Africa is the second largest continent, covering about a fifth of the world’s landmass. It stretches equally to the north and south of the equator and is made up of many different kinds of landscapes and ecosystems.

Africa consists of over 50 states, many of which became independent in the 20th century. The whole continent was ruled by European powers until the world wars. Today, many nations still suffer from the lack of democratic elements. Dictators and military leaders rule politically unstable countries, in which there are no free elections.

The continent has great deposits of the world’s most valuable minerals and raw materials, including diamonds, coal, copper and gold. However, Africa is the least developed of all continents. Food is often scarce and droughts hit many regions on a regular basis. Diseases spread throughout Africa, life expectancy is low and poverty is widespread.

Image : Martin23230, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Landscapes of Africa

Atlas Mountains

Sahara Desert

Atlas mountains in Marocco
Image: Kobersky (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 2.5,
via Wikimedia Commons

Sahara desert in Algeria
Image: Fiontain, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Nile River

In the eastern part of the Sahara desert the Nile River winds its way to the Mediterranean Sea. The longest river system in the world begins near the equator in the highlands of Eastern Africa and flows through many different landscapes.

East African Highlands

East Africa is dominated by highlands and plateaus, as well as lakes and deep mountain valleys. They stretch from Ethiopia in the north to Mozambique in the south. Most of the highlands reach heights of over 1,500 metres. The highest mountains are old volcanoes that are not active any more. Mount Kilimanjaro, situated near the equator, is almost 6,000 metres high.

The Great Rift Valley is a series of cracks in the Earth’s surface that extends from The Red Sea to Mozambique. It was created when the African continent broke apart millions of years ago. The area once was dominated by active volcanoes and earthquakes. Today, the Great Rift Valley is made up of deep and narrow lakes. Lake Tanganyika, which is over 400 miles long and 1500 metres deep, is the longest freshwater lake in the world. The largest African lake, Lake Victoria, lies is a shallow basin between two deep valleys.

Great Rift Valley
Image: Sémhur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Congo River Basin

The Congo River with its gigantic basin takes up much of central Africa. It stretches from the Atlantic to the highlands of East Africa and makes up about 20% of the world’s rainforests. Except for the Amazon, it carries more water than any other river in the world. The rainforest is habitat of half of the Africa’s plants and wildlife.

Deserts in Southern Africa

Southern Africa is covered by large deserts. The Namib Desert is the oldest in the world. It stretches along the Southern Atlantic coast of the continent and reaches up to 200 km inland. Its sand dunes near the coast reach a height of 300 metres and are up to 30 km long.

The Kalahari Desert is a dry sand basin that covers much of Botswana and western Namibia. It is not a real desert because the area gets at least some rainfall which makes it possible for animals to graze during the wet season.

South Africa

Most of South Africa is a series of old plateaus called velds. They reach a height of about 2,500 metres. To the south a ridge called the Great Escarpment drops down to the small coastal strip. Within this escarpment, the Drakensberg rises to an altitude of almost 3,500 metres.

Namib Desert and the Atlantic coast
Image: Robur.q, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Great Escarpment
Image: NJR ZA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Islands

Africa is a continent with straight coastlines and therefore very few islands. The largest island, Madagascar, lies almost 400 km east of the mainland. Millions of years ago it was a part of India. It split from the Asian subcontinent and developed its own plant and animal life. Other important island groups are the Canaries in the Atlantic Ocean and the Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Climate and Vegetation

Most parts of Africa are warm or hot, but rainfall varies from region to region. It decreases the farther you move away from the equator. Most of Africa lies in the tropical or subtropical region. The highest temperatures of the continent are measured in the desert regions of the Sahara, where daytime temperatures reach up to 50°C. Nights can be cool and frosty, even during the summer. The coldest regions of Africa lie in the eastern highlands and southern Africa.

Most of Africa is divided into wet and dry seasons. Near the equator there are two very wet seasons, as the sun passes overhead in spring and fall. During this time heavy rain falls every day in the afternoon. Precipitation up to 4000 mm a year is no exception. Humidity is always high, making life in this region very unpleasant.

Other parts of Africa usually have one wet season which gets shorter the farther away you get from the equator. North of the equator most rain falls from April to September, south of the equator the rainy season is from October to March. The Mediterranean coast as well as the southern part of Africa get rainfall during the winter months.

Rainfall in Africa
Image: Delphi234, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Plant life is influenced by the amount of rainfall. Tropical rainforests extend to the north and south of the equator. They are home to thousands of plants and animal species. The rainforests consist of various layers of vegetation, from shrubs and ferns on the ground to trees that grow up to a height of 50 metres.

In the savannahs and grasslands longer grass is replaced by shorter grass as you move away from the equator, with trees scattered in-between. In some areas, like the Sahel zone, there are large differences in rainfall every year. In the last decades droughts have caused hunger and starvation in many part of the Sahel and Ethiopia.

Rainfall influences Africa’s agriculture. Nutrients in the top layers of the soil are washed away after torrential rain, on the other hand nothing can grow if it rains too little.

In the desert regions of the Sahara, Namib and Kalahari rainfall often drops to under a hundred cm a year. Differences in temperature between day and night are often larger than between summer and winter.

Climate regions in Africa are changing constantly, maybe due to global warming. Droughts are becoming more widespread across the Sahel and eastern Africa. The Sahara is moving southward and more and more areas are threatened by deforestation.

Rainy season in the Sahel zone
Image: NOAA, US Gov, Unidentified, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Population

Africa is often referred to as the cradle of mankind. Scientists agree that the first humans probably appeared in Africa 4 million years ago and from there spread to other continents.

