try.
There have been many problems since
1985. The I'rotes~antsin Northern Ireland
say that border security has not improved
enough and that IRA terrorists are still
finding a safe place to hide in the Republic
of Ireland. The British Government is
angry because, on a couple of occasions,
the Irish courts set free suspected terrorists
instead of sending them to Britain for trial.
The Irish Government and the Catholics in
Northern Ireland say that Irish people
often do not get a fair trial in British
courts. They also accuse the British
Government of having a 'shoot-to-kill'
policy in Northern Ireland, that is to say
that the British Army sometimes does not
try hard enough to arrest suspected
terrorists, but that they just shoot to kill.
The British Government, of course, denies
this.
In spite ofall the difficulties, howc\jer, the
Anelo-Irish A~recmcntstill stands and the
twigovernm&ts are still working together
towards a sl;lution. Can the 1985 AngloIrish Agreement e v e n ~ d succeed,
y
where so many other attempts have failed?
Only time will tell.
TALKING POINT
What do youthink might be the solution to
the Northern Irish problem? Should the
British Army leave Northern Ireland? What
would happen if it did? Should Northern
Ireland be united with the Republic of
Ireland? What would happen if it was?
Should there be another Northern Irish
Parliament? How would the Catholics, who
are in a minority, be given some share in
rne power w~thoulosing tne s ~ p p o nof
tne Protestanr majority? Are tnere any
other solutions?
Northern Ireland
117
People reading about the troubles in
Northern Ireland or seeing the damage
caused by bombs on television, probably
imagine that the counuy is one big
battlefield. The opposite is uue. Many
areas of Northern Ireland are beautiful and
peaceful. Let us take a brief tour around
Ulster and discover some of its
places.
Because the
is only 5,500 square
miles (14,250 sq. l a . ) in area, you can see
of the
ina week
without travelling more than 500 miles (800
km.).
Belfast
Belfast is one of the youngest capital cities
in the world and it has grown incrediblv
fast. Today the city ha[a population o f
400,000, nearly a third of the entire
population of Northem Ireland, but in the
17th century it was only a village. Then,
during the Igth cenrury' the development
of industries like linen, rope-making,
engineering, tobacco and the sea-trade
doubled the town's size every ten years.
The city is well-known for shipbuilding-it
118
Unit ten
was here that the 'Titanic', was built and
sent out on her fatal maiden vovane.
.Some of the Belfast sueets have often been
the scenes of violence - street-names such
Road are
as the Falls Road and
well known throughout Britain because
they have been heard so often on the news but people still live in Belfast, and they can
and do go out and enjoy themselves. In
spite of the years of trouble, there are many
cultural and leisure facilities.
1
LOOKAND PRACTISE
You and yourfriend are visiting Northern
Ireland and you have one day in Belfast.
Work with a partner. Make suggestions
about how to spend the morning, the
afternoon and evening. Use the list of
'Things to do in Belfast'to give you ideas.
and give reasons for your suggestions and
for agreeing or disagreeing to your partner's
suggestions. Make a note of your itinerary
as you make decisions.
Northern Ireland
119
The Glens ofAntrim and the
Causeway coast
There are nine glens or valleys of Anuim.
Each of these green valleys has a character
of its own. Together, they form a lovely and
romantic area of rivers, waterfalls, wild
flowers and buds.
The people of the Glens are great storytellers. They will tell you that the places
where the little people, or fairies, are said to
go, are Lurigethan Mountain and Teveragh
W. These little people are mischievous
. cuts down a f a j r thorn tree. Today many
farmers throughout Ireland are so
superstitious that they will not cut down a
thorn tree, even if it is in the middle of their
field!
The Glens of Antrim were very hard for
travellers to reach until the building of the
Antrim Coast Road in 1834. For sixty miles
this follows the Causeway Coast, named
after its most famous feature, the Giant's
Causeway.
Stories, legends & myths
Story-telling has always been a part of the
Irish way of life- stories of gods and people
who lived in a land of adventure, warfare
and romance, stories told by the &e side.
Monlts living in the late Middle Ages
preserved many of these stories in the
beautifully-decorated manuscripts of the
Book of Leinster. But it is the strong oral
tradition of the Irish people which has
made it possible for so many folk tales to
survive. Over the centuries, story-telling
was an important profession but nowadays
such people would be hard to find. Perhaps
the last story-teller was Peig Sayers who
died in 1958. It was said that she had 375
stories to tell!
Peig Sayers: a peat stoty-teller.
120
Unit ten
TALKING POINTS
WRITE
The Irish are said to be a very superstitious
race.
a What superstitions are observed in your
country?
A r e you superstitious?
Is there any truth in ancient superstitions?
Read the legend below aboutthe Giant's
Causeway. Then write down a legend or
myth of yourcountry or local area. If you
don't know any legends or myths, make up
a story to explain a geographical feature in
your country.
The Giant's Causewaveighth wonder of the world
The Causeway is a mass of stone columns
standing very near together. The tops of the
columns form stepping stones leading from
the cliff foot and disappearing under the
sea. Over the whole Causeway there are
40,000 of these stone columns. The tallest
are about 42 feet (13 m.) high.
Visitors in modem times have been told
that the Causeway is a strange geological
feature- the result of volcanic action. The
ancient Irish knew differently, however.
Clearly, this was giants' work and, in
particular, the work of the giant Finn
McCool, the Ulster soldier and commander
of the armies of the King of All Ireland.
F i n was extremely strong. On one
occasion, during a fight with a Scottish
giant, he picked up a huge piece of earth
and threw it at him.
The earth fell into the Irish Sea and became
the Isle of Man. The hole it left filled with
water and became the great inland sea of
Lough Neagh.
People said that Finn lived on the North
Antrim coast and that he fell in love with a
lady giant. She lived on an island in the
Scottish Hebrides, and so he began to build
this wide causeway to bring her across to
Ulster.
Northern Ireland
121
Irish coffee
Two miles inland from the Giant's
Causeway lies Bushmills, the oldest
whisltey distillery in the world. Tourists
have been stopping here to refresh
themselves since 1608!
Ireland is famous for its whiskey which has
a taste quite different from Scotch. (Notice
that it's spelt differently from Scotch
whisky, which has no 'e'.) Here is one wellknown way of drinking it.
I
Gaelic names
Years ago, all Irish people spoke Gaelic,
and this language is still spoken in some
parts of Ireland, although today all Irish
people speak English also. Evidence of
Gaelic is still found in place names, for
example 'bally' -town, 'slieve' -mountain,
'lough' - lake, 'inis' - island, 'drum' mountain top, 'glen'-valley.
