The British Isles Quiz:

GEOGRAPHY:

1.What is the name of the sea on the east coast of Great Britain?
The North Sea

2.What is the tallest mountain in the UK?
Ben Nevis

3.What natural feature was formed by volcanic action?
The Gian'ts Causeway (Ireland)

4.In which country is the Lake District?
England

5.Which UK islands are closer to France than to England?
The Channel Islands: Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.

6. In which country is Snowdonia?
Wales

7.What is the second largest city in Wales?
Swansea

8.Where are the Lakes of Killarney?
Ireland



CUSTOMS AND LANGUAGES:

1. When is Guy Fawkes Night?
   On 5th November in England
   
   2.Where would you see someone tossing the caber?
   In Scotland on the Highland Games
   
   3.What is Geordie?
   A England dialect
   
   4.According to a legend, what did St.Patrick remove from Ireland?
   The wild snakes
   
   5.Which flower is the national symbol of Wales?
   The Daffodil and the leek
   
   6. What is the English translation of "Shwmae"?
   How are you.
   
   7.What is the national song of Wales?
   Land of my Fathers
   
   8.Who celebrates Hogmanay and when?
   The scotish people,  31th December
   
   
   
   
   PEOPLE:
   1. The last English king who was killed in battle: Richard III
   
   2.The English king who had six wives? Henry VIII
   
   3.The man who tried to kill King James? Guy Fawkes
   
   4.The first Primer Minister to live at 10 Downing Street? Robert Walpole
   
   5.The owner of a dog called Gallert? Llewellyn's
   
   6. The Scottish leader who learnt a lesson from a spider? Robert the Bruce
   
   7. The national saints of England, Wales and Scotland? E: St.George, S:
   St.Andrew W: St.David
   
   8.The first female Irish President? Mary Robinson
   
   PLACES:
   
   
   The cathedral where Thomas Becker was killed? Canterbury (England)
   
   
   The Abbey Theatre? Ireland
   The Scottish Parliament? Edinburgh
   A stone that people come to kiss? Ireland
   The Tynwald? The isle of Man
   The Book of Kells? Trinity Collage ( Dublin, Ireland)
   
   
   Hadrian's Wall? England
   The 2008 European Capital of culture? Liverpool
   
   
   COUNTRIES:
   
   1.Was called the Celtic Tiger? Ireland
   
   2.Experienced “The Troubles”? Ireland
   
   3.Fought with England during the Hundred Years War? France
   
   4.Is now the home of the writer of Harry Potter? Scotland
   
   5.Had a queen called Mary who was beheaded in England? Scotland
   
   
   6.Sent a fleet of ships to invade England? Spain
   
   7.Fought a War of Independence against England in 1857? India
   
   8.In the United Kingdom does not have its flag as part of the Union Flag? Wales

CHAPTER 7: WALES

Wales and England have always had a close relationship. In the past, England took control of Wales. In the period from 1536 to 1543, England and Wales become one country. But the modern Welsh nationalists wants independence for Wales.Welsh is a living language (25% of people know it well). All children learn it in schools, and there are some TV programs and newspapers which are Welsh.

Food: In Wales there are a lot of sheep in the countryside, so lamb is often on the menu! The breakfast includes: black laver bread, paste and seaweed (Japanese sushi). Other Welsh dishes are rarebit (chees) and Bara Brith (fruit cake).

Sport: Rugby is the most popular sport. The Wales team takes part in different important competitions. Football, cricket and snooker are also popular. You can also go surfing.

The Land of Song :Wales is called th e”land of song”, and his national song “land of my Fathers”.Wales is famous for its men’s choirs and they often sing before rugby matches. The workers of the iron industry often formed choirs. Now the industry are less important, but the tradition of singing continues.

The Eisteddfod: Eisteddfod is a Welsh word which means “to be sitting together”.An Eisteddfos is an annual meeting of poets, musicians, singers and sometimes dancers who compete for prizes.This is a symbol of Wales, and the women wear a national dress (tall black hat and a red cloak).