About 1.2 billion people live in Africa today. By 2050 the population of the continent is expected to double. Africa is the continent with the highest birth-rates and strongest population growth. This is because medical aid is getting better, there are more hospitals and doctors who take care of the population. Compared with other continents the average life expectancy in Africa is still low. In some countries of central Africa people barely reach 60.

Life expectancy in Africa
Image (modified) :Lady3mlnm, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Africa’s population is unevenly distributed over the continent. Many parts of the Sahara desert and the tropical rainforest are sparsely inhabited. On the other hand the Nile Delta, the Mediterranean coast, Nigeria, the highlands of eastern Africa are densely populated. On average about 65 people live on 1 square mile.

Many people in Africa suffer from a shortage of food, droughts, poor sanitation and a series of tropical diseases. In addition, AIDS is widespread and the biggest single killer of the continent.

Tribal groups

The people in Africa belong to various cultures and have different social backgrounds. Arabs live in the Mediterranean countries of northern Africa. They came to the region at around 600 A.D. and blended in with the Berbers, the people who had already been living there.

Black Africans are in the majority south of the Sahara desert. These people are made up of thousands of different tribes, who speak over a thousand languages and have different traditions and cultures. Among the largest groups are the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Zulu of South Africa.

In the 17th and 18th centuries Europeans started to settle in the southern part of Africa. Especially the Dutch and the British found their way to the coast of the southern Cape and spread inwards. There they met native tribes and fought wars against them. During the colonial period of the 19th century millions of Europeans made their way to Africa, many of them stayed there. Asians, above all Indians, settled on the eastern coast and Madagascar.

Nomads in northeastern Africa
Image: Nikswieweg, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

Yoruba drummers in Nigeria
Image: Melvin “Buddy” Baker from St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Religions

There are hundreds of local religions spread across the African continent. Many native tribes pray to gods and other spirits, mostly to get a good harvest and stay in good health. Some religious ceremonies prepare young people for adulthood and marriage.

About 500 million Muslims live in Africa, especially in the Arab countries of the north. But also Nigeria, Somalia and Tanzania have strong Islamic groups. Christianity spread to Africa through the work of missionaries from Europe and North America. Today Christianity is dominant in the non-Arab countries south of the Sahara desert. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa also has the largest number of Christians (about 80 million) on the continent. Copts are the native Christians in Egypt. They represent about 10% of the population there.

Religions in Africa
Image: derivative work: T L Miles (talk) / uploader of original revision of Religion_distribution.png was Moshin,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Life in Traditional African Societies

Today’s Society

Although most Africans still live in rural areas, cities are growing fast, mostly because many people do not have jobs in the countryside and move to the urban areas to find more opportunities and a better life. Today about 50% of the population lives in cities. Lagos, Nigeria, Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Cairo, Egypt are among the fastest growing cities in the world.

Africa’s Economy

Although Africa is a continent that is rich in resources and raw materials, a large part of its population lives in poverty. In the last few decades, the standard of living has improved but income is still very low. In addition, Africa relies heavily on farming products and minerals as a source of income.

Farming

Farming is the most important economic activity and way of earning money for the people of Africa. Almost 70% of its population work in agriculture.

Most of the continent’s population depends on staple crops, food that people need themselves and base their diet on. These include corn, sorghum, rice and wheat as well as potatoes, fruits and vegetables. Cash crops are grown on large plantations and exported to other countries. They include cocoa, bananas and coffee.

In many African countries, food production cannot keep up with the increasing population. This leads to chronic food shortages. Some African countries have turned from food exporters in the last century to food importers today. However, most of them do not have the money and capital to import food from abroad. In addition, climate change and widespread droughts lead to hunger and starvation in many parts of Africa.

Livestock is raised in all parts of Africa. Sheep, goats, camels, pigs and other animals are kept for food, skin and as working and transportation animals.

Farmers in Burkina Faso
Image: Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=289842

Cocoa harvest in Cameroon
Image: CHRISTONALDO, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mining

Africa is rich with minerals and raw materials. The continent has large deposits of copper, gold, phosphates, platinum and minerals. The mining industry focuses on the countries south of the equator. Diamonds, gold and coal are produced in South Africa, which has the most advanced mining industry. Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil-producing country. Bauxite and phosphates are mined in Morocco.

While Africa does have many resources, they do not control the world markets. Most countries do not process raw materials but export them to developed countries. The fight over raw materials has also led to conflicts and wars in Africa. Selling diamonds illegally, for example, helped to finance a civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s.

Minerals in Africa

Manufacturing

Industry is a young sector of the African economy. Most industries were set up after the countries got their independence from Europe. During the colonial period they got their finished products from Europe, often at a high price. Many nations still have developing industrial sectors. While foreigners own many companies, the number of young African businessmen opening up firms has increased steadily.

Tourism and Transportation

Tourism is a leading source of income in at least some African countries. Millions of people from around the globe visit the historic sites of ancient Egypt. Others travel to the mountains of eastern Africa or go on a safari in one of the game reserves in Kenya or Tanzania. Conflicts, wars and uprisings during the Arab Spring kept tourists away from Egypt and northern Africa.

Transportation is poorly developed in many African countries. Only the middle and upper classes own cars. Many Africans go on foot or use buses and bikes as a method of transportation. Air transport is well developed in places that attract tourists, like Egypt and Kenya

Game reserve in South Africa
Image:flowcomm, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History of Africa

Africa is often called the cradle of civilization. The first human beings roamed the continent about 2 million years ago. Old civilizations grew along the banks of the Nile River. Thousands of years ago ancient Egypt became a powerful empire, to the south Nubia emerged in today’s Sudan.

In the early centuries after the birth of Christ Christianity started to spread to northern Africa. In the Middle Ages Islam became the major religion. It spread across northern Africa very quickly and later on expanded to regions south of the Sahara desert. Christianity experienced a comeback in the 19th century when missionaries from Europe began to spread it to western and central Africa.