The influence of Irish Gaelic is also found
in the names of people. Here are some
typical Gaelic first names:
Sean Ua:n], same as John
Seamus ['Sennas], same as James
Liam P~am],same as William
Seama ['Jxna], same as Joanna
Brid [br1d3], same as Bridget
Catail ['kh~l],same as Charles
Paddy (short for Pamck) and Micky (short for
Michael) are not Gaelic names hut they are
122
Unit ten
found so often in Ireland that these two names
are sometimes used jokingly to mean 'an
Irishman'.
Many Irish surnames begin:
0'. . . meaning
Fitz.. . meaning
Mc. . meaning
Kil. . . meaning
Gil. . . meaning
.
from the family of
son of
son of
son of
son of
Here are some examples:
O'Brien [au'braan]
O'Neil [au'iual]
Kilmartin [lul'ma:m]
Fitzwilliam [fits'wiljam]
Fitzgerald [fits1d3erald]
Gilmurray [flmhn]
McMahon [mak'mzhan]
McHugh [m3lc'hju:]
Fermanagh - once fished,
never forgotten
Devenirlr island in Louglz Erne.
The rivers and lakes of Fermanagh are
heavy with fish, and the largest lake in the
area, Lough Erne, holds many world
fishing records. Femanagh is still
wonderfully empry of crowds and the
fishermen can go all day without meeting
anything more than a raven or a swan.
People who don't like fishing can hire a
boat on Lough Erne and visit some of the
islands in the lake. One of the most
interesting islands is Devenish. In the
Middle Ages there was a chain of island
monasteries in Lough Erne. At Devenish
there still stands a perfect 12th cennuy
round tower, which the monks used for
defence. The island also has a small church
of about the same date and the remains of a
15th century abbey.
ASK
Complete this conversation between a local
person and a visitorto Fermanagh by asking
questions.
1 ........................................................... ?'
'Well, you can go fishing ortake a boat
out for the dav.'
2 .......................................................... ? *
'It's excellent, in fact Lough Erne holds
some world records.'
3 .............................................................
?'
'No, you needn't worry aboutthat. There
aren't a lot of tourists around here.'
4 ........................................................... ?'
'You can visit some of the islands in the
lake. In the Middle Ages there used to be
monasteries on them.'
5 ............................................................. ?'
'Well. Devenish is one of the most
interesting.'
6
............................
.
.............................?'
'Yes, there's a 12th century round tower
and church and the remains of a 15th
century abbey.'
Northern Ireland
123
Londonderry
The city of Derry has a long history going
back fourteen hundred years. At the time of
the plantation the City of London in
England sent over builders and money to
rebuild Deny. As a result, Deny was
named Londonderry, but today both the
long and the short names are used.
The best way to see the city of Derry is to
walk along the famous city wall built by the
planters in 1614. The wall is about 1mile
(1.5 km.) around and 21 feet (6.5 m.) thick.
It is still unbroken- the only complete city
wall in Britain or Ireland - in spite of the
fact that it has stood against several sieges.
One siege in particular is famous - the
Great Siege which started in December
1688 and lasted until July the following
year. During this rime the city was
surrounded by James II's army. 7,000
people out of a population of 30,000 died of
starvation before the siege was finally
ended. This historical event is still very
much alive in people's memories and every
year there is a ceremonial closing of the city
gates to commemorate the siege.
GAME
Hangman
This game can be played in pairs or in a
group. One person thinks of a ward and
writes down the same number of dashes
(lines)as there are letters in the word. For
examp e, if tne worn rho-ghr of s
'SCAFFO-D' 18 etters) ne or she w o ~ l d
write:
The other players then suggest letters
which might be in the word. Every time a
correct letter is chosen it is written in the
right place (or places if it comes more than
once). Every time a wrong guess is made, a
line is drawn to make up a picture of a man
being hung, like this:
A tragic story
Near the City of Derry Golf Club, which
lies to the north outside the city walls, a
family called Knox still lives in a house
called Prehen House, where a terrible
tragedy took place in 1760.
A local gambler called John hlcnaghren
tried to kidnao Alan, Ann Knox but she
resisted, and during the struggle he
accidentally shot her. He was sentenced to
death by hanging far the crime, but during
the execution the hangman's rope broke.
The crowd of people who were watching
the execution shouted that he should be
saved from the death penalty, since you
couldn't hang a man twice. The prisoner,
however, shouted that he did not wish to be
known as 'half-hanged Mcnaghten',
climbed back onto the scaffold and hanged
himself!
124
Unit ten
This drawing is made up of thirteen lines, so
the players are allowed twelve wrong
guesses before the thirteenth one hangs
them. (but eyes, nose, mouth, etc. can be
added to increase the number of guesses).
Don't forget to keep a record of all wrong
letters guessed, so that you don't say the
same letter twice.
Good Luckl
Glossary
administration the directing or organizing
of affairs in, for example, a business or a
country
Anglican Church the Church of England
(see pp.7-8)
archery shooting with bows and arrows
border the dividing line between two
countries
campaign (n) a fight, often used
figuratively
causeway raised road especially across wet
land
contented happy
county town the chief town of a county
deposed removed from the throne
distillery a place where whiskey is made
force an army
gambler a person who makes a living by
games of chance, eg in a casino
geological composition the formation of
rocks
glen narrow valley
hostility the feelings of an enemy
house-to-house search looking for
someone or something in every house in
a particular area
itinerary a journey, route
lasting (a41 which continue for a long time
legend an old story
Linen fine woven cloth used for hed-sheets,
etc.
lough a lake
maiden voyage the first journey of a ship
means ways
myth an old story
Orangemen members of a Protestant
political society in Ulster
patron saint a saint regarded as special
protector
planter a Protestant settler in Ulster
province one of the main divisions of a
country, a separate area for government
control (Northern Ireland is often called
'the Province')
put down to defeat
raven a black bird
recover to h d , save
rioting a crowd of people causing public
disorder
royalist a supporter of the monarchy
sentence to death to punish by death
settler a person who goes to live in a new
country
siege (n) an attack by an army which
surrounds a town and waits for the
inhabitants to surrender
sow the seeds to begin something big in a
small way
starve to die because of lack of food
stepping stones raised stones in a river
strike a time when workers refuse to
work, in protest over something (a
General Strike is spread over the
country, not restricted to just one
industry)
in succession one after the other
superstition belief in magic, witchcraft,
etc.
suspend to stop for a time
sweeten to taste add as much sugar as you
Want
terrorism using violence to tq to achieve
political demands (a terrorist is someone
who engages in terrorism)
treachery disloyalty, falseness,
unfaithfulness
try your hand to try something for the Erst
time
world record (n) the best yet done in the
world
Northern Irelnnd
125
TV and radio
Watching television is one of the great
British pasdmesl Broadcasting in the
United Kingdom is controued by the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
and the Independent Broadcasung
Authority (IBA). The BBC receives its
income from the government, hut the
private companies controued by the IBA
earn money from advertising.
