Inglés. Selectividad

INGLÉS
CANTERBURY
Canterbury is a town in Kent with a population of abou 120.000. It is the religious capital of England because
its cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is head of the Church of England.
From the 12th to the 15th centuries, it was a place of pilgrimage. Thousands of people came to pray tat the
shrine of a former Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the Cathedral in 1770. His name was
Thomas becket.
Murder in the Cathedral
During the 12th century, King Henry II decided that Church had too much power. In 1162, he made Thomas
Becket Archbishop of Canterbury, thinking that his friend would help him to weaken the position of the
Church. Althoug the King himself liked Thomas, he was not popular with other powerful men in England.
They was jealuos of his frienship with the King, and they also disliked him because he was not a nobleman.
As Thonas was not even a priest, many people were angry that he had been made Archbishop.
The king was amazed when Thomas began to defend the position of the Church against the King. After a
while , Thomas had to leave England because relations between him and the King had become very bad, and
Thomas was afraid that he might be killed. He lived in exile for five years until the King asked him to come
back. The people , yhe bishop and the Pope were causing the King problems because they all wanted
Thomasto continue as Archbishop of Canterbury.
When Thomas returned, 1770, he brought authorization from the Pope to excommunicate the priest and
nobleman who had actes against him. The King was furiouswhen he learned this −soon afterwards, four of
Henry's knights entered Canterbury Cathedral and murdered the Archbishop on the steps of the altar.
Three years later in 1773, Becket was made saint, and his tomb became the destination of throusands of
pilgrims for three centuries. It was sais that miracles happened there, and many sick people went there in the
hope of finding a cure.
In the 16th century, when King Henry VIII separeted from the Roman Catholic Church and established the
Church of England, he said that Becket was no longer a saint, and his tomb was destroyed.
Amazed = surprised
Afraid = frightened
Pilgrims = Journey makers to a holy place
• IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND BASED ON THE IDEAS FROM THE TEXT, ANSWER THE
FOLLOWING QUESTINS ( 4 POINTS)
• Why was T. Becket's tomb destroyed?
• Who remained loyal to T. Becket when he came back to England?
• Why didn't his enemies accept T.Becket?
• Why did King Henry II make T. Becket Archbishop of Canterbury?
II ARE THE FOLLOWINGS STAMENT TRUE OR FALSE? SAY WHY.
1
TAKE EVIDENS, EVEN QUOTING, FROM THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER, NO MARKS
ARE GIVEN FOR ONLY TRUE OR FALSE. (2 POINTS).
• King Henry II was very pleased when T. Becket returned to England.
• T. Becket was famous priest before being made Archbishop.
III VOCABULARY, FIND WORDS IN THE TEXT THAT HAVE A SIMILAR MEANING ( 1 POINT).
• Grave
• Unlawful killed
• A place of worship and prayer.
• To diminish power.
IV WRITE A COMPOSITION, CHOOSE ONE OF THE TWO TOPICS
• You know something about Great England, its cities, cathedrals, history, famous places etc. Choose what
you like and write something about Great Britain.
• If you want, write something about a famous European cathedral you know well
PRUEBAS DE ACCESO
A LA UNIVERSIDAD
1999/2000. JUNIO
Universidad
del País Vasco
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