After 1000 A.D., great empires emerged in Ghana and other areas in western African. City-states, including Mogadishu and Zanzibar, grew into powerful trading centres in East Africa.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages the first Europeans came to Africa. From the early 1500s on, they made money by bringing slaves to North America. The British, Dutch and Portuguese set up trading posts along the western African coast where they searched for gold and ivory. In the 17th century, the Dutch set up a trading post at the Cape of Good Hope. It grew into a Dutch colony until the 19th century, when the British took over.

At the end of the 19th century, Europeans ruled most of Africa. They saw the continent as a major source of raw materials that they could bring back to Europe for their emerging industries. As a result, the Industrial Revolution did not take place in Africa. Throughout the colonial period, European countries fought for influence and control in Africa. In the “Scramble for Africa”, they divided the continent into spheres of interest. Native Africans often resisted colonial governments and in many areas, they were killed in uprisings.

The main colonial powers were:

• Great Britain (Egypt, Sudan, Eastern Africa, Rhodesia and South Africa)
• France (Algeria, French West Africa, Equatorial Africa)
• Belgium (Congo)
• Portugal(Angola, Mozambique)
• Germany (Southwest Africa – Namibia)
• Spain (Spanish Sahara)
• Italy (Ethiopia, Libya, Somaliland)

In the early 1900s, nationalism grew in many areas of Africa. People wanted colonialism to end and be free. After World War II most European countries ended their involvement in Africa, either out of their own free will or because they were forced out.

African colonies
Image: Eric Gaba – Wikimedia Commons user: Sting, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the 1950s, Algerians started to revolt against France. In a bloody colonial war that cost a million lives the Algerians became independent in 1962. In Angola and Mozambique, the Portuguese fought wars before they gave up their territories.

One of the last countries to gain independence was Rhodesia, today’s Zimbabwe, where blacks fought for over a decade against the British. In South Africa, white Europeans gave up control of the country after Apartheid ended in the 1990s.

Many African countries did not know how to cope with their newly gained independence, largely because they had no experience in administrating and governing a nation. As a result, civil wars, tribal conflicts and power struggles broke out. They resulted in dozens of wars in Africa since the 1960s. In the most gruesome conflict of the 1990s, a civil war in Ruanda led to the massacre of hundreds of thousands of people. However, Africa has had to cope with other problems as well. Virus outbreaks, for example Ebola, and other tropical diseases have killed thousands in the past years.

Videos

Overview of Africa
The Sahara Desert
Africa’s Population Boom

Exercises

Multiple Choice Test
Words and Definitions 1
Words and Definitions 2
Match the Sentence Parts
Africa – Missing Word Cloze
Drought Hits Africa – Multiple Choice Cloze
Names and Places 1
Names and Places 2
Cities of Africa
Landscapes of Africa
Countries of Africa
African History – Order the Events
Crossword

Jigsaw Puzzle

Put the pieces of the puzzle into the correct position to create a map of Africa.

Wordsearch

Printable Downloads (PDF)

Word List
End of Unit Test
Key

The Great Lakes consist of five lakes in North America, on the border between the United States and Canada. Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior make up the greatest area of freshwater in the world. The five lakes have an area of about 100,000 square miles (250 000 square kilometres). Only one of them, Lake Michigan lies completely in the United States, the others form a natural border between the United States and Canada.

The St. Lawrence Seaway, opened in 1959, connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, making it possible for cargo vessels to travel all the way to Chicago, more than a thousand miles from the coast. The lakes are also connected through a series of rivers and canals with the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Great Lakes are not all at the same sea level. Lake Superior lies at an elevation of 183 meters, while Lake Ontario lies lowest, at 74 meters above sea level. Niagara Falls, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, causes a drop of a hundred meters. A system of locks and canals makes it possible for ships to travel between the Lakes. During the winter months, large parts of the Great Lakes freeze but icebreakers keep shipping lanes open most of the time.

The Great Lakes
Image : Phizzy at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/,
via Wikimedia Commons

St. Lawrence Seaway
Image: 20px|link=User:Kcida10|Kcida10 Kcida10 (talk) (Uploads)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Niagara Falls
Image:Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

How the Great Lakes Were Formed

The basin of today’s lakes was formed about 2 billion years ago through volcanic activity. Recently the glaciers of the Ice Age repeatedly advanced and retreated throughout the region. They pushed rocks and other material with them and dug out a huge depression which filled itself with melting water after the last withdrawal of the glaciers, about 20,000 years ago. Together with the five Great Lakes thousands of other, smaller lakes were formed.

The Great Lakes gets most of their water from rain and snow throughout the year. Groundwater makes up most of the rest because there are only few large rivers flowing into the lakes. Due to global warming water levels have been going down in recent years.

The Great Lakes during the Ice Age
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Glacial_lakes.jpg,
Public Domain

Economic Importance of the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes have contributed very much to the economic development of the United States and Canada. Millions of tons of raw material, including ore and coal, as well as industrial goods are transported along the Great Lakes every year. About 70% of all the iron ore of the United States is mined near Lake Superior. Large freighters bring it to all parts of the world.

Much of the coal produced in the Appalachian coal fields are brought to the Great Lakes by train where they are loaded onto cargo ships and exported to other areas.

Farming crops of the American Midwest, including corn and wheat are brought to the harbours along the Great Lakes where they are exported to other countries.

Because water transport is very cheap, farmers in the American Midwest and Canada can compete with their rivals in other continents.