National radio is controlled by the BBC,
and listeners can choose between four
stations. Radio 1is a pop-music station
with news and magazine-style programmes.
Radio 2 plays light music and reports on
sport. Radio 3 plays classical music whilst
Radio 4 has news programmes, drama and
general interest programmes. There are
many local stations, some private and some
run by the BBC. Their programmes consist
mainly of music and local news.
The BBC has two TV channels. BBC 2 has
more serious programmes and news
features. The IBA is responsible for lookingafter the regional independent TV
companies who broadcast their own
programmes and those they have bought
from other regions. There is a break for
advertisements about every 15-20 minutes.
The most recent independent channel is
called Channel 4 and it has more sprcialked
than the main channels. In
-pronrammes
general, people think the programmes
offered on British television are of a very
high standard. Some people, however, are
becoming worried about the amount of
violence on TV, and the effect this may
have on young people.
TV and radio are also two of the main
teaching channels used by the Open
University. This 'university of the air'
allows many thousands of students to study
at home for degrees they never would have
obtained in the main educational system.
They also have to do without sleep as most
of their programmes are broadcast early in
the morning or late at night1
New technoloby has made it possible for
viewers to receive many more Droerammes
into their homes through satelkte?~. The
1990smay well see many changes in
British TV and radio.
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops is a programme that has
been shown every week on BBC TV for
many years. Each week computers in a
number of record-shops throughout the
United Kingdom show how many copies of
a record have been sold that week. The new
chart. issued each Sundav afternoon.
shows which singles hav; sold the mbst
copies during the previous week. With this
information, the show's producers decide
which songs will be played. Usually it will
be those moving uo the charts, or the new
releases which kebisc-jockeye (usually
called DJs) think will be 'hits'. Of course,
each week the show finishes with the
number one single. Bands either appear
live in the studio, or in a video recording
made especially to sell the record. These
videos have become so important in the last
few years that they can help to make a
record a hit.
TALKING POINT
What is your attitude to violence on
television? Does it influence ~ e o ~and
le
how should it be controlled?
More than 30 years
of Rock Music
When the American rock-and-roll singer
Chuck Beny first sang 'Roll over
Beethoven and tell Tchaikowsky the newsl'
in the I950s, he was telling the world that
the new music, Rock-'n'-Roll, was here to
stay. Over the last thirty years it has had an
enormous effect on people's lives, and
especially on the kind of clothes they wear.
drainpipe trousers (so tight they looked like
drainpipes!) and brightly-coloured socks.
Their shoes had very thick rubber soles and
their hair was swept upwards and
backwards. Before the arrival of the Teddy
Boys young people had usually worn what
their parents wore. Now they wore what
they liked.
In the mid-60s the Mods, (so called because
of their 'modem' style of dressing) became
the new leaders of teenage fashion. Short
hair and smart suits were popular again.
But perhaps the Mods' most important
possessions were their scooters, usually
decorated with large numbers of lights and
mirrors. They wore long green anoraks,
called parkas, to protect their clothes.
The first group to be seen in the
newspapers in the late 50s were the Ted&
Boys.Their clothes were supposed to be
similar to those worn in Edwardian
England (Ted and Teddy are abbreviations
of Edward): long jackets with velvet collars,
The Mods' greatest enemies were the
Rockers who despised the Mods' scooters
and smart clothes. Like the Teds, Rockers
listened mainly to rock-and-roll and had no
time for Mod hands such as The Who or
the Small Faces. They rode ~owerful
motor-bikes, had long untidy hair, and
wore thick leather jackets. Whereas the
Mods used purple-hearts (a stimulant or
amphetamine, so called because of its
colour and shape) 'to get their kicks', the
rockers mainly drank alcohol.
In and out of school
127
Throughout the 60%on public holidays
during the summer, groups of Mods and
Rockers used to travel to the sea-side
resorts of south-eastern England, such as
Brighton and Margate, and get involved in
battles with the police and with each other.
Nevertheless at that time 'swinging
London' was everybody's idea of heaven!
Young people were very clothes-conscious
and London's Carnaby Street became the
fashion centre of Europe and the world. It
attracted thousands of tourists every year.
Towards the end of the 60s a new group
appeared, whose ideas started in California,
in the USA. The H&ies preached a
philosophy of peace and love, wore
necklaces of coloured beads, and gave
flowers to surprised strangers on the street.
The name comes from the fact that drugtakers in Asia and the Far East used to lie
on one hip while smoking opium. Hippies
didn't use opium but they smoked
marijuana, and took powerful drugs such as
LSD. Music, especially under the influence
of the Beatles, began to include strange
sounds and images in an attempt to recreate
the 'psychedelic' or dream-like experience
of drugs.
Hippies wore simple clothes, blue jeans and
open sandals, and grew their hair very long.
They often lived together in large
communities, sharing their possessions.
This was their protest against the
materialism of the 60s and also against the
increasing military involvement of the
United States in Viemam.
TALKING POINTS
use drugs or stimulants in
their everyday lives, although they are not
usually thought to be as strong or
dangerous as the ones mentioned in the
text. Make a note of any you can think of.
What is your attitude to drugs and
stimulants? Should w e learn to live
without them? Should alcohol and
cigarettes be banned, since we know they
cause s o much damage?
o Many people
However, the dreams of peace and love
disappeared in the early 70s as the mood of
128
Unit eleven
society changed. People's attention turned
to life's more basic problems as the world
price of oil increased, causing a fall in living
standards and rising inflation.
Skinheads were racist, violent, and proud of
the fact. The 'uniform' worn by most of
them consisted of trousers that were too
short, enormous boots, and braces. As their
name suggests, they wore their hair
extremely short or even shaved it all off. As
unemployment grew throughout the 70s,
groups of skinheads began to take their
revenge on immigrants, who were attacked
on the streets and in their homes.
Unfortunately the mass unemployment of
the 80s has caused an increase in the
number of skinheads. Many are members
of the National Front, a political party that
wants Britain to be for white people only.
A skinhead.
Towards the end of the 70s another style of
music and dress appeared and is srill very
popular, The word Punk derives from
American English and is often used to
describe someone who is immoral or
worthless. The best-known punk band of
the 70s and early 80s were the 'Sex Pistols',
who are still famous for their strange names,
including Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious.
They sang songs about anarchy and
destruction and uoset manv neoole bv usine
bad lanmage on ;levision'a;ld dv i n h t i n p
the ~u'en.-~unks' clothes show H rejection
of conventional styles of dress.
-
Their music is loud, fast and tuneless. They
feel that the music of the 70s had become
too complicated. It had lost touch with the
feelings of 'ordinary kids'.
