Life in the UK test questions and answers

Chapter 1: The values and principles of the UK

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1. Which of these is one of the fundamental principles of life in Britain?
2. Which TWO of these are fundamental principles of life in Britain?
3. True or false: Tolerance of people with different faiths and beliefs is one of the fundamental principles of life in Britain.
4. True or false: Extremism and intolerance have no place in British society.
5. At which event do new citizens pledge to uphold the values of the UK?
6. Which TWO promises are part of the citizenship pledge?
7. In the citizenship pledge, new citizens promise to give their loyalty to:
8. According to the handbook, how are the fundamental values of British society protected?
9. True or false: The fundamental values of British society come from the country's history and traditions.
10. Which TWO are responsibilities of a person who wants to become a UK citizen or permanent resident?
11. Which of these is a responsibility shared by everyone living in the UK?
12. Which of these freedoms does the UK offer to people who live here?
13. True or false: The responsibilities and freedoms that come from the UK's fundamental principles apply only to British citizens, not to other residents.
14. Which of these statements is correct? (The values and principles of the UK)
15. Which of these rights does the UK offer to the people who live here?

Chapter 2: What is the UK?

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1. Which countries make up the United Kingdom?
2. What is the country's official name?
3. Which countries does the name 'Great Britain' refer to?
4. True or false: Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain.
5. True or false: Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.
6. What is the status of the rest of Ireland, outside Northern Ireland?
7. Which TWO of these are Crown dependencies?
8. True or false: The Isle of Man is part of the United Kingdom.
9. What are the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man called?
10. Which of these statements is correct? (What is the UK?)
11. Which TWO statements about British overseas territories are correct?
12. Which of these is a British overseas territory?
13. Where does the parliament that governs the UK sit?
14. True or false: As well as the UK Parliament, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have a parliament or assembly with devolved powers in certain areas.
15. Which TWO of these are part of Great Britain?

Chapter 3: A long and illustrious history

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Early Britain

1. Roughly how long ago did the Channel finally cut Britain off from the continent for good?
2. True or false: Through much of the Stone Age, people could walk between Britain and the continent over a land bridge.
3. When did the first farmers arrive in Britain?
4. In which English county does Stonehenge stand?
5. Where is Skara Brae, northern Europe's best-preserved village from prehistoric times?
6. In the Bronze Age, what were the tombs used to bury the dead called?
7. Maiden Castle, an impressive Iron Age hill fort that can still be visited, is in which English county?
8. Which TWO statements describe people in Britain during the Iron Age?
9. True or false: The first coins made in Britain were minted during the Bronze Age.
10. In which year did Emperor Claudius lead the Roman invasion that succeeded in occupying most of Britain?
11. Boudicca, a tribal leader who resisted the Romans, was queen of which tribe?
12. Which people was Hadrian's Wall, in northern England, built to keep out?
13. Which TWO forts on Hadrian's Wall can still be seen today?
14. Which TWO of these did the Romans do during their time in Britain?
15. True or false: Christian communities first formed in Britain in the 3rd and 4th centuries, during Roman rule.
16. In which year did the Roman army leave Britain, never to come back?
17. Which TWO of these tribes from northern Europe invaded Britain after the Romans left?
18. Sutton Hoo, where an Anglo-Saxon king was buried in a ship with treasure and armour, is in which modern county?
19. True or false: St Patrick, one of the missionaries from Ireland, became the patron saint of Scotland.
20. Who was the first person to hold the post of Archbishop of Canterbury?
21. In which year did the Vikings first come to Britain to raid coastal towns?
22. Which king united England's Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and defeated the Vikings?
23. Which of these statements is correct? (The Vikings)
24. True or false: Fear of Viking attacks led people in the north to join together under King Kenneth MacAlpin.
25. At the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated which Saxon king?
26. Which TWO statements about the Norman Conquest are true?
27. True or false: After 1066 the Normans invaded and conquered Scotland.
28. True or false: William's survey listing England's towns, villages, landowners and animals was called the Bayeux Tapestry.

The Middle Ages

1. The Middle Ages run from the Norman Conquest up to about which year?
2. Which king introduced the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, which annexed Wales to the English Crown?
3. Which TWO huge castles were built in Wales to keep English power there?
4. Who led the Scots to victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314?
5. By 1200 the English controlled the Pale, an area of Ireland. Which city was it around?
6. Many knights joined the Crusades. What were European Christians fighting to control in these wars?
7. True or false: The Hundred Years War between England and France lasted exactly 100 years.
8. Which king led the heavily outnumbered English army that beat the French at Agincourt in 1415?
9. What was the system of land ownership used by the Normans called?
10. True or false: Under feudalism, serfs were free to leave their lord's land whenever they wished.
11. In which year did the Black Death come to Britain?
12. About what share of England's population died in the Black Death?
13. Which TWO changes followed the Black Death?
14. True or false: Because the Black Death caused many deaths in the Pale, the part of Ireland under English control shrank for a time.
15. Which king was forced by his noblemen in 1215 to agree to the Magna Carta?
16. True or false: The Magna Carta set out the principle that the king, too, had to obey the law.
17. Which TWO groups had seats in the House of Lords of the medieval English Parliament?
18. True or false: Like the English Parliament, the medieval Scottish Parliament had two Houses.
19. How did judges in medieval England develop 'common law'?
20. True or false: In medieval Scotland, the legal system developed so that laws were codified, or written down.
21. Which TWO of these modern English words come from Anglo-Saxon?
22. True or false: By 1400, official documents in England were still written only in Norman French.
23. Who wrote The Canterbury Tales, poems in English about pilgrims telling stories on their way to Canterbury?
24. What is William Caxton known for?
25. John Barbour wrote The Bruce in the Scots language. Which event is it about?
26. Which building is a famous example of medieval stained glass telling stories of the Bible and Christian saints?
27. Which product became a very important English export in the Middle Ages?
28. Which TWO correctly match skilled workers who came to medieval England with the country they came from?
29. In which year did the Wars of the Roses begin?
30. Which of these statements is correct? (The Wars of the Roses)
31. Which king died at Bosworth Field in 1485?
32. Which TWO statements about Henry VII are true?

