1.1. Fill the gaps with the correct forms of the words in brackets, including verbals, finite verb forms, and derivatives formed from the same root.
Britain and the First World War: From Reluctant Belligerent to Exhausted Victor
1. Britain’s entry into the war: from detachment to inevitability
At the outbreak of the First World War, Great Britain did not rush into conflict. Its traditional foreign policy, grounded in naval supremacy and diplomatic flexibility, aimed to avoid binding continental commitments. Nevertheless, Britain (develop) close strategic understandings with France and Russia, making complete neutrality (increase) untenable once war began.
The decisive rupture occurred when Germany, (implement) the Schlieffen Plan, violated the neutrality of Belgium. Since Britain was a guarantor of Belgian neutrality under international treaty, the invasion transformed a diplomatic crisis into a moral and legal obligation. Thus, Britain (not / sweep) into war by enthusiasm, but rather compelled by the convergence of strategic fear, alliance expectations, and treaty commitments.
2. How Britain fought: adaptation in an industrial war
Britain entered the war with a small, professional force, the British Expeditionary Force, whose discipline initially compensated for its limited size. However, as the conflict settled into trench warfare, this model proved inadequate. Through mass recruitment and, later, conscription, Britain created a citizen army capable of sustaining a (long) industrial struggle.
On the Western Front, British forces increasingly relied on attritional warfare—costly, slow, and often brutal. Battles such as the Somme and Passchendaele epitomised the grim logic of wearing down the enemy rather than (achieve) swift breakthroughs. Yet British methods evolved. The integration of artillery coordination, tanks, air reconnaissance, and logistics gradually produced a more effective form of combined-arms warfare, particularly evident during the final offensives of 1918.
At sea, Britain exploited its greatest strategic advantage. The blockade (enforce) by the Royal Navy (suppose / intend) to systematically weaken Germany’s economy and civilian morale, (demonstrate) that modern war extended far beyond the battlefield.
3. War reaches Britain: attacks on the home front
Although Britain was never invaded, it was directly attacked. German naval bombardments struck coastal towns, submarines threatened Britain’s lifeline of maritime trade, and air raids by Zeppelins and later bombers introduced civilians to the reality of aerial warfare. These assaults blurred the boundary between front line and home front, forcing ordinary Britons (experience) war as a daily presence rather than (contemplate) it as a distant event.
4. Consequences for Britain and Europe
Britain emerged on the (victory) side, but victory was (cost). Hundreds of thousands were killed, millions wounded, and an entire generation was psychologically (scar).
Economically, Britain was weakened, heavily (debt), and increasingly dependent on external finance. Politically and socially, the war accelerated change: gender roles shifted, traditional authority was questioned, with imperial stability (begin) to erode.
Across Europe, the impact was even more dramatic. While Germany (defeat) and destabilised by punitive peace terms, Austria-Hungary disintegrated into successor states and the Ottoman Empire collapsed. As for Russia, it exited the war through revolution, reshaping global politics.
5. The United States: the strategic beneficiary
While European powers (emerge) exhausted, the United States benefited substantially from the conflict. (enter) the war late and (avoid) large-scale destruction at home, the US became the world’s leading creditor, industrial powerhouse, and political actor.
American influence expanded economically, militarily, and diplomatically, marking a decisive shift in global power away from Europe.
Conclusion
The First World War forced Britain into a role it neither sought nor avoided once obligations became (avoid). It fought through endurance, adaptation, and naval dominance, achieving victory at immense cost.
For Europe, the war was catastrophic and destabilising; for the United States, it proved (transform) and (advantage). In this sense, not only did the conflict redraw borders, but also permanently (order) the global balance of power.
1.2. [Высшая проба, ДВИ МГИМО-магистратура] Write a one-paragraph summary of the text above.
Write 100 -120 words.
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1.3. [ДВИ МГУ, Евразийская, Ломоносов, СПбГУ] Write a several- paragraph summary (150–180 words)
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2.1. Read the text and summarize it orally.
The First World War (1914–1918) profoundly reshaped the everyday lives of ordinary Englishmen, both those who fought and those who remained at home. The changes were social, economic, psychological, and long-lasting.