In the 1980s many new bands have
reappeared. Out of punk has comeNew
Wave music which totally rejects the ideas
of the skinheads. Many of the bands
contain both black and white musicians,
and anti-racism concerts have been
organized (known as Rock against Racism).
West Indian music has also played a large
part in forming people's musical tastes.
Many new British bands combine
traditional rock music with an infectious
reggae beat. From America, a new interest
in discotheques and dancing has appeared.
L i e the Rockers, Bikers still enjoy 'heavy
metal music' which is easily recognized by
its high volume and use of electric guitars.
'Dancing' is simply shaking your head
violently to the rhythm of the music and so
has become known as 'head banging'.
Many of the new bands of the 80s have been
able to use the changes in technology to
develop their music. Computerized drum
machines, synthesizers and other electronic
instruments are now just as popular as the
electric guitar.
Black music has bucome increasingly
im~ortantwith inrernational srars like
x i h a e l Jackson combining the best of
modem music with spectacular live
performances. 'Hip Hop' music has
combined fast speaking in rhyme (called
'rapping') with the excitement of the rock
beat. Finally, Live Aid and charity records
have shown that many modem pop stars
are interested in using their talents to help
raise money for the po.or.
READ AND NOTE
The text discusses seven major groups and
the music they like: Teddy Boys, Rockers,
Mods. Hippies, Punks, Skinheads and
Bikers. Write down what you know about
each of these groups.
Sport
Sport plays such a large part in British life
that many idioms in the English language
have come from the world of sport, for
example 'to play the game' means 'to be
fair', and 'that's not cricket' means 'that's
not fair'.
The most popular sport in Britain as a
whole is football. A lot of people support
their local clubs at matches on Saturday
afternoons, or watch the matches live on
television.
The football league in England and Wales
has four divisions. (Scotland has its own
separate system, and there are not many
professional sides in Northern Ireland.)
Each division contains twentyteams,
and at the end of each season the top three
clubs from the lower divisions are
promoted to a higher one. Those who are at
the bottom are relegated. .There are two
main prizes each season. The football
league championship is won by the team
In and out of schaol
129
that is top of the first division, whereas the
FA cup (FA stands for Football
Association) is a knockout competition
between all the teams of the league. The
final of this competition takes place every
May at the famous Wembley stadium in
London. Some of the best-known clubs in
England are Manchester United, Liverpool
and the Arsenal. In Scotland either
Rangers, Celtic or Aberdeen usually win
the cup or the championship.
Many clubs have problems with money at
the moment; increasing costs and falling
attendances. Some people say that the
league is too big and that the players get
paid too much. Others say that television is
making the crowds stay at home. Many
clubs, however, are now earning extra
income by using the players' shirts for
advertising as a way of staying alive in the
1990s.
Sport at school
Sport has for a long time been a very
important part of a child's education in
Britain, not just-as youmay think- to
develop physical abilities, but also to
provide a certain kind of moral education!
Team games in particular encourage such
social qualities as enthusiasm, cooperation,
loyalty, unselfishness. Above all, absolute
fairness (no cheating!) and being able to
lose without anger (being a 'good loser') are
considered important.
READ AND PUZZLE
Can you match the pictures of six popular
team games in British schools with the six
written descriptions?
a A game like the American game of
baseball. Played with a long bat held in
one hand. The Derson battino hits the ball
and then tries reach first, second, third
or last post before the other team gets
the ball back again.
b The scoring of this game is a mystery
even to many British people. Each team
takes it in turns to bat. The bat is held
with both hands, the bottom of the bat
resting on the ground. The otherteam
bowls and gets the ball back. Players
usually wearwhite clothes.
c Played with a large leather ball. Each
team tries to score goals by throwing the
ball through the other team's net.
d Perhaps the most popular game in the
world, played in many streets as well as
on the field.
e The goalposts in this game are in the
shape of the letter 'H'. The ball looks as
though someone has sat on it. There is a
lot of pushing1
f Each player has a stick with which to hit
the ball. This game is played on a pitch
similarto a football pitch. The ball is small
and hard.
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
130
Unit eleven
The education system
Education in Britain is provided by the
Local Education Authority (LEA) in each
county. It is financed partly by the
Government and partly by local taxes.
Until recently, planning and organization
were not controlled by central
government. Eacli LEA was free to decide
how to organize education in its own area.
In September 1988, however, the
'National Cnnicnlum' was introduced,
which means that there is now greater
governmental control over what is taught
in schools.
Secondary education (11 to 16/18 years)
Since the 1944 Education Act of
Parliament, free secondary education has
been available to all children in Britain.
Indeed, children must go to school until the
age of 16, and pupils may stay on for one or
two years more ifthey wish.
Secondary schools are usually much larger
than primary schools and most childrenover 80 per cent- go to a comprehensive
school at the age of 11. These schools are
not selective- you don't have to pass an
exam to go there.
Nursery education (under 5 years)
In 1965 the Labour Government
Children do not have to go to school until
they reach the age of five, but there is some
free nursery-school education before that
age.
introduced the policy of comprehensive
education. Before that time, all children
took an exam at the age of 11 called the
'11+'. Approximately the top 20 per cent
were chosen to go to the academic grammar
schools. Those who failed the I l l + ' (80 per
cent) went to secondary modem schools.
A lot of people thought that this system of
selection at the age of 11 was unfair on
many children. So comprehensive schools
wereintroduced to offer suitable courses for
pupils of all ahiliues. Some LEAS started to
change over to comprehensive education
immediately, hut some were harder to
convince and slower to act. There are a few
LEASwho still keep the old system of
grammar schools, hut most LEAS have now
changed over completely to non-selective
education in comprehensive schools.
However, LEAs do not have nurseryschool places for all who would like them
and these places are usually given to
families in special circumstances, for
example families with one parent only.
Because of the small number of nursery
schools, parents in many areas have formed
play groups where children under 5 years
can go for a morning or afiernoon a couple
of times a week.
E'rimary education (5 to 11 years)
Primary education takes place in infant
schools (pupils aged from 5 to 7 years) and
iunior schools (from 8 to 11 vears). (Some
LEAS have a dkerent system in w6ch
middle schools replace junior schools and
take pupils aged from 9 to 12 years.)
Private education (5 to 18 years)
Some parents choose to pay for private
education in spite of the existence of free
state education. Private schools are called
by different names to state schools: the
preparatory (often called 'prep') schools are
for pupils aged up to 13, and the public
schools are for 13 to 18 year-olds. These
schools are very expensive and they are
anended by about 5 per cent of the school
population.
Eton College isprobablythe mostfamous
public (i.e. private) school in the world. This
boy is wearing the school unifon?~.
