TASK 4. (0-7)
Read two texts connected with the Queen. For questions 4.1.-4.7., choose the answer that
best matches the text and circle the appropriate letter (A, B, C or D).
Text 1
NOT THE QUEEN
Maggie Lockhart spent her life trying to work out what she’d done to deserve it. Things
don’t just happen. Sometimes the reasons are a long time coming, but when they finally do,
they are clearly printed like her pension slip. Most things Maggie worked out to her own
satisfaction, though getting people to see the thinking behind her reasoning was hard because
nobody took her seriously. Maggie didn’t have the temperament for teasing and was never good
at being teased even as a child, before the nose, the mouth and the cheeks set. But even the most
sweet-natured woman would have baulked at what Maggie had to put up with. It wasn’t easy
to live with That Face. Nobody could look at her face without thinking of the other one’s.
And even she had the odd feeling when she glanced in the mirror that she wasn’t seeing herself,
but the Queen. All right, not dressed in those uptight suits in all sorts of colours, with
the brooches and the silly hats, but the Queen just the same. Even with a cigarette dangling out
of her mouth and no make-up on, Maggie had the bad luck of looking the spitting image of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Never one to put herself first or forward, Maggie would have been
perfectly happy going through life taking a back seat. But That Face made her take a front seat.
Still, for years she endured, believing that it just had to have some sort of purpose. Otherwise,
what was the point of it all?
One year as she’d stepped off a plane in Cyprus, a whole flock of people had gathered around
her. Maggie had had to wave her hands “No, no! I’m not who you think I am,” until her husband,
Charlie, pushed the way through the crowd. But she knew that Charlie loved it, to see her
awkward and embarrassed and to take her arm and rush off as if the pair of them were famous.
Yet, there was something about Charlie’s attentiveness that sometimes drove her up the wall.
When he came back from London with a mug with the Queen’s face on it and prepared a tea
for himself in it, she yanked it off him and put it in the box for the jumble sale.
On the other hand, Charlie was always the one to look after her, particularly now that they were
getting on. When they walked out, Charlie was always on the lookout. Once he even suggested
he could be her full-time bodyguard. But where would they get the money from, even supposing
Maggie wanted a bodyguard?
Now she and the Queen were both in their seventies and having That Face still wasn’t making
any sense. It finally dawned on Maggie that she’d put up with it long enough. She was not
a mug and it was time she asserted herself. She had been saving for some time and now had
a total of three and a half thousand pounds. It had been a toss-up between treating her and
Charlie to a cruise or doing what she had resolved to do. But the cruise would have been
nightmarish, port after port of people squealing. That horrific picture in her mind was what
made her go for the latter.
As far as Charlie knew, she was going to stay with her sister for a couple of weeks. That would
give her time to get over her bruises, and let things settle. She’d already been down to London
a few months before to see the man she was putting her faith in. She wanted a longer nose,
higher cheeks and a different chin, but he’d told her that all that would involve an enormous
amount of work and wouldn’t be good for her face at her age. Eventually, they had settled on
just changing the nose. But as with any big decision, now sitting in the taxi going up to the West
End, Maggie was getting cold feet. Had she not been a bit touchy all her life? Couldn’t
somebody who liked a good laugh have enjoyed herself with the Queen’s face? Had Maggie
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used her face as a scapegoat to cover her own inadequacies? Would things have been different
for her without That Face?
Charlie loved her both for being herself and for looking like the Queen. What would he say if
she came back with a different nose? She was sure he would hit the roof and feel cheated.
And then he would cry. Charlie had only cried twice - when his father died and when Scotland
lost in 1974 - and both had filled Maggie with pity and compassion as Charlie had gone for the
whole waterworks, bawling his eyes out like a man who hadn’t had a chance to cry since he
was a child. That thought pulled her up short. What the heck, Maggie! Have the Queen’s face
and put up with it. Maggie looked out of the cab window as it passed Piccadilly Circus only to
see people excitedly looking in. She gave them the smallest of waves.
adapted from Not the Queen by Jackie Kay
4.1. Based on the 1st paragraph, what was Maggie’s attitude to her looking like Queen
Elizabeth II?
