Maturitní otázky v angličtině

Czech Republic

Geography - neighbours, area, mountains, waters, climate, national parks
People - population, density, life expectancy, ethnic groups, language and its origin
History - Great Moravian Empire, Wenceslas I, Charles IV, Hussite movement, Battle of the White Mountain, Czechoslovak Republic, WWII, communist rule, velvet revolution
Economy - industries (Skoda, beer brewing, heavy industry), agriculture, natural riches, labour force, currency, GNP, trade and partners
Administration - districts, regions, international organizations
Prague and other places of interest – Brno, Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary, Kutna Hora
Sport, art, famous people, recent news from the Czech Republic

United States of America

Geography - islands, neighbours, area, mountains, coast, waters, climate, national parks
People - population, density, urban areas and villages, life expectancy, ethnic groups, languages and their origin, differences between British and American English
History - Vikings, Columbus, the first English colony, French colonies, African slaves, foundation of the U.S.A., Declaration of Independence, Civil War, WWI and WWII, Cold War
Economy - industries, agriculture, natural riches, labour force, currency, GNP, trade and partners
Administration - federation, capital
New York City, Washington D. C. and other places of interest - Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, ­New Orleans, national parks, Alaska, Hawaii
Sport, art, famous people, recent news from the USA

Great Britain

Geography - islands, neighbours, area, mountains, coast, waters, climate
People - population, density, life expectancy, ethnic groups, languages and their origin
History - Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, William the Conqueror, King John and Magna Charta, Elizabeth I, Civil War, Industrial Revolution, North American colonies, Queen Victoria, Ireland, WW II, present times
Economy - industries, agriculture, natural riches, currency, GNP, trade and partners
Administration - constitutional monarchy, four parts (Wales, Scotland, North Ireland and England), counties, cities, international organizations
London and other places of interest - Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterbury, Birmingham, Manchester, Lake District, Glasgow, Edinburgh
Sport, art, famous people, recent news from the UK

Australia and New Zealand

Geography - the smallest continent, area, mountains, coast, waters, climate, deserts
People - population, density, life expectancy, ethnic groups, languages and their origin
History - discovered and explored in 17th and 18th centuries, colonists from UK, James Cook
Animals – kangaroo, koala, big bird emu, platypus
Economy - industries, agriculture, natural riches, labour force, currency, GNP, trade and partners
Administration - a parliamentary system where the head of state is now Queen Elizabeth II. represented by the Governor-General. The head of government is the Prime Minister.
Canberra and other places of interest – Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Brisbane, Wellington, Auckland
Sport, art, famous people, recent news from the region

Canada

Geography - neighbours, islands, area, mountains, provinces, waters, climate, national parks
People - population, density, life expectancy, ethnic groups, languages and their origin
History- original inhabitants, Vikings, colonies, British dominion, British Commonwealth of Nations
Economy- industries, agriculture, natural riches, currency, GNP, trade and partners
Administration - independent federal state, Prime Minister
Ottawa and other places of interest – Montreal, Toronto...

Prague

History, population, economy
Location
Monuments – Hradcany, Prague Castle, National Theatre, Lesser Quarter
Charles University
Vltava, Charles Bridge
Old Town Square
Wenceslas Square
Traffic, underground

London

History, population, economy
Location (plus districts of London)
Parliament, Tower of London, Tower Bridge
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park, Trafalgar square
Westminster Abbey
Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Downing Street 10
The City
British Museum
Shopping, parks, culture

New York

History, population, economy
Location (five boroughs) - Manhattan, Brooklyn
Industry and commerce
Transport - taxi, underground
Landmarks – skyscrapers, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Madison Square Garden, Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Broadway, Metropolitan Opera House, 5th Avenue

My family and relatives

Parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives (general appearance, jobs, special features)
Hobbies and education of your parents and siblings
How do you get on with your parents?
Your future family – the dream family
Place where you live
Family activities

Sports and games

Outdoors, indoors sports
Ball games
Typical sports in UK, USA and CR
Major sport events in UK, USA, CR, the world
Your favourite sport
Sports facilities and their equipment
What sport would you like to try?
Olympic Games

Education and your school

Compulsory school attendance
System of schools
Pre-school education
Primary education
Secondary education (grammar, special, vocational schools)
Tertiary education
Types of schools

Describe the school building
How well is the school equipped?
Subjects tough at our school
After-school activities
Benefits and shortcomings of your school

Food and meals

Breakfast – typical Czech breakfast and the British traditional one
Lunch – three courses in the Czech Rep. (soup, the main course and some dessert)
Teatime
Dinner – usually three or four courses in UK
Typical Czech and British meals
Your favourite meals and why
Describe how you cook your favourite meal
Compare Czech eating habits to the British ones (when, how, what...)
Traditional food for special occasions (such as Christmas)
Eating out

Health

Medical care (health system in our country, health insurance, treatment in hospital, maternity leave)
Specialization in medicine (dentist, surgeon...)
Typical infections, child diseases and treatment
Health Centre, Policlinic, Hospital, Private Doctor
Injuries during sport activities
Describing the human body
Typical diseases of the modern age
Healthy life style - daily routine, sleep, overwork, smoking, alcohol, physical training
What diseases are we vaccinated against?