In and out of school
131
Comprehensive schools
Comprehensive schools want to develop the
talents of each individual child. So they
offer a wide choice of subjects, from art and
craft, woodwork and domestic science to
the sciences, modem languages, computer
studies, etc. AU these subjects are enjoyed
by both girls and boys.
Pupils at comprehensive schools are quite
often put into 'sets' for the more academic
subjects such as mathematics or languages.
Sets are formed according to ability in each
subject, so that for example the children in
the highest set for maths will not necessarilv
be in the highest set for French. All pupils
move to the next class automatically at the
end of the year.
I
WRITE
Lynn Faulkner is in the Lower Sixth of a
comprehensive school. Here she writes
abouta typical day in herschool.
Write a similar account of a typical day in
your School. (What tense will you use
most?)
f l v School
ft,pi~crlday at school Stark at
8.40a.w with the ~ i r sW
t
Mmy
bells n,k$y "rhmghmt Jhe bhlauAg.
go b regisrru+im,which
pkpils must
lasts wh'l 9 o'clock.
~ p h sw~ g i $ W a f i m ,i . e ~ m sbegb. Six%
fmpapil~tm51-at&d W subject
ksm~
-mat
choose e i w at '0'
w 3 ' l~
~ d a d MyfWst
.
,
071 h W E I M Q S ~ ~ L - ~M O Yi~~English. D d g 'itus
d %ILm
I ~ S s u n ,w p ~ * W d kcad.
j
A S4.k 'A' I&&
c m ~ at ~ dOLihcusS -the h n q u a q e 4 style. A-f-tw
+his T
hW< +wo f v ~~k d j - p & o o ( S .
ALI ~ i ~ t . md
d,
Tha Cm&.@S
Chb9 sixth prM6
Occupy di~ermtm o u n t s ol, k;Me w q m k . lav+ve
S h i e ~ KhSud.$j hauc a w ~ b &q- peviods in wh.ich 9
my S i d y pnva+ely . AFCw
two
periods, X h w e
h g e I P S S ~ S Q Geography, cme bqwe ~ o v m l qbreak,
W d h I 0 aft.evu)cwds. D*
break, pupils way b y drinks,
Sweets, m d wisps pow\ W s c h d m k - ' b h q .
Fau h&,
mcwy pupils b*
SQ&UT;C~~S, b d
rnzeds ewe wai(ablQ & iv\ S c M W ~ W . At
N ~ ~ Q
, s cSh d~ b&
Y practice is Weid. It is t ~ r ae
big b a d wif2.\ abm-i -ibihy m w b w s .
Lessms r p c m m at h o o'doci< .
h& Sixth
pupils ham s o d eoluca..h'ch? mn ca W e h e s d a y q t ~ n m ,
h c h is k~&51 b c?k-C;brwry, ound +ciK*
by W bedM a s k w , %is ~ S S C Vlas+s
~
d i l ~,uwtw
pus+
4 k d 0 3 M .
Unit eleven
School uniform
The pupils at Lynn Faulkner's school, like
the pupils at most secondary schools in
Britain, have to wear a school uniform.
This usually means a white blouse for girls
(perhaps with a tie), with a dark-coloured
skirt and pullover. The colours may be
grey, brown, navy blue, dark green or
similar. Boys wear a shirt and tie, dark
trousers and dark-coloured pullovers.
Pupils of both sexes wear blazers - a kind of
jacket - with the school badge on the
pocket. They often have to wear some kind
of hat on the way to and from school- caps
for the boys, and berets or some other kind
of hat for the girls. Shoes are usually black
or brown and should be sensible- no high
heels!
TALKING POINTS
Do you think that some people play
computer games too much and too often?
w Do you think that computers could replace
teachers in schools? Why?
w What are theadvantages and
disadvantages of computers? How will
they affect your life in the future?
w
Computer words
The arrival of computers has brought many
new words into the English language. How
many of these do you know?
Young people in Britain often don't like
their school uniform, especially the hats
and shoes. Sometimes they do not wear the
right clothes. Schools will often give them a
warning the first time that this happens hut
will then punish them if they continue not
to wear the correct uniform.
TALKING POINTS
w Do you think secondary education should
be selective or comprehensive? What are
the advantages and disadvantages of both
systems?
w What do you think are the advantages of
school uniform?And the disadvantages?
Computers
Computers have also started to play an
impirrant part in educauon. Alosr schools
in- ~the United
Kinadom no1v have their own
- computer. As well as using them for school
exercises, many young people are now able
to write their own games as well. Although
a large number of teachers and parents see
the advantages of computers, others are not
so keen. They say that some young people
use computers only for games and don't
really learn anything. This will interfere
with reading development or traditional
hobbies, such as drama or sport. In fact
some people say that as computers become
better at understanding and speaking we
will prefer them to our friends!
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oira1ndtuo3 auo tuodJ~tiasnio!iu3~nntutuo3
= pu~
JponJa[a I~o~?voiir
o rro n i o , u u u m ~ ~ ~
= s~lqdes2!,dn1, mo6ao 'arat[mlCttopan1 aq
I
= ~ a m d m do>-de[
o~
mou tin3 I D I ~ra~ndtiio~
!KIoatli t[]!ma~riauadxalo3!13urda~ndriio301
mou pasn va~Jorprooq6ay ra1itdtiio3at11&i,m
Jo a~uauadxaIgaxp = uo spueq isanlastiiatli
sariitin~o.idat11 3ti!unatir areMljos arndtiio3
'~tiavidtnbar a ~ i ~ d t iall!
i o ~= aleMpleq
In and out of school
133
Educational reform
In the late 1980s the Conservative
Government made impor~antchanges to
the British educational system. One of the
most fundamental changes was the
introducuon of a new 'National
Curriculum'. The aim was to provide a
more balanced education.
In secondary schools, for example, 80%
of the timetable must be spent on the 'core
curriculum'. This must include English,
Mathematics, Science and a Modem
Language for all pupils up to the age of 16.
(Before 1989 pupils of 13 or 14 used to
choose the subjects they wanted to
continue studying.) At the same time, the
new curriculum places greater emphasis on
the more practical aspects of education.
Skills are being taught which students will
need for life and work, and 'work
experience' -when pupils who are soon
going to leave school spend some time in a
business or industry - has become a
standard part of the school programme.
Together with the 'National Curriculum', a
programme of 'Records of Achievement'
wasintroduced. This programmeis known
as 'REACH', andit attempts to set learning
objectivesfor each t e r n and year in
primary school, and for each component
of each subject at secondary school.
This has introduced much more central
control and standardization into what is
taught. Many people think this will raise
educational standards, but some teachers
argue that they have lost the ability to
respond to the needs and interests of their
pupils, which may be different from pupils
in other areas.
