Hot potatoes: JCloze

History of the British Flag

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

In 1603, the year of Queen Elizabeth I's death, England and Scotland existed as completely separate , each with their own and parliament. Elizabeth, being a spinster and therefore , expressed a deathbed wish that her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, be named as her successor to the English . Thus, the Scottish monarch was projected into the unique position of ruling two nations . He ruled Scotland as King James VI and England as King James I.
The English national flag at this consisted of a simple red cross fully imposed upon a plain white field, this being the of St. George, England's patron saint. The Scottish national flag consisted of a diagonal, or X-shaped, white cross, fully imposed upon a medium blue field. This was the emblem of St. Andrew, Scotland's patron saint. In the spring of 1606, to the monarchical unification of the two nations under himself, James created a banner to this end, by fully superimposing the English red cross (with a narrow white border to represent its normal white field) upon the Scottish . This became known as the Union Flag, and it was the forerunner of the flag of Great Britain.
In the decree of issuance of the flag, James stipulated that all of both English and Scottish registry were to fly this flag from atop their mainmasts. The Cross of St. George was to be flown from the foremasts of the English ships, while the Cross of St. Andrew was to be flown form the foremasts of the Scottish ships. As the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery were of English registry and did not embark upon their historic until December of 1606, it logically follows that on this voyage their flags conformed to the decree of the preceding spring.
The Union Flag, created by James in 1606, continued in use as a symbolic banner until 1707. Then, during the reign of Queen Anne, the parliaments of England and Scotland were united to form the new nation of Great Britain, and Anne officially the 101 year old banner as the national flag of the newly created nation. In 1801, when Ireland became a part of Great Britain, the Union Flag was redesigned to include the Cross of St. Patrick (red, diagonal), the patron of Ireland. It is in this form that the British flag today.

Hot potatoes: Word crossword

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Crossword

Complete the crossword, then click on "Check" to check your answer. If you are stuck, you can click on "Hint" to get a free letter. Click on a number in the grid to see the clue or clues for that number.

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Across: 1. Large musical instrument with strings stretched on a vertical frame, played with the fingers 4. Musical instrument like a guitar, with a long neck, a round body and four or more strings 6. Musical instrument that you hold in both hands to produce sounds. You press the two ends together and pull them apart and press buttons and/or keys to produce the different notes. 9. The largest musical instrument in the violin family, that plays very low notes 11. Large brass musical instrument that you blow into, with a sliding tube used to change the note 12. Musical instrument that usually has six strings, that you play with your fingers or with a plectrum 13. musical instrument with four strings, like a small guitar 14. Musical instrument of the woodwind group, shaped like a thin pipe. The player holds it sideways and blows across a hole at one end.

Down: 2. Large musical instrument played by pressing the black and white keys on the keyboard. The sound is produced by small hammers hitting the metal strings inside the piano 3. musical instrument with strings, that you hold under your chin and play with a bow 5. Metal musical instrument that you blow into, used especially in jazz 7. Small musical instrument that you hold near your mouth and play by blowing or sucking air through it 8. Musical instrument of the woodwind group. It is shaped like a pipe and has a double reed at the top that you blow into. 10. Musical instrument made of a hollow round frame with plastic or skin stretched tightly across one or both ends. You play it by hitting it with sticks or with your hands 11. Brass musical instrument made of a curved metal tube that you blow into, with three valves for changing the note

Hot potatoes: Quiz

Irish culture

Quiz

 

1. Official languages in Ireland
   1.   English
   2.   English and Irish
   3.   Irish
   4.   Irish, English and Celtic Language
2. What is a very popular Irish festivity?
   1.   Thanksgiving
   2.   Christmas
   3.   Saint Patrick's Day
   4.   Easter
3. Which is a famous Irish drink?
   1.   Vodka
   2.   Beer
   3.   Tea
   4.   Coffee
4. Which is the capital of Ireland?
   1.   Dublin
   2.   Belfast
   3.   Galway
   4.   Cork
5. Which of the following music groups is not Irish?
   1.   U2
   2.   The Cranberries
   3.   Coldplay
   4.   The Corrs