1. Conscription and the rupture of normal life
Before 1916, many men volunteered, often driven by patriotism or social pressure. After conscription was introduced, millions of ordinary Englishmen were forcibly removed from civilian life. Clerks, miners, teachers, shop assistants, and farm workers suddenly became soldiers.
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Careers were interrupted or ended entirely.
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Families lost breadwinners overnight.
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Entire communities were emptied of young and middle-aged men.
For many, the war marked the first time they had ever left their home region.
2. Trench warfare and daily existence at the front
Life for soldiers was defined by monotony, danger, and discomfort rather than constant fighting.
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Days were spent in muddy trenches with rats, lice, cold, and disease.
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Food was basic and often scarce.
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Sudden artillery barrages or gas attacks could occur at any moment.
This experience shattered romantic ideas of war and replaced them with a grim understanding of industrialised killing.
3. Psychological impact and “shell shock”
Many Englishmen returned suffering from what was then called shell shock (now recognised as PTSD).
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Nightmares, anxiety, tremors, and emotional numbness were common.
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Mental trauma was often misunderstood or treated as weakness.
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Some men were unable to resume work or family life.
This was one of the first times British society had to confront mass psychological injury caused by war.
4. Life at home: rationing and civilian discipline
Men who remained in Britain also experienced dramatic change.
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Rationing affected food, fuel, and clothing.
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Long working hours became common, especially in war-related industries.
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Air raids by German Zeppelins introduced civilians to the fear of modern warfare.
4.1. Daily life became more regulated, with government control reaching into households in unprecedented ways.
During the First World War, daily life in Great Britain became increasingly regulated, as the state assumed powers that reached deep into private households in ways previously unimaginable. In order to sustain a total war effort, the government intervened directly in food supply, labour, housing, and even personal behaviour. Rationing of basic goods such as bread, sugar, meat, and fuel placed limits on what families could buy and consume, while price controls and state distribution sought to prevent shortages and social unrest. Household budgets, meal planning, and daily routines were no longer private matters but part of a nationally coordinated system.
Legislation such as the Defence of the Realm Act expanded government authority over civilian life, allowing officials to control working hours, restrict travel, censor correspondence, and regulate leisure activities. Citizens were instructed on how to economise, recycle, and avoid “wasteful” habits, while propaganda encouraged conformity and sacrifice in the name of national survival. Employment was similarly regulated: workers could be directed into essential industries, strikes were discouraged or banned, and women were mobilised into factories and services previously closed to them.
As a result, the boundary between state and home life blurred. Ordinary people became accustomed to official instructions governing what they ate, where they worked, how they spent their time, and even how they spoke about the war. This unprecedented level of regulation not only reshaped wartime society but also altered long-term expectations about the role of government in everyday life, leaving a lasting legacy well beyond 1918.
5. Shifts in gender roles and male identity
With men absent, women entered factories, transport, and clerical work on a large scale.
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Traditional ideas of men as sole providers were weakened.
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Returning soldiers sometimes struggled to reclaim their former roles.
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The war accelerated social change, altering how masculinity and authority were perceived.
6. After the war: loss, disillusionment, and change
By 1918, almost every English family had been affected by death or injury.
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A “lost generation” of young men never returned.
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Survivors often felt disconnected from pre-war society.
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Trust in traditional elites and institutions declined.
The war left ordinary Englishmen more sceptical, politically aware, and conscious of the costs of modern conflict.
In short
The First World War disrupted ordinary Englishmen’s lives at every level: work, family, mental health, and social identity. It replaced stability with uncertainty, reshaped expectations of life and authority, and permanently altered how war—and the state itself—were experienced by ordinary people.
1. 3. [Высшая проба] In the name of an ordinary Englishman /a citizen of London write a story about how the First World War changed your family's life.
Attention! Remember to describe characters in your story, use direct speech at least once and show how the characters changed over time, as well to narrate about your life prior the Plague, your life during the epidemic and your life after it. Write 250 words +- 10%
• the characteristics of the time period;
• how you have adapted to the new environment;
• how this experience has influenced your personality;
• whether you would like to stay (or not) and why.
You must write 250 – 300 words.
Tip: Always include character description, direct speech, idioms and proverbs even if it is not mentioned in the task in the olympiad!
To make sure your syntax in direct speech in your story is correct, watch my video about it. And give your thumbs-up👍):
Assessment and Scoring criteria in Higher Probe
