Life in the UK Practice Test 5
24 questions, just like the real test. You need 18 correct to pass. Every answer is explained — and you do not need an account to take it.
In 1918, women in Britain were given the right to vote at the age of 21, the same as men.
All 24 questions, answers and explanations
1. In 1918, women in Britain were given the right to vote at the age of 21, the same as men.
- • True
- ✓ False
Why: False. In 1918 women over the age of 30 were given voting rights and the right to stand for Parliament, partly in recognition of the contribution women made to the war effort. Women were only given the right to vote at 21, the same as men, in 1928, shortly before Emmeline Pankhurst's death.
2. Which TWO aircraft were the most important planes used by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain?
- • Concorde
- • The Harrier jump jet
- ✓ The Hurricane
- • The Spitfire
Why: The most important planes used by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, in the summer of 1940, were the Spitfire and the Hurricane, both of which were designed and built in Britain. The Harrier jump jet and Concorde were developed much later.
3. Which Church is the official Church of the state in England?
- • The Church of Scotland
- • The Roman Catholic Church
- • The Methodist Church
- ✓ The Church of England
Why: In England there is a constitutional link between Church and state, and the Church of England is the official Church of the state. It is a Protestant Church and has existed since the Reformation in the 1530s.
4. The Church of England is described as the 'established Church'. What does this mean?
- • It is the biggest Christian denomination in the world
- ✓ There is a constitutional link between the Church and the state
- • It is governed by ministers and elders
- • Its senior officials are chosen by the General Assembly
Why: 'Established' refers to the constitutional link between Church and state in England: the monarch is head of the Church of England and several of its bishops sit in the House of Lords. Being governed by ministers and elders describes the Church of Scotland instead.
5. Who is the head of the Church of England?
- • The Archbishop of Canterbury
- • The Prime Minister
- ✓ The monarch
- • The Moderator of the General Assembly
Why: The monarch is the head of the Church of England, while its spiritual leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury. Do not confuse the two roles: the Moderator belongs to the Church of Scotland.
6. Who is the spiritual leader of the Church of England?
- • The monarch
- • The Prime Minister
- • The Moderator
- ✓ The Archbishop of Canterbury
Why: The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the Church of England. The monarch is its head, and the Prime Minister (with a committee appointed by the Church) usually chooses who becomes Archbishop.
7. Several bishops from which Church sit in the House of Lords?
- • The Church of Scotland
- • The Roman Catholic Church
- • The Methodist Church
- ✓ The Church of England
Why: Several Church of England bishops sit in the House of Lords. This is part of the constitutional link between Church and state in England; no other Church in the UK has that link.
8. The Church of Scotland is which kind of Church?
- ✓ Presbyterian
- • Episcopal
- • Roman Catholic
- • Anglican
Why: The Church of Scotland is the national Church in Scotland and it is a Presbyterian Church. 'Episcopal' and 'Anglican' are names used for the Church of England.
9. What is the title of the chairperson of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland?
- ✓ The Moderator
- • The Archbishop
- • The Elder
- • The Minister
Why: The chairperson of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the Moderator, who often speaks on behalf of that Church. Ministers and elders govern the Church, but those are not the chairperson's title.
10. In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, what percentage of people in the UK identified themselves as Muslim?
- • 1%
- • 2%
- • 6%
- ✓ 4%
Why: In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, 4% identified as Muslim. The other figures were Hindu 2%, Sikh 1%, and Jewish and Buddhist both less than 0.5%.
11. In other countries, the Church of England is known as the Anglican Church.
- ✓ True
- • False
Why: True. The Church of England is called the Anglican Church in other countries, and the Episcopal Church in Scotland and the United States.
12. There is no established Church in Wales or Northern Ireland.
- ✓ True
- • False
Why: True. Only England has an established Church (the Church of England), and Scotland has a national Church (the Church of Scotland). Wales and Northern Ireland have no established Church.
13. In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, 21% of people in the UK identified themselves as Christian.
- • True
- ✓ False
Why: False. 70% identified themselves as Christian; it was 21% who said that they had no religion.
14. Which of these statements about Christian denominations in the UK is correct?
- • Baptists, Methodists and Quakers are all Roman Catholic groups.
- ✓ The biggest Christian denomination in the UK other than the Protestant Churches is Roman Catholic.