The Tudors and Stuarts

1. After winning the Wars of the Roses, what did Henry VII do to keep his throne safe?
2. Which wife of Henry VIII was a Spanish princess?
3. Which of Henry VIII's wives was the mother of Elizabeth?
4. Why did Henry VIII set up the Church of England?
5. What was the Reformation?
6. In whose reign did the Act for the Government of Wales formally join Wales to England?
7. In which monarch's reign was the Book of Common Prayer written for the Church of England?
8. Why did Queen Mary, Henry VIII's daughter, become known as 'Bloody Mary'?
9. In which year did the English defeat the Spanish Armada?
10. What was the name of Sir Francis Drake's ship, one of the first ships to go all the way round the world?
11. What is the Globe Theatre in London?
12. Who inherited the English throne when Elizabeth I died in 1603?
13. What is the 'Authorised Version'?
14. What were the 'plantations' in Ireland?
15. What was the 'Divine Right of Kings'?
16. In which year did civil war break out between Charles I and Parliament?
17. In which year was Charles I executed?
18. What was England called when it became a republic after Charles I's death?
19. What title was Oliver Cromwell given as leader of the new republic?
20. In May 1660 Parliament asked Charles II to come back. Where had he been living in exile?
21. Who designed the new St Paul's Cathedral after the great fire of London?
22. In which year did the Habeas Corpus Act become law?
23. What did Isaac Newton's famous book Principia Mathematica show?
24. In which year did leading English Protestants invite William of Orange to invade England?
25. At which battle in Ireland did William III defeat James II in 1690?
26. What were the supporters of James II, who still saw him as the rightful king, called?
27. Which of these statements is correct? (The Reformation in Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots)
28. Which of these statements is correct? (William Shakespeare)
29. Which of these statements is correct? (James VI and I)
30. True or false: Anne Boleyn was put to death at the Tower of London.
31. True or false: Catherine Howard, one of Henry VIII's wives, was a cousin of Jane Seymour.
32. True or false: In Henry VIII's new Church of England, the Pope still had the power to appoint bishops.
33. True or false: Edward VI died when he was only 15 years old.
34. True or false: Elizabeth I did not question people about what they really believed in religion.
35. True or false: Mary, Queen of Scots became queen at just one week old.
36. True or false: Sir Francis Drake was one of the commanders when the Spanish Armada was defeated.
37. True or false: Henry VIII took the title 'King of Ireland'.
38. True or false: In the civil war, the Roundheads were the supporters of the king.
39. True or false: After the Battle of Worcester, Charles II escaped and once hid in an oak tree.
40. True or false: Richard Cromwell, who followed his father as Lord Protector, kept firm control of the army and the government.
41. True or false: 'Habeas corpus' is Latin meaning that the person must be brought before a court.
42. True or false: Isaac Newton discovered that white light consists of all the colours of the rainbow.
43. True or false: The MacDonalds of Glencoe were killed because they took the oath accepting William as king too late.
44. Which TWO wives of Henry VIII were executed?
45. Which TWO describe what Protestants believed or did during the Reformation?
46. Which TWO statements about Edward VI are correct?
47. Which TWO statements about William Shakespeare are correct?
48. Which TWO battles saw Charles I's army defeated in the civil war?
49. Which TWO battles did Cromwell win against the Scottish army led by Charles II?
50. Which TWO events took place in London during the reign of Charles II?
51. Which TWO people were among the early members of the Royal Society?
52. Which TWO things did James II do that worried people in England?
53. Which TWO reasons explain why the events of 1688 were called the 'Glorious Revolution'?
54. Which TWO actions of Charles I helped lead to the civil war?

