Czech Citizenship Exam: Education

Here are the 10 study questions for the Czech Citizenship exam from section 4: education.

1.  In what month does the school year begin for primary schools in the Czech Republic.

September

2.  Which of these institutions provides pre-school education for children?

Mateřská škola - elementary school  

3. How  many years does compulsory schooling last in the Czech Republic?

9 years.

4.  When do primary and secondary school pupils in the Czech Republic have the main holiday?

In July and August.

5.  Mrs. Svobodová's daughter finished her studies with a state final exam and defence of her diploma thesis.  Which school did she just graduate from?

Vysokou školu - college/university

6.  Mr. and Mrs. Svoboda have four children.  Alena is 4 years old, Jan is 10 years old, Ivan is 19 years old, and Tereza is 21 years old.  Which child has compulsory schooling?

Jan.

7.  Who in the Czech Republic determines where a child will go to for primary school?

The parents.

8. At  which school did Ing. Petra Novotná obtain her highest education?

College/university.

9.  What is the name of the secondary school that provides general education?

Gymnázium - a high school

10.  Which school offers the "Maturita" school-leaving examination?

Střední školy - high school.

Czech School System (Simplified)

Czechland Gets Bigger

Czechland has gotten bigger this year.  The population is now 10,68 million people. 

In the first nine months of the year the population increased by 31.400 people.

There have been 85.000 births and 83.700 deaths.

So far this year 49.000 people moved to Czech Republic from abroad while 19.300 have left the country.  So of the 31.400 people that the population increased by, 29.900 was due to immigration.

For the first time, Ukrainians now outnumber Slovaks here.  In total, the largest numbers of foreigners living in Czechia are from Ukraine, Slovakia, Vietnam, Russia, Poland, and Germany.

Some other stats from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) show that:

• While the birth rate was higher than the mortality rate, there was a decrease in both the number of births and the number of deaths from the previous year.
• The number of children born to married couples dropped 2% and the number born out of wedlock dropped 3%.
• The average life expectancy for a man is 72,8 years and for a woman it is 80,2 years.
• 47.100 people got married but that's 1.650 less than last year.
• There were 17.600 divorces which is about the same as last year.

Czech Citizenship Exam: Health and Rescue System

Here are the 10 study questions for the Czech Citizenship exam from section 3: health and rescue system. 

1.  Mrs. Novotná sees a fire.  She wants to call the fire department.  Which of these phone numbers will she call?

150

2.  Which telephone number is for an ambulance?

155

3.  Mrs. Svobodová is not satisfied with her health insurance company.  How often can she change the health insurance company?

Once every 12 months.

4.  Mr. Svoboda is a citizen of the Czech Republic and goes to see a doctor.  Which document must he show at the doctor's office?

His insurance card - průkas pojištěnce  

5.  Which institution does not belong to the integrated rescue system?

The government of the Czech Republic is not part of the integrated rescue system.  The ambulance service, fire and rescue service, and police of the Czech Republic are part of the system.

6.  Which telephone number has a uniform rescue system (fire brigade, police, emergency medical service) throughout Europe?

112

7.  Which part of the rescue system has a telephone number of 150?

Fire and Rescue Service

8.  Mr. Novák saw a car accident.  He wants to call the Police of the Czech Republic.  Which phone number will he use?

158

9.  Mr. Novotný is a citizen of the Czech Republic, is unemployed and is registered at the employment office as a job seeker.  Who pays for his compulsory health insurance?

The state.

10.  Mr. Svoboda lost his health insurance company's insurance card.  How many days until he must report the loss to the health insurance company?

Within 8 days.

Czech Citizenship Exam: Transportation

Here are the 10 study questions for the Czech Citizenship exam from section 2:  transportation.   

1.  Which of the following is not part of public transportation?

Taxis are not part of the public transportation system.  