Culture - Dossier UK
Culture - Dossier UK
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The national flag of the UK
is the Union Flag (often called
the Union Jack) and it is made
up of the flags of Scotland,
England and Northern Ireland.
UK political system
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch, which means that the king or
queen is the Head of State and a prime minister is the Head of the Government, which is voted into power by the people.
The monarch, who must remain politically impartial, has ceremonial duties but very limited powers.
The business of the UK parliament takes place in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and decisions
made in one House have to be approved by the other. There is also a national Parliament in Scotland, a national
Assembly in Wales and a national Assembly in Northern Ireland.
The process of devolution, which happened in 1999, transferred varying levels of power from the UK parliament to
these countries, while keeping the authority over the devolved institutions in the UK parliament itself. The devolved
powers include matters such as education, environment, culture, transport, justice and health.
READING COMPREHENSION
1 Read the text and answer these questions.
1 What political system is there in the UK? 4 What is devolution and when did it happen in the UK?
2 What role does the monarch have? 5 What powers do the devolved national parliaments
3 How is the UK parliament divided? have?
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Dossier
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The Tudors (1485-1603) The Stuarts The Georgians
This period had perhaps two of the (1603 -1714) (1714-1837)
country’s strongest monarchs: Henry With James I now After Queen Anne, the last of
VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I. King of Ireland and the Stuarts, the crown passed
Henry, who had six wives in his attempt England, as well as to George, from the House of
to have a male heir, separated from Scotland, it started Hanover.
the Catholic Church as the Pope would to be difficult to The Georgian period (there
not allow him to divorce and remarry. maintain peace between the Catholics were four kings of the same
He appointed himself head of the and Protestants. Civil War broke out in name) saw social change,
Protestant Church of England. Queen 1642 between Royalists, who supported for example the abolition of
Elizabeth I reigned the monarch, and Parliamentarians, led slavery, and the increase in
over a period of by Oliver Cromwell, who were against the power of Parliament.
great discovery and the absolute power held by the king and It was also a period of wars,
exploration as well in favour of a more powerful parliament. notably the American War
as cultural renewal. King Charles I, who succeeded James, of Independence and the
On her death, the was executed in 1649 and later Cromwell Napoleonic Wars, with Nelson
crown passed to her became Lord Protector of England, beating Napoleon at the Battle
cousin James Stuart, Scotland and Ireland. The monarchy was of Trafalgar and Wellington’s
King of Scotland. restored in 1660. victory at Waterloo.
GET STARTED
1 Read the texts on these pages quickly and complete these sentences with the names of the historic figures.
1 Claudius was the first Roman Emperor to conquer 4 ______________ formed the Church of England.
Britain. 5 ______________ was an important figure in the Civil War.
2 ______________ ruled under the feudal system. 6 ______________ won the Battle of Waterloo.
3 ______________ signed the Magna Carta.
READING COMPREHENSION
2 Read the texts more carefully and decide if these sentences are T (true) or F (false). Correct the false ones.
T F
1 The Romans invaded Britain before the Anglo-Saxons. □ □
2 The Anglo-Saxons settled in Wales. □ □
3 The kingdoms of England and Scotland were formed under the Vikings. □ □
4 The building of stone churches and castles was common under the Normans. □ □
5 During the Middle Ages the figure of the king became even more important. □ □
6 Queen Elizabeth I was one of Henry VIII’s wives. □ □
7 The Civil War was between supporters of the king and supporters of Parliament. □ □
8 During the Stuart Age, the country became a republic for a short period of time. □ □
9 Slavery became illegal during the Georgian period. □ □
10 The working classes in the Victorian period became richer. □ □
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Dossier
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UK population and identity
The population of the UK is getting older, mainly due to Influenced by factors such
increased life expectancy, and 18.2% of the population is over as increases in divorce,
65. Of the people living in the UK, 9.4 million were born outside married couples without
the UK. This is largely accounted for by immigrants arriving children, co-habiting
from the EU, in particular Romania and Poland. This, as well couples and one person
as earlier immigration from ex colonies such as Jamaica and households, the family
India, means that a large variety of ethnic groups make up the unit has changed from
population. This ethnic the traditional nuclear
UK population data – 2017 diversity has enriched and family of a married
influenced many aspects couple with children.
Total population 66.04 million
of British society although, The average
Number of births 762,000 unfortunately, integration household size
and acceptance still raise is 2.4 people.
Number of deaths 602,000
many issues.
READING COMPREHENSION
1 Read the texts and decide if these sentences are T (true) or F (false). Correct the false ones.
T F
1 In the UK, a quarter of the population is older than 65. □ □
2 More than 9 million people who live in the UK were not born there. □ □
3 The UK no longer has problems related to integration. □ □
4 The family unit has remained unchanged. □ □
5 The UK does not have an official religion. □ □
6 The type of food popular in the UK has been affected by immigration. □ □
SPEAKING
2 Work in pairs. Look at the images on this page. Which ones represent ‘Britishness’ to you? Why?
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