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3 Topic worksheet

1 Read about castles. Underline three interesting facts.

the keep

arrow slits

tower the portcullis

the drawbridge

the moat

Hundreds of years ago, kings built A castle with a moat also had a
castles to keep out their enemies. drawbridge. If the enemy came near
Sometimes thousands of soldiers the castle, the soldiers closed the
lived inside the castle, usually in the drawbridge. Then their enemies could
towers. The king and his family not cross the moat. Many people fell into
usually lived in the keep. the water. Then the soldiers sent arrows
at the enemies from small holes in the
Castles were strong. The walls were
towers (arrow slits).
very thick and there were strong
gates and a portcullis at the door. It If the enemies came into the castle, the
was difficult for the enemy to break soldiers played horrible tricks on them.
the gates and walls. For example, some castles had special
floors which broke when the enemies
Castles were often on a hill. Why?
came up the stairs. Castles also had
Firstly, it was difficult for enemies to
murder holes (holes in the ceiling inside
climb the hill. Secondly, it was easy for
the keep). Soldiers waited at these places
the soldiers in the castle to see their
and threw boiling oil onto their enemies.
enemies from far away. Many castles
had water (a moat) around them.

2 What do you know about these parts of a castle?

PHOTOCOPIABLE     © Cambridge University Press 2017    Kid’s Box ESS Updated 2nd Ed. TRB 5 35