Living in Scotland

Scotland is the UK’s most northern country and has around 790 islands off its coasts – 130 of which have people living on them. Scotland is well known for its stunning landscapes, beautiful beaches and lochs, which are fresh water lakes. There are over 600 square miles of lochs in Scotland including the most famous one, Loch Ness. It has a population of just over five million people which is about 8.5 per cent of the whole UK population. Over 2 million of these live in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and almost half of Scotland’s population live in the Central Belt, where both the largest city (Glasgow), and the capital city Edinburgh are located.

Scotland also hosts one of the biggest arts festivals in the world. This is commonly known as the Edinburgh Festival but is actually made up of a number of different festivals which happen at different times of the year, though many do take place in August and September. Many people have heard of the Fringe Festival, but there are also the International Festival, the Film Festival, the Children’s Festival and the Edinburgh Mela which is an intercultural festival.

1. Scotland’s population is over 1/10 of the whole UK population. __________

2. There are 2 common months for Edinburgh Festival. __________

3. Scottish people inhabit on over 1/6 of its all islands. __________

4. There won’t be any special events exclusively for kids in this Festival. _______

5. People in Scotland prefer living in other areas to big cities. __________

II. Read and choose the correct answers to complete the passage.

Technology has advanced to the point where instant communication anywhere in the world is an everyday fact of life. Technology has improved, and has a positive impact on communication as a whole in many (1) __________ . It has increased the reliability of sending messages to others, made it easier to meet new people and keep (2) __________ touch with friends. Modern communication is handled by wireless signals, undersea cables, satellites and other (3) __________ technology, ensuring the fast delivery of messages and data to any locations. The accessibility of technology also means that you don’t need to be in any special locations like a post office or mail room to send a message; all you need is a cell phone. Online communication has (4) __________ the door to new ways of communicating with  strangers and taking part in communities. Chat rooms, (5) __________ forums and dating sites let people meet each other and get to know more people without having to be there in person.

1. A. methods                      B. means                   C. forms                     D. ways

2. A. on                                  B. out                         C. for              D. in

3. A. advanced                     B. high                       C. simple                   D. basic

4. A. opened                         B. closed                   C. been opened       D. been closed

5. A. channel                        B. discussion            C. cyber                     D. media