Вариант 21

You are going to read a text on the life of a famous person. For questions 1-15, read the text below and decide which answer (А, В, or С) best fits each gap.

John was a king of England who is most famous for signing the Magna Carta.

John was born around Christmas in 1166 or 1167 in Oxford, the youngest and favourite son of Henry II. (1) his father’s death in 1189 his brother, Richard, became king. John received titles, lands and money. In 1199, Richard died and John became king.

War with France was renewed, triggered by John’s second marriage. (2) asked to mediate between the rival families of Lusignan and Angoulâme, he married the Angoulâme heiress Isabella, who had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan. A rebellion broke out and John was ordered to appear before his overlord, Philip II of France. His failure to do (3) resulted in war.

By 1206, John had lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine and parts of Poitou. (4) failures were a damaging blow to his prestige and he was determined to (5) them back. This required money, so his government became (6) ruthless and efficient in its financial administration. Taxes (7) and he began to exploit his feudal rights (8) more harshly.

This (9) increasing baronial discontent. Negotiations between John and his barons failed and civil war broke out in May 1215. When the rebels seized London, John was compelled to negotiate (10) and, on 19 June at Runnymede on the River Thames, he accepted the baronial terms (11) in the Magna Carta, (12) limited royal power, (13) feudal rights and restated English law. It was the first formal document stating that the monarch was as (14) under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were (15) even against the wishes of the sovereign.