Chapter 4 Test 9

The UK has hosted the Olympic games on three occasions: 1908, 1948 and 2012.

During Halloween young people will often dress up in frightening costumes to play ‘trick or treat’.

In the UK, some of the most well-known galleries are The National Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, the National Museum in Cardiff, and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded annually for the best fiction novel written by an author from the Commonwealth, Ireland or Zimbabwe. It has been awarded since 1968.

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

The main Olympic site for the 2012 Games was in Stratford, East London.

People over 75 can apply for a free TV licence and blind people can get a 50% discount.

There is a famous celebration of Diwali in Leicester.

Recent British actors to have won Oscars include Colin Firth, Sir Antony Hopkins, Dame Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and Tilda Swinton. Emily Watson has not won an oscar.

Horse racing has a long association with royalty.

Hanukkah is in November or December and is celebrated for eight days. It is to remember the Jews’ struggle for religious freedom.

The capital city of the UK is London.

In Scotland, 31 December is called Hogmanay.

On Remembrance Day at 11.00 am there is a two-minute silence and wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

In the UK, the longest distance on the mainland is from John O’Groats on the north coast of Scotland to Land’s End in the south-west corner of England. It is about 870 miles (approximately 1,400 kilometres).

There are now more than 61,000 volunteers helping to keep the National Trust running.

The population of the UK in 1851 was 20 million people.

Shakespeare had a great influence on the English language and invented many words that are still common today.

Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Damon Hill have won the Formula 1 World Championship.

In the 2011 census, 25% of people said they had no religion.

Diwali normally falls in October or November and lasts for five days. It is often called the Festival of Lights.