9
NATIONAL
TREASURES
a
b
Vocabulary in context
Reading
Countries and nations Governments 1 speaking
4 Match these words to the definitions (1–8).
The flag of the United Kingdom is usually known as the Union Jack. The name ‘jack’might have come from an old sailing term for the flag that was placed at the front of a ship. The Union Jack is made up of the crosses of St. George (representing England), St. Andrew (representing Scotland), and St. Patrick (representing Ireland). Many people wonder why it doesn’t include anything to represent Wales. That’s because when the Union Jack was first designed, Wales was at that time already united with England. It may have been difficult to incorporate the Welsh flag anyway because of the big, red dragon. FLYING THE FLAG In 1902, New Zealand designed their flag with the Union Jack in the top left corner to reflect their origins as a British colony. The flag also contains the stars of the Southern Cross, to emphasise the country’s location in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Some people in New Zealand must have been unhappy with their flag, because they decided to have an official competition to design a new one. The winner of this historic competition was a black, silver and blue flag with an artistic picture of a fern leaf, a national symbol of New Zealand. There was then a referendum in 2016 to choose between the old flag and the new one. It can’t have been an easy choice. A relatively small majority of 57% chose to keep the old one. Lor m ip um People usually call the US flag the ‘stars and stripes’. There is a legend that a woman called Betsy Ross might have been the first person to make the American flag, but experts say it can’t be true because there’s no real evidence for this. Early versions of the flag, from around 1777, had 13 stars and 13 stripes. That number was significant. There were 13 British colonies on the Atlantic coast of America. These declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 and formed the United States of America. Today the flag has 50 stars to represent the 50 states of the US. Some people think there are 52, but that could be because they wrongly think Washington DC and Puerto Rico are states. Mexico has the record for the biggest flag ever flown from a flagpole. It was 60 metres wide. It must be hard to miss a flag that’s so big! In the middle of the Mexican flag is an eagle on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. This represents an important legend. The Mexica people were looking for a place to build a home and believed that if they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus with a snake in its mouth, that would signal the ideal place to settle. One day the vision came true on a small island in the middle of a lake. At first sight, it didn’t seem the best place to start a new life, but they built their city, Tenochtitlan, exactly on that spot in 1325. This is where Mexico City stands today. It isn’t only countries that use flags. They’re associated with ships, too, because they were an efficient means of communication at sea. That’s why pirates used them. They had many different and dramatic flag designs – with skeletons, hearts, swords or even just completely black or red. The stereotypical pirate flag, which is black with a white skull and crossbones, is known as the Jolly Roger. Some people think that the name Jolly Roger might have come from the French ‘joli rouge’, the ‘pretty red’. It couldn’t have been a pretty sight to see a pirate ship flying a blood-red flag, though. It meant that the pirates would take no prisoners!
speaking What do the two flags above represent? If you don’t know, guess.
1
campaign • g eneral election • laws • member • political party • politician • run (v.) • vote (v.) 65 Governments 2 1 occasion when you can vote for a government 2 a part of an organisation or group 3 a group of people with similar ideas about governments 4 control, organise 5 official rules that people must obey 6 someone who has a job in politics 7 formally express an opinion by choosing between two or more people or parties 8 series of things that a political party does to try to win an election 5a Complete the text with the correct form of words in 4. Culture exchange An introduction to UK government The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. They have a (a) to choose the Prime Minister at least every five years. You have to be 18 to participate and be able to (b) . Historically, the three biggest (c) are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat Party. They organise (d) before the elections to convince people to choose them. If people choose you to represent them in parliament you become an MP, or (e) of Parliament. The government (f) the country. For example, they suggest new rules and (g) . Collaborative project 5 page 135
Match these words to the different examples for Wales. Use a dictionary if necessary. capital city • c urrency • flag • national anthem • national symbol/emblem • official language • population • royal family (king/queen/prince/princess) 63 Countries and nations 1 the pound (£) 2 Elizabeth II and her family (as in the rest of the United Kingdom) 3 Cardiff 4 green and white with a red dragon in the centre 5 a red dragon, a yellow flower called a daffodil, three white feathers 6 English and Welsh 7 a song called Land of My Fathers 8 just over three million
2 Read the text and check your answers. What does the text tell you about flag b?
67 Read the text again and answer the questions. 1 What is the basis for the design of the Union Jack? 2 Why is Wales not represented in the Union Jack? 3 What different New Zealand flags does the text mention? 4 Which is the New Zealand flag today and why? 5 Why did the US flag use to have 13 stars? 6 Why does the US flag have 50, not 52, stars today? 7 On the Mexican flag, what legend does the eagle represent? 8 In what ways were real pirate flags different from the one we usually associate with them?
3
Use as many words as
2
speaking
possible in 1 to talk about: 1 your own country 2 England 3 the US 3 Match these types of government to the explanations below. constitutional monarchy • d emocracy • monarchy • republic 64 Governments 1 1 A country that is ruled by a president or other leader, not by a king or queen. 2 A system of government where people vote in elections to choose the people who will govern them. 3 A type of government where a country is ruled by a king or queen. 4 A country with a king or queen whose powers are limited by a set of basic laws.
4 What do the underlined words in the text mean? Guess and then check in your dictionary. Critical thinkers 5 Which is the most interesting/ attractive flag described in the text? What makes you say that?
Use ideas in the text and/or other facts, opinions and experiences to justify your opinion. Then share your ideas with a partner.
66 Listen and check your answers. Use it … don’t lose it!
5b
speaking Discuss with your partner your country’s simliarities and differences with the information about the UK in 5a.
6
Reach higher
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Reach higher
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Unit 9
Unit 9
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