1 How can a country’s history, geography, culture,

politics and religion be squeezed into the design of a flag?

Wars, revolutions, political unions and public competitions

4 have shaped the colours and content of these most evocative of

symbols. In the South Pacific, New Zealand has launched a

competition to find a flag that represents both its modern,

7 multicultural identity and its rich indigenous heritage.

It is quite tough to represent an entire nation on a

piece of cloth. The Kiwi public has until 16 July, 2015 to

10 submit its ideas to an independent panel, made up of prominent

New Zealanders who will help decide what a new flag will look

like. Its task is to choose what it considers to be the best four

13 entrants, which will be the subject of a referendum in

November. There will be a second binding vote early next year

when the winner will go up against the current New Zealand

16 flag, which features the old colonial British Union Jack on a

blue background with four red stars symbolising the Southern

Cross constellation.

19 Thousands of submissions have been made. Each one

will be considered individually, before this long list is finally

whittled down to the final four. In New Zealand, the most

22 common themes in the national flag consideration project are

the silver fern, a plant easily found in New Zealand, and the

kiwi, a flightless bird with a long bill.

What do our flags say about us? Internet: <www.bbc.com> (adapted).

In reference to the vocabulary used in the text What do our flags say about us?, judge the next items.

In the sentence “Each one will be considered individually, before this long list is fin...