Beavers are back!
855
There are more than 130,000 Eurasian beavers in Sweden, but it was a long time
ago people could see them in Stockholm. Until the late 1970s it was forbidden to
hunt beavers and the last known beaver in Sweden was killed in 1871. In 1922
scientists released a pair of beavers from Norway into Jämtland in one of the
world’s earliest wildlife programs. Twenty years later people discovered beaver
tracks on Årsta Holmar, a small island near the centre of Stockholm, but only three
or four beavers a year were seen. In the last four years the population has increased
and now there are about ten beaver lodges in and around the city, but the negative
side of this increase is that beavers have done a lot of damage to the trees in the
city. There have also been two reports of beavers biting people in Stockholm. A few
thousand of them are shot every year by hunters around Sweden to keep the population down. The World Wildlife Fund suggests fences around the nicest trees in
Stockholm.
WORDS YOU MAY NOT KNOW
a beaver – en bäver
until – tills
forbidden – förbjudet
to hunt – att jaga
earliest – tidigaste
wildlife – djurliv, viltliv
to discover – att upptäcka
tracks – spår, fotspår
four a year – fyra per år
to increase – att öka
a beaver lodge – en bäverhydda
an increase – en ökning
damage – skada, förstörelse
to suggest – att föreslå
a fence – ett staket, stängsel
Read the text above and answer the questions
below, please. Write your answers on the lines.
1. How big is a beaver?
.............................................................................
2. Where do beavers normally live?
Eurasian beaver
.............................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................
3. Have you ever seen a beaver? Where?
......................................................................................................................................
4. Do you think beavers are friendly animals?
.......................................................................................................................................
Just the opposite
856
Read the words below. Draw a circle around the word that has the opposite
meaning, please.
1. BIG
ENORMOUS
SMALL
2. WARM
WINDY
COLD
3. YOUNG
OLD
OLDER
4. LONG
SMALL
SHORT
5. THIN
THICK
LIGHT
6. FAST
QUICK
SLOW
7. HEAVY
LIGHT
STRONG
8. GOOD
BETTER
BAD
9. STRONG
WEAK
BIG
10. EARLY
SOON
LATE
11. DIFFICULT
LIGHT
EASY
The Queen celebrates her 90th birthday
855
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday on 21 April. She was crowned in June 1953 and
became the queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, twelve other
countries, that have became independent since her coronation, as well as the Head of the
Commonwealth* on February 6 in 1952 when her father, King George VI died. Her diamond
jubilee to mark her 60 years on the throne was celebrated four years ago throughout her realms
and even elsewhere. She opened the London Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 but
does not travel very much anymore because of her advanced age. In December 2007 the Queen
surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and became the longest-lived British
monarch in September last year as well as the longest-reigning queen in history. She has no
intention to retire but her son, Prince Charles who is 67, is expected to take over more of her
work and public engagements.
The official birthday will be “a celebration of the Queen's life, her love of horses, her dedication
to the Commonwealth and international affairs and her deep involvement with the Navy, Army
and Air Force.” The celebrations will take place between 12 and 15 May in the beautiful private
grounds of Windsor Castle in southeastern England. During a performance of 90 minutes, 900
horses and more than 1,500 participants from different parts of the United Kingdom and the
world will “create a joyful event” guiding the viewers through important episodes in the Queen’s
reign. Technology will play an important role in the performance and the journey will use latest
video projection, LED effects and theatrical lighting.
During her early life, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne behind her uncle
Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father Albert, the Duke of York, and was not really expected to
become queen. When her grandfather died in 1936, her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII. Later
that year Edward abdicated after proposing marriage to Wallis Simpson, a divorced American
who was well known in fashionable society. This caused a constitutional crisis in England and
Elizabeth’s father reluctantly became King George VI. He had spent his early life in the shadow
of his elder brother, had a bad stammer, suffered from ill health and was forced to write with his
right hand although he was naturally left-handed. Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist,
helped him with breathing exercises and rehearsed with him until he could speak without
hesitation. This period of his life is presented in the film “The King’s Speech”, a biographical
drama where Colin Firth plays the king. Albert actually began to see Lionel Logue ten years
before he became king and his speech improved in a few months, not in years like in the film.
The Royal Collection, which includes thousands of historic
works of art and the Crown Jewels, is not owned by the
Queen but held in a trust together with her official
residences, such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle,
property valued to more than 400 million pounds, but
Sandringham House in Norfolk and Balmoral Castle in
Scotland are privately owned by the Queen. At her silver
jubilee in 1977, the crowds celebrated her enthusiastically,
but in the 1980s public criticism of the Royal Family
increased and her popularity sank to all-time low in the
1990s, specially after Princess Diana, former wife of Prince
Charles, died in an accident. Under public pressure she
started to pay income tax for the first time and Buckingham
Palace was opened to public. In 2012 when she celebrated
her diamond jubilee, the approval rates rocketed to 90 %.
* the Commonwealth of Nations is an organization
of currently 53 sovereign states.
Queen Elizabeth II in 2015
The Queen’s birthday crossword
856
Read the text in B855 and solve the crossword below, please. There is a clue for each word and
they may read down or across.
4.
1.
1.
3.
3.
6.
2.
2.
5.
7.
7.
8.
4.
9.
8.
Queen Elizabeth II
in 1929
5.
6.
ACROSS:
1. The opposite of dependent or connected.
2. A special anniversary of an event, such as
25 or 50 years of a reign.
3. Another word for “enjoy oneself” or “party”.
4. A ceremonial chair for a ruler or bishop.
5. To speak with sudden involuntary pauses and
a tendency to repeat the initial letters of words.
6. To experience something bad or unpleasant.
7. A unit of weight equal to 0.4536 kg.
8. To pause in indecision before saying or doing
something.
9. A sovereign head of state, especially a king,
queen, or emperor.
10. A thing that happens or takes place, especially
one of importance.
DOWN:
1. Number 12 in letters.
2. The female ruler of an independent state.
3. A precious stone consisting of clear carbon.
4. Another word for “unwilling” or “hesitant”.
10.
9.
10.
5. Another word for “exceed, to be better than,
or to be greater than”.
6. To be king or queen, to sit on the throne.
7. Another word for “dissatisfaction, unhappiness
or bad feelings”.
8. The branch of the armed services of a state which
conducts military operations at sea.
9. To leave one's job and cease to work, typically
on reaching the normal age for leaving service.
10. Another word for a “missile” or “projectile”.
Beavers are back!
Just the opposite
855
856
1. SMALL
2. COLD
3. OLD
4. SHORT
5. THICK
6. SLOW
7. LIGHT
8. BAD
9. WEAK
10. LATE
11. EASY
Examples:
1. It is a bit bigger than a cat./
It is like a small dog.
2. They live normally near water.
3. –
4. They are easily frightened and
not so easy to spot but they don’t
usually attack people or animals.
You can find some extra material
on our website
www.omniform.se/picvt2016
every week.
The Queen celebrates her
90th birthday
The Queen’s birthday crossword
855
856
4.
R
1.
3.
1.
I N D E P E N D E N T
E
W
I
3.
2.
C E L E B R A T E
2.
6.
R
E
Q
U
M
C
O
E
V
I
T
N
E
E
G
A
N
4.
5.
S
D
J U B I
7.
L E E
7.
N
P O U N D
U
T H R O N E
8.
N
I
8.
H E S
P
I
9.
R
T A T E
C
V
T
O
Y
I
5.
S T A M M E R
S
6.
R
N
S U F F E R
10.
R
T
E
E
O
9.
M O N A R C H
T
K
10.
E V E N T
T