- • The Church of Scotland is the established Church in Wales.
- • The Church of England has existed since Roman times.
Why: Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Quakers are other Protestant Christian groups in the UK. Of the other denominations of Christianity, the biggest is Roman Catholic.
15. Which of these statements about places of worship in the UK is correct?
- • Jewish people worship in gurdwaras.
- • Buddhists worship in mosques.
- ✓ Sikhs worship in gurdwaras.
- • Hindus worship in synagogues.
Why: There are religious buildings for many faiths all over the UK: Islamic mosques, Hindu temples, Jewish synagogues, Sikh gurdwaras and Buddhist temples.
16. Whose best-known work is probably the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, of which March No 1 (Land of Hope and Glory) is usually played at the Last Night of the Proms?
- ✓ Sir Edward Elgar
- • Sir William Walton
- • Ralph Vaughan Williams
- • Gustav Holst
Why: Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was born in Worcester, England. Vaughan Williams was strongly influenced by traditional English folk music, Walton wrote coronation marches and Facade, and Holst wrote The Planets.
17. The Mousetrap, a murder-mystery play running in London's West End since 1952, was written by whom?
- ✓ Dame Agatha Christie
- • Graham Greene
- • Harold Pinter
- • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Why: The Mousetrap, by Dame Agatha Christie, has been running in the West End ('Theatreland') since 1952 and has had the longest initial run of any show in history. Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories and Pinter was a playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
18. Coronation Street and EastEnders are examples of which type of British television programme?
- • Situation comedies (sitcoms)
- • Music hall variety shows
- • Satirical comedy shows
- ✓ Regular soap operas
Why: Coronation Street and EastEnders are regular soap operas and are among the most popular programmes on British television. Sitcoms often look at family life and relationships in the workplace, while Spitting Image and That Was The Week That Was were satire shows.
19. In which year was the Turner Prize, which celebrates contemporary art, established?
- • 1927
- • 1952
- • 1968
- ✓ 1984
Why: The Turner Prize was established in 1984 and is named after Joseph Turner. Four works are shortlisted every year and shown at Tate Britain before the winner is announced; previous winners include Damien Hirst and Richard Wright.
20. Which architect took inspiration from classical architecture to design the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House in Whitehall?
- • Sir Christopher Wren
- ✓ Inigo Jones
- • Robert Adam
- • Sir Edwin Lutyens
Why: Inigo Jones designed both buildings in the 17th century. Later in that same century Sir Christopher Wren helped develop a British version of the ornate styles popular in Europe, in buildings such as the new St Paul's Cathedral.
21. Which author wrote the satirical novels Decline and Fall and Scoop, but is perhaps best known for Brideshead Revisited?
- • Graham Greene
- • Sir Kingsley Amis
- ✓ Evelyn Waugh
- • Thomas Hardy
Why: Evelyn Waugh (1903-66) wrote satirical novels. Graham Greene wrote Brighton Rock and The Heart of the Matter, Kingsley Amis is best known for Lucky Jim, and Thomas Hardy wrote about rural society in Far from the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure.
22. Which poet wrote the lines 'Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright / In the forests of the night, / What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?'
- ✓ William Blake
- • Robert Browning
- • Alfred Lord Tennyson
- • Lord Byron
Why: These are the opening lines of The Tyger by William Blake (1757-1827). Byron wrote She Walks in Beauty and Browning wrote Home Thoughts from Abroad; Blake, Byron, Browning and Tennyson all belong to the 19th century, when poetry was very popular.
23. 'What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? / Only the monstrous anger of the guns.' These lines are from Anthem for Doomed Youth, written by whom?
- • John Masefield
- • Siegfried Sassoon
- ✓ Wilfred Owen
- • Ted Hughes
Why: Anthem for Doomed Youth was written by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918). Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were both inspired to write about their experiences in the First World War; Masefield and Ted Hughes were popular poets of a later period.
24. Who directed the famous British film Lawrence of Arabia (1962)?
- ✓ Sir David Lean
- • Carol Reed
- • Ken Russell
- • Sir Alfred Hitchcock
Why: Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was directed by David Lean, who also directed Brief Encounter (1945). Hitchcock directed The 39 Steps (1935), Carol Reed directed The Third Man (1949) and Ken Russell directed Women in Love (1969).