What is Giant's Causeway?

According to legend, the bad-tempered Irish giant Finn MacCool built a road across the waves to reach his enemy Finn Gall, who lived on Scotland's Isle of Staffa. MacCool gathered together a number of long, stone sticks and hammered them into the seabed next to one another. Before challenging Finn Gall to a duel, the Irish giant returned home to rest. Meanwhile, Finn Gall crossed to Ireland and was deceived into thinking that the sleeping giant was MacCool's baby son. Terrified at the possible size of the father, Finn Gall hurried home to Staffa, destroying the causeway as he went.

The stone columns of this Giant's Causeway, also known as Ireland's legendary Stepping Stones, are on the Northern coast, some 80km northwest of Belfast, the country's capital. Many of the ancient columns lie broken on the beach, while others have been swallowed by the sea or buried in the ground. While few people take seriously the fanciful tale of the mighty giants, the regularity of the columns does lend to the illusion that they were manmade.

The columns spread along 275m of coast and reach as far as 150m into the sea. An anonymous reckoner from the 1930s decided there were around 40, 000 columns present - no one knows how the count was made and yet the figure has never seriously been questioned. Most of the columns stand no higher than 6m, although some, such as the Giant's Organ (so named because of its resemblance to a church organ), reach some 12m.

Each individual column, shaped into a regular polygon, measures between 38cm and 50 cm across. Most are six-sided, while others may have four, five or as many as ten faces. When viewed from above, the causeway resembles a street with regular paving stones - the columns fit together so exactly that it is difficult to insert a knifeblade

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between them.

Drawings and sketches made in the 18th century by the Dublin Society and Britain's Royal Society alerted the scientific world to this remarkable phenomenon. The paintings by the Earl-Bishop of Derry, Frederick Hervey, in the late 18th century, brought the causeway to the attention of the public.

To the Romantic Movement, which flourished at the start of the 19th century, the Giant's Causeway was the living proof of all they believed in. One of the leaders of the Movement declared that the impressive sries of stone columns was the temple and altar of Nature, devised by her own skill, and executed with a symmetry and grace which Nature alone could accomplish.

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Answer the questions to text

According to legend, the giant

1) Finn MacCool created the illusion of a road across the sea

2) Finn Gall returned home to rest after reaching his enemy across the sea

3) Finn Gall crossed home to Ireland over the sea

4) Finn MacCool made his enemy return home by deception

It follows from the text that

1) quite a few people take seriously the tale of the powerful giants

2) few people nowadays believe that the columns were manmade

3) the regularity of columns proves the theory that they were manmade

4) the regularity of columns is an illusion created by the giants

Most columns never

1) resemble regular stones seen from above

2) have less than 10 faces

3) exceed 12 m height

4) resemble regular polygons

The world's attention was brought to Stepping Stones

1) in 1930s

2) in the late 18 century

3) at the start of the 19 century

4) in the 18 century

Which statement is not true?

1) The Giant's Causeway is on the north coast of Northern Ireland, its capital

being about 100km to the south coast

2) The exact number of columns suggested in 1930 has been seriously discussed

3) Viewed from above, Stepping Stones look like pavement

4) The Romantics considered Stepping Stones one of the finest creations of

nature

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