Past tenses (3) RECYCLING ADVANCED ENGLISH UNIT 6

RECYCLING ADVANCED ENGLISH

UNIT 6

Past tenses (3)

C Read the two texts on the Princes in the Tower, a mystery which remains unsolved after over five hundred years. Answer questions 1-4 with a word or short phrase. You do not need to use complete sentences. Then write a summary according to the instructions in question 5, based on evidence from both texts. Who killed the Princes in the Tower - the 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother? The year is 1483, the place is the grim and/orbidding Tower of London, and the victims are the two young sons 0/ the late Edward IV. Suspect number one has always been their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the so-called villain of the piece. The boys stood between him and the throne, and, as one of their closest relatives, he was ideally placed to arrange their murder. He had both the motive and the opportunity. But did he do it? Evidence against him is merely circumstantial. What we do know is that sometime during 1483 the two royal princes disappeared while in the care of their uncle, and that he immediately assumed the throne, becoming Richard III. No bodies, no trail 0/ blood, not a shred of proof. But if not Richard, then who? There was someone else who wanted the crown, someone who wanted it so much that he was prepared to raise an army and fight Richard for it. When he became king two years later, he even married the boys' sister Elizabeth and had their cousin executed, in order to protect himself from claimants to the throne. His name was Henry Tudor. 1 Which phrases in the first paragraph imply that the writer does not agree with the general assumption of Richard’s guilt? 2 In your own words, give two reasons for suspecting Henry Tudor of the murders. At the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Henry Tudor defeated and killed the reigning English monarch, Richard III, and was subsequently crowned Henry VII. For thirty years there had been intermittent conflict between two great families, the houses of York and Lancaster. The Wars of the Roses, as they were known, were thus brought to an end when Henry, as leader of the Lancastrians, conquered Richard and his Yorkist supporters. Henry was eager, not only to impose his authority, but also to keep the peace, and with that in mind he united the two warring houses by marrying Elizabeth of York. In order to flatter him, Tudor chroniclers were at pains to disparage his predecessor, and Richard has therefore gone down in history as a malicious, vengeful usurper, who murdered his innocent nephews. It is true that Richard never denied the contemporary rumours of his guilt, and may well have committed this heinous crime. Neverthless, it seems likely that if he had defeated Henry at Bosworth, Yorkist historians would have painted a very different picture of events. 3 Explain briefly in your own words how the Wars of the Roses came to an end. 4 According to the text, why did Henry marry Elizabeth of York? 5 In a paragraph of 50-70 words, summarise the reasons why Richard III is generally thought to have killed the Princes in the Tower.

ANSWER KEY