Across England

Cornwall has the longest coastline of any English county. The north (0) ..C.. has wonderful stretches of firm golden sands and soaring cliffs. The south coast is a complete contrast with its (1) picturesque little fishing ports. Land’s End is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. It is a mass of granite cliffs which (2) plunge into the sea. The area is popular for its beautiful views as well as for the prehistoric remains which are more than 2,000 years (3) old.

Wiltshire is the county of White Horses which are chalk hill carvings. Of the thirteen white horses known to have existed here, eight are still (4) … , and the others have become grown over and are no longer visible. Contrary to popular (5) … , most white horses are not of great antiquity. Only the Uffington white horse is some three thousand years old. Most of the others (6) … from the last 300 years.

Plymouth in Devonshire has been a noted seaport since the 13^th century. During the Hundred Years’ War many ships (7) … from here against the French. The Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth to America in the “Mayflower” in 1620; and in 1772 James Cook (8) … from here on his great 3-year circumnavigation of the world.

Since ancient times Bath in the county of Avon has been a popular place of refreshment. It stands (9) … the site of Britain’s only hot springs, where every day a quarter of a million gallons of water gush out of the earth at a temperature of 48.9˚ C. These hot springs were discovered by the Romans who developed them as a sophisticated series of baths which were used not only for bathing purposes, but as a social centre as (10) … .

Gloucestershireis a great sporting county, famous chiefly for cricket, rugby, football and horse racing.

The city of Nottingham is known throughout the world for (11) … historical associations with Robin Hood. Although the great Sherwood Forest has practically disappeared, parts of it still exist and near the village of Edwinstove is the Major Oak – a tree, which Robin Hood made his (12) … .

0	A bank	Bedge	Ccoast	Dmarge
1	A noble	Bpicturesque	Chandsome	Dgood-looking
2	A plunge	Bfall	Cdrown	Dsink
3	A ancient	Blong	Con	Dold
4	A stand	B visible	C view	D visually
5	A believe	Bbelieving	C belief	Dbeliever
6	A go	Bgrow	C date	Ddevelop
7	A swam	Bfloated	Cdrifted	Dsailed
8	A departed	B arrived	Cdrove	Ddisappeared
9	A in	B at	Con	Dabove
10	A such	Bso	Ctoo	Dwell
11	A its	Bhis	C it	Dher
12	A store	Bheadquarters	Cmanagement	Dskyscraper

The History of London

More than 2000 years ago the early Britons (0) ..C… a settlement on the north (1) … of the Thames. The site had many (2) … : it was defended by the river and it lay in the center of the most fertile region. The old Britons gave the town its name - Lyndin (which means a lonely port). The Romans came here in the year 55 B.C. and made it the center of their colony. Its name was changed to Londinium. At the time of the Roman invasion it was already a town of (3) … importance.

In the 5^th century the Romans (4) … Britain and other invaders came to the British shores. The Saxon hordes and the Danes rushed to Londinium, (5) … the land and ruined the city. During nearly 400 years Londinium lay in ruins, grass grew where the beautiful buildings (6) … been before, wild animals walked on the good Roman roads.

In the 9^th century the Saxon Kings began to rebuild the ruined city. Soon (7) … centre, Westminster Abbey, was founded. In 1066 William the Duke of Normandy, or William the Conqueror came (8) … Britain. He settled in Londinium, which now became London - the capital of Norman Britain. The Norman masters built new palaces, churches and cathedrals.

In 1665 there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the (9) … countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also (10) … much of the city. After the fire the City could not be reconstructed, it had to be built again. A commission of six architects was organized for this business. Sir Christopher Wren was the leader among them. It was forbidden to build (11) … houses in the City of London. The streets were made much wider and open land was left for squares.

During the 19th century many suburbs were incorporated into Greater London, all the bridges in the city were rebuilt in stone, and the streets were furnished first with gas and later with electric (12) … .

0	A made	B organized	C established	Dset
1	A bank	Bshore	Ccoast	Dbeach
2	A usefulness	Bdifferences	Cprofit	D advantages
3	A significance	Bconsiderable	Cwidely	Drelevant
4	A went	B left	C invaded	D escaped
5	A gained	Bconquered	C took	Dwon
6	A was	Bhas	C had	Dwould
7	A other	Bthe others	Canother	Deach other
8	A to	B in	Con	Dinto
9	A surrounded	B surround	Cround	D surrounding
10	A demounted	Bdeconstructed	Cdisassembled	D destroyed
11	A concrete	Bcardboard	C wooden	Dforest
12	A lamp	Billumination	Clight	Dlightning