Iconic places : Cardiff is the capital of Wales. It was named European City of Sport in 2009.Swansea is the second largest city in Wales. In the past was the center of the industry.Oxwich Bay (the most beautiful beach in Britain), Three Cliffs Bay, (Britain’s best beach), Rhossili Bay (the British supermodel of beaches) are different beaches which found in Wales.Saint David’s is the smallest city in the UK, but it has a magnificent cathedral.Snowdonia is a national park in North Wales. It includes mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forests and coast. The name comes from the highest mountain, Snowdon.In wales there are lots of castles which were built to protect. The most important are: Caernarfon, Harlech, Beaumaris and Conwy.Portmeirion is an Italian-style village in North Wales.There are other beautiful areas in Wales, such as Cardigan Bay, Pembrokeshire Coast, Anglesey, Aberystwyth, bangor and Llandudno.

Iconic people:Llewellyn the Great and Owen Glendower are 2 heroes of the Welsh.Llewellyn kept Wales independent from the Normal kings of England. Glendower was a nationalist who led a revolution against England.There is a legend about Llewellyn’s dog. Gellert (dog) had to guard the king’s baby while he was away. He killed a wolf that tried to attack the child. When Llewellyn returned, he couldn’t see the baby and there was blood on the dog’s mouth, so he killed the dog. But then he found the baby safe under its bed.Henry Morgan was a pirate who robed ships and towns in the Caribbean.Bylan Thomas (writer), Catherine Zeta Jones (actress), Anthony Hopkins (actor), Aneurin Bevan (politician) and Richard Burton (actor).Shirley Bassey has had a long career in show business since she began performing. She sings the title songs for three James Bond films.

Welsh legends: King Arthur and Branwen

In welsh literature we can found writings about Arthur.On Bardsey Island, there is a cave where local stories say that Arthur and Merlin are buried. Most people thing that Arthur was a Celt.Another legend is about a girl called Branwen, whose brother was a giant and a king in Wales. Branwen married the king of Ireland. When he took her to Ireland he was very unkind to her. The girl sent news to her brother and he wald across the sea to Ireland. There was a terrible war, and many peole were killed. Branwen returned to Wales with the heart of her brother and was so sad.

CHAPTER 6: IRELAND

Food: The national dish, Irish stew, is made from lamb, potatoes, onions, carrots and parsley. The Irish are even more fond of drinking tea than the English, and an average Irish person drinks 6 cups a day.

Sport: The national sport of Ireland is Gaelic football. Another Irish sport is hurling. In this sport, you hit the ball with a stick. The day after Christmas the Irish people go to horse races which has a long history in Ireland. Other popular sports are rugby, football and golf.

Music and dance :The love for typical Irish music is very strong. Irish dancing is also popular and the show Riverdance was an international success. There are many Irish rock and pop stars: U2, Boyzone, Westlife, Enya or Van Morrison.The best-known traditional Irish song is probably ‘Danny Boy’. The music is Irish but the words were written by an Englishman.

The Economy: Ireland has been a poor country with many problems but from 1995 to 2007 there was an economy boom there. The economy grew fast. People called Ireland the ‘Celtic Tiger’ at this time. Unfortunately, as in many other countries, the Irish economy got worse after 2008.