Cargo ship on St. Lawrence Seaway
Image:Own work, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recreation and Tourism

Millions of Americans spend much of their free time on and around the Great Lakes. Residents of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee and other big cities flock to the beaches to escape the stressful life of the inner cities. Sailing and other water sports are widespread due to strong winds that prevail in the Great Lakes region. Fishing is a main source of income for many people in the area.

Beach in Chicago
Image: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sailing on Lake Ontario
Image: Larry Koester, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History of the Great Lakes

The first settlers sailed down the Great Lakes about 300 years ago. In those days they were mainly fur traders who made business with Indians. The first canals in the 19th century made it possible to travel from lake to lake.

During the course of the 20th century the water quality of the Great Lakes deteriorated, largely because of pollution by cargo vessels and industries along its shores. Recently the United States and Canady have been spending millions every year to raise the quality of the world’s largest freshwater region.

Exercises

Multiple Choice Test
Words and Definitions
Match the Sentence Parts
Wrong Words
Crossword

Printable Downloads (PDF)

Word List
End of Unit Test
Key

Tsunamis are created by earthquakes on the ocean floor. The earth’s crust is made up of many plates that always move. Where such plates meet, one of them may move on top of the other. When a plate moves upward it pushes the water above normal sea level. That is when a tsunami is born.

The energy of the earthquake creates waves that spread into all directions very quickly. In the open ocean tsunamis can reach a speed of up to 900 kilometres an hour. When a tsunami approaches the coastline it slows down to maybe 50 km an hour. The water has nowhere to go so it piles up—in some cases it gets taller than a ten-story building. It crashes onto the coast and destroys houses, beaches, roads without difficulty.

When the wave enters shallow water, it slows down and becomes taller
Image: Régis Lachaume , CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tsunamis cause most damage when an underwater earthquake occurs near a coastal region. The waves can reach the coast within minutes and the population there cannot be warned in time. There is almost no way of escaping. If quakes happen very far from land it may take the killer waves a few hours to reach the coast. People can be warned and get to a safe place .

On the beach people who witness a tsunami approaching will see a great rise and fall of water. Sometimes the water near the beach will completely disappear and a few minutes later the first of the great waves can reach the shore. In some cases tsunamis don’t arrive as one big wave but as a strong flood.

People, especially tourists, often make mistakes when they see a tsunami approaching. Curious crowds stay at the beach and watch the giant waves come in. When they realize how tall these waves are, it may be too late to run. The best thing to do is to try to run as far inland as possible and try to reach high ground.

Many regions around the Pacific Ocean have warning centres and special plans on how to evacuate people when a tsunami comes close. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre is located on the Hawaiian islands. It detects the rise of ocean water and underwater earthquakes and reports information to many other stations in other countries. Local governments must then decide what to do.

On December 26, 2004 the world’s most powerful earthquake in 40 years occurred off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The tsunami that it set into motion hit the coastal areas very quickly—during the middle of the Christmas season. Thousands of Europeans were on the beaches of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other islands when the tsunami hit. It is thought that about 280,000 people died . Many coastal villages were wiped out completely

Location of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Image: Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Village near the coast of Sumatra lies in ruins after 2004 tsunami
Image: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Philip A. McDaniel,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

Tsunamis

Exercises

Match the Sentence Parts
TRUE or FALSE ?
Words and Definitions
Crossword

The European Union is a post – World War II project designed to secure peace in Europe. It was founded as the European Community for Coal and Steel in 1953 and became the European Economic Community through the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The EC has expanded many times in the last 60 years.

In 2016, the the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the first time any member state has done this.

The European Union and the rest of Europe
Image: M.Bitton, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

History

The European Union is an organization of 28 nations. Its original aim was to form an economic union but, as time went on, the EU developed into a far greater organization.

Today the EU is developing into a political union, trying to bring together the democratic countries of Europe. It is the biggest trading bloc in the world, has more people than the United States and exports and imports more goods than any other country in the world.

After World War II

World War II caused a great deal of damage in Europe. After the war European leaders believed they had to work together to prevent another devastating conflict.

In 1952 the European Coal and Steel Community was founded by six nations: France, Italy, West Germany and the Benelux countries. Its aim was to control coal production and the steel industries of the member states, so that one single state could not build up a powerful industry without the others knowing about it.

Robert Schuman – one of the founding fathers of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19000-2453 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
[CC BY-SA 3.0 de (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)]

The European Economic Community

The success of the ECSC made the leaders of the six countries cooperate even further. In 1957 two more organisations were founded in Rome. The European Economic Community (EEC) established a free trade zone in which goods and services could move freely between countries. The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was designed to have countries cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

In 1967 the three organisations were combined to form the European Communities (EC) .

Enlargement of the EU

The 1970s and 80s led to the enlargement of the EC. Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland joined in 1973, Greece became a member in 1981, and Spain and Portugal joined the community in 1986. At the end of the 1980s communism collapsed in many eastern European countries. In 1990 a united Germany became the largest country in the community.

East and West Germans at Brandenburg Gate in 1989
Image: Lear 21 at English Wikipedia,
CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the 1990s EC leaders started to seek greater cooperation in other fields. In 1991 the Maastricht Treaty was signed. Member states vowed to create a political union and introduce a single currency, the euro, which replaced the currency of 12 European countries in 2002.

In 1995 Austria, Sweden and Finland enlarged the European Union to 15 countries.

In the early years of the new millennium leaders of the EU started working on a constitution for all member states. They finished and approved it in 2004 but citizens in France and the Netherlands rejected it in national referendums.

The biggest enlargement took place in 2004. Ten new countries of central, eastern and southern Europe entered the EU: Cyprus, Malta, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Romania and Bulgaria became members three years later. In 2013 Croatia became the last country to join the EU.

One and a half decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain the division of Europe had been overcome.

