England Facts

Fill the gaps by choosing the correct word from the box below. There are fifteen words but only twelve gaps.

tennis best shoulder half day

name above biggest snow under

food foot below sea kilograms

England is the (1) of the four countries in the !nited "ingdom (or #ritain$ as it is usually referred to). The other three$ in order of si%e$ are &cotland$ 'ales and (orthern )reland. #ritain is the *+th,largest country in the world$ and England covers -ust over (.) of the total area of #ritain. England is separated from France$ to the south$ by an area of (/) called the English 0hannel (or La Manche in French). 1n clear days it is possible to see the French coast from some parts of the English coast. The 0hannel Tunnel$ a railway tunnel built (2) the English 0hannel$ opened in 1++2. England gets its (3) from the 4ngles$ one of the 4nglo,&axon tribes that settled in #ritain in the fifth and sixth centuries. 5any parts of the modern English language come from the languages spoken by these 4nglo,&axon tribes. The patron saint of England is &t 6eorge$ and the country7s national (8) $ &t 6eorge7s 9ay$ is 4pril ./rd. The national flag of England$ the :flag of &t 6eorge7$ is a red cross on a white background; the well,known blue$ white and red :!nion flag7 is the flag of #ritain$ not England. 4nd , as you all might know , the symbol of England is the rose. The most popular team sports in England$ both for playing and watching$ are football$ rugby and cricket. The rules for all three were invented in England$ as were the rules of (*) . The (<) professional football teams in England play in the =remier >eague$ which is shown on T? in countries all over the world. England has a mild climate$ without extreme heat or cold. 5ost of the country gets at least a few days of (+) in winter$ but temperatures usually stay above free%ing (%ero degrees centigrade). )n summer the temperature in the south of England$ the warmest part of #ritain$ rarely rises (1@) /@ degrees and is usually below .3 degrees. The largest wild animal in England is the red deer. 4 large male red deer can weigh over 13@ (11) . 4dult red deer are over one metre high at the (1.) (not counting the neck$ head or$ in the case of the males$ the large antlers).

>ittle >uxuries
Fill the gaps with the words below. There are 26 gaps but 30 words, so there are 4 words you do not need to use. >uxury goods are usually 1. that are rare$ exotic and expensive. =eople 2. buying more and more luxury goods worldwide$ but 3. luxury in the past the same as nowA 4nd who will buy luxury goods 4. the futureA )n ancient 6reece the typical 5. was fruit and cereals. For most people meat was a luxury and they 6. only eat it at religious celebrations$ 7. it was a gift for the 6ods. Fish was also a luxury and everyone knew the price . different types$ so people could show how rich they were by the type of fish !. bought. )n 3th century 6reece$ eating a lot of fish or expensive fish meant 10. a person couldn7t control their desires. 4thenians believed 11. you were out of control in one way$ you were out of control in every way$ so :fish lover7 became an insult. )n 1*th century Bolland$ tulips became the 12. important luxury. 4t that time$ most flowers were not 13. colourful$ but tulips were. 1ne particular tulip$ :&emper 4ugustus7$ was extremely beautiful 14. colourful. 1ne tulip, lover in 4msterdam offered /$@@@ guilders 15. one tulip bulb$ which was about the yearly income of a rich merchant and about 16. the money Cembrandt received for one of his paintings. The price of a tulip bulb 17. up and up and in 18//$ someone sold a farmhouse for three 1 . tulip bulbsD 4fter 'orld 'ar Two in Europe$ the middle classes wanted luxury goods$ but they 1!. afford large items$ so smaller things 20. handbags$ scarves$ wallets and purses became luxury items and this is 21. true. For example$ +@E of women in Fapan 22. a designer handbag. The luxury goods market is growing and is expected to be about G182 billion 23. the end of .@11. (ow 0hinese people buy 1.E of luxury goods worldwide and 24. economists say that in .@.@ they will probably buy 22E of all luxury goods$ which means they 25. buy more luxury products then 26. the whole world buys now. and "ould i$ one than any "ouldn#t in ones that are diet li&e rare then by $or 'ost so'e they "an#t ha%e o$ still twi"e

%ery

was

went

where

will

!&4 Trivia 6ap Filling

Fill the gaps by choosing the correct word. There are fifteen words but only twelve gaps. 1f the fifty states in the !nited &tates$ the largest is 4laska and the (1) is Chode )sland. 0alifornia has the biggest population (/* million)H 'yoming has the smallest (33@$@@@). The total !& population is about /1@ million. (.) in the !nited &tates consume more (/) per head than in any other country. #arack 1bama is$ of course$ the first black president of the !nited &tates. Be is in one of the two (2) political parties in the !&$ the 9emocratic =arty. The (3) he beat to become the party7s candidate in .@@<$ Billary 0linton$ is now the !& &ecretary of &tate (or foreign minister$ as (8) would be called in many countries). 5any of the most (*) singers and groups in the history of pop music have been 4merican. The biggest,selling (<) solo artist$ for example$ is Elvis =resley (or 5ichael Fackson$ according to some statistics) and the biggest, selling female solo artist is 5adonna. There are around 1.3 million people in the !& (+) (army$ navy and air force)$ and more than /3@$@@@ of them are (1@) the !&. )n fact$ there are !& military personnel in about 13@ countries (although in most of these countries there are fewer than 1$@@@ of them). The most popular spectator sports in the !& are baseball$ basketball and 4merican football. (11) 4mericans watch football (or soccer$ as the 4mericans call it) but a lot of them play it$ and Iuite a high percentage of players are female. )n fact$ the !& women7s soccer team is (1.) one in the world ranking and won the gold medal in both the last two 1lympic 6ames. military main important soldiers fewer people she male smallest chewing gum outside number woman person more

#ig &urvivals , 1ne out of nine livesA Fill the gaps with the words below( There are also e)tra words you do not need to use.