A. She was content with the remarkable resemblance.
B. She felt that such a burden in life had to be justified somehow.
C. She focused on making the most of the opportunities it afforded.
D. She felt she deserved a status appropriate to the face fate had granted her.
4.2. In which situation did Maggie manifest a lack of patience with Charlie?
A. When she noticed he had brought home an item with an image of the Queen on it.
B. When she was being escorted through cheering crowds in Cyprus.
C. When he suggested she should hire him as a bodyguard.
D. When he voiced his objections to the idea of her having plastic surgery.
4.3. What finally triggered Maggie’s decision to have plastic surgery?
A. Substantial savings she had accumulated.
B. Her sister’s offer to cover for her during the recovery.
C. Her fear of what the cruise she was considering might be like.
D. The conviction that aging might stop her from having an operation in the future.
4.4. How did Maggie feel on her way to the West End clinic?
A. She was utterly thrilled at the thought of the change that was coming.
B. She was worried about the doctor’s decision to operate only on her nose.
C. She was certain her lack of humour was the reason for her dissatisfaction with life.
D. She was doubtful whether she was right to blame her looks for what her life had been
like.
4.5. What was the main reason Maggie changed her mind about the surgery?
A. She was persuaded that Charlie would lose interest in her.
B. She realised that a change in her appearance would cause Charlie distress.
C. She understood that she had grown used to public attention.
D. She felt a sudden urge to go back and consult her decision with Charlie.
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Text 2
QUEEN’S NEW PORTRAIT FOR COINS
A new portrait of the Queen to appear on coins has been unveiled. The effigy is the fifth
definitive coin portrait to have been created during Queen Elizabeth’s reign and the first since
of the monarch on coins, one of which enjoyed such royal favour that it was used for about
50 years. The coins will take some time to filter through into people’s wallets as newly minted
money tends to be delivered to cash centres and banks in the first instance.
The portrait was chosen during a competition commissioned by the Royal Mint Advisory
Committee. It shows the right profile of the Queen wearing a crown and drop earrings.
Several artists were invited to submit designs anonymously and the committee ultimately
selected Jody Clark’s. Aged 33 when his design was chosen, Clark is the youngest of the five
designers to have created portraits of the Queen that have appeared on UK circulating coins
during her reign. “I really liked the four previous coin portraits - each one is strong in its own
way. I hope that I’ve done Her Majesty justice and captured her in a fitting representation,”
Mr Clark said.
The Royal Mint’s announcement of the unveiling of the new portrait took place on January 27th
to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the sculptor Mary Gillick, who was the first artist
to capture the Queen’s portrait for the nation’s coins. Issued in 1953, the Gillick portrait
depicted the Queen wearing a wreath of laurel, rather than the crown that we are used to seeing
today. The portrait, which is still struck on Maundy Money, depicts her youthful right profile,
and was considered to reflect the country’s optimism as it greeted a new monarch in the
post-Second World War era.
While artists’ interpretations of the Queen’s image have changed over time, one element has
remained constant - the right profile relief. When asked about its origin, experts from
the Royal Mint Museum questioned the popular belief that it was started by Charles II to
symbolically turn his back on Oliver Cromwell. They say this may be too convenient
an explanation and it is better to concede that if any reason existed for this, it has long since
been forgotten.
The Royal Mint said that existing coins will remain in general circulation until they are naturally
recycled due to wear and tear, usually when they are around 20 to 25 years old.
adapted from www.independent.co.uk
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4.6. Look at the circles marked 1-4 in the text and decide where the following sentence
fits best in the passage
This is in accordance with a tradition traced back to the 17th century, where successive
monarchs face in alternate directions on coins.
A. In the space marked .
B. In the space marked .
C. In the space marked .
D. In the space marked .
4.7. According to the text, which sentence is TRUE?
A. New coins are to be distributed exclusively to financial institutions.
B. For the British, the Queen’s effigy is an enduring symbol of hopefulness.
C. The unveiling of the new portrait was announced on a day chosen with one of
Mr Clark’s predecessors in mind.
D. Experts confirmed that it was Charles II who introduced the practice of showing
the monarch’s right profile on coins.
TRANSFER YOUR ANSWERS TO THE ANSWER SHEET!
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