As part of the 'REACH' programme, new
tests have been introduced for pupils at the
ages of 7,11,13 and 16. The aimof these
tests is to discover any schools or areas
134
Unit eleven
which are not teaching to high enough
standards. But many parents and teachers
are unhappy. They feel that it is a return to
the days of the '11+' and that the tests are
unfair because they reflect differences in
home background rather than in ability.
Some teachers also fear that because of
preparation for the tests, lessons will be
more 'narrow', with a lot of time being
spent on Mathematics and English, for
example, while other interesting subjects
which are not tested may be left out.
Educational reform is bringing other
changes too. City Technology Colleges
(CTCs) are new super-schools for
scientifically gifted children, who - the
Government hopes- will be the scientists
and technological experts of the future.
These schools are partly funded by
industry.
In addition to the CTCs, since 1988 the
Government has given ordinary schools
the right to 'opt out o f (choose to leave)
the LEA if a majority of parents want it.
Previously all state schools were under the
control of the LEA, which provided the
schools in its area with money for books
etc., paid the teachers, and controlled
educational policy. Now schools which opt
out will receive money direct from the
Government and will be free to spend it as
they like. They can even pay teachers more
or less than in LEA schools if they want to,
and they can accept any children - the
pupils do not have to come from the
neighbourhood. Many people fear that this
will mean a return to selection, i.e. these
schools will choose the brightest children.
The Government says that the new schools
will mean more choice for parents.
Exams
At the age of 14 or 15, in the third or
fourth form of secondary school, pupils
PUZZLE
Find the eleven words in the puzzle. They
all appear in the 'Educational Reform
section above, and the first letters are
given.
Clues
1 The central part, also the
middle of an apple
2 &3 Changes in schooling, a
good title?
4 Written information about
past facts
5 An important school subject,
lo
Greek knowledge?
6 Goal, aim
7 What people speak if they're
modern?
8 Practical science, another
modern subject?
9 What education is about, not
the present orthe past
begin to choose their exam subjects. In
1988 a new public examination- the
General Certificate of Secondary
Education (GCSE) - was introduced for 16
year-olds. This examination assesses
pupils on the work they do in the 4th and
5th year at secondary school, and is often
internally assessed, although there may
also be an exam at the end of the course.
Pupils who stay on into the sixth form or
who go on to a Sixth Form College (17
year-olds in the Lower Sixth and 18 yearolds in the Upper Sixth) usually fall into
two categories. Some pupils will be
retaking GCSEs in order to get better
grades. Others will study two or three
subjects for an 'A' Level (Advanced Level)
GCE exam (General Certificate of
Education). This is a highly specialized
exam and is necessary for University
entrance. Since 1988 there has been a new
level of exam: the 'AS' Level (Advanced
Supplementary), which is worth half an
'A' Level. This means that if o u ~ i lwish
s
to study more than two or three subjects in
the sixth form they can take a combination
11
z ~ E T I IC ( ( I( I ( I ( I I I ( I I
3
10 Something that has been
successfully done
11 A progamme of study
(You will find the answers on page 139.)
of 'A' and 'AS' Levels. In Scotland the
exam system is slightly different (see page90).
Leaving school at sixteen
Many people decide to leave school at the
age of 16 and go to a Further Education
(FE) College. Here most of the courses are
linked to some kind of practical vocational
trainine.
-. for examole in eneineerine.
-.
typing, cooking or hairdressing. Some
young people arc givcn 'day release' (thcir
cmploycr dlows them timc off work) so
that they can follow a course to help them
in their job.
-
For those 16 year-olds who leave school
and who cannot h d work but do not want
to go to FE College, the Government has
introduced the Youth Opportunities
Scheme (YOPS). This scheme places
young, unemployed people with a business
or an indusuy for six months so that they
can get experience of work, and pays thcm
a small wacc. Thcv aenerallv have n better
chance of pettiup ioh aftekards, and
sometimes-the combany they are placed
with offers them a permanent job.
a
In and our of school
135
Life at
British universities
There are 46 universities in Britain. Good
'A' Level results in at least two subjects are
necessary to get a place at one. However,
good exam passes alone are not enough.
Universities choose their students after
interviews, and competition for places at
university is fierce.
For all British citizens a place at university
brings with it a grant fiom their Local
Education authority. The grants cover
tuition fees and some of the living expenses.
The amount depends on the parents'
income. If the parents do not earn much
money, their children will receive a full
grant which will cover all their expenses.
Free a t last!
Most 18 and 19 year-olds in Britain are
fairly independent people, and when the
time comes to pick a college they usually
choose one as far away fiom home as
possible! So, many students in northern
and Scottish universities come from the
south of England and vice versa. It is very
unusual for university students to live at
home. Although parents may be a little sad
to see this happen, they usually approve of
the move, and see it as a necessary part of
becoming an adult.
Anyway, the three university terms are only
ten weeks each, and during vacation times
families are reunited.
Freshers
When they first arrive at college, first year
university students are called 'freshers'. A
fresher's life can be exciting but terrifying
for the first week.
Often fieshers will live in a Hall of
Residence on or near the college campus,
although they may move out into a rented
room in their second or third year, or share
a house \vith friends. Alanv freshers will
feel very homesick for t h e b s t week or so,
but Living in hall soon helps them to make
new friends.
During the first week, all the clubs and
societies hold a 'freshers' fair' during which
136
Unit eleven
they uy to persuade the new students to
join their society. The freshers are told that
it is important for them to come into contact
with many opinions and activities during
their time at university, but the choice can
be a hit overwhelming!
On the day that lectures start, groups of
freshers are often seen walking around huge
campuses, maps in hand and a worried look
on their faces. They are learning how
difficult it is to change from a school
community to one of many thousands.
They also learn a new way of studying. As
well as lectures, there are regular seminars,
at which one of a small group of students
(probably not more than ten) reads a paper
he or she has written. The paper is then
discussed by the tutor and the rest of the
group. Once or twice a term, students will
have a tutorial. This means that they see a
tutor alone to discuss their work and their
progress. In Oxlord and Cambridge, and
some other universities, the study system is
based entirelv around such tutorials which
take place once a week. Attending lectures
is optional for 'Oxbridge' students1
After three or four years (depending on the
type of course and the university) these
students will take their finals. Most of them
(over 90 per cent) will get a first, second or
third class degree and be able to put BA
(Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of
Science) after their name. It wiU have been
well earned!
TALKING POINTS
a IS it a good tning
to .eave norne at tne age
of 187 What are tne advantaoes an0
disadvantages?
a Many British people believe that if you do
nothing more than study hard at
university, you will have wasted a great
opportunity. What do they mean and do
you agree?
a How do British universities differ from
universities in your country? What do you
like and dislike about the British system?