Iconic Places :Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. It has Georgian buildings, a castle, art galleries and a famous theatre, the Abbey theatre. The river Liffey passes through the centre. In 1916 there was The Easter Rising in Dublin. This was part of the revolution by Irish Republicans against the English. Some of them organised the revolution from inside the Post Office and you can still see the bullet holes in the stone.Trinity College, Dublin, is the most important Irish university. In the library you can see the Book of Kells, a book that is more than 1,200 years old. It contains parts of the Bible.Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. For many years it was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants. There was a lot of fighting but since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, it has been peaceful.The Giant’s Causeway is on the east coast of Northern Ireland. It was formed by a volcano. There are columns of rock which look like a man-made road.In the walls of Blarney castle near the city of Cork an ancient piece of bluestone called the Blarney Stone. People believe that if you kiss the stone you will start to speak very well.The west coast of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean is famous for the great beauty. The lakes of Killarney are in a ring of mountains. There is a good place to eat the local fish, trout.In many places there are very tall round towers. The most famous ones are: the Rock of Cashel and Glendalough. They were built in the middle Ages.

Iconic People: There are many Irish heroes. Did you know that some of the Presidents of the USA had Irish ancestors? For ex.Teddy Roosevelt, J.F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Even Barack Obama’s mother came from Ireland. The famous outlaw Billy the Kid was Irish too. There are many famous writers and artists: G.B.Shaw, W.B.Yeast, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney, who all won the Novel Prize. Oscar Wilde was also Irish.George Best was the greatest footballer in the world for the Northern Ireland people.Bob Geldof was the leader of an Irish punk band, the Boomtown Rats, and soon became famous for his fight against world poverty.Mary Robinson was the first woman president of Ireland between 1990 and 1997 and later was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She has fought for the rights of women and has also done a lot for the poor and hungry.

Saint Patrick : He wasn’t Irish but Irish pirates caught him. He was slave in Ireland. He escaped, but returned to Ireland around CE450. He converted the Irish people to Christianity.The Irish celebrate St.Patrick’s Day on 17thMarch with special parades. These take place not just in Ireland but anywhere where there are Irish Communities.

Stories from the past: There are lots of stories in Ireland about leprechauns or ‘the little people’. Leprechauns are little old men who wear green or red jackets, carry a stick and wear a tall hat. If you catch a leprechaun, maybe you will find his pot of gold and he might give you three wishes. You shouldn’t trust them.

There are many Celtic legends. One of them is ‘Deirdre of the Sorrows’. Deirdre was a beautiful young woman but when she was a baby, the druids said that she would cause the death of many men. The king sent her to live in the forest until she was a teenager. Then he wanted to marry her. But Deirdre fell in love with another man and married him and they escaped to Scotland. After 7 years, they returned to Ireland. But the king had died. Deirdre’s husband and his brothers were killed and Deirdre died of a broken heart.Ireland has not an easy history. For centuries, the English controlled the country. It is divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has experienced the potato Famine, the War of independence and the troubles. In the past many Irish people went to live in other countries because they wanted to escape from poverty.

CHAPTER 5: SCOTLAND

Scotland is a land of mountains and lakes. There are about 5 million of persons. The Scottish culture is different than the English.

Men in skirts: The kilt is a piece of clothing which many Scottish men wear on special occasions. It is a 3-meters piece of clothes that it uses like a skirt. Man uses to wear a sporran too.Tartan is the name of a typical coloured pattern. Every family have a different and significant tartan.There was a time that English government banned kilts, because they thought that tartan was a symbol of independence.In 1969, an astronaut who stood on the moon, wore tartan.

Food:Haggises are a sheep’s stomach with meat, onion, oats, spices and salt.Porridge is another dish which is made by boiling oats in milk and shortbread is a delicious butter biscuit.Aberdeen Angus beef and salmon are also well-known for a very good Scotland dishes.

Iconic places: Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is very popular for the Castle and the famous streets such as Princes Street and the Royal Mile. Many famous philosophers and writers lived in Edinburgh: Robert Louis, J.K.Rowling and more. Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Scotland and Loch Ness is the most famous and Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain.Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Aberdeen is another Scottish cities.

Iconic creatures: The Loch Ness Monster is the most famous inhabitant of Scotland. There is a legend of it. Do you believe in Nessie? She is very good for the Scottish tourist!Dolly the sheep is another famous Scottish animal. She was the first mammal who was cloned.

