Use of English B1. Elizabeth I and Conspiracy Theories

Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was a famous and fascinating member of the English monarchy. She reigned for almost …     [40, 50, 30, 20]years. During this time, the government was relatively stable, and under her rule England became a …                [minor, secondary, trifling, insignificant, major]international power. It was also during Elizabeth's reign that Shakespeare wrote …           [few, a few, a lot of, less] of his famous plays.

But there were some mysterious things about Elizabeth. Firstly, she never got married. This was …              [traditional, weird, natural] at the time. Kings and queens usually married members of other roval or aristocratic families to form links between nations. Secondly, 15 she became bald at a young age. Thirdly, she gave strict instructions that no one should …          [see, watch, examine]her body when she died.
Over the years, a conspiracy theory has formed to explain these curious facts.

Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry       [VI, VII, VIII, V]. In the summer of 1542 she was staying at a house called Over Court in the village of Bisley.

The king had sent the 9-year-old princess there from the capital to avoid the          [pox, measles, cancer, ulcer, plague] .

       [Two, Five, Three, Ten] people were looking after her at Over Court - Lady Kat Ashley and Thomas Parry.

According to the conspiracy theory, this is what …                      [could happen, could have happened].

The king was about to visit Elizabeth at Over Court when suddenly she became very ill. She had a terrible …        [cough, ulcer, pox, fever] and died just before the king arrived.

Ashley and Parry were too frightened to tell the king that Elizabeth … .                 [was dying, had died, would die, had been dying]

So they decided to find another girl of Elizabeth's age in the village to take the          [money, place, clothes, stuff]… of the princess.

However, there was a problem. There were no other girls of the same …             [image, age, appearance] in the village.

But there was a boy from a local family who              [was playing, played, had played] and studied with Elizabeth. He had red hair and pale skin, just like the princess.

Ashley and Parry thought 40 that, with a bit of luck, the king may believe the 'Bisley Boy' was his daughter if he …             [wore, dressed up]in Elizabeth's robes.

Henry did not visit his daughter often and Elizabeth had always been very quiet and uncomfortable in front of him. And so, …               [because of, apart from, according to]the story, the plan worked.

After Henry's visit, Ashley and Parry started training the new Elizabeth to take the role of the princess. It can't have been easy, but time              [appeared, passed, disappeared] and the 'Bisley Boy' became Queen Elizabeth I.

This may explain why Elizabeth always refused to get            [curious, motivated, married, divorced]. It might also explain the words in her most so famous speech. Just as the Spanish Armada approached the English coast, she said to her soldiers: '1 have the heart and          [ears, belly, head, body, stomach] of a king, and of a king of England too'. This may have been literally true - she had the heart of a king, not of a queen.

It could also explain why she was always careful to wear lots of make-up and           [pants, earrings, wigs, glasses] in public.

Meanwhile, Ashley and Parry remained very           [far from, close to]Elizabeth and she always protected them.

One or two other senior ministers                   [might have known, can’t have known] the secret but perhaps kept silent for the good of the nation.

To add to the mystery, there            [was, is, have been, had been]frequent stories about a coffin being discovered in Bisley.

Inside was a young girl dressed in very fine, expensive clothes. Some say that this                   [can have been, can’t have been, must have been, should have been] the princess because nobody in the village could have had such good clothes.

Was Elizabeth really the Bisley Boy? Historians say the story         [must, should, can’t, had to] be true because it is just too improbable.

But some people say that the only way to really know is by scientific examination of the queen's          [clothes, outfit, shoes, bones, hair] .

Only then will we be certain           [however, whether, but, although] Queen Elizabeth I was really the boy from Bisley or not.

Elizabeth I’s           [power, dynasty, strength, reign]was incredibly successful.