A global power

1. In which year was the Bill of Rights passed, setting out Parliament's rights and the limits on the king's power?
2. True or false: Under the Bill of Rights, the king or queen had to be a Protestant.
3. Which TWO rules about Parliament and the monarch were set after William and Mary came to the throne?
4. What were the two main groups in Parliament called after the Glorious Revolution, at the beginning of party politics?
5. From which year were newspapers allowed to be published without a licence from the government?
6. True or false: After the Glorious Revolution, women who owned enough property were allowed to vote.
7. What was a 'pocket borough'?
8. In which year did Jewish people settle in London, the first to arrive in Britain since the Middle Ages?
9. Which TWO statements about the Huguenots are correct?
10. In which year was the Act of Union agreed, joining Scotland with England and Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain?
11. True or false: After the Act of Union in 1707, Scotland kept its own legal system and its own education system.
12. Why did Parliament pick George I as king after the death of Queen Anne in 1714?
13. Who was the first person to be called Prime Minister?
14. In which year did George II's army beat Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden?
15. Which TWO statements about the rebellion led by Bonnie Prince Charlie are correct?
16. During the Highland Clearances, many landlords destroyed small farms. What were these farms called?
17. Which TWO statements about Robert Burns are correct?
18. Which of these statements about thinkers of the Enlightenment is correct?
19. True or false: Many of the leading thinkers of the 18th-century Enlightenment came from Scotland.
20. True or false: Britain was the first country where industry developed on a large scale.
21. What did the Bessemer process make possible?
22. What did Richard Arkwright first train and work as?
23. Which TWO statements about Richard Arkwright are correct?
24. True or false: Richard Arkwright is mainly remembered for building canals.
25. True or false: During the Industrial Revolution, the law gave workers and children protection from long hours in dangerous places.
26. Captain James Cook mapped the coast of which land, where a few British colonies were then set up?
27. Which TWO goods did Britain import from India and the area now called Indonesia?
28. What did Sake Dean Mahomet open in George Street, London, in 1810?
29. True or false: In the 18th century, slavery was legal within Britain itself.
30. Where did most of the slaves carried on British ships come from?
31. True or false: The Quakers formed the earliest formal groups opposing slavery.
32. Which evangelical Christian and member of Parliament helped change the law and win public support against the slave trade?
33. In which year did the Emancipation Act abolish slavery throughout the British Empire?
34. What did the American colonists say when Britain tried to tax them?
35. In which year did 13 American colonies declare their independence?
36. True or false: Admiral Nelson was in command of Britain's ships at Trafalgar and died during the battle.
37. Which TWO statements about the Duke of Wellington are correct?
38. In which year did Ireland join England, Scotland and Wales in a single United Kingdom?
39. Which TWO crosses on the Union Flag are red on a white background?
40. True or false: The Welsh dragon appears on the Union Flag.
41. In which year was the first Union Flag made, combining the English and Scottish flags?
42. True or false: Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 and reigned until 1901.
43. In which year were the Corn Laws repealed?
44. True or false: The Corn Laws had stopped cheap grain from being imported into Britain.
45. Which TWO statements about Isambard Kingdom Brunel are correct?
46. In which year did the Great Exhibition open in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park?
47. In the Crimean War (1853-1856), Britain was on the side of Turkey and France. Which country did they fight?
48. True or false: The Crimean War was the first war that the media covered widely with news reports and photographs.
49. Where did Florence Nightingale set up her training school for nurses in 1860?
50. Which crop failed in Ireland in the middle of the 19th century, causing a famine?
51. Which of these statements is correct? (Ireland in the 19th century)
52. Which of these statements about the Reform Act of 1832 is correct?
53. What were the campaigners called who presented petitions to Parliament asking for working-class people to be given the vote?
54. Which TWO years saw Acts of Parliament that let married women keep the money they earned and their own property?
55. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst helped to found a group whose members were the first to be called 'suffragettes'. What was it called?
56. In 1918, women over what age won the vote and could also become candidates for Parliament?
57. True or false: Just before Emmeline Pankhurst's death in 1928, women won the vote at 21, the same age as men.
58. Which TWO views about the future of the British Empire were held in the late 19th century?
59. Which of these statements about the Boer War (1899-1902) is correct?
60. Which TWO statements about Rudyard Kipling are correct?

The 20th century

1. True or false: In the early 20th century, members of Parliament began to be paid a salary for the first time.
2. Which TWO factors helped create the conditions for the First World War?
3. Whose assassination on 28 June 1914 started the chain of events that led to the First World War?
4. Which TWO countries were among the Allied Powers fighting alongside Britain in the First World War?
5. Which TWO of these were Central Powers, fighting against Britain in the First World War?
6. Which of these statements is correct? (The First World War)
7. Roughly how many British casualties were there on the first day of the British attack at the Somme in July 1916?
8. On which date did the First World War end, at 11 o'clock in the morning?
9. In which year did the British government promise 'Home Rule' for Ireland?
10. True or false: Under the Home Rule proposal, Ireland would have left the UK completely.
11. What was the 1916 uprising against the British in Dublin called?
12. True or false: After the Easter Rising, its leaders were pardoned and set free.
13. In which year was Ireland divided into two countries?
14. In which year did the Irish Free State become a republic?
15. What name is often given to the conflict between those who wanted full Irish independence and those loyal to the British government?
16. True or false: The 'Great Depression' began around the world in 1929.
17. How did car ownership in Britain change between 1930 and 1939?
18. Which TWO writers were prominent in Britain in the period between the two world wars?
19. Which economist became known for important new economic theories in the inter-war period?
20. True or false: In 1922 the BBC started the first regular TV service in the world.
21. In which year did Adolf Hitler come to power in Germany?
22. Which country did Hitler invade in 1939, leading Britain and France to declare war?
23. Which TWO were Axis powers, on Germany's side in the Second World War?
24. In which year, as German forces advanced through France, did Winston Churchill become Prime Minister and lead Britain in the war?
25. About how many men were rescued from the beaches around Dunkirk in 1940?
26. True or false: From late June 1940 until June 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Britain and its Empire faced Nazi Germany nearly alone.
27. What was 'the Battle of Britain', fought in summer 1940?
28. True or false: In the Battle of Britain, the RAF's key fighter planes, the Spitfire and the Hurricane, were British designs made in Britain.
29. During the Blitz, which city was almost totally destroyed by German bombing?
30. The United States joined the Second World War in December 1941 after Japan bombed which of its naval bases?
31. On which date did allied forces land in Normandy, an event known as 'D-Day'?
32. Which TWO Japanese cities did the United States hit with atom bombs in August 1945?
33. Who led the scientists, working at Manchester and later Cambridge University, who first managed to 'split the atom'?
34. True or false: In a 2002 public vote, Winston Churchill was named the greatest Briton ever.
35. True or false: Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, was born in Wales.
36. In which year did Alexander Fleming discover penicillin?
37. Which of these statements is correct? (Alexander Fleming)
38. Which TWO scientists developed penicillin into a drug that could be used?