Enlargement of the European Union
Image: Kolja21, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

Institutions and Organs

The heads of state or government get together at least twice a year. They set the goals and rules of the community and discuss plans for the future. Every six months a different country serves as president of the union.

European Council Meeting in 2011
Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/minister-president/5555966067/in/set-72157626347814212/
Author : Prime Minister of the Netherlands

The Council of Ministers is the lawmaking part of the EU. It is made up of one representative from each of the member nations. The council decides how laws are made and agreements carried out. Most of the decisions that are reached here are unanimous.

Council of Ministers at the Europa Building in Brussels
Image: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency
[CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

The European Commission is the executive branch of the EU. It is responsible for planning new laws and suggesting them to the Council of Ministers and parliament.

The commission makes sure that treaties of the union are carried out and rules are followed. There are 27 commissioners, one from each member state. Each of them is responsible for a certain area, like the environment, energy, transportation or farming.

They serve 5 year terms and must be approved by parliament. The president of the commission is thought to be the most important official of the European Union.

President of the European Commission : Ursula von der Leyen
Image: Etienne Ansotte, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

It is the only body of the EU that is elected directly by the people of the member countries. Every five years citizens in all member states elect a total of 785 MEPs (Member of the European Parliament). Countries with a large population like Germany, Italy, and France have more MEPs, smaller countries like Luxembourg have few MEPs. European Parliament is different from other parliaments because it cannot pass laws. It discusses the suggestions of the Commission and the Council of Ministers, but it must be heard by the lawmaking organs. The Parliament has the strongest powers in budget and money matters.

European parliament in session in Strasbourg
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

The ECJ runs the courts of the EU. It is located in Luxembourg and is made up of 28 judges who decide if the actions of the Commission, member states or private citizens comply with the rules of the EU. The court’s decisions are final and everyone, including governments, must follow them.

European Court of Justice building in Luxembourg
Image: commons.wikimedia.org

The European Central Bank controls the amount of money in the euro zone and tries to keep the euro a strong currency. The ECB was founded in 1998, its headquarters is in Frankfurt, Germany.

European Central Bank in Frankfurt
Image : Oliver Wendel c_ow, CC0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Euro

On January 1, 2002 the euro became the single currency of 12 member states of the European Union. Next to the US dollar it has become the most important currency in the world.

There are seven bank notes ranging from the smallest, 5 euros, to the largest, 500 euros. The design competition was won by the Austrian Robert Kalina. The eight coins, ranging in value from 1 cent to 2 euros have different sizes and shapes so that you can better tell them apart. One side of the coin is the same in all member states, the other side has specific national symbols on them and designs that are different in each country.

Currently there are twenty countries in the euro zone: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Cyprus. Small countries like Monaco, the Vatican, San Marino and Andorra also use the euro as a form of payment.

The first series of Euro banknotes
Image: Bericht, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Countries of the Eurozone (Kosovo and Monenegro use the euro as their official currency
but are not part of the Eurozone)
Image: Alphathon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Advantages of the euro

Many experts have argued over the past years that a single currency can help member states move closer together and unify the EU. But there are also other positive sides of a single currency:

• Businesses that traded with other EU countries were often not sure how much they had to pay in foreign currencies because the exchange rates often changed.
• Consumers can compare prices in different EU countries more easily.
• Tourists who cross borders on their way to holiday destinations no longer have to exchange their money.
• Through the euro, trade between countries has increased.
• Making payments to banks in other countries has become easier.
• The European Central Bank controls the amount of money in each country. The value of the euro is always the same , inflation is very low.

Problems and Challenges in the Eurozone

Throughout the years there have been some challenges and problems within the Eurozone.

• Many people argue that the euro has made living more expensive in various countries. Prices have gone up.
• The financial crisis of 2008 led to economic problems in some EU countries. Hardest hit was Greece, which suffered a severe recession and received financial support from the EU
• Some nations including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have chosen not to introduce the single currency, because they fear it would weaken their independence and they would lose power in their own country.

Turkey and the European Union

More than 40 years ago Turkey started cooperating with the EEC. In October 2005 the country began official talks on becoming a full member. However, in contrast to other countries that have joined the EU over the past years, Turkish membership brings along many problems.

Inside the EU many arguments can be heard against a full Turkish membership:

• Turkey belongs to Asia not to Europe.
• Thousands of Turkish immigrants will spread to Europe.
• Turkey is too big and will have too much power in the EU.
• Turkey is too poor and will cost the EU too much.

Others say that Turkey will have positive effects on the union.

• The country will help bring together the western Christian and the Muslim world.
• Turkey may help to make the Middle East more stable and peaceful.
• Turkey is a member of NATO. It could give Europe more military power.
• Europe’s population is getting older an older. Young Turkish workers may help Europe’s economy.
• The EU can do business with a large market of over 70 million people.

Problems blocking Turkish membership

One of the problems that is blocking Turkey’s membership is Cyprus. The southern part of the divided island is a member of the EU and has a Greek population. The northern part is under Turkish influence.

The EU says that Turkey must recognise Cyprus as an independent country. It also must open up its harbours and airports to Cyprus.

The Kurds are another problem that Turkey has. They make up about 20% of the country’s population, but they don’t have their own country and the Turkish government has been oppressing them for decades.

The EU has stated that Turkey will not become a member unless it improves human rights. In the end, it could take many years for Turkey to become a full member of the EU , but there are many who want Turkey to stay out of the European club.

United Nations peacekeepers in Cyprus
Image : Thaizacastilho, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Brexit – The UK leaves the European Union

Brexit is a short word for British Exit. 43 years after becoming a member of the EEC Great Britain decided to leave the EU. On June 23rd 2016 a referendum took place to decide whether Britain should stay in the EU or leave the community. A slight majority of 51.9% decided that it was better for the country to leave, while 48.1% thought that remaining a part of the EU was right. A total of 30 million people (almost 72% of the population) took part in the referendum.

