Intermediate English
THE MEN WHO GUARD THE KING
Who are the red-coated soldiers who stand guard outside Buckingham Palace ?
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022,
Britain's red-coated guards have become a familiar sight on television
and other
media all over the world; but who are they?
Are they an army of clones, or actors? Or are they real soldiers?
Royal guards - among the elite of the British army
They are among the best known icons of Britain, and if you've ever been to London, you've probably seen them. They are the soldiers in bright red jackets or shining helmets, who stand outside Buckingham Palace, or in Whitehall. They are men who can stand absolutely still, even when tourists tell them jokes, touch them, push them, or try to make them move.
They look identical, and they march like robots.
But who are these soldiers? Are they an army of clones, or actors? Or are they real soldiers?
Some people are surprised to learn that they are real soldiers; and the guns that they carry are very real too. The guns are not just for show; they are loaded!
The men who stand guard outside Buckingham Palace and certain other royal palaces are in fact some of the best-trained soldiers in the British army. They belong to a number of historic regiments, such as the Grenadier Guards or the Scots Guards.
There are two main groups of guards, those who have horses and those who do not. The former are known as the "Household Cavalry", and the latter as the "foot guards".
Ceremonial duties are just a small part of a guardsman's life.
The footguards are the senior infantry regiments in the British army; most of the time, they train like other soldiers, a long way from London. Sometimes they may find themselves in war zones. In recent years they have also been sent to Bosnia and to Kosovo, to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to help with the international peace-keeping forces.
The Household Cavalry is taken from two armoured regiments, called the Lifeguards, and the Blues and Royals. Three hundred men from these regiments are based in London for ceremonial duties on horseback; but most of the time, the
Guardsmen on a different day
One other group of soldiers sometimes takes part in guard duties; the "Gurkhas". Like the famous "Foreign Legion" in France, the Brigade of Gurkhas is different from any other regiment in the British army, because it is made up of foreigners. The Gurkhas are men from Nepal, a small state in the Himalayas, and they are one of the best fighting regiments in the British army.
Of course, guards do not always wear their well-known red and blue uniforms. These are only worn for ceremonial duties. Most of the time these men wear normal military uniforms, just like other soldiers. And of course, under the uniforms, there are just ordinary young men, mostly in their twenties. They are very fit young men, but apart from that they are just like other young men of their age. Don't expect to find a robo-guard! These men are some of the best-trained soldiers in the world .
WORDS:
duties: jobs, tasks - fit: in good physical condition - elsewhere : in other places - for show: to be seen - helmet: metal hat - icon: symbol - infantry : foot soldiers - latter: second group - loaded: containing bullets - made up of: composed of - senior: top, number one
Printing: Optimized for printing
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STUDENT WORKSHEET
Extracting and reusing information
Question forming: Imagine that you have been interviewing a guard. Here are his answers; complete the questions. Boxes will expand to take the text that you type.You:
Are you allowed
Guard: Oh no, never. That’s against the rules!You:
Have you
Guard: Of course not! Not once in my life!You:
Do you
Guard: No, this is just one of our jobs.You: Are you
Guard: Well we’re some of the best trained soldiers in the
British Army, so we do lots of things.You:
Do
Guard: Of course we doYou:
Have
Guard: Yes, I was with the international forces in Afghanistan.Missing words
Replace the words that are missing from these three extracts from the text. Try to do this from memory; if you need help, look back at tha article above are two
main groups of guards, who have horses and who do
not. The are known the
"Household Cavalry",
and the the "foot guards".
the
famous
"Foreign Legion" France, the Brigade
of Gurkhas is different other
regiment in the
British army, because it is made foreigners.
Of
course, guards do not wear -known
red and blue uniforms. are only worn
ceremonial duties. of the time men wear normal military
uniforms, just like other soldiers
Teachers:
Missing words. Use this exercise to underline the difference between their and there, these and those, like and as, and former and latter. The exercise also highlights prepositions and other useful common words.This teaching resource is © copyright Linguapress renewed 2022.
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Reading comprehension in the English class
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Reading comprehension in the English class
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