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A 110-year-old English language question formerly used in Cambridge English exams is absolutely baffling people over a century later. Exams at school and university are typically not things people look back on with fond memories, but it’s something we do in order to progress academically. For those who sat the very long Cambridge exam wishing to become an English language teacher back in 1913, they may well have been haunted by a question that continues to confuse people in the year 2023. In celebration of 110 years of the Cambridge English exam, the question has been released, but can you solve it? The question comes from the June 1913 Certificate of Proficiency in English exam, which was sat by three people and cost £3 at the time. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It was a gruelling 12-hour long exam and included sections on dictation, translation, and phonetic transcription. Today, more than 6 million people each year take the C2 Proficiency test, as it is now known. Francesca Woodward, Managing Director for English at Cambridge, said in a statement: “From just three candidates, we now open doors for millions of people every year to learn and teach English. "The historical papers from our archives paint a fascinating picture of how much has changed when it comes to learning English with Cambridge.” The question asks the candidates to “correct or justify” four of six different statements and to explain their reasoning. The first statement said: “I hope you are determined to seriously improve.” The second read: “Comparing Shakespeare with Aeschylus, the former is by no means inferior to the latter.” The third says: “I admit I was willing to have made peace with you.” The fourth reads: “The statement was incorrect, as any one familiar with the spot, and who was acquainted with the facts, will admit.” The fifth said: “It has the largest circulation of any paper in England.” And the sixth said: “The lyrical gifts of Shakespeare are woven into the actual language of the characters.” Cambridge highlights that what was deemed the correct English over 100 years ago may be different from now. Here are the answers: 1) This is a split infinitive and should be avoided in formal writing. The correct wordage would be, “seriously to improve”. 2) This statement is incorrect because it is a hanging participle and unintentionally modifies the wrong noun in a sentence. Alternatives that would be correct include, “Shakespeare is by no means inferior to Aeschylus” or “Shakespeare is just as good as Aeschylus”. 3) This statement uses the wrong tense and should read, “to make peace”. 4) Again, this uses the incorrect tense. The words “will admit” should instead be “would admit”. 5) and 6) are correct but candidates would have to explain why no changes are necessary. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Deontay Wilder has warned Anthony Joshua not to let the opportunity to make ‘history’ pass him by. The American has been out of the ring for more than a year, knocking out Robert Helenius inside a round in October 2022. But despite concerns over ring rust, Wilder has dismissed any potential delays to a mouthwatering fight with Joshua, while current world title holders Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk prepare to face each other to become the undisputed champion. Joshua also fought Helenius in his last fight in August, delivering a spectacular knockout in the seventh round, but Wilder is now in a hurry to meet ‘AJ’ in the ring. Wilder said: “Everyone is looking forward to this fight, hopefully it happens. I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen. “I’m referring to it as the Anthony Joshua fight. You’re hearing it from my mouth, here, personally, from the horse’s mouth, himself, I’m here and ready. I’m ready to go. “I heard some things from your promoter, that my last fight only lasted a short period of time and I haven’t fought in a year, he don’t know if I want to fight or not. I’m letting you know, right now, right here, I’m ready to fight, get in that ring, let’s make this the best time of our lives. This would be a major disaster if we didn’t get in the ring and put our stamp on history. “People would think of classic and great fights, I want them to think about us as well, being able to do that, we’ve got to get in the ring. “The silliest thing I’ve heard, people saying, ‘you’re not ready’. That’s the silliest thing. I don’t believe that, I believe you’re ready, I hope you’re ready, I think you’re ready. Let’s make this happen bro, me and you, make history happen. Looking forward to seeing your response, I’ll talk to you soon.” Joshua intimated last weekend the highly-anticipated bout could be part of a blockbuster card topped by Tyson Fury taking on Oleksandr Usyk next spring. Joshua (26-3, 23KOs) is planning another tune-up in December, but should he emerge victorious and unscathed, a meeting with the former WBC champion Wilder could take place in the first quarter of 2024. Read More Francis Ngannou drops hint over Tyson Fury rematch and Anthony Joshua fight Anthony Joshua teases ‘mega-card’ of Wilder bout sharing bill with Fury v Usyk Rory McIlroy open to idea of investing in Man Utd after buying stake in Alpine

Max Verstappen has clinched his third world championship. The most one-sided Formula One campaign of recent memory was dominated by the Dutch driver. Here, the PA news agency looks back at six races which fired Verstappen on the road to glory. Bahrain Verstappen opened his championship defence with an ominous performance under the floodlights in Sakhir. He finished 11.9 seconds clear of team-mate Sergio Perez and nearly 40 sec ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso. George Russell, 55 sec back in his under-performing Mercedes, summed up the mood in the paddock when he chillingly predicted Verstappen’s Red Bull team would win all 22 races this year. Canada Verstappen’s sixth victory from the season’s opening eight fixtures saw him match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories. A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman as he drew level with Senna to leave only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books. “To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here,” he said. “I hope we keep on winning more races.” Belgium Verstappen’s invincible streak continued in the final round before the summer break at Spa-Francorchamps. The triple world champion started sixth following an engine penalty but he took the lead on lap 17 of 44 before crossing the line 22.3 sec clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Perez. Hamilton, who finished fourth, 49 sec back, described his rival’s dominance as like “he is having a smoke and a pancake”. Netherlands Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed “untouchable” Verstappen as the best driver in the world after he overcame a chaotic rain-hit race to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row. Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning – which left him in 13th place – and conclusion of the 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans. At one stage, Verstappen was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else. “Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Horner. “I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.” Italy Verstappen drove his way into the history books by taking his 10th-consecutive victory. He sat behind Carlos Sainz for 14 of the 51 laps at Monza’s Temple of Speed before fighting his way past the Ferrari pole-sitter at the second chicane. From there, the commanding Dutchman never looked back to better the mark he shared with Vettel and become the first driver in F1 to reach double figures for straight victories. However, there were sour grapes over at Mercedes with team principal Toto Wolff calling Verstappen’s remarkable streak “completely irrelevant” and “for Wikipedia” Japan Verstappen’s historic winning run, and Red Bull’s unbeaten season, came to an end in Singapore. But at the next round in Japan, he hit back in emphatic style. He topped every practice session in Suzuka, secured pole, and then won at a canter as Red Bull became the first team ever to win the constructors’ championship with six races to spare. Read More Max Verstappen seals 2023 F1 world title during Qatar sprint race Max Verstappen breaks unique 40-year F1 streak after title win in Qatar Max Verstappen’s season and overall record in numbers following world title win Piastri takes first F1 pole for Qatar sprint as Verstappen starts third Sprint qualifying delayed at Qatar GP due to tyre safety fears

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2023--