Britain since 1945

1. Who became Prime Minister when Labour won the general election of 1945?
2. Which Minister for Health led the setting up of the National Health Service in 1948?
3. True or false: The NHS was set up in 1948 and patients did not pay for treatment when they used it.
4. In 1947 a group of countries became independent, among them India, Pakistan and Ceylon. How many countries were in this group?
5. Why was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which the UK joined after the war, set up?
6. Which Prime Minister gave the famous 'wind of change' speech on decolonisation?
7. Which TWO statements about Clement Attlee are correct?
8. In which year was the Beveridge Report, 'Social Insurance and Allied Services', published?
9. Which TWO were among the five 'Giant Evils' that the Beveridge Report said the government should fight?
10. What did the Education Act 1944 (also known as 'The Butler Act') introduce?
11. Where was the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas born, a place that now has a statue of him and a centre named after him?
12. True or false: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas is a radio play.
13. Which TWO statements about Dylan Thomas are correct?
14. In the 1950s, which job in Britain were West Indian recruitment centres looking to fill?
15. True or false: After the Second World War, the UK invited people from the West Indies to come and work in 1948.
16. In which decade were The Beatles and The Rolling Stones two well-known British pop groups?
17. Which TWO statements about Britain in the 1960s are correct?
18. Which of these statements is correct? (Social change in the 1960s)
19. How many people of Indian origin expelled from Uganda did Britain admit in the early 1970s?
20. Which TWO statements about Concorde are correct?
21. Which Scotsman developed the television in the 1920s?
22. True or false: Radar was first tested successfully in 1935.
23. Where did Sir Bernard Lovell build his radio telescope, for many years the largest in the world?
24. What is the Turing machine, invented by the mathematician Alan Turing in the 1930s?
25. In which year was the structure of DNA discovered through work at universities in London and Cambridge?
26. Sir Frank Whittle, a Royal Air Force engineer officer, developed which invention in the 1930s?
27. True or false: James Goodfellow invented the cash machine (ATM) in the 1980s.
28. True or false: Oldham in Lancashire was the birthplace, in 1978, of the first 'test-tube baby' in the world.
29. Which TWO statements about British scientific achievements are correct?
30. On what date was information first successfully sent over the World Wide Web, invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee?
31. Which of these statements is correct? (Some great British inventions of the 20th century)
32. In the late 1970s Britain faced difficulties with its 'balance of payments'. What did this mean?
33. In which year was the Northern Ireland Parliament suspended and direct rule from the UK government introduced?
34. In which event did Mary Peters win an Olympic gold medal in 1972?
35. True or false: The athlete Mary Peters was born in Northern Ireland.
36. Which of these countries was NOT one of the six countries that founded the EEC in 1957?
37. True or false: The UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) when it was formed in 1957.
38. Which TWO statements about Margaret Thatcher are correct?
39. True or false: Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister for longer than anyone else in the 20th century.
40. Which TWO changes were made by Margaret Thatcher's government?
41. In 1982, which country invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, a British overseas territory?
42. Which Prime Minister followed Margaret Thatcher and helped to start the peace process in Northern Ireland?
43. True or false: Roald Dahl served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
44. Which TWO did Tony Blair's Labour government introduce?
45. Which TWO statements about Northern Ireland are correct?
46. In which year did Gordon Brown take over from Tony Blair as Prime Minister?
47. During the 1990s, Britain had a leading part in freeing which country after it was invaded by Iraq in 1990?
48. True or false: British combat troops withdrew from Iraq in 2003.
49. After the May 2010 general election, which two parties formed a coalition government?
50. True or false: The 2010 general election was the first since February 1974 in which no party won an overall majority.

Chapter 4: A modern, thriving society

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The UK today

1. In which part of Europe is the UK located?
2. About how far is it from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in England?
3. True or false: Most people in the UK live in the countryside.
4. What is the capital city of Scotland?
5. What is the capital city of Wales?
6. Which TWO of these cities are in Wales?
7. How many pence are there in one pound sterling?
8. Which TWO of these values are UK coins?
9. True or false: Shops in the UK must accept banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
10. True or false: Welsh is a dialect of English.
11. Which language, different from English, do some people in the Highlands and Islands speak?
12. Why are people in the UK living longer than ever before?
13. True or false: When a man and a woman are married, both have the same responsibility for their children.
14. Which of these statements is correct? (An equal society)
15. Roughly what share of the workforce in Britain is made up of women?

Religion

1. What is a Sikh place of worship called?
2. Which of these statements is correct? (Religion)
3. Since which decade has the Church of England existed?
4. True or false: The Church of England has the monarch as its head.
5. Who leads the Church of England spiritually?
6. In practice, who usually chooses the Archbishop of Canterbury and other senior officials of the Church of England?
7. True or false: Several Church of England bishops are members of the House of Lords.
8. The Church of Scotland belongs to which type of Church?
9. How long does a Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly serve?
10. True or false: Wales has the Church of England as its established Church.
11. Which TWO names are used for the Church of England outside England?
12. Which TWO of these are Protestant Christian groups?
13. Which patron saint's day falls on 30 November?
14. Which TWO parts of the UK give people an official holiday on their patron saint's day?
15. True or false: St Patrick's Day, on 17 March, is the patron saint's day of Wales.

