QUIZ “English-Speaking Countries”
I. What do you know about Great Britain?
1. On what rivers do the following towns stand? a) Newcastle b) Glasgow c) Stratford d) Oxford
2. Give the name of the following: a) the longest river b) the largest county c) the largest lake d) the largest city not counting London e) the busiest port
3. What is the name of the highest mountain? a) on the British Isles b) in Wales c) in England
4. What cities in Britain have the following nicknames? a) Auld Reekie b) The Granite City c) The Smoke
5. Why are there few outdoor cafes in England?
6. What two raw materials are often found close together in Great Britain?
7. What animals can one see in the Highlands?
8. Which parts of Great Britain are the centres of the woollen and cotton industry?
9. What kinds of hard fruits grow well in many parts of England?
10. Are all the people in Britain English?
11. Why is Wales often called the “land of songs”?
12. Name the national flower emblems of a)England b)Scotland c)Ireland d)Wales
13. What is the name of the Scottish lake in which there is supposed to be a monster?
14. What do you know about the famous Round Table? Who sat at it?
15. What is the name of the English town where William Shakespeare was born?
16. Who was Shakespeare`s favourite actress?
17. What is the name of the poet who was called “The Father of English Poetry”?
18. What famous literary traveller left his home in Hull on the 1st of September, 1651, and did not get back home to Yorkshire until 1687?
19. A British writer was born in Dublin but spent much time of his life in London. What was his name and what was his most famous book?
20. What famous Scotsman was born at Alloway in Ayshire in 1759?
21. Who wrote the following: a) ”Oliver Twist” b) ”Alice Through the Looking-Glass”
22. What sports have originated in Britain?
23. Which is the most popular British sport?
24. What is the annual sporting event which takes place on the river Thames?
25. Why are public holidays in Britain called “bank holidays”?
26. When did the Great Fire of London take place?
27. A ring was the founder of the British Navy. What was his name?
28. What was the name of the English navigator who was called “Queen Elizabeth`s pirate”?
Keys:
1. a) the Tyne b) the Clyde c) the Avon d) the Thames
2. a) the Severn b) Yorkshire c) Windermere d) Birmingham e) London
3. a) Ben Nevis b) Snowdon c) Scaffel Pike
4. a) Edinburgh b) Aberdeen c) London
5. Because the weather is uncertain
6. Coal, iron
7. Sheep, goats, long-haired Highland cattle
8. Yorkshire is the centre of the woollen industry, Manchester is the centre of the cotton industry.
9. Apples, pears
10. Only the people of England call themselves English. The others are the Welsh, the Scottish, the Irish.
11. Because the Welsh people are famous for their good voices and it is difficult to find a village without a good choir there.
12. a) the rose b) the thistle c) the shamrock d) the daffodil
13. Loch Ness
14. The famous Round Table was used by King Arthur and his knights to show that all were equal.
15. Stratford-on-Avon
16. Shakespeare never saw an actress. All roles were played by men and boys until many years after his death.
17. Geoffrey Chaucer
18. Robinson Crusoe
19. Jonathan Swift and his book “Gulliver`s Travels”
20. Robert Burns
21. Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll
22. Football, horse-racing, golf, lawn tennis, rowing
23. Football
24. The Annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities on the river Thames is one of the most popular sporting events of the year.
25. Because banks are closed on holidays
26. In 1666
27. Alfred
28. Francis Drake
II. What do you know about the USA?
1. What countries made early settlements in America?
2. What was the first English colony in America?
3. Who were the Pilgrim Fathers?
4. Who was the first American President? When did he become President of the USA?
5. What does the Statue of Liberty in New York commemorate?
6. Describe the flag of the USA.
7. What is the name given to the official residence of the President of the USA in Washington?
8. What is the national flag of the USA called?
9. What kind of music first developed in New Orleans?
10. On what river is the capital of the United States situated?
11. Which is the largest state in the USA? Which is the smallest one?
12. What animal is a symbol of the US government?
13. What is the nickname of the US government?
14. What are the names of the two houses of the legislative branch of the US government?
15. What is the Day of National Independence in the USA?
16. What university is the oldest in the USA?
17. What name is given to the annual statuette award made by US Academy of Motion Pictures for outstanding achievements in various fields of film production?
18. What are the most popular team sports in the United States?
19. Who were the first men to fly over the North Pole?
20. What British English words have the same meaning like the American ones: movies, elevator, automobile, fall, icebox
21. What monument in Washington is called “the pencil”?
22. In what country was the Statue of Liberty made?
23. When did New York get its name?
Keys:
1. Spain, France, the Netherlands, England
2. Jamestown
3. A group of English religious people who founded a colony in 1620
4. George Washington became president in 1789.
5. It commemorates the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence.
6. Thirteen red and white stripes and fifty white stars on a blue field
7. The White House
8. The Stars and Stripes
9. Jazz
10. The Potomac River
11. Alaska. Rhode Island
12. The bald eagle
13. Uncle Sam
14. The Senate and the House of Representatives which are together called the Congress
15. July, 4th
16. Harvard
17. Oscar
18. Basketball, American football, baseball
19. Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennet in 1926
20. Pictures, lift, car, autumn, refrigerator
21. The tall column set up to commemorate George Washington
22. In France
23. In 1664
III. What do you know about Canada, Australia and New Zealand?
1. When did Canada become independent?
2. How many Canadians speak English and French?
3. The British queen is also the queen of Canada. What official is the real head of the Canadian government?
4. Who were the first Europeans to discover Australia?
5. Australia`s most popular state was given its name by a British explorer. Who was he?
6. What was the name of the Australian continent when Cook explored its eastern coast?
7. An English rabbit nearly ruined Australia. Do you know how it happened?
8. Captain Abel Tasman discovered the island now named Tasmania. Who discovered New Zealand? When?
9. What are the aboriginal people of New Zealand called?
10. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is the second largest city in the country. What is the first largest city in New Zealand?
11. New Zealand is the only place in the world for the birds which are among the smallest of the flightless birds. What do you call those birds?
12. What type of footwear suggests the capital of New Zealand?
Keys:
1. On July 1, 1867
2. About one-third of the Canadians speak French and over two-thirds speak English.
3. The prime minister
4. The Dutch
5. Captain James Cook
6. New Holland
7. In 1859 a man lost rabbits. They multiplied and spread so rapidly that they became very dangerous for agriculture of Australia.
8. A. Tasman in 1642
9. Maoris
10. Auckland
11. Kiwis
12. Wellingtons