UK Citizenship Test

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Kevin Thurlow
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UK Citizenship Test

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:12 pm

The “i” newspaper recently had an item on the Citizenship Test, which they thought was a bit rubbish. Apparently, you need to score 18/24 to pass, and a survey found that 66 % of people (mainly UK citizens) failed the test. They gave some sample questions. I managed 19/25 (not sure why they gave 25 questions), but I have been here a long time and am quite good at quizzes. A similarly-aged family member scored 15. A Scottish friend didn’t know the answer to question 21. I’ll put the answers in a second post in a day or two. No googling… They are multiple choice, which helps. I think you can be a good citizen without knowing the answers to the first two questions! Also, you should get bonus points for changing “what” to “which” in question 8, and changing Q13 to, “In which county does Stonehenge stand?”
1) How tall is the London Eye? (282 feet, 373 ft, 443 ft,562 ft)
2) When did Sake Dean Mahomet open the first curry house in the UK? (1780,1810, 1880, 1940)
3) What was the last battle between Great Britain and France? (Trafalgar, Waterloo, Hastings, Agincourt)
4) Which flower is associated with Wales? (Daffodil, rose, shamrock, thistle)
5) During the reign of Charles II, parts of London were destroyed, what was the cause of this destruction? (war, flood, fire, earthquake)
6) How often are general elections held in the UK? (Every three, four, five or ten years)
7) Scotland has its own banknotes, which are valid across the UK – True or False?
8 ) What charity works to preserve important buildings, coastline, and countryside in the UK? (Shelter, Age UK, Crisis, National Trust)
9) Great Britain refers only to England, Wales and Scotland – True or false?
10) Who was the tribal leader who fought against the Romans? (Cleopatra, Claudia, Boudicca, St Augustine)
11) Who was voted the Greatest Briton of all time in 2002? (Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, Alexander Fleming, Mo Farah)
12) When did women get the right to vote at the same age as men? (1918, 1928, 1938, 1948)
13) What county does Stonehenge stand in? (Lancashire, Berkshire, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire)
14) When was the last Welsh rebellion defeated? (14th century, 15th C, 16th C, 17th C)
15) How many colonies were granted independence in 1947? (11. 7, 13 or 9)
16) Which of these words is based on Norman words? (Cow, apple, park, summer)
17) Haggis is a traditional food of which country? (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
18) What does York Minster have? (stained wood, stained limestone, stained glass, stained bricks)
19) Which was the last successful invasion of Britain? (Anglo Saxon, Norman, Roman, Viking)
20) Which of these is a British Overseas Territory? (Ireland, Hawaii, Falkland Islands, Cyprus)
21) Who is Sir Chris Hoy? (Scottish rower, Scottish tennis player, Scottish cyclist, Scottish runner)
22) What do many theatres in the UK produce at Christmas time? (pantomime, stand-up comedy, opera, music event)
23) What was the purpose of the Emancipation Act? (Freedom of religion, Freedom of speech, no one could be held prisoner unlawfully, Abolish slavery in the British empire)
24) Which of these is an Anglo-Saxon poem? (Mr Hyde, Jude the Obscure, Beowulf, Pride and Prejudice)
25) What was ‘shampooing’ when it was first introduced? (Indian art of head message, cleaning your hair, Indian art of washing, washing your head with soap)

Corrected a couple of typos - thanks Chris!
Last edited by Kevin Thurlow on Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:30 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:12 pm
19) Which was the last successful invasion of Britain? (Anglo Saxon, Norman, Roman, Viking)
Arguably the Dutch.

In 1688, a Dutch army landed in Torbay, unopposed by the Royal Navy and marched on London, again unopposed. On arrival, they effected regime change by overthrowing James II and replacing him by William of Orange and his Stuart wife Mary.

John Moore
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by John Moore » Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:34 pm

I get 22, but I guessed 1 and 2 (fortunately, correctly). Q6 is just silly or wrongly worded. The ones I got wrong were 15 (another silly question), 16 and 25.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:03 pm

"Q6 is just silly or wrongly worded."

It's a bit weird. There is a notional figure, but whoever is in power tends to call an election early if they think it will help them.

16 & 25 were interesting. As I'm interested in words, I would have hoped to have an advantage there, but I didn't. Why on earth a newcomer to these shores would know (unless they came from the right country) is beyond me.

There seem to be several questions which you can only guess. If I wanted to emigrate to USA (which I don't), I wouldn't expect to be asked how tall is the Empire State building, nor would I care when the first curry house, Italian restaurant or fish and chip shop opened.

NickFaulks
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by NickFaulks » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:51 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:03 pm
"Q6 is just silly or wrongly worded."

It's a bit weird. There is a notional figure, but whoever is in power tends to call an election early if they think it will help them.
Presumably prospective citizens are expected to take the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 more seriously than out politicians do.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.

