Chapter 4
A modern, thriving society
Life in the UK today: its nations and people, religions, customs and festivals, sport, arts and culture, leisure, and the places people visit. This chapter is full of pairings — saints and days, flowers and dishes, people and their work — that the test asks about often.
- 1The UK todayThe four nations and their capitals, the currency, the languages spoken, how the population has grown and changed, and equality between men and women.
- 2ReligionThe UK is historically Christian, but many faiths are practised and everyone may choose their religion or none. The Church of England is the established Church in England; Scotland has the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
- 3Customs and traditionsThe patron saints and their days, the main Christian and other religious festivals, the UK's other traditional days, and bank holidays.
- 4SportThe UK's most popular sports, the major events held each year, the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and notable British sportsmen and women.
- 5Arts and cultureBritish music, theatre, art, architecture, design and literature — the key people, their works, and the awards that recognise achievement.
- 6LeisureHow people in the UK spend their free time: gardens and national flowers, shopping, food and national dishes, cinema, comedy, TV and the licence fee, pubs, gambling and pets.
- 7Places of interestNational parks, the National Trust and the famous landmarks of the UK — what they are and which nation they are in.