Exam practice: Reading Unit 9

Open comprehension NATIONAL FLOWER EMBLEMS

1 Read part of a text. Then read the question and
three answers written by students. Which is the Having a flower representing each of its countries is a
best one? Why? historic British tradition.
The thistle is a purple flower with sharp
Britain is a monarchy. Over the past 1200 years, England
leaves that can be painful if you touch it.
and Britain have had 61 kings and queens. The first king
It has been the emblem of Scotland since
of England was Egbert, who ruled from 827–839.
the time Alexander III was king, between
When did the first king of England rule? 1249 and 1286. According to legend, this
a The first king of England was Egbert and he ruled plant saved some Scottish soldiers who
from 827–839 and he was the first of 61 monarchs. were sleeping. An army from Norway were about to attack,
b The first king of England was Egbert, who ruled from but one of their soldiers stood on a thistle and screamed.
827–839. This woke the Scots, who then beat them in battle, so
c The first English king was the ruler from 827–839. the thistle became the country’s emblem. Images of the
plant are widely used and you’ll see them everywhere. For
example, on police uniforms, the international rugby shirt
2 Complete the sentences with the correct form of
the words given. and business logos.
The famous Tudor rose is the national
1 Henry VIII is one of the most
emblem of England. King Henry VII
(fame) kings of England.
chose it as a symbol of peace after
2 The police are investigating the the Wars of the Roses, a series of wars
(mystery) disappearance of two people. which were fought between royal houses
3 When I broke my leg, it was really of York and Lancaster from 1455 to
(pain). 1485 to decide who would rule England. The supporters
4 York is a (history) town in the north of York wore a badge with a white rose, while supporters
of England. of Lancaster wore a red rose. When the wars were over,
Henry VII combined the red and white roses to make the
5 I like bright, (colour) clothes.
Tudor rose and, years later, this gave the wars their name.
Exam tip Today, the red rose appears on the uniform of the guards
of the Tower of London and in the royal coat of arms. It
Use your own words to write short, clear answers that
also appears on the shirts of sports teams, such as the
are easy to understand. Write complete sentences.
international rugby team.
The colourful daffodil is now the national
flower of Wales, though there is disagreement
3 Read the text and answer the questions. about how this happened. Until the
1 Who was the ruler of Scotland when the thistle 19th century, the emblem was the leek, a
became its emblem? vegetable in the same family as the onion.
The daffodil might have become the emblem
because the Welsh translation for daffodil is ‘Saint Peter’s
2 Why did the Scottish soldiers wake up?
Leek’, which may have led to confusion between the leek
and the daffodil. Also, the time of year when daffodils appear
3 In which sport do players have national flowers on is early in spring. This is around the same time as the day of
their shirts? St David, the Welsh national saint, which is on 1st March.

4 What was the reason for the Wars of the Roses? 4 Find words in the text that have these definitions.
1 an old story about the past, often not true
5 How did the Wars of the Roses get their name? (paragraph 2)
2 a set of similar things that follow one another
(paragraph 3)
6 What was the national emblem of Wales before the
daffodil? 3 officially control or govern a country or area
(paragraph 3)
4 something you wear to show that you belong to a
7 How do people think the translation of daffodil led
particular group (paragraph 3)
to it becoming the Welsh emblem?
5 caused something to happen (paragraph 4)

8 When is St David’s Day?

6 when people don’t understand something
(paragraph 5)

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Exam practice: Reading Unit 9

B1 Preliminary Part 1 Important

1 Choose the correct answer. Do not switch on the games console until you have
inserted the cable into the socket on the back of the TV
5G and then selected the correct video channel.
Hi Sam, I phoned the
theatre and booked two 2 What is this notice telling people to do?
tickets for tonight. Can
A You must switch on the games console before
you pick them up on
your way home? Don’t you select the video channel.
be late! Love, Rosa B You must select the video channel before you
connect the games console.
The main message of the text is
C You must connect the games console to the TV
a Rosa is inviting Sam to go to the theatre tonight. before you switch it on.
b Rosa is asking Sam to collect some theatre tickets.
c Rosa has got some tickets for the theatre. 5G

Hey Sandra, The bus is

2 Complete the sentences with the words in the box. stuck in traffic so I’ll be
There are two extra words that you do not need late. Don’t wait for me
to use. in the café, I’ll see you
outside the cinema.
I’ve got the tickets – I
capital city • ​
currency • ​flag • ​
national anthem • ​ booked online. Ella
official • ​
population • ​royal family • ​symbol
3 Ella has written this message to
1 The is the king or queen of a
A confirm she will meet Sandra in the café later.
country and their relatives.
B say she can’t go to the cinema because she’s late.
2 England’s is London, which is in
the south of the country. C ask Sandra to meet her at the cinema.
3 The of Mexico is over 130 million
people. Languages club – Japanese evening
4 In India, the language of Do you want to know more about Japan? Find out
government is Hindi. about the population, capital city, royal family and
5 The in the United States is the much more. Non-members welcome. Thursday 6pm in
US Dollar. the Hall. For FREE tickets phone 0782688678.
6 Most countries have a that people
sing on special occasions.

Exam tip 4 What is the main idea of this notice?

Always read the text carefully and try to decide what A The club is inviting people to an event they
the main message is. Then choose the option that have organised.
corresponds to that. B The club wants more members to join it.
C The club wants people to help organise an event
they are planning.
3 For each question, choose the correct answer.
Athletics event
Joe,
Saturday’s event starts at 10.30 am. Please
Your brother doesn’t understand his history homework and arrive at the stadium at 9.30 am to practise on
he wanted to ask you about it. He’ll be back tonight from his the track before the event. Don’t forget to wear
guitar lesson around 6.30. school sports uniform.
See you later!
5 This notice is to tell students who are participating in
Dad
the event that they
1 What is the purpose of this note? A don’t have to wear school sports uniform.
A To ask if Joe has any history homework tonight. B must arrive in time to train before the event.
B To tell Joe to help his brother with his homework C should be at the stadium by 10.30 for the event.
after 6.30.
C To tell Joe that his brother is coming home
tonight to do his homework.

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