Weather, seasons, climate

Climate in the Czech Republic
Seasons and their description
Spring – nature wakes up, April weather
Summer – hot weather, storms, holidays
Autumn – harvest, mushrooming, chilly weather
Winter – snow, winter sports
Importance of weather
Climate in UK

Travelling

Reasons for travelling
Transportation
Tourism
Travelling abroad – necessary arrangements
Why is it important to know foreign languages when going abroad?
Why do foreigners come to our country?
Typical souvenirs brought from the Czech Republic, UK and the U.S.A.

Holidays and festivals

Favourite holiday activities – where and how you spend holidays
Relaxing / adventurous holidays
Your best holidays
Common - Easter, Christmas, New Year's Eve
British and American holidays - St. Valentine's Day (14.2.), Halloween (31.10.)
British holidays - All Fool's Day (1.4.), May Day (1.5.), Guy Fawkes Day (5.11.), Remembrance Day (11.11.)
American holidays - Martin Luther King Day (the third Monday in January), Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May), Independence Day (4.7.), Labour Day (the first Monday in September), Columbus Day (12.10.), Veteran's Day (11.11.), Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November)
Czech holidays – 8.5., 5.7., 6.7., 28.9., 28.10.

Cultural life

Culture and art
Cultural facilities
Cinema and television
Why do people visit the cinemas less often then before?
What is your favourite film, book, music performer, actor and why?
Music festivals
Kinds of music
Museums and galleries
Works of literature you know
Favourite genre and why
Describe your favourite book, its main characters and the plot

William Shakespeare

His curriculum vitae (birthplace, marriage, Globe Theatre, etc.)
Work divided into 3 (sometimes 4) periods
Comedies: The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer-night’s Dream, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing
Historical Plays: Henry IV, V, VI, VIII, Richard II, III, King John
Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello
A lot more other works (sonnets, poems...)
Inspiration for a lot of artists

British literature

Beowulf - John Wycliffe - Geoffrey Chaucer - William Caxton - Sir Thomas More - William Shakespeare - Jonathan Swift - Daniel Defoe - Henry Fielding - George Gordon Byron - Percy Bysshe Shelley - John Keats - Sir Walter Scott - Emily and Charlotte Bronte - Charles Dickens - Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence Oscar Wilde - Rudyard Kipling - John Galsworthy - James Joyce - G. B. Shaw - Kingsley Amis - William Golding - George Orwell - J.R.R. Tolkien

American literature

Benjamin Franklin - Washington Irving - James Fennimore Cooper - Walt Whitman - Edgar Allan Poe - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Herman Melville - Mark Twain - Theodore Dreiser - Jack London - Ernest Hemingway - Francis Scott Fitzgerald - William Faulkner - John Steinbeck - William Styron - Joseph Heller - Ken Kessey - Allen Ginsberg - Jack Kerouac - Ray Bradbury - Eugene O’Neil - Tennessee Williams

Environmental problems

Pollution – what causes it + the ways of reducing air, water, land, noise pollution
Acid rain – what it is
Rain forests and temperate forests – their importance for life
Global warming
Water sources - threats
Greenhouse effect
Animal and plant protection
Ozone layer, ozone hole

Press and media

Definition
Television
How often do you watch TV?
What is your favourite programme?
Radio
Newspapers and magazines – quality papers x popular papers
What is your favourite part in newspapers?
Internet – a necessity these days?
Advantages and disadvantages of each media

Shopping

Your attitude towards shopping
A department store, a mall, a local shop, an outdoor market – advantages and disadvantages
Kinds of shops – bakery, florists, greengrocer etc.
Supermarket – what can you buy there?
How often do you do shopping?
Electronic shop – advantages and disadvantages

Pets

Why do people have pets?
Your own pet
The most usual - dogs and cats
Wild animal as a pet - not a good idea
Mice, rat, hamster, guinea pig, rabbit
Lizards, turtles, birds
Tropical fish

Hobbies

Your activities in childhood
Changing of your interests during life
Typical Czech hobbies for boys and girls
Your favourite hobby
Winter / summer activities
Hobbies which are dangerous, creative, expensive, useful, time-consuming etc.

My future career

Most attractive jobs these days
Working conditions in the Czech Republic
Competition
Manual vs. office work
Less common jobs
Job of your dreams
What do you do to fulfil your dreams?
Advantages and disadvantages of my future profession

Clothing and fashion

History
Your attitude towards fashion
The way you dress
Different clothes for different occasions
Jewellery, patterns, materials, colours, shoes
Lady’s wardrobe
Men’s wardrobe

European Union

Origin, principles and goals
European Coal and Steel Community
European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community
European Union – land area, inhabitants, and member states
Institutions - The Council of the European Union, The European Commission, The European Parliament, The European Court of Justice, The European Court of Auditors
Conditions for EU citizens

International organization

Definition
Worldwide organizations – foundation, aims, bodies, tools or policies, seat
United Nations (UN)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
World Bank – a group of institutions gathered around the IBRD – International Bank for Renewal and Development
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Regional organizations - foundation, aims, bodies, tools or policies, seat
NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The European Union

English as a world language

Why do people learn languages?
Studying foreign languages
Statistics – the oldest language, the most important language these days etc.
Language schools and courses
History of English language
English speaking countries
British vs. American English