David Williams
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by David Williams » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:54 pm

Tell me exactly what is meant by "valid" and I can answer Q7. It would be more straightforward if the question was simply "Scotland has its own banknotes – True or False?" Even then, you could quibble. Some Scottish banks issue notes, which are widely (not universally) accepted throughout the UK, though not legal tender (a very narrow concept, not particularly relevant to daily life). Does this mean that Scotland has banknotes? Where does it keep them? Does Scotland not have some English banknotes as well? Aren't they Scotland's own banknotes?

I think it would be helpful if the number of completely unambiguous questions was greater than the pass mark.

Roger de Coverly
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:58 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:03 pm
There seem to be several questions which you can only guess.
Isn't a case of the educational theory of "teach the test"? In other words there's a text book presumably containing obscure facts about curry houses etc. that prospective citizens are expected to study and remember.

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MJMcCready
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by MJMcCready » Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:03 pm

They could have added a chess question, for example: which British chess was the first to have a gambit named after him?

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MJMcCready
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by MJMcCready » Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:06 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:03 pm
"Q6 is just silly or wrongly worded."

It's a bit weird. There is a notional figure, but whoever is in power tends to call an election early if they think it will help them.

16 & 25 were interesting. As I'm interested in words, I would have hoped to have an advantage there, but I didn't. Why on earth a newcomer to these shores would know (unless they came from the right country) is beyond me.

There seem to be several questions which you can only guess. If I wanted to emigrate to USA (which I don't), I wouldn't expect to be asked how tall is the Empire State building, nor would I care when the first curry house, Italian restaurant or fish and chip shop opened.
Question 16 is worded too imprecisely to be answered. Normandic was a dialect and differed according to region and period greatly.

NickFaulks
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by NickFaulks » Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:29 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:58 pm
Isn't a case of the educational theory of "teach the test"? In other words there's a text book presumably containing obscure facts about curry houses etc. that prospective citizens are expected to study and remember.
I think it must be that. Sake Dean Mahomet gets you two for the price of one.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.

Mick Norris
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Mick Norris » Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:07 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:30 pm
Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:12 pm
19) Which was the last successful invasion of Britain? (Anglo Saxon, Norman, Roman, Viking)
Arguably the Dutch.

In 1688, a Dutch army landed in Torbay, unopposed by the Royal Navy and marched on London, again unopposed. On arrival, they effected regime change by overthrowing James II and replacing him by William of Orange and his Stuart wife Mary.
What about Fishguard :lol:
Any postings on here represent my personal views

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:14 pm

I 'know' I got the answer to at least 16, but had to guess or think about it carefully for the other 9 questions (numbers 1, 2, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 25). You would have thought question 9 would be obvious, but I started suspecting a trick question, then remembered that this is a citizenship test.

Question 11 has had the multiple choices missed out, Kevin! Bottom of the class!! (And the typo "Greatest Britain" for "Greatest Briton".) There is also a typo in the choices for question 20, which I hope Kevin introduced when transcribing it... ("Falkland Irelands").

Kevin, which questions did you get wrong? (Like, Roger, I questioned the one that didn't allow for the Orange Revolution.)

Am off to see if I guessed at least two correctly to get me over the line to 18.

EDIT: Glorious Revolution, not Orange (that was Ukraine!).
Last edited by Christopher Kreuzer on Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:47 pm

I guessed 1 and 2 wrong (I correctly remembered the size of the London Eye pods and their spacing, but got the number of pods wrong, I thought it was about 20 pods rather than the 32 it actually has. And I got the Scottish bank notes one wrong as well. :oops: And I got the equality of women voting one wrong as well, which is also a bit embarassing (I knew it was later than the first granting of the vote for women, but can never remember exactly which date it is). I also got the colonies becoming independent in 1947 one wrong (the question can be questioned there as well, but I just didn't know this one). Regarding Q3, some would argue that we fought Vichy France in World War II.

So I got 1, 2, 7, 12, 15 wrong. For 20/25. Really, it is only the number of colonies becoming independent in a particular year that I would argue you just have to know, and are unlikely to know if you have not studied that period and area of history. Ditto for the Welsh rebellion question (I narrowed this to two, but was really guessing between the two earliest options). Whether it is more 'important' to be aware of certain bits of history than others is, um, an interesting question (but is clearly the premise of the 'test').

Am surprised so many people are saying they got Q16 wrong. Surely it is obvious that only one word there can come from Norman/Old French? The other words have completely different translations in French and all come from Old English or Germanic roots. Maybe you just have to know that? Maybe it is knowing that Norman became French is what not everyone knows?

EDIT: And there was no Brexit-related question! Speaking of which, let's hope no silly wars (trade or otherwise) break out over vaccine supplies... You would probably have got long odds on the EU being the first to invoke Article 16: "On Friday, the bloc invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol which allows parts of the deal to be unilaterally overridden." (BBC article)
Last edited by Christopher Kreuzer on Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:07 pm

I got 1,2, 9 (as I misread the question), 14, 15, 16 wrong.

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MJMcCready
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Re: UK Citizenship Test

Post by MJMcCready » Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:51 pm

I know a question they could have added: How long was the 100 years war?

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