Customs and traditions

1. What is the public holiday on the day after Christmas Day called?
2. Which TWO foods are often part of the special meal eaten on Christmas Day?
3. Lent is the period before Easter when Christians reflect and prepare. How many days does it last?
4. Why were pancakes traditionally made on Shrove Tuesday?
5. True or false: Lent begins on Shrove Tuesday.
6. Which festival, lasting five days in October or November, is widely known as the Festival of Lights?
7. Which TWO religious groups celebrate Diwali?
8. For how many days is the Jewish festival of Hannukah celebrated?
9. What does Eid al-Fitr celebrate?
10. True or false: In Britain, an animal sacrificed for Eid ul Adha must be killed in a slaughterhouse.
11. On which date is the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi celebrated each year?
12. In Scotland, what is 31 December called?
13. True or false: In Scotland, 2 January is a public holiday as well as 1 January.
14. On April Fool's Day, 1 April, until what time do people traditionally play jokes on each other?
15. Which of these statements is correct? (Other festivals and traditions)
16. Which TWO are Halloween traditions?
17. Bonfire Night on 5 November has its origin in a failed plot to blow up Parliament in which year?
18. True or false: On Remembrance Day, 11 November, a two-minute silence is held at 11.00 am.
19. Which TWO are times of year when the UK has bank holidays without religious meaning?

Sport

1. Where was the main site of the 2012 Olympic Games?
2. Which TWO of these years are years when the UK hosted the Olympic Games?
3. True or false: At the 2012 Olympic Games, the British team finished third in the medal table.
4. Whose work at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire is the origin of the Paralympic Games?
5. In which year did Sir Roger Bannister become the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes?
6. Who captained England's football team to victory in the 1966 World Cup?
7. True or false: Sir Ian Botham was captain of the English football team.
8. In which sport did Sir Steve Redgrave win gold medals at five Olympic Games in a row?
9. Which TWO of these are achievements of Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson?
10. In 2012, who became the first British winner of the Tour de France?
11. Which TWO of these statements about Mo Farah are correct?
12. Andy Murray won the US Open in 2012. No British man had taken a Grand Slam singles title since which year?
13. True or false: Ellie Simmonds won her Paralympic gold medals in cycling.
14. The Ashes is a series of cricket Test matches between England and which country?
15. Rugby has two different types with different rules. Which TWO are they?
16. Which is the best-known rugby union competition?
17. Where is the National Horseracing Museum?
18. Which Scottish town is called the home of golf?
19. True or false: The Open Championship is played on the same golf course every year.
20. Where was the first tennis club founded, in 1872?
21. True or false: Wimbledon is the only 'Grand Slam' tennis event that is played on grass.
22. Which of these statements is correct? (Water sports)
23. On which river do Oxford and Cambridge Universities hold a popular rowing race every year?
24. Which TWO of these people have been Formula 1 world champion?
25. Europe's longest dry ski slope is near which city?

Arts and culture

1. Since which year has the BBC organised the Proms, the summer season of orchestral classical concerts?
2. Henry Purcell, who developed a distinctly British style of music, was the organist at which church?
3. Which TWO pieces did George Frederick Handel write for British kings?
4. True or false: The composer Handel was born in Germany and gained British citizenship in 1727.
5. The popular hymn I vow to thee my country uses a tune adapted from which piece?
6. True or false: The Pomp and Circumstance Marches were written by Benjamin Britten.
7. Which composer, who wrote for orchestras and choirs, was deeply shaped by the old folk music of England?
8. Which TWO are among the best-known works of Sir William Walton?
9. Which music festival, still an event of international importance, was founded by Benjamin Britten?
10. Which of these statements is correct? (Music)
11. The National Eisteddfod, a yearly festival of music, dance, art and poetry competitions, is held in which country?
12. True or false: Boy and girl bands became a trend in British pop in the 1960s.
13. Who wrote The Mousetrap, the murder-mystery play running in London's West End since 1952?
14. Which TWO are comic operas by Gilbert and Sullivan?
15. In a British pantomime, what is the Dame?
16. True or false: Many British theatres put on a pantomime in the summer.
17. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is mainly a showcase of what?
18. True or false: Sir Laurence Olivier, after whom the yearly London theatre awards are named, was best known for roles in Shakespeare plays.
19. Hans Holbein and Sir Anthony Van Dyck came from abroad to paint in Britain. In which centuries did they work there?
20. True or false: In the Middle Ages, most art in Britain had a religious theme.
21. In which year was the Turner Prize for contemporary art established?
22. Which TWO people are past winners of the Turner Prize?
23. Which landscape painter is most famous for his pictures of Dedham Vale, where Suffolk meets Essex?
24. True or false: David Allan, painter of The Origin of Painting, was a Welsh artist.
25. Which TWO artists belonged to the Pre-Raphaelites?
26. David Hockney was an important contributor to which art movement of the 1960s?
27. True or false: Joseph Turner is credited with making portrait painting more highly regarded.
28. The White Tower, part of the Tower of London, is a Norman castle keep. Who ordered it to be built?
29. Which 17th-century architect designed the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House in Whitehall?
30. The Scottish architect Robert Adam designed both the building and the interior of which great house?
31. Which of these statements is correct? (Architecture)
32. True or false: Sir Edwin Lutyens was responsible for the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
33. What did Lancelot 'Capability' Brown design in the 18th century?
34. True or false: Gertrude Jekyll often worked with Sir Christopher Wren, designing gardens around his buildings.
35. Which TWO are leading British fashion designers of recent years?
36. Who wrote The Lord of the Rings, chosen in a 2003 vote as the UK's favourite novel?
37. Which English novelist wrote Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility?
38. True or false: In everyday speech, calling someone 'a Mr Micawber', after the Dickens character, means they are mean with money.
39. Which TWO books were written by Robert Louis Stevenson?
40. Which author and poet wrote Far from the Madding Crowd, a novel about rural society?
41. Which fictional character did the Scottish doctor and writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle create?
42. True or false: The most famous novel of Evelyn Waugh, a satirical writer, is probably Brideshead Revisited.
43. Which TWO novels were written by Graham Greene?
44. Which Anglo-Saxon poem tells of a hero who fights monsters?
45. Which TWO poems have survived from the Middle Ages?
46. True or false: A sonnet, a type of poem Shakespeare wrote many of, must be 14 lines long.
47. Which poet, inspired by his religious views as Protestant ideas spread, wrote Paradise Lost?
48. What mainly inspired the poems of Sir Walter Scott?
49. Which of these statements is correct? (British poets)
50. Which TWO were poets of the 19th century, when poetry was very popular?

