Life in the UK Chapter Test 1

The fundamental principles of British life include: tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, the rule of law, democracy, individual liberty and participation in community life.

During the reign of Henry VIII, Wales became formally united with England by the Act for the Government of Wales.

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee (1955-), is British. Information was successfully transferred via the web for the first time on 25 December 1990.

The Cenotaph in Whitehall is the site of the annual Remembrance Day service attended by the King, politicians and foreign ambassadors.

The government is usually formed by the party that wins the majority of constituencies. If no party wins a majority, two parties may join together to form a coalition.

There are 129 members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected by a form of proportional representation.

In 1455, a civil war was begun to decide who should be king of England. It was fought between the supporters of two families: the House of Lancaster and the House of York. This war was called the Wars of the Roses, because the symbol of Lancaster was a red rose and the symbol of York was a white rose.

The UK offers to its residents or citizens: freedom of belief and religion, freedom of speech, freedom from unfair discrimination, a right to a fair trial and a right to join in the election of a government.

When they are 16, people can drink wine or beer with a meal in a hotel or restaurant (including eating areas in pubs) as long as they are with someone over 18.

Following the Black Death, the smaller population meant there was less need to grow cereal crops. There were labour shortages and peasants began to demand higher wages. New social classes appeared, including owners of large areas of land (later called the gentry), and people left the countryside to live in the towns. In the towns, growing wealth led to the development of a strong middle class.

Skara Brae on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, is the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe, and has helped archaeologists to understand more about how people lived near the end of the Stone Age.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if an accused person is aged 10 to 17, the case is normally heard in a Youth Court in front of up to three specially trained magistrates or a District Judge. The most serious cases will go the Crown Court.

The official Church of the state is the Church of England (called the Anglican Church in other countries and the Episcopal Church in Scotland and the United States).

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is located in the west of Scotland.

In the 19th century, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote comic operas, often making fun of popular culture and politics. These operas include HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.

The official home of the Prime Minister is 10 Downing Street, in central London, near the Houses of Parliament. He or she also has a country house outside London called Chequers.

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

County Courts deal with a wide range of civil disputes. These include people trying to get back money that is owed to them, cases involving personal injury, family matters, breaches of contract, and divorce. In Scotland, most of these matters are dealt with in the Sheriff Court.

The population is very unequally distributed over the four parts of the UK. England more or less consistently makes up 84% of the total population, Wales around 5%, Scotland just over 8%, and Northern Ireland less than 3%.

In Scotland the elected members, called MSPs, meet in the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh.

The monarch has regular meetings with the Prime Minister and can advise, warn and encourage, but the decisions on government policies are made by the Prime Minister and cabinet.

To divorce his first wife, Henry VIII needed the approval of the Pope. When the Pope refused, Henry established the Church of England. In this new church, the king, not the Pope, would have the power to appoint bishops and order how people should worship.

NATO is a group of European and North American countries that have agreed to help each other if they come under attack. It also aims to maintain peace between all of its members.

The Mercury Music Prize is awarded each September for the best album from the UK and Ireland.

f you are resident in the UK, your car or motor cycle must be registered at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

MPs are elected through a system called ‘first past the post’. In each constituency, the candidate who gets the most votes is elected.

Many local authorities appoint a mayor, who is the ceremonial leader of the council. In some towns, a mayor is elected to be the effective leader of the administration.

John Major was Prime Minister after Mrs Thatcher, and helped establish the Northern Ireland peace process.

The Welsh government has 60 Senedd members (SMs) and elections are held every four years using a form of proportional representation.

In the 2011 Census, 59% of people identified themselves as Christian. Much smaller proportions identified themselves as Muslim (4.8%), Hindu (1.5%), Sikh (0.8%), Jewish or Buddhist (both less than 0.5%).

During the 18th century, new ideas about politics, philosophy and science were developed. This is often called ‘the Enlightenment’. Many of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment were Scottish. Adam Smith developed ideas about economics which are still referred to today.

There is also an official Welsh flag, which shows a Welsh dragon. The Welsh dragon does not appear on the Union Flag because, when the first Union Flag was created in 1606 from the flags of Scotland and England, the Principality of Wales was already untied with England.

The symbol of the House of Tudor was a red rose with a white rose inside it as a sign that the Houses of York and Lancaster were now allies.

In 1815, the French Wars ended with the defeat of the Emperor Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo.

Pubs are usually open during the day from 11.00 am (12 noon on Sundays).

Royal Ascot, the five-day race meeting attended by members of the Royal Family, takes place in Berkshire.

The Northern Ireland Assembly can make decisions on issues such as education, agriculture, the environment, health and social services. It cannot make decisions on defence.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, most minor criminal cases are dealt with in a Magistrates’ Court. In Scotland, minor criminal offences go to a Justice of the Peace Court.

During the Second World War, Winston Churchill made many famous speeches including lines which you may still hear: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat’. This was Churchill’s first speech to the House of Commons after he became Prime Minister, 1940.

In 1666, a great fire destroyed much of the city of London, including many churches and St Paul’s Cathedral. London was rebuilt with a new St Paul’s, which was designed by a famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren.

The Commonwealth is an association of countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development. Most member states were once part of the British Empire, although a few countries which were not have also joined

The money from TV licences is used to pay for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This is a public service broadcaster providing television and radio programmes. The BBC is the largest broadcaster in the world. It is the only wholly state-funded media organisation that is independent of government.

The Cenotaph, the Centrepiece to the Remembrance Day service, is located in Whitehall, London.

Almost everybody in the UK who is in paid work, including self-employed people, must pay National Insurance Contributions.

The fundamental principles of British life include: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and participation in community life.

Great Britain’ refers only to England, Scotland and Wales, not to Northern Ireland. The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Bill of Rights, 1689, confirmed the rights of Parliament and the limits of the king’s power. Parliament took control of who could be monarch and declared that the king or queen must be a Protestant.

You can contact MPs by letter or telephone at their constituency office, or at their office in the House of Commons: The House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A OAA, telephone 0207729 3000.

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. Past winners include Ian McEwan, Hilary Mantel and Julian Barnes.

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

During the Victorian period, the British Empire grew to cover all of India, Australia and large parts of Africa. It became the largest empire the world has ever seen, with an estimated population of more than 400 million people.

The British constitution is not written down in any single document, and therefore it is described as ‘unwritten’. This is mainly because the UK, unlike America or France, has never had a revolution which led permanently to a totally new system of government.

Alexander Fleming was researching influenza (the ‘flu’) in 1928 when he discovered penicillin.