After Article 50 of the EU charter was triggered , the United Kingdom was set to leave the EU on March 29th 2019. However, British Parliament couldn’t find a way to agree on the withdrawal treaty that the government negotiated with the EU. In April 2019, EU heads of state agreed to grant the UK an extension until October 31, 2019

In summer 2019 Theresa May resigned as Prime Minister and Boris Johnson became head of the government. But he, too, found it impossible to get a majority of votes in British Parliament to pass Brexit. After winning the general election in December 2019, Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party finally got the votes to pass the withdrawal agreement.

On January 31, 2020 the United Kingdom officially left the European Union.

Hard and Soft Brexit

A hard Brexit means leaving the single market and the customs union. Britain would take over control of its borders . It could make its own laws on jobs and employment, as well as negotiate its own trade deals with countries outside the EU. A hard Brexit also means a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which remains a part of the UK. This is a state neither the British government nor the EU wants.

In a softer Brexit, Britain would still have some kind of access to the EU market. The country would have to make it easier for EU immigrants to work in Britain. Staying in the customs union only would allow free movement of goods but not free movement of people. In most cases Britain would have to follow EU trade rules. There would be no border between Ireland and the UK.

Border between Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Irish Republic
Image: Oliver Dixon / The Border on Killeen School Road / CC BY-SA 2.0

Videos

How does the European Union work?
The History of Brexit
The European Parliament

Exercises

History of the EU – Multiple Choice Test
History of the EU – Order the Events
TRUE or FALSE
Words and Definitions 1
Words and Definitions 2
Countries and Their Location
Organs and Institutions – Multiple Choice Cloze
EU Plans to Recycle All Plastic by 2030 – Missing Word Cloze
Crossword 1
Crossword 2

Writing Tasks

Article – How European Are You?

Email to Your MEP

Brexit – Taking Back Control

Summary – History of the EU

Europe’s Youth , a magazine for 15 to 19-year-olds wants to find out what teenagers think about being a European. The best articles will be published in the next edition.

You have decided to take part and send in an article . In your article you should

• explain what being a European means to you.
• give your opinion on why people are critical of the EU.
• state why or why not joining the EU was a good idea.

Write an article of 300 – 400 words . Give your article a title !

As a young citizen, you are worried about many things at the moment. Write an email to your MEP (Member of the European Parliament) in which you

• describe what problems you and other young people face.
• suggest what the EU can do to help.
• outline what the future role of the European Union should be.

Write about 250 words.

You have just come across this blog on Brexit:

Taking Control Again ! by LeaveEurope
2 Feb, 7:33 p.m.

Finally, we’ve made it ! Hurray! Now we can do everything on our own again and don’t have to take orders from those lunatic bureaucrats in Brussels. We can pass our own laws and decide ourselves who we let into the country and who we don’t. There are too many foreigners here anyway. We don’t need Europe and we’ll prove it !

You decide to comment on this blog entry. In your comment you should

• ask the writer why he/she thinks Britain is better off without the EU.
• emphasize the positive aspects of being in the EU.
• suggest ways in which Europe and Britain should still cooperate.

Write about 250 – 300 words.

From what you have read in this course and the videos you have seen write a summary of the history of the European Union.

Do not write more than 300 words and include the most important facts and events.

Young people meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Image :European Parliament from EU, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Printable Downloads – PDF

Word List
End of Unit Test
Key

Antarctica is the coldest and windiest place on earth. Almost the entire continent is covered with ice that is up to 5 km thick near the South Pole. Antarctica is a desert because it doesn’t get very much precipitation. Some areas get less than 70 mm a year, in the form of snow.

Antarctica has an area of about 14 million square kilometers, about one and a half times the size of Europe. The continent consists of many mountain ranges that rise up through the ice sheets. Ice flows down the valleys to the sea where it turns into ice shelves. When ice breaks off icebergs are formed.

Much of the ocean around Antarctica is frozen all year round. Some of it melts during the summer months but it still extends a few hundred km from the coast.

Even though the continent gets more sunlight than the equator it is the coldest place on Earth because the ice reflects heat back into space. The average winter temperature is about -70° C. Soviet scientists at the Vostok station recorded -89.2° in July 1983. Strong winds make the climate even more extreme and impossible to live in.

Image:Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica team,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Animal Life

Today life only exists near the coastal areas of the continent. Insects, primitive plants and mosses can be found. In the interior part of the continent algae live in rocks that are free of ice. Over 20 types of seabirds breed in the Antarctic region, The best known are the penguins. Tiny sea creatures that look like shrimps called krill are important to the continent’s ecosystem. They are food for whales, seals, birds and other smaller animals.

Emperor penguins near Antarctic coast
Image:Image ID: corp2417, NOAA Corps CollectionPhotographer: Giuseppe ZibordiCredit: Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Antarctica’s Past

More than 200 million years ago Antarctica, South America, India and Australia formed one big continent called Gondwana. As time went on this big mass of land broke apart and the continents started to drift away from each other. Under the ice sheets there is evidence that Antarctica once had a tropical climate. Fossils of ancient kangaroos were also discovered – proof that Australia and Antarctica once belonged together. The largest fossil ever discovered was a 9 meter long whale said to be about 40 million years old.

Exploration and Discovery

For centuries the existence of Antarctica was not known. In the 19th century expeditions from the United States, France and Britain explored the oceans and the coast of Antarctica. In the early 1900s the race got underway to reach the South Pole. The first explorer to reach the South Pole was Roald Amundsen of Norway in 1911. Close behind him was a British naval officer Robert Scott. Scott reached the Pole about a month later but he died along with his men on the trip back.