Leisure

1. Some people in the UK rent an extra piece of land to grow fruit and vegetables. What is this land called?
2. Which TWO of these famous gardens are in Scotland?
3. True or false: Most shops in the UK open every day of the week, but often for a shorter time on Sundays and on public holidays.
4. Haggis is a traditional food of which part of the UK?
5. Which TWO foods are traditionally associated with England?
6. In which year were films first shown to the public in the UK?
7. Which British actor became famous in silent films for playing a tramp?
8. Which of these statements is correct? (British film industry)
9. Which British film helped to raise people's spirits during the Second World War?
10. Which TWO films were British comedies from the 1950s and 1960s?
11. True or false: Ealing Studios can claim to be the world's oldest film studio facility that has never stopped working.
12. Nick Park has won Oscars for animated films. Which characters appear in several of them?
13. Which yearly film awards are the UK's equivalent of the Oscars?
14. Which TWO of these famous British films were directed by David Lean?
15. True or false: The Third Man (1949) was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
16. When was the satirical magazine Punch first published?
17. Which TWO of these are satirical magazines?
18. True or false: Music hall, a kind of variety theatre, was widespread in the UK until TV took over as the main entertainment.
19. In which year did Monty Python's Flying Circus bring a new, progressive kind of comedy to British television?
20. People rent separate rooms in a shared house, each with their own tenancy agreement. How many TV licences are needed?
21. How is the BBC paid for?
22. What is the minimum age for buying alcohol at a pub or night club in the UK?
23. True or false: A 16-year-old may drink beer or wine alongside a meal in a restaurant if a person aged over 18 is with them.
24. What is the minimum age for going into a betting shop or gambling club?
25. True or false: In public places, every dog must wear a collar showing its owner's name and address.

Places of interest

1. What is Big Ben strictly the nickname of?
2. True or false: The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament was named Elizabeth Tower to mark the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
3. Where is the Eden Project?
4. Where is the Giant's Causeway?
5. Which is the biggest body of fresh water on mainland Britain?
6. The London Eye was first built as part of which celebration?
7. Which of these statements is correct? (UK landmarks)
8. Which TWO things can visitors do at the Tower of London?
9. True or false: Three volunteers set up the National Trust in 1895.
10. True or false: Edinburgh Castle's long history begins in the early Middle Ages.
11. Which TWO statements about the Lake District are correct?

Chapter 5: The UK government, the law and your role

Practise this chapter · Chapter 5 as a PDF

The development of British democracy

1. What is a democracy?
2. Which TWO statements about voting in Britain at the start of the 19th century are correct?
3. When did the Chartists campaign for political reform?
4. Which TWO of these were among the Chartists' demands?
5. True or false: The Chartists wanted elections to be held every five years.
6. True or false: At the time, the Chartist campaign was widely seen as a success.
7. By which year had most of the reforms the Chartists asked for been adopted?
8. By 1918 the right to vote had been given to women over what age?
9. In which year did men and women over 21 gain the right to vote?
10. True or false: In 1969 the voting age for men and women was lowered to 18.

