Intermediate
English
THE
MEN WHO GUARD THE QUEEN
Who are the red-coated soldiers who stand guard outside Buckingham
Palace ?
Are they an army of clones, or actors? Or are they real soldiers?

Royal guards - among the elite of the British army
They are perhaps 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
"
foot guards",
and the
latter
as the "
Household Cavalry".
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
men from these regiments are based
elsewhere.
When they are not taking part in ceremonial
duties in London,
they will be training in other parts of Britain, or serving in other
parts of the world.
One other group of soldiers sometimes
takes part in guard duties; the famous "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
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WORKSHEET
Extracting
and reusing information
Question forming:
Imagine that you have been interviewing a guard. Here are his answers;
complete the questions
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 do
You: Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
Guard: Yes, I was with the international forces in Afghanistan.
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