In the years that followed, explorers and scientists from many countries travelled to Antarctica. Among them was Admiral Richard Byrd, who became the first to pilot an airplane over the South Pole.

The modern age of exploration began at the end of the 1950s when many countries started setting up scientific stations on the continent. In December 1959 the Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 nations. These nations have promised to use Antarctica for peaceful purposes. The treaty also forbids nuclear testing and military activities.

Amundsen’s team reach the South Pole in 1911
Image: Olav Bjaaland , Public Domain, via Wikipedia

The Present and the Future

Scientists study Antarctica in order to learn many of the world’s secrets. The ozone layer has become very thin over the continent. The continent is also believed to have mineral resources like oil, coal and many valuable metals. But Antarctica’s harsh climate makes finding these raw materials very difficult. In addition many governments are willing to protect Antarctica’s environment in the future. 24 countries signed a treaty that will forbid the drilling of oil and mining for the next 50 years.

Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole
Image: Cmichel67, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Exercises

Multiple Choice Test
Match the sentence parts
Vocabulary test

Crossword

Geography

London lies on the River Thames , about 50 km from the North Sea . The river has influenced London for many centuries . Rising tides have flooded the city more than once. In the 1970s and 80s a large barrier was built in the eastern part of the city to stop incoming water from flooding the nation’s capital.

London is divided into three main sections .

• The City is London’s financial district and the oldest part of the capital . It is very small, with a size of only one square mile. Although only a few thousand people live here, hundreds of thousands pour into the City every day to work in the big office buildings of large banks and other institutions.
• The West End includes London’s government district Westminster as well as the famous shopping streets around Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. The city’s famous cinemas, theatres and bars are located in the West End. Most of London’s tourist attractions are concentrated here.
• The South Bank is the area south of the Thames River. It is a cultural district with many concert halls, museums, theatres and galleries.

City of London with the Bank of England in the background
Image: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

History of London

London has a 2000 year old history. In the first century A.D. the Romans came to Great Britain and founded a settlement near the mouth of the River Thames . They called it Londinium.

After they left London about four hundred years later the Saxons, a Germanic tribe , settled in the area. In the centuries that followed Vikings repeatedly attacked the city .

When William the Conqueror invaded Britain in 1066 London was already the biggest town on the island. William made the city its capital and crowned himself king in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. He also built the Tower of London to protect the city from invaders .

During the Middle Ages London grew steadily. It became one of Europe’s trading centres and its population grew to about 200,000 by the beginning of the 17th century . Then disaster struck the city twice. The Great Plague of 1665 killed about a fourth of the city’s population. A year later the Great Fire burned down most of the older part of the city. After this tragedy the city was rebuilt with houses made of stone and brick instead of wood.

London in the 16th century
Image: Nathaniel Whittock, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution almost a million people lived in London. It was the largest city in the world and the centre of the British Empire, which, at that time, was growing at a rapid pace .

As more and more people moved to the city from the countryside London needed more and better transportation systems. In 1863 it became the first city in the world to start an underground railway system .

During the Second World War, Nazi Germany bombed London heavily . 30,000 people were killed. The rebuilding of the city after World War II caused many problems. City planners did not want London to grow endlessly in all directions. A green belt was created around the city to stop its expansion . Outside of this green area new towns emerged. They became small cities which many people moved to later on.

London during the bombings of World War II
Image: New York Times Paris Bureau Collection, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

In the second half of the 20th century London faced many problems that other megacities also have: air pollution, traffic jams and unemployment.

In the 1970s and 80s the Docklands in the eastern part of London were rebuilt. They were once part of the world’s largest harbour . The Docklands lost their importance as the British Empire lost its colonies. In the past decades new office buildings , shopping centers and a new airport have been created in an attempt to revitalize this region.

The London Docklands
Image: Kleon3, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Population

London became one of the first megacities in the world. Since the end of World War II , however , the population of the city has begun to decrease because many people have been moving to the suburbs and new towns outside of London.

London is a multicultural city. In the 19th century thousands of people began pouring into London as a result of the Industrial Revolution. At the beginning of the 20th century immigrants from other European countries came.

In the 1950s and 60s people from Britain’s colonies came to London. Indians , Pakistanis and West Indians are a common sight in the city today. About 25 % of London’s population are immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Crowd at the Notting Hill Carnival in 2006
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Economy and Tourism

London is the UK’s main economic and financial centre. It is the centre of trade and banking.

Factories around the city produce all kinds of consumer goods – from clothes and electronic products to food and chemicals.

Trading companies were founded along the Thames river at a time when Great Britain was still the biggest colonial power in the world. Docks and wharfs in eastern London became the centre of world trade. New container terminals were built in the 60s, in order to handle the larger cargo ships that come to London.

London is Europe’s most important banking and financial centre. Almost all of the world’s large banks have regional headquarters in London. The Bank of England, located in the City of London, controls the country’s money supply and is responsible for the value of the British pound sterling.

Tourism is an important economic factor for the city. Every year millions of people from all over the world come to London to see the city’s well-known sights. Pupils and students from all over the world come here to learn English or to take language courses. Over 200 000 Londoners work in tourist-related industries.

Tourist stall selling souvenirs in London
Image: Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Transportation

As Europe’s gateway overseas London has two big international airports. Heathrow, in the western part of the city, is the main airport for international flights. Gatwick, halfway between London and the southern coast was opened in 1958 in an attempt to get some of Heathrow’s traffic away from the city. Stansted, in the north of London, handles regional flights and flights of budget airlines . London’s new City Airport is only 15 minutes from the city centre and is used especially by business travelers.

