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Sport & places: Life in the UK Test notes

18 short questions and answers on sport & places, based on the official handbook. Read them, then test yourself with the free mock tests.

What should I know about football?

The UK's most popular sport. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate national teams. The Premier League and the FA Cup are the best-known competitions.

What should I know about rugby?

Rugby started in England in the early 1800s. There are two types, union and league. The Six Nations is between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.

What should I know about cricket?

Cricket began in England. The Ashes is a famous series between England and Australia. Games can last up to five days.

What should I know about tennis and golf?

Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam played on grass. Golf's home is St Andrews in Scotland; The Open Championship is its biggest event.

What should I know about horse racing and motor sport?

Famous races: Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National at Aintree, and the Scottish Grand National at Ayr. The British Grand Prix is a Formula 1 race. Sir Jackie Stewart won the F1 world championship three times.

Where is the National Horseracing Museum?

In Newmarket, Suffolk. Don't confuse it with the racecourses: the Grand National is run at Aintree, near Liverpool.

Who is David Weir?

A Paralympic wheelchair racer. He won six gold medals over two Paralympic Games and has won the London Marathon six times.

Who is Ellie Simmonds?

A Paralympic swimmer who won gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Games. She became the youngest person ever to receive an MBE.

Where did the Paralympics begin?

At Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire, with games for injured Second World War veterans.

Sporting heroes to know (part 1)

Bobby Moore captained England's 1966 World Cup team. Torvill and Dean won ice dancing gold in 1984 with perfect scores. Sir Ian Botham was a great cricketer. Dame Kelly Holmes won two athletics golds in 2004.

Sporting heroes to know (part 2)

Sir Chris Hoy: six Olympic cycling golds. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson: Paralympic wheelchair racer with 11 golds. Dame Ellen MacArthur: fastest solo sail around the world (2004). Bradley Wiggins: first Briton to win the Tour de France (2012). Mo Farah: 5,000m and 10,000m golds (2012). Jessica Ennis: heptathlon gold (2012). Andy Murray: first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936.

What is Big Ben?

The nickname of the great bell in the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament. The tower was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Which landmarks are in the handbook?

The Eden Project in Cornwall (huge greenhouses), Edinburgh Castle, the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland (about 40,000 basalt columns), the London Eye (built for the millennium), and the Tower of London (built by William the Conqueror; it holds the Crown Jewels and is guarded by the Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters).

Which national parks should I know?

The Lake District is England's largest national park; Windermere is England's longest lake, and Wastwater, England's deepest lake, was voted Britain's favourite view in 2007. Snowdonia is in North Wales; Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs was Scotland's first national park.

What are the national flowers?

England: the rose. Scotland: the thistle. Wales: the daffodil. Northern Ireland: the shamrock.

Which languages are spoken besides English?

Welsh in Wales, Gaelic in parts of Scotland, and Irish Gaelic in parts of Northern Ireland.

What is the national anthem?

'God Save the King'. It is played at important national occasions.

What is the National Trust?

A charity founded in 1895 by three volunteers. It looks after historic buildings, coastline and countryside.

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