Iconic people: William Wallace and Robert the Bruce were two great Scottish heroes who fought for independence from England.Robert Bruce was put in prison by the English. When he was there, he watched a spider trying six times to make a web, and in the seventh time he succeeded.Mary Queen of Scots had a dramatic and very sad life.Robert Burns is a poet. His poems in Scottish dialect became very popular. He died in his 37, but his poems live on.Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were famous Scottish writers.Sean Connery was a famous actor and Susan Boyle was a singer.James Watt, Alexander Bell, Alexander Fleming (penicillin) and John Logie Baird were famous inventors.

Sports: Rangers and Celtic are the most famous football teams. Sir Alex Ferguson is Scottish too (the manager of Manchester United).Golf is another popular sport, and in the winter you can go skiing in the Highlands.The Highland Games is a typical Scottish sporting event.

Celebrations:New Year is more important than Christmas.Scottish people know it as “Hogmanay”. There are street parties, and the people sing “Auld Lang Syne”.Burn Night takes place on the birthday of Robert Burns, 25^th January. People read poems and sing songs. 

CHAPTER 4: ENGLAND

What do the English like doing?Hobbies like repairing or decorating your home. Fishing in rivers is a common activity too. Shopping and going to nightclubs are hobbies very famous. People prefer foreign holidays because it is often cheaper to go abroad.

What is there to eat in England?Most English people eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevenses, tea and supper. Some fantastic dishes in England are:Fish and chips (white fish fried in batter). It is eaten with a kind of purée made from green peas. Roast diner (roast meat, lamb or beef with roast potatoes and lots of vegetables).Stilton cheese (blue cheese with a very strong taste). English cakes and biscuits are popular too. A cream tea is usually eaten in the afternoon. The traditional breakfast includes sausages, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, fried eggs, fried bread and a cup of strong tea.

Sport:Football, rowing, horse-racing, tennis, rugby and cricket are the most famous sports in England.England people say that they’ve invented football. The bests teams in England are: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Cricket is played by many English-speaking nations.

Celebrations:The most important festivals for the English Christmas and Easter are. Most English children look forward to Fireworks’ Night on 5th November. Another date is April Fool’s Day, on 1st of April. On this day, people are allowed to play jokes on other people.

Music:English pop and rock music is popular all over the world. From the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to Coldplay, it has developed over the years and is still developing.

Iconic Places: Stonehenge and Hardian’s Wall are examples of this. The most famous castle is the Tower of London. England also has many famous cathedrals like Canterbury Cathedral, York Minister, Salisbury and Lincoln Cathedrals.Members of Royal family get married in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s in London. There are also many great houses in England, such as Chatsworth House and Blenheim Palace. Liverpool is a port city which is also world-famous. People speak with a strong local accent and have a reputation for being warm, creative and strong. The Lake District is one of the most attractive landscapes in the United Kingdom. In Newquay you can enjoy surfing.

Iconic People:The most famous people in England are, for example, Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Dickens, Darwin and Winston Churchill. Princess Diana was, the wife of Prince Charles, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. John Lennon wrote most of the songs of the Beatles. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become Primer Minister of the UK. Some people supported her, but she had haters. David Beckham is probably the most famous. He married one of the Spice Girls. In England, there are a lot of questions without answers, for example, will the Royal Family stay forever?

CHAPTER 3: FROM THE GUNPOWDER PLOT TO GLOBAL WARMING

The Execution of a King: On 4th November 1605, Guy Fawkes hid under the Houses of Parliament with at least 20 barrels of gunpowder, he was angry because he tough that King’s laws were unfair to people of his religion. He was arrested on 5th November.

Charles became king, and he wanted the King to be more important than the Government.
The Civil War began in 1642. It divided the country between the Royalists (supported King Charles) and the Protestants leader. Cromwell won and Charles was beheaded.