9r 0hen$ a doctor JJJJ. in #ei-ing$ decided one morning JJJJJ. her cat away. 9r 0hen thought JJJJJJ it was JJJJ. better for the animal to live in the country. &o she put 'ei 'ei in her car and drove more JJJJJ 1@@ kilometres out of the city to her brotherKs house and left the cat JJJJJ. him. JJJJ. month later she was shocked JJJJJ.. that 'ei 'ei was no longer thereD JJJJJ.. one night 9r 0hen heard a noise JJJJJ her bedroom window. !nable to sleep she got JJJJJ. bed and was surprised to see a thin cat looking in. &he chased the cat JJJJ. and went back to bed. Then$ -ust JJJ.. she was about to fall JJJJ..$ something landed on her bed. L)t JJJJJJ me a real fright and then ) realised it was JJJJJ cat and the cat was 'ei 'eiDL (ow 9r 0hen says she will never JJJJJ.. 'ei 'ei away againD a as asleep at away gave give living much out of sleeping than that the then to give to hear very which with

Trip on roo$ 5r (dobe left JJJJJ house one morning and there$ as JJJJJ$ was his cat$ Mulu$ sitting JJJJJ his car. 5r (dobe$ a &outh 4frican businessman$ chased Mulu away and then JJJJJ his car and drove to work. Beavy traffic JJJJJ the morning meant that 5r (dobe was unable to drive very JJJJJ so he was surprised to see a police car behind JJJJJ with flashing lights. 4s 5r (dobe slowed down to pull over he JJJJJ shocked to see something large and grey slide down the carKs windscreen. )t was Mulu and he was JJJJJD The policeman JJJJJ his car and told the owner that he saw the cat and thought it was a toy JJJJJ carried on the roof as a -oke. (ow 5r (dobe always checks Mulu is not near the car JJJJJ he drives to workD be being fast got in got out of him his in on terrified terrifying usual usually was when

* night $ro+en to the ground 5rs &pears$ an office cleaner from 0hicago$ arrived JJJJJ work one cold$ winter morning. The temperature was JJJJJ low and it was JJJJJ to snow. JJJJJ to go inside and get warm she was JJJJJ to see something large and still outside the office door. &he looked JJJJJ and was shocked JJJJJ it was a cat fro%en to the ground. 5rs &pears realised the cat was alive but JJJJJ to move so she wrapped JJJJJ up in her coat. 'hen the office workers came JJJJJ they too put JJJJJ coats around the cat. Eventually he started to move and open his eyes. They carried him JJJJJ the office$ put him near a heater and gave him JJJJJ warm milk to drink. (ow he lives in the office and JJJJJ a new name; L>uckyLD at beginning begun having him hurry late later much surprising their to discover

closely has

hurrying inside

some surprised

unable very

Twilight Mone
)tKs that dangerous moment that drivers fear most; nodding off at the wheel. Falling asleep at the wheel causes more than .@ per cent of accidents on dull$ monotonous roads such 0J..asJ. motorways$ according 1JJJ.. a recent medical report. Typically$ these involve running 2JJJJ. the road or into the back of another vehicle$ and are more likely to cause serious in-ury 3JJJJJJ the sleepy driverKs failure to brake. 1f course it is a fact that the bodyKs biological clock has a ma-or influence$ as these accidents peak at times 4JJJJJ sleepiness is naturally higher. 5en under /@ are the 5JJJJJ.. vulnerable$ as they are the drivers most typically out on the roads 6JJJJ.. the early hours. 4pparently$ they take more risks in driving when sleepy (it must 7JJJJ. added$ however$ that alcohol is not a factor here). )n contrast$ older people suffer from an early afternoon sleepiness$ when they are JJJJJ at risk. The time !JJJJ.. the day was found to be as important as the length of the drive$ yet practical advice to drivers often concentrates more 1@JJJJJ. the length of the drive 11JJJJJ. its timing. 9evices are now 12JJJ marketed as in,car monitors of driver sleepiness to warn drivers$ but doubts 13JJJJ. being raised about these devices. 'hat is the advantage of alerting drivers already aware that they are sleepy but 14JJJJJ. still persist in drivingA 'hat is more$ these devices are of unproven reliability and may simply encourage drivers to take further risks. The best advice is either to find 15JJJJJ. reasons not to drive at night$ or to get the car off the road as soon as possible$ if youKre not feeling too bright and bree%yD

are as any be

because because of being in

is more most of

off on some then

than to when who