There is probably no other city in the world that has such a dense public transport system than London. The Tube, London’s underground railway, is the oldest in the world. The red double-decker buses are well-known around the globe and a symbol of inner city transportation. All together, about 5 million people use London’s public transport every day.

London has 6 railway stations that handle over 1.5 million commuters who travel in and out of the city every day. Fast trains from Paris and Brussels arrive in London daily through the Channel Tunnel.

London’s famous double decker buses
Image: Badudoy (original), cropped by User:Ultra7, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

London Underground station
Image: Tim Adams, CC BY 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Culture

London is well-known for its museums, art galleries and concert halls.

The British Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world. It contains over seven million artifacts from all continents, cultures and civilizations.

The National Gallery, situated near Trafalgar Square, is home to a great selection of European paintings. Tate Gallery has works of British and modern art.

London’s theatres perform works of Shakespeare and other great dramatists. The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden is host to performances of London’s big orchestras

Sights and Places to See

Buckingham Palace
Image: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Buckingham Palace is the most famous of London’s many royal palaces. Constructed in the 18th century , it is located at the end of the Mall, one of London’s broadest roads. The Queen and her family live in a part of the palace. Other parts can be visited by tourists. The Changing of the Guard is a ceremony that takes place every day.

Tower of London
Image: © Hilarmont (Kempten), CC BY-SA 3.0 DE,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Tower of London is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The fortress consists of several buildings around a central tower . It is situated on the northern bank of the River Thames . For many centuries the Tower of London served as a prison . Among the most famous prisoners were the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh and Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII’s wives who was beheaded there. Today visitors are able to see the Crown Jewels of England which were originally protected by Beefeaters and the Tower’s ravens .

Tower Bridge
Image: Mvkulkarni23, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Tower Bridge , near the Tower of London, may be London’s most impressive landmark . The bridge is over a hundred years old and can be raised to let ships pass through. The two towers and the walkway that connects them give visitors a great view of London.

St. Paul’s Cathedral
Image: Mark Fosh, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

St. Paul’s Cathedral was rebuilt in the 17th century by the great English architect Sir Christopher Wren after the original building had been destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. It has the largest dome in the world after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Westminster Abbey
Image: Σπάρτακος (changes by Rabanus Flavus), CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Westminster Abbey is located near the Houses of Parliament. Since its construction by William the Conqueror in 1066 almost all of the country’s kings and queens have been crowned there. Monarchs and famous people are buried in the abbey . Among them are Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton.

Trafalgar Square
Image: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons,

The largest square in London has been a central meeting place since the Middle Ages. In the centre is Nelson’s Column, built in honour of Admiral Nelson, who defeated the French fleet at Trafalgar in 1805.

Picadilly Circus
Image: Jimmy Baikovicius, CC BY-SA 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons,

A busy plaza in the heart of London lies at the junction of five major streets. The place is famous for its colourful billboards , a fountain and a statue of Eros.

Houses of Parliament
Image: Terry Ott from Washington, DC Metro Area, United States of America, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Houses of Parliament are located in the city of Westminster alongside the River Thames . Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords hold their meetings in the palace. Big Ben , the clock tower’s famous bell , has been chiming since the middle of the 19th century .

The Serpentine in Hyde Park
Image: The original uploader was Jamie101 at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5,
via Wikimedia Commons

The city of London is well known for its large and beautiful parks. Hyde Park is the largest of London’s royal parks. It is about 2 km long and over 1 km wide. Hyde Park is a popular area for free time activities, including jogging, running and horse riding. Speaker’s Corner, near the north-eastern entrance of Hyde Park is a place where Londoners gather and listen to people who talk about all kinds of things. The Serpentine is a large artificial lake where people can go swimming or rowing . London has many other parks, including St. James’s Park, with a great view of Buckingham Palace, and Green Park.

Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum
Image: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Greenwich is a famous district in the eastern part of London. Tourists either take a Thames boat ride there or go by the Dockland’s Light Railway. Greenwich is famous for British naval history. The National Maritime Museum shows exhibits from a time when Britain was the world’s biggest sea power.
The Royal Observatory has a planetarium and a museum with a display of astronomical and navigational instruments. The prime meridian of the world goes through the observatory. It divides the world into an eastern and western hemisphere .

London Eye
Image: Khamtran, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

A giant Ferris wheel rises 135 m high on the south bank of the River Thames. It was built as a part of London’s millennium celebrations . Each egg-shaped cabin can take up to 25 passengers. A complete turn of the wheel takes 30 minutes.

Windsor Castle
Image: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

One of the royal family’s official residences is the largest inhabited castle in the world. It lies about 30 km west of London. In the course of history it has been changed several times.

Covent Garden
Image: CrisNYCa, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The former fruit and vegetable market is always a crowded place , especially during weekends and in the summertime. Today it is known for its open-air cafes, restaurants, pubs and street performers .

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
Image: I, Citizen59, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons,

The most famous museum of wax figures was opened in 1835. Thousands of famous people, artists, writers, politicians and other celebrities have been created in wax. During the tourist season waiting lines can be very long. The museum now has other wax museums in cities all over the world.

The new Globe Theatre
Image: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

The Globe was originally built in 1599 by William Shakespeare’s company of actors. It was destroyed and rebuilt in the early 17th century. Shakespeare’s Globe, a reconstruction of the old Globe was finished in 1997.

Videos

London Sightseeing
Cinema and Theatre in London
London Transport
Portabello Road

Exercises

Multiple Choice Quiz 1
Multiple Choice Quiz 2
History of London – Missing Word Cloze
Sights of London
Words and Definitions
London Underground – Missing Word Cloze
Crossword 1
Crossword 2

Word Search