-
Glossary
amphetamine a drug which gives a sense
of excitement
anarchy when there is confusion in society
and no government
anorak a jacket with a hood
badge a special mark, a sign of membership: each school has its own badge
bat (v) to hit (especially in cricket or
baseball); (71) instrument for hitting a ball
beret a soft flat hat for schoolgirls
blazer a jacket
bowl (v) to throw a ball
braces elasticared straps which go over the
shoulders to keep up one's trousers
break a pause for rest between lessons,
usually about 20 minutes
campus the site of a university or college
canteen the place in a school or factory
where you can buy food
cap a sofi flat hat for men and boys
chart a list of best-selling single records
clothes conscious very aware of the way
one dresses
comprehensive (school) providing all
types of secondary education
day release the system where someone
with a job studies for one day a week
degree a university qualification
disc-jockey a person who plays records on
the radio or at a discotheque
division a part of the football league,
containing 22 teams
domestic science cookery and
housekeeping
do without to survive without something
drainpipe long metal pipe for carrying
away water
drug (n) a chemical which affects your
mind or body
emerge to appear
extracurricular not part of the school
timetable
h a l s h a l exams at university or college
football season the time of year when
football is played, winter in the UK
form (n) class
Further Education College college where
one can smdy after the age of 16
get one's kicks to find excitement
grammar school a secondary school which
teaches mainly academic subjects
grant money given by an organization, eg
the Local Authority
hall of residence a building owned by a
college or university, containing study
bedrooms for students
here to stay here for ever
hit a successfd record
infant school for pupils aged 5-7
infectious (arhythm) which makes you
want to dance
inflation a rise in prices caused by
increased wages, etc.
junior school for pupils aged 8-11
keen enthusiastic
lmockout a competition which teams leave
when beaten
league a group of football teams which
play matches among themselves
Live (a41 not recorded
Local Education Authority (LEA) the
education department of local government
lose touch to lose contact
LSD hallucinatory drug (lysergic acid
diethylamide)
materialism the belief that you can be
happy through the possession of objects
middle school for pupils aged 9-12
moral education learning what is good and
bad behaviour
new release a new record
nursery school for children under 5
optional not obligatory
packed lunch a lunch brought from home
paper a piece of writing on an academic
subject
pick (v) to choose
post (n) a piece of wood in the ground
preparatory school a private school for
pupils aged 7-13
producer the person who is responsible for
a TY or radio programme
public school a private school for pupils
aged 13-18
racism belief that your race is superior to
all others
registration a period when pupils answer
to their names to see if anyone is absent
relegate to send down
rent (v) to hire a room for money
resort a place where tourists go to, usually
at the seaside
ln and out of school
137
secondary school for pupils aged 11-16/18
selective school a school which pupils
must pass certain exams to enter
seminar a discussion
set (n) a group of pupils who form a class
in a particular subject
set text a literary work which must be
studied for an exam
social education lessons to prepare for
adult life, not for exams, eg how to
manage money, politics
study periods free lessons when pupils can
study privately
swinging full of life, sexually free
tuck-shop a place in a school where pupils
buy snacks, sweets
tuition fee teaching costs
tutor a teacher in a college or university
who leads a discussion group
vice versa the other way round
woodwork the art of making things out of
wood
Answers
Quiz (pnge 14)
1 Anne Bolcyn.
2 Thc Angles.
3 It goes to rhc Housc of Lords to he dcbetcd.
4 In Scotlnnd.
S Earrereggs.
6 Bcn Ncvis.
7 Londonond rhcHcurt ofEngland.
8 Thc'pilgrim fndlerr'sniled to Amcrica in the
'MnvEower'.
9 Scvcnrccn.
10 Five years.
11 People scnd cuch othcr Vnlcnrine curds.
l2 Uprighrred cross, while diugonnl cross, red diagl"'I'
"TOSS.
3.3 Northern Ireland.
14 On Chrisrmns morning
15 Bccnurc in en election, rhc wishw of those who voted
far rhe unsuccessful candidates are norrcprcscntud.
Thc MP who wins nn election may have more votes
nmin.r
rnr
him
.- ..him rhz8n .
.
..
......
16 W.
I....I I I ~
Festival cmsrword (page 14)
Across: 1 rhosrs 5 or 6 Kinr 9 ocnnv
10-i" 11 November
Down: 2 home 3 turkey 4 sing 7 noise
8 on 9 pan
u
.
WordSeurch(poge 27)
1 Prince. 2 King. 3 Crown. 4 Royul. S Polnce.
Quiz (pnge 34)
1 British Broadcasting Corpontion.
2 BritishRdl.
3 Bachelor of Ans.
4 Member ofPodinmcnr.
S United Nations.
6 Eurapcnn Economic Community.
.
Quiz (pugc 20)
1 True (TheFinorrciol Tinfa).
2 Henry VIII.
3 Tower Bridge divjdcs in half to allow ships rhmugh.
4 Themurriugc olchnrles, Prince of Wills, and Lndy
Dinnn Spencer.
5 LondonBridgc.
- --
Haw much do you rcmcmbcr? (pnge 26)
Income tax: the Chnncllor of r h e Evchcqucrlrhe Treasury
The nmv: rhc Minisw of Dcrcnccldle Ministn, of
Defence
Prisons: rheHome Secrcrnryithc Home Dfficc
Govenuncnlspending: rhc Chnncellorof rhc
Ercl~uqocrrl~urrctrllry
Lmv and order: thr. Ilnm: Sr.crcc>ry the Hanc Ofice
Nucluar ur-dpons: thu 3linirrur olDufunculthu 3linijtg.
of Defcncc
Immigmtion: rhc Homc Sccrewryllhc Home Officc
The police: rhc Home Sccrcorylthc Homc Olfice
.r-m---,
1 B2rner Fair. Huir.
4 Plotesofmcut: Feet.
2 Bccr ilnd huncy: Alancy. S Nonh and South: hluuth.
3 Uvsy rantr: Boorr.
6 Dog and bane: Telcphonu.
( y v = governor(boss); butcher's (hook) = look; loud =
rond; mip i s = eyes]
'
Word Senrch (poge 45)
1 Swon.
6 Dmin.
2 Flot.
7 Islnnd(5)
3 Fen.
8 Tiger.
4 Flood.
9 Cdery.
5 Bnnk.
10 Web.
Look and Practise (page 60)
1 unEngtishmnnlEngtiahwoman
2 o Scot
3 un 1rishmnniIrishwomnn
4 n Dubliner
S u Grcck
6 n Spaniard
7 n DutchmnniDutchwomnn
8 n FrenchmnnlFrenchwomnn
9 n Londoner
10 n Rusianln Sovier
I
Complete (pagc 66)
1 sisccrs
2 surname, or family numc
5
6
7
8
9
10
novels, or stories
wrote
orumples
works, or books
young
married
P u d c (page 87)
1 bed 2 nntuml 4 living 5 fnulr 6 picked
7 cabin 8 smoking 9 drilling
Truc or False?(pnge 87)
I T ZF 3T 4T SF 6 F 7F 8F
Words (pdgc 89)
1 cnprnin 2 ynchr 3 sailing 4 harbour
5 quay 6 ocean 7 river 8 cargo
Quiz(page 90)
1 Voltor 2 Bell 3 Benz 4 Cclsius 5 Whirrlc
Words (pngc 101)
Bo,'? ,tamer
Thamns, lun, Michntl, Kenneth, ~ m c s Robcn,
,
Andrew, Mnrk, Martin, Frcderidi.
