Intermediate Worksheet B
Guy Fawkes Night, 5th November
1. What famous festival does the following nursery rhyme describe?
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot
2. Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated in Britain annually. Do you know anything about this festival? Try to
answer these questions to find out! Tick ( ) the box(es) next to the correct answer(s): there may be
more than one correct answer to each question!
(a) Guy Fawkes Night is also known as
The Gunpowder Plot Bonfire Night Firework Night
(b) Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated in
Great Britain Newfoundland (Canada) some areas of New Zealand
(c) Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated on
4th November 5th November 6th November
(d) The origin of this celebration stems from events which took place in
1605 1715 1825
(e) What was the object of the Gunpowder Plot, the event which is the origin of this celebration?
to blow up English Parliament to kill King James I to restore Catholics to power
(f) What do people do on Guy Fawkes Night?
watch fireworks displays burn Guy Fawkes dummies in bonfires blow things up
3. Read the text below to check your answers to three of the questions from exercise 2. Give yourself one
point for every correct answer you gave. Take away one point for every incorrect answer.
Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated annually on 5th November. The event is accompanied by fireworks displays,
the lighting of bonfires and the burning of a life-sized dummy called "the guy" made of old clothes, newspapers
and straw and supposed to symbolise a man called Guido (or Guy) Fawkes. Guy Fawkes Night is not solely a
British celebration. The tradition was also established in the British colonies by the early American settlers and
actively pursued in the New England States under the name of "Pope Day" as late as the 18th Century. Today,
the celebration of Guy Fawkes remains a tradition in such places as Newfoundland (Canada) and some areas of
New Zealand, in addition to the British Isles.
4. Your partner has the answers to the other questions in the quiz. Ask him / her for the answers and
count your points. How many have you got?
How to interpret your score?
Score: 10  12 points Your knowledge of British festivals is truly impressive! How about writing a quiz for
your classmates?
6  9 points Your initial knowledge had a few minor gaps but after reading your text and talking
to your partner, you know so much more!
0  5 points Well, one doesn't have to know everything, right? I bet you know a lot about some
other British festivals; I'm sure Christmas holds no secrets for you. Although you could
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ask your partner for a copy of his text, just to be on the safe side&
5. The nursery rhyme in exercise 1 mentions treason and plot. Do you know these words? Read the
sentences below and try to deduct their meaning from context. Compare your ideas with a partner.
(a) All five of the men with be charged with committing treason against the state.
He was accused of treason against the nation for his willingness to negotiate with Texas and the United
States.
He was arrested and tried for treason for his support of Jane Grey, who was generally considered one of
the worst government enemies.
(b) The court heard how she and her lover planned a plot to kill her husband.
The plot to overthrow the military government was foiled (=prevented from being successful).
Some newspapers reported that there was a plot to bomb the UN headquarters in Baghdad.
6. The Gunpowder Plot was a reaction to what was happening in British politics at the beginning of the 17th
century. Read this text and decide whether the sentences (a)  (e) are true or false. Explain why the
false statements are false.
King Henry VIII disliked the power of the Catholic Church in England because he could not control it. Besides,
he was always looking for new sources of money and the Church was a huge landowner. When the pope
forbade Henry to divorce Catherine of Aragon, Henry persuaded the bishops to make him head of the Church in
England, and this became law after Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534. England became a
Protestant nation.
Henry VIII s daughter, Elizabeth I, made England one of Europe s strongest Protestant nations. Spain, a
Catholic country, tried to invade England in 1588 but the Spanish Armada (a huge fleet of ships which tried to
conquer England) was defeated. This angered the Queen and the Parliament introduced a series of severe anti-
Catholic laws. Many Catholics were persecuted, or even killed, and their lands were confiscated. When
Elizabeth I died, her brother, James I became king. He wanted to unify England and tried to relax some of the
anti-Catholic laws that Elizabeth had introduced. However, when Catholics began to be powerful again, he
panicked and brought back all the laws. To many Catholics this was the final straw and they decided to do
something about it. A fanatical young Catholic called Robert Catesby decided to kill James I and the whole
Protestant government. He shared his plan with twelve other fanatics, one of whom was a man called Guido
Fawkes. They rented a house near the Houses of Parliament and started to dig a tunnel which would get them
below the chambers where the lords met. The digging was difficult, so the conspirators were more than happy
when they discovered that there was a little coal cellar directly under where many lords often sat. They put 36
barrels of gunpowder in that cellar (which was about 2 tons!) and waited for the opening of the new Parliament.
The Houses of Parliament were not blown up, however, because one of the conspirators sent an anonymous
letter to a cousin of his, a Catholic who had been forced to become a Protestant, telling him not to come to the
opening of the Parliament and warning him of the plot. The letter was given to the prime minister who ordered
a search to be made. The conspirators were uncovered, and arrested, hanged, drawn and quartered and then, so
legend has it, thrown into a bonfire.
While the plot itself was the work of a small number of men, it angered many Protestants and put all Catholics
in a very bad light. Many new laws were introduced which made life for them even more difficult than it was
before the plot. Even to this day, it is the law that no Roman Catholic may be king or queen and the reigning
monarch remains Supreme Head of the Church of England. There is yet another custom which has its origin in
the Gunpowder plot: one of the ceremonies which accompanies the opening of a new session of Parliament is a
traditional searching of the basement by the Yeoman of the Guard.
(a) Queen Elizabeth I introduced severe anti-Catholics laws because the English fleet was defeated by the
Spanish fleet. T / F
(b) James I got scared of the Catholics' growing power. T / F
(c) The digging took the conspirators to a chamber directly under the chamber where many lords met. T / F
(d) One of the conspirators informed the King about the plot. T / F
(e) The Gunpowder Plot worsened the situations of the Catholics in England. T / F
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7. There are some historians who believe that there was really no Gunpowder Plot and the "conspirators"
were really framed by the King, who was afraid of the growing power of the English Catholics.
Work in groups of 3 or 4 and think of evidence these historians may be giving. You may consider the
following points:
" the letter warning one of the members of government to stay away from Parliament as piece of evidence:
How reliable is it? How detailed was it? Who wrote it?
" the amount of gunpowder used;
" the moisture in the Parliament cellars;
" how quickly the conspirators were executed and why?
If the Gunpowder Plot was indeed the King's conspiracy, would it be unique in history? Why / why not?
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