Many people are usually 【小题1】 (puzzle) by the meaning of the different names of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain, and England. Getting to know a little bit about British history will help solve this puzzle.

In the 16th century, the nearby country of Wales was joined to the Kingdom of England. Later, the country of Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain in the 18th century. In the 19th century, the Kingdom of Ireland was added   【小题2】 (create) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Finally, in the 20th century, the southern part of Ireland broke away, 【小题3】 (result) in the full name we have today.

The four countries use the same flag, referred to as the Union Jack, as well as share the same currency and military 【小题4】 (defend). 【小题5】 , they also have some differences.

London is the capital of the UK with 【小题6】 history dating all the way back 【小题7】 the Roman times and — with almost nine million people — Europe’s 【小题8】 (large) city. Almost everywhere you go, you will 【小题9】 (surround) by evidence of the four different groups of people   【小题10】 took over at different times throughout history.

There are several names for Britain: Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the UK. The official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: 【小题1】 large number of people call the country “England”, but this is not correct. England is only one part of the UK. However, it is the 【小题2】 (large) part in the UK. There are four “countries” in the UK—England, Scotland, Wales 【小题3】 Northern Ireland. 【小题4】 (be) an independent country, the Republic of Ireland (or Eire) isn’t part of the. UK.

London is the capital of the UK, as well as England, but all the other countries have their own smaller capital 【小题5】 (city), too.

Until 1603, Scotland and England were separate countries with their own monarchs (国王) and parliaments (国会). In that year, however, the English queen, Elizabeth I, 【小题6】 (die). She had no children, so James Ⅵ, the King of Scotland, became King James I of England. In 1999, Scotland got its own parliament again, 【小题7】 can make laws about some things.

The English king, Edward I, conquered Wales in the 13th century. Many people in Wales, 【小题8】 (special) in the north, speak Welsh as their first language and all children must learn Welsh at school. In some schools other subjects 【小题9】 (teach) in Welsh, too.

Elizabeth. Ⅰ’s armies conquered Ireland in the 16th century and it later became part of the United Kingdom. There were a lot of problems in Ireland in the 19th century and thousands of people moved to the USA. In the 1920s, the south achieved 【小题10】 (independent), but Northern Ireland is still part of the UK.

Many foods need to be properly preserved. If not, they 【小题1】 (end) up rotting. For centuries, people worldwide used many 【小题2】 (nature) ways to preserve foods for later consumption. Europeans in the Middle Ages were no exception. As we all know, a society largely 【小题3】 (rely) on agriculture would be highly aware of the necessity to store up foods in case of famine (饥荒), wars, etc.

One of the 【小题4】 (way) to food preservation in the Middle Ages in Europe is air drying. 【小题5】 method can be used to preserve all sorts of foods. Grains and fruits were dried in the sun or air before 【小题6】 (store) in a dry place. In Scandinavia, 【小题7】 temperatures would drop below freezing in winter, cod was left out to dry in the cold air.

Other types of meat could also be preserved through air drying, 【小题8】 (usual) after the meat was cut into thin pieces and lightly salted. In warmer areas, it was simple 【小题9】 (dry) meat under the hot summer sun. In places with cooler climates, air drying could be done throughout the year, either in the open air 【小题10】 inside shelters.