St George’s Day - reading and quiz
1)
Little is known about St George, but it is believed his father, a soldier in the Roman army, was from Cappadocia, now in modern-day Turkey, and his mother from Lydda, now Israeli Lod. Like his father, George entered the military and swiftly rose through the ranks. His career, and life, was put to an end by the emperor Diocletian in April 23, AD 303 when he protested against the persecution of the Christians. He thus became an early Christian martyr. He was entombed in Palestine, where he had lived with his mother after his father’s death.
2)
Around 1,000 years after St George’s death, England, whose crusaders had heard the story of St George in the Holy Land, ditched Edward the Confessor for a new patron saint and, in 1415 (the anti-French year of the battle of Agincourt), made April 23 a national feast day. St George is also the patron saint of several other countries.
3)
George is not only seen as a defender of the Christian faith but he is also associated with the myth of a dragon slayer who rescued an innocent maiden from death and then gave his reward money to the poor.
4)
In England, there are many people who want to see St George’s Day made a national holiday marked with greater festivity. In Ireland, St Patrick’s Day is already a national holiday and is celebrated across the land.
SECTION A
Can you match these paragraph headings with the numbered paragraphs above?
a) The legend of St George
b) The history of St George
c) St George and England
d) Celebrations
SECTION B
Can you find words in the text which match these definitions?
1) a person who serves in an army
2) the cruel or unfair treatment of people because of their race, or religious or political beliefs
3) a person who is killed or who suffers greatly for a religion or cause
4) a saint who is believed to protect a particular place
5) a person who kills someone or something
6) celebration and enjoyment
SECTION C
Do you think St George’s Day should be a national holiday in England?
What do you think people should do on St George’s Day?
ANSWERS TO SECTION A:
1) b
2) c
3) a
4) d
ANSWERS TO SECTION B:
1) soldier
2) persecution
3) martyr
4) patron saint
5) slayer
6) festivities
Text modified from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George#England) BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_st.shtml) and The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/apr/23/netnotes.simonjeffery).