Girlr' aomer
Ruth, Julia, Gcmmo, Tracy, Teresa, Angeln, Mnrilyn,
April, Felicity, Gilliun.
S~mtamcr
Thomns, Smilh, Rogers, Abbot, James, Robiaon, Price,
MocGrcgor, Petcrr.
Mircd tloaw
Eliubeth, Nigcl, Gcorgc, Susan, Angela, Robcn, Dinnu,
Monica, Pctcr.
Ward Game (p;dgc 106)
I Welsh 2 NewTllenuc 3 Atuactivc
4 Administntivc
5 Steel 6 Evening 7 S e d y
Word Search (page 108)
Sailing, Singing, Thmrre, Climbing, Riding, Rugby
Truc or False (pagc 109)
I T ZF 3T 4F ST 6 F 7T
l4tule (psgc 114)
1 population
2 colonirution
3 indusrrinliznlion
4 plunrarian
5 reformution
6 sumation
Read and Punlc@nge 130)
d loorball
c rugby
b cricket
c netball
f hockey
n mundcrr
P d c (pnge 135)
1 corc 213 cduntionnl reform 4 record
5 science 6 abjcctivc 7 lnnguugc 8 technolorn
9 futurc 10 nchievcmcnr
Index
occunt & dinlects 3,21,
80, 93
ngriculture 32,41,45,70
nirpons 32
Anglo-Irish ngrccmcnr
117
m y 115
Asians 4
bonking 19
bnnkhalidnys 71
BBC25.34.126-127
birds 45,75
bone &ships 56,58,63,
76-77,88
b o o k 108
bowler hnrs 19,56
Boxing Doy 13
British
Isles ~
2 ~ ~
~
~
Burns' night 93
buses 16-17
cnbiner ministers 5
City gents 19
City ofLondon 18-20
City Technolow Collcges
l Zd
a>,
Civil Service 5-6,26
Civil War 9,25,44,113
clans 92
clothcs92,127,128,133
cockneys21
coffee 122
commerce 18-19,53
Commonwenlth 4,13
commurers 18.39
cornorehenrive schools
li2
computers 133
Conrcrvntivepnrty 6,34
counties 7,63
countryside32,38,44,65,
102,120-121,123
cricket 130
demonrrrnrions 22,96
devolution2
Edinburgh Festival 84
clecdons 5-7
enercv 101
engineering 63,76,104
enrerminmenrs 23-24.34.
".
family life 10
fashions 87,127-129
fcrtirnls 11-13,42,68,84,
88
Elms 86
fishing 63,123
~
-
-
~
~
-
i,
6k-67
ghosts l
Good Friday 11
-mnr
schools 131
Great Britilin 2
Grcnr Fire ofLondon 18
Guy Fnwkcs Night 12
Hnllotve'en 12
Hnrrods 28
Highland gomes 83
hippies 128
hisrog.2-3,7-9,12,25,
37,44,4748,68,
80-81,85,97,112115,124, iv
hit records 59,127
hockey 130
Hogmnnny 93
horsc-mcing4l
House ofCommons 5-7,
25
HouseofLord5 5-7,12,
25
Tnnspon 16
London underground 17
Lord Mayor's Show
18-19
mnrkets21,46,53
murringe 10
Mny Day 12
mining I09
mods 127-128
monarch & monarchy 5,
7,25
money 90
Marrir dancers 12
mounroins 1, 102-104
MFs 5-6
multirncinl Britain 3-4
museums 28-29,63,68,
76,109,118-119
muric4,28, 42,59-60,
SO, 127-129
mythsllegcnds 73-74,
120-121
names (ofpeople) 92,101,
122
nnmes (of plnces) 2,44,97
norionnlity 2-4
Nntionnl Curriculum 134
Nnrionnl Front 128
Nntionnl Hunlth Service
100
Nntiannl Parks 65,102
NnrionnlTmsr 65
netball 130
newspopcrs 19
New Wnvemuric 129
New Yesr'r Eve 11,93
nursery schools 131
oil industry 86-87
old people 10
Opposition, the 5-6
Pnncnkc Dnv 11
pnrks 27
Podiomcnt 5-7,12,2&25
Plnye, the 18
poetipoctry25,93,101
police 7
polric~lparties 5-6,34
public holidoys 11,13,71
publicschoolr 131
Punch and Judy 35
punks 128-129
Puriruns 8-9,113
qucues 16
mdsm 3-4,128-129
radio 126
milways 36,68,102
recipes 72,93
rcggnemulic 4,129
religion 7-9,37-38,54,
73,112-115
rircsidtunls 73
rockers 127-128
rockmusic 127-129
Roman Catholics &
Catholicism 7-9,12,
37-38,112-115
rounders 130
Royol Navy 76
rugby 98
rush hour 39
St Vulcnrine's Dny 11
schools 130-135
school uniform 133
scones 72
SDP pnrty 6,34
secondary schoolr 90,
131-135
shndow cnbinct 6
shipwrecks 76
shopping22,28,33,46,
rlnng2l
Soda1 nnd Libcml
Democrats 6
sports 34,82-83,98,123,
129-130
rrockhroker belt 39
suburbs(ofLondon) 18
superrtitions 120-121
U L I ~ 92
~ S
..-..kings and queens 2,7-8,
12,25,37,80,85,97,
112-113. iv
~nbourpo&6,34
lnngunges 3-4, SO, 92-93,
96,101-102
la~v5,7,10,19
Liberal p n q 6,34
locnl governmcot 7
London Regional
populntion 2
ports 21,32,41,50,76,
79.95
prchisraric ritcr 73-74
Press, thc 19
primnryschools 131
Prime Minister 5,7
privntcrchools 131
Proms 28
Protesmnrism7-9,112113
trade unions 6,33-34
tube, the 16-17
TV
126-127
- . .
.
. --.
unemployment 64
universities 42,55,90,
106-108.136-137
USAS, 113
violcncc 82,112-115,128
Welrh 3,96-97,101-102
words
... 21,56,92-93 102,
112
world wnrs 25-26,54,1W
writers 37-38,66,93, 101