-Which of the American flags is the oldest? Which is used now?

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Flag

-The American flag is known as the Stars and Stripes. Answer these questions.

• How many stripes are there? What do they represent?

• How many stars are there? What do they stand for?

• What are the colours of the American flag? What do they symbolize?

-Read the text and check our answers.

(a) The origin of the U.S. flag design is uncertain. A popular story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch of George Washington who personally commissioned her for the job. However, no evidence for this theory exists beyond Ross's own records. Another popular theory is that the design of the flag may have been derived from the flag of the British East India Company.

(b) At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776, the most common flag was the Grand Union Flag. This flag was initially flown by George Washington and is recorded as being first raised by Washington's troops at Prospect Hill on New Year's Day in 1776. This flag formed the basis of the Stars and Stripes, consisting of 13 red and white stripes with the British Union Jack in the canton.

(c) On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which established a new flag of the US. The Congress described the flag, writing "White signifies Purity and Innocence; Red, Hardiness and Valour; Blue signifies Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice." Flag Day is now observed each year on June 14.

(d) The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement for the stars. Initially, a variety of designs were used, including a circular arrangement, but gradually a design featuring horizontal rows of stars emerged as the standard. As further states entered the union, extra stars and stripes were added until this proved to cause too much clutter. It was then decided that there would be a star for each state, but the number of stripes would remain at thirteen to honour the original colonies.

(e) The flag has gone through 26 changes since the union of 13 states first adopted it. The 48-star version holds the record, 47 years, for the longest time the flag has gone unchanged. The current 50-star version will tie the record if it is still in use on July 4, 2007.

-Read the definitions below and try to find the words. There is one word per paragraph.

1. to formally ask sb to produce sth (usually a work of art) for you

2. the national flag of the United Kingdom

3. determination to keep trying to achieve sth in spite of difficulties (used this to show approval)

4. a large number of things that are scattered somewhere in an untidy way

5. happening or existing now

-There are some extra facts about the American flag. Fill in the missing words.

• When the flag design changes, the change always takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, i.e. I______________ Day in the US (the day which commemorates the founding of the nation).

• The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, occurred in 1960, after H__________ gained statehood. Before that, the admission of Alaska the year before prompted the debut of a short-lived 49-star flag.

• It was the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner", now the national a__________ of the US.

Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman PHOTOCOPIABLE 2

Definitions from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

FESTIVAL WORKSHEETS

Flag Day Intermediate

Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman PHOTOCOPIABLE

Adapted from WIKIPEDIA (en.wikipedia.org) - the FREE encyclopaedia and

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM

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