Christmas is cancelled: From 1649 to 1660 there was any queen or king in England. Cromwell became “Lord Protector” . He took an army to Ireland and killed a lot Irish people. Cromwell’s actions were the start of the twentieth-century problems between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. In England Protestants were very strict about religion, Christmas was banned by limiting Christmas celebrations.

Plague, Fire and Revolution: Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II became a king. During his reign there were 2 terrible events. The first was the “Great Plague” and the second was the “Great Fire of London”.
After the died of Charles, Parliament became unhappy with James II.

England/Wales/Scotland & Ireland:Anne became Queen. During her reign, two political parties developed in Parliament: Whigs and Tories. This was these tart of the modern British political system.
Two important acts: - No Roman Catholic could be king or queen (Act of Settlement)
- England and Scotland were 1 country (Act of Union)

Anne died, without any children, so Britain had to look for a Protestant king, George, was the start of the Georgian Age in Britain.
During the reign of George III, Britain lost its colonies in America.
In 1801, the government introduced the Act of Union with Ireland.

The industrial Revolution:In the eighteenth century the Industrial Revolution began in Britain. People began to move from the country to find work in big s¡cities.
The Industrial revolution, made Britain rich, but it also created problems: the workers conditions were unhealthy, children had to work.
Coal was the main fuel of the revolution.

The Victore Age:1834 a young woman, Eighteen years old, became a queen of Britain. During her reign, many British became world-famous.
There were many changes in society: children work’s became illegal, education became free and the industrial cities were healthier.
The British Empire grew to include parts of Africa and Asia. But also had many problems: “Great Potato Famine”. From 1854 to 1856 there was a war with Russia.
At the end of the period, there were electric lights, telephones, the London underground...

The Twentieth Century: The country was involved in two world wars.
In 1921 the south of Ireland became independent.
After the second world war, countries in the British empire became independent. In 1960 was great social change: Teenagers had more freedom, the role of women began tho change and the rules of society were relaxed. This was the time of Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Into the Twenty-first Century: The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly make those nations more independent. People face the problem of global warming.
From 2008 there gave been economic problems.

CHAPTER 2: FROM THE IRON AGE TO THE GOLDEN AGE

Ancient mysteries: Stonehenge is a group of huge standing stones. It was built around 2500 BCE. The first work at the site was done in 3100 BCE. The builders used to types of stones, 'the bluestones' ans 'Sarsen' stones.Many people that the stones were placed in this way because of the movement of the stars and the sun and the moon. It was probably important for the religion of the people who built it.An also ancient monument is The Stone Ring at Avebury, near Stonehenge. This is the largest stone circle in the world.

The Celts: The Celts lived in Britain in the Iron Age from around 600 BCE. They came from Central Europe and we know about them because of the objects which archaeologists have found. Their priests were called druids and had a great power in the society.We also know about the Celts from the 'bog bodies'. Bogs are areas of wet land; if a body is buried in a bog, it is kept in good condition, perhaps for centuries.

A warrior queen:In 55 BCE, Julius Caesar Britain. The Celts were great warriors but the Romans had better organisation and defeated them. Caesar returned in 54 BCE and this time the Britons agreed to give money to the Romans.In 43 BCE the Roman Emperor Claudius and his army stayed in Britain and became part of the Roman Empire.Camulodunum (Colchester), was the first capital. In CE 60 was a revolution against the Romans. Boudicca was queen of the Iceni tribe and a warrior too. She hated Romans because they were very cruel to her and her daughters. Her army attacked and destroyed Colchester and then burnt Londinium. The Romans won the battle and Boudicca killed herself. Later the Romans controlled the most of Britain.

The Roman occupation: Londinium now became the new Roman capital. If a modern British citi name ends in -cester,-caster or -chester, it was originally a Roman camp. The Romans improved the services in the country, and built straight roads.But they did not control Scotland. In Ce 122 the Emperor Hadrian decided to build a wall across the north of England to defend Roman Britain against the Picts(different group of Celtics who lived in Scotland).