The British constitution

1. What is a constitution?
2. True or false: The British constitution is set out in one single written document.
3. True or false: Unlike America and France, the UK has never had a revolution that permanently replaced its whole system of government.
4. Which of these statements is correct? (The British constitution)
5. Which TWO are listed in the handbook among the main parts of government in the UK?
6. Which parts of the UK have devolved governments with the power to make laws on certain issues?
7. The UK is a constitutional monarchy. What does the king or queen do in this system?
8. Who does the monarch invite to become Prime Minister?
9. When the monarch meets the Prime Minister regularly, what can he or she do?
10. In which year did Elizabeth II become queen, after the death of her father?
11. True or false: In 2012 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years as queen.
12. Who was Queen Elizabeth II married to?
13. Which ceremonial duty does the monarch carry out each year?
14. What does the monarch's speech at the opening of a new parliamentary session summarise?
15. True or false: Every Act of Parliament is made in the monarch's name.
16. Which TWO are ways in which the monarch acts for the UK in its dealings with other countries?
17. Which TWO statements about the monarch's role are correct?
18. True or false: At the citizenship ceremony, new citizens make an oath or affirmation of loyalty to the monarch.
19. What do all the MPs elected in a General Election together form?
20. In the UK's parliamentary democracy, which party forms the government?
21. Why is the House of Commons regarded as more important than the House of Lords?
22. True or false: The Prime Minister and nearly all cabinet ministers sit in the House of Lords.
23. Which TWO of these are responsibilities of MPs?
24. Which TWO statements about the people who sit in the House of Lords are correct?
25. Which TWO kinds of people could be peers in the House of Lords before 1958?
26. Since which year has the Prime Minister been able to nominate life peers?
27. Who formally appoints life peers?
28. True or false: Life peers have usually built a notable career, for example in law, business or politics.
29. Who nominates non-party life peers?
30. In which year did hereditary peers lose their automatic right to sit in the House of Lords?
31. Which TWO are roles of the House of Lords?
32. True or false: The House of Lords has the power to overrule the House of Commons.
33. Which of these statements is correct? (The House of Lords)
34. Who chairs debates in the Commons?
35. How is the Speaker of the House of Commons chosen?
36. Which TWO statements about the Speaker are correct?
37. Besides keeping order in debates, what does the Speaker make sure of?
38. True or false: On ceremonial occasions, Parliament is represented by the Speaker.
39. How often must a General Election be held in the UK?
40. What is a by-election?
41. What is the name of the system used to elect MPs?
42. True or false: Under first past the post, the candidate with the largest number of votes in a constituency wins the seat.
43. Which TWO are ways the handbook gives for getting in touch with your MP?

The government

1. Where is the Prime Minister's official home?
2. What is the name of the Prime Minister's country house outside London?
3. True or false: A Prime Minister usually resigns when his or her party is defeated in a General Election.
4. Roughly how many senior MPs does the Prime Minister appoint to run government departments?
5. Which minister is responsible for the economy?
6. Which minister looks after crime, policing and immigration?
7. True or false: The Foreign Secretary is responsible for managing the UK's relationships with foreign countries.
8. Which TWO titles are given to the other ministers in a government department, below the minister in charge?
9. What name is given to the party with the second highest number of MPs in the House of Commons?
10. True or false: If the opposition wins a General Election, its leader usually becomes Prime Minister.
11. How often does Prime Minister's Questions take place while Parliament is sitting?
12. Who appoints the shadow ministers who form the shadow cabinet?
13. Which TWO are named in the handbook as major political parties in the UK?
14. Which TWO are examples of pressure groups that campaign on particular topics?
15. Which organisation speaks for British business?
16. True or false: Civil servants are political appointees chosen by the party in power.
17. Which TWO are among the core values of the civil service?
18. How many local authorities does London have?
19. Which of these statements is correct? (Local government)
20. Since which year has there been a Scottish Parliament?
21. Which TWO policy areas are not devolved and stay under the control of the central UK government?
22. True or false: Each of the devolved administrations has its own civil service.
23. In which languages can elected members of the devolved legislature in Wales speak?
24. Which TWO are areas where the Scottish Parliament is able to legislate?
25. In which year was the Northern Ireland Parliament abolished?
26. Which TWO issues can the Northern Ireland Assembly make decisions on?
27. True or false: The UK government is able to suspend any of the devolved assemblies.
28. What are the official published reports of proceedings in Parliament called?
29. True or false: In the UK, the government controls what newspapers are allowed to write.
30. Since which year has the UK's voting system been fully democratic?
31. What must your name be on before you can vote in a parliamentary or local election?
32. True or false: By law, anyone may look at the electoral register, but this has to be supervised.
33. On election day, during which hours is a polling station open?
34. True or false: Other people have the right to tell you which candidate you must vote for.
35. If you find it difficult to reach a polling station, what can you register for?
36. Which TWO groups are among the exceptions who cannot stand for public office?
37. True or false: Someone who sits in the House of Lords may stand as a candidate for the House of Commons.
38. Where do the elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) meet?

The UK and international institutions

1. What is the Commonwealth?
2. Most member states of the Commonwealth were once part of what?
3. True or false: Membership of the Commonwealth is voluntary.
4. True or false: The Commonwealth can make laws that its member states must obey.
5. Which TWO are core values on which the Commonwealth is based?
6. What was the European Union originally called?
7. In which year was the Treaty of Rome signed, setting up the European Economic Community?
8. Which TWO countries were among the six that founded the European Economic Community?
9. In which year did the UK become a member of the European Economic Community?
10. True or false: The Council of Europe can pass laws for its member countries.
11. Which TWO statements about the United Nations are correct?
12. How many members sit on the UN Security Council?
13. True or false: The UK is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
14. What have the member countries of NATO agreed to do?

