English C1 CAE

The Mary Rose was one of the most (0) UNBELIEVABLE (BELIEVE) ships in the fleet of King Henry VIII of England (who reigned between 1509 and 1547). For her time, she would have been an enormous and no doubt (1) ............ (IMPRESS) craft, capable of carrying 200 sailors, 185 soldiers and 30 gunners. She has also been of great (2) ............ (SIGNIFY) in the field of maritime archaeology, as, in 1982, she was raised from the seabed in a (3) ............ (HUGE) ambitious salvage project. Researchers found weaponry, tools, (4) ............ (NAVY) supplies, personal effects, and of course the bodies of many of the officers and crew (as well as a dog (5) ............ (THINK) to have been employed to catch rats). The remains of the ship can now be seen at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in south-west England. The Mary Rose was first launched in 1511 and was involved in naval campaigns until she was (6) ............ (SINK) in 1545 in a battle against a French invasion fleet. It is still unclear why she sank. One (7) ............ (EXPLAIN) was that she had become too heavy following a refit, but (8) ............ (HISTORY) now think human error was to blame. Whatever the reason, Henry's loss was history's gain.