The King Buried in a Ship: In CE 410, The Romans left Britain. They went to defend Rome against the barbarians and left Britain without any protection. The Anglo-Saxons and the Jutes arrived from the north-west Europe and they took the control of the country. We know a lot about them because archaeologists have found many objects from their times. The Staffordshire hoard, it's the largest discovery of objects from the time of the Anglo-Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings: The Anglo-Saxons had a big influence on England; in facte the name England comes from Angle-Land. They divided the country into five kingdoms (Northumbia, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and Anglia). Most of the basic English words also come from them (ex.mother, woman, day, night, bed, go,...)and also some of the days of the week.In CE 597, a monk called Augustine came to England. He was sent by Pope and he slowly told people about the Christian religion. From CE 800, vikings from Denmark and Norway began to attack Britain. The most famous Anglo-Saxon king was Alfred the Great. He fought against the Vikings and he won. Then he allowed them to live in the area around York.

The Normans: the best-known date in the British history is 1066. A duke from Normandy said that he was the real king of England and invaded it. The Saxon king, Harold, was fighting in the north but he returned and there was a battle at Hastings. Harold was killed, the Normans won and William the conqueror became the first Norman King.Normans built many castles and cathedrals. French became the language of the rules for about 300 years. They created a feudal system where they were lords and the Saxons were serfs.

The Middle Ages: The king and the church had great power. This sometimes led to problems. There was a fight for power between the kings and the rich men in England. The king wanted to collect money to pay for his wars but the rich men didn't like this. They invaded London and in 1215 they made king John sign the Magna Carta(document which limited the king's power). It was very important because it introduced shared power between the king and the people. Later the Black Death came to England. This was a terrible disease. It killed nearly half of the 5-6 million people living there.Also, there were important wars. In 1337, 'The Hundred Years War' between England and France. It began when King Edward III of England said that he should also be king of France. He invaded France and for the following 116 years there were wars between England and France. During this war a woman, Joan of Arc, fought for the french and she helped them to win because she was brave. At the end of the war England had lost all its land in France except Calais.Later there was a war in England between two leading families: The Lancaster and the York. Both 'houses' wanted someone from their family to be king of England. It was called the war of the Roses 1455-1485 ( the symbol of the both families was a rose,Lancaster-red and York-white).Finally Henry Tudor, from the house Lancaster, defeated Richard III from the house of York. Richard was the last king who was killed in a battle.

The Tudor period: Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. He created the 'Tudor rose'. -it was a symbol of peace between Lancaster and York. His son, Henry VIII, is famous for having 6 wives.When Catherine of Aragon became queen, she returned England to a Roman catholic church. People called her 'Bloody Mary' because many protestants were killed during her reign. When she died her sister, Elisabeth became the queen. She started the protestant Church of England again. Her reign was a golden age for England because it became rich and powerful and successful. There were many famous writers like Shakespeare. English sailors such as Francis Drake explored the world and challenged the power of Spain.

British Isles

1)Where can you sometimes see Darwin's face?

You can see his face on courthouse wall or in the stamps outside the Royal Family or in the 10 pound notes.

2)Which city was named after Darwin? Where is it?

Is in the North Australia.

3)Who was Jenny?

The first ape Darwin saw was an orang-utan named Jenny at London zoo.

4) Did he write his first scientific paper about biology?

No he didn't. He wrote it about geology.
5) What percentage of British people belive in evolution?

50% of the population belived in evolution.

6) Did Darwin write On the Origin of Species for scientists only?

No, he wrote this book for the general public.

7) Did his father expect him to be famous?

No, he didn't expect that.

8) What did Darwin study at university? Was he successful?

He studied medicine but he didn't finishes his degree.

9) What did Darwin do with his specimen of the lesser rhea?

He ate his specimen of the lesser rhea.

10) Which islands did he explore?

He explore the Galapagos islands.