Respecting the law

1. True or false: In the UK, the law treats everyone equally, whatever their background or where they come from.
2. What is civil law used for?
3. Which of these is an example of a civil law case?
4. Which of these statements is correct? (The law in the UK)
5. True or false: Buying or selling cannabis is legal in the UK.
6. True or false: Causing someone harassment, alarm or distress because of their ethnic origin or religion is a crime in the UK.
7. True or false: Smoking tobacco is illegal in almost all enclosed public places in the UK.
8. What is the youngest age at which a person may have an alcoholic drink with a meal at a restaurant or hotel?
9. Which TWO are jobs of the UK police?
10. Who heads each of the separate police forces in the UK?
11. True or false: Police forces in the UK are controlled by the government.
12. In which year did the public in England and Wales elect Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)?
13. In England and Wales, who appoints the Chief Constable of a police force?
14. Who usually patrols the streets and helps police officers at major events and crime scenes?
15. Which TWO things are police officers in the UK NOT allowed to do?
16. Which TWO are ways to complain about the police?
17. What does the handbook mean by extremism?
18. Someone is trying to draw you into an extremist or terrorist cause. Who should you tell?
19. Which TWO statements about judges in the UK are correct?
20. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where are most minor criminal cases dealt with?
21. In Scotland, which court deals with minor criminal offences?
22. True or false: In England, Wales and Scotland, Justices of the Peace and magistrates are usually paid and must have legal qualifications.
23. How are members of a jury chosen?
24. How many members does a jury have in Scotland?
25. Which TWO statements about juries are correct?
26. True or false: When a jury finds a defendant guilty, the jury also decides the penalty.
27. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, accused people of which ages usually have their case heard in a Youth Court?
28. True or false: Members of the public are allowed to watch hearings in a Youth Court.
29. In Scotland, which system deals with young people and children who commit offences?
30. In Scotland, which court deals with more serious civil cases, such as claims for large amounts of compensation?
31. Which TWO statements about the small claims procedure are correct?
32. Which of these statements about solicitors is correct?

Fundamental principles

1. The UK was one of the first countries to sign the European Convention on Human Rights. In which year did it sign?
2. Which law made the European Convention on Human Rights part of UK law?
3. Which of these statements is correct? (Fundamental principles)
4. True or false: The European Convention on Human Rights includes a ban on torture.
5. Which TWO documents are named as roots of the rights and freedoms people have in Britain?
6. Which TWO are rights or freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights?
7. True or false: UK law protects people from being treated unfairly at work because of their age.
8. Someone in Northern Ireland faces discrimination. Which of these organisations can give them information?
9. True or false: In the UK, a husband cannot be charged with rape if he forces his wife to have sex.
10. In some areas, people escaping domestic violence can go and stay in safe places. What are these called?
11. Which TWO statements about domestic violence in the UK are correct?
12. True or false: It is legal to take a girl from the UK to another country so that female genital mutilation can be carried out there.
13. Which of these statements is correct? (Forced marriage)
14. True or false: It is a crime in the UK to make someone marry against their will.
15. In which year were Forced Marriage Protection Orders introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
16. True or false: In the UK, income tax is paid on money earned from savings, dividends and property.
17. What is the system called in which employers take income tax from wages and pay it straight to the tax office?
18. What is HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)?
19. True or false: Self-employed people pay their own tax through self-assessment, which includes filling in a tax return.
20. Which TWO statements about National Insurance Contributions are correct?
21. When are young people in the UK sent their National Insurance number?
22. True or false: Showing an employer your National Insurance number is enough on its own to prove you are allowed to work in the UK.
23. What is the minimum age to drive a car in the UK?
24. True or false: You must be at least 18 years old to ride a moped in the UK.
25. Up to what age can a driver use their UK driving licence before it must be renewed every three years?
26. You live in the UK. Your driving licence is from a country outside the EU that is not Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. For how long can you use it?
27. Which TWO things does the UK driving test check?
28. A vehicle needs a yearly Ministry of Transport (MOT) test once it is older than how many years?
29. Which TWO are legal requirements for a UK resident who drives their own car?

Your role in the community

1. True or false: Obeying and respecting the law is one of the shared values and responsibilities of people in Britain.
2. Which TWO are listed among the shared values and responsibilities of people living in Britain?
3. What does the handbook suggest you do after moving into a new home?
4. True or false: Neighbours may help you, for example by feeding your pets while you are away.
5. Which TWO things help to prevent problems with your neighbours?
6. When should you leave rubbish bags and bins out in the street or shared areas?
7. Which TWO are given as ways parents can help at their children's schools?
8. What does PTA stand for?
9. What is the minimum age for becoming a school governor?
10. True or false: School governors must be under the age of 70.
11. In Scotland, people who do the job of school governors are members of what?
12. Which TWO are among the three key roles of school governors and school boards?
13. True or false: In England, parents may apply to set up a free school in their area.
14. What is it called when party members knock on doors or hand out leaflets to ask people for their support?
15. True or false: You must tell a canvasser how you plan to vote.
16. When are political parties especially busy?
17. Which TWO roles can you volunteer for with the police?
18. Roughly how long does it take to give blood?
19. True or false: A living person can donate a kidney.
20. What is volunteering?
21. True or false: Some volunteering can help you practise your English and build skills that help you find a job.
22. Which TWO are given as examples of volunteering activities?
23. Which charity is given as an example of a British branch of an international organisation?
24. Which charity works with older people?
25. Which charity works with children?
26. True or false: Crisis and Shelter are charities that work mainly with animals.
27. What kind of charity is the PDSA?
28. True or false: Cancer Research UK is an example of a medical research charity.
29. Which TWO are environmental charities?
30. True or false: Recycling means less rubbish is created, so less goes into landfill.
31. Which of these statements is correct? (Looking after the environment)
32. Why does buying products made locally reduce your carbon footprint?
33. Why is walking or using public transport good for the environment?