Life in the UK Test Chapter 4 Key Facts

Arts, music, theatre and literature

The Proms is an eight-week summer season of orchestral music; the Last Night of the Proms is its best-known concert.
Important composers associated with Britain include Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, Gustav Holst, Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton and Benjamin Britten.
Britain has made major contributions to popular music, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Major theatre venues include London’s West End and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Laurence Olivier Awards recognise achievements in British theatre.
Important artists include Thomas Gainsborough, David Hockney, John Constable, J. M. W. Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Henry Moore and modern artists associated with the Turner Prize.
Major architectural styles represented in the UK include medieval Gothic, classical, Georgian, Victorian Gothic and modern design.
Sir Christopher Wren designed St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London; Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in the 19th-century Gothic style.
British literature includes works by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Roald Dahl and many modern writers.
The Man Booker Prize is a major literary award; British poetry includes works by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Robert Burns, T. S. Eliot and others.

Christmas Day is 25 December and Boxing Day is 26 December.
Easter commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; Lent is the 40-day period before Easter.
Other important religious festivals include Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Vaisakhi.
Valentine’s Day is 14 February; April Fool’s Day is 1 April; Halloween is 31 October.
Bonfire Night is 5 November and remembers the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.
Remembrance Day is 11 November; the Cenotaph in Whitehall is central to the national service of remembrance.
New Year’s Eve is called Hogmanay in Scotland.
Patron saints’ days are St David’s Day on 1 March, St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, St George’s Day on 23 April and St Andrew’s Day on 30 November.
Bank holidays are public holidays. Their dates and arrangements vary across the nations of the UK.

Gardening, shopping, cooking, films, television, radio, social networking, pubs, clubs, betting, gambling and keeping pets are common leisure interests.
Traditional foods include roast beef, fish and chips, haggis, Welsh cakes, Ulster fry and other regional dishes.
The UK has an important film industry. Famous directors include Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Carol Reed, Ridley Scott and others.
Important British films listed in the ebook include The 39 Steps, Brief Encounter, The Third Man, Lawrence of Arabia and Chariots of Fire.
The BBC is the UK’s main public service broadcaster and is funded primarily through the television licence fee.
Pubs are social venues; traditional pub games include darts and pool.
Gambling is regulated and people must meet the legal age requirements.
Pet owners are responsible for controlling their animals and cleaning up after dogs.

The supplied ebook lists 15 national parks across England, Wales and Scotland.
The National Trust and National Trust for Scotland preserve important buildings, coastline and countryside.
Big Ben is the nickname of the great bell at the Houses of Parliament; the clock tower is called Elizabeth Tower.
The Eden Project is in Cornwall and contains large biomes housing plants from around the world.
Edinburgh Castle dominates Edinburgh’s skyline; the Giant’s Causeway is a volcanic formation in Northern Ireland.
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is in western Scotland.
The London Eye is a large observation wheel on the River Thames.
The Tower of London was built after the Norman Conquest; Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters, guide visitors and the Crown Jewels are kept there.
Stonehenge, the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Giant’s Causeway and other landmarks are major places of interest.

Christianity is the largest religion in the UK, but the country includes many faiths and people with no religion.
The Church of England is the established church in England; the monarch is its Supreme Governor.
The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and is the national church in Scotland.
Wales and Northern Ireland do not have established churches.
Football is the UK’s most popular sport; each nation has its own national team.
Cricket, rugby, horse racing, golf, tennis, water sports, motorsport and skiing are also important.
The Grand National is held at Aintree; the Scottish Grand National is held at Ayr; Royal Ascot is associated with the Royal Family.
Golf originated in Scotland; St Andrews is known as the home of golf.
Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is held in London.
Britain has produced notable Olympic, Paralympic and sporting figures, including Mary Peters, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Kelly Holmes, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Ellie Simmonds, David Weir, Lewis Hamilton and others listed in the ebook.

The capital cities are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The currency is pounds sterling (£) and pence. There are 100 pence in one pound.
Common coins are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2; common notes are £5, £10, £20 and £50.
Scotland and Northern Ireland issue their own banknotes, which are valid throughout the UK, although businesses do not have to accept them.
English is widely spoken; Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Scots and regional dialects are also part of the UK’s linguistic heritage.
The population has grown and aged over time. Most people live in towns and cities.
The UK is ethnically and religiously diverse, particularly as a result of historical migration and post-war immigration.
Equality laws protect people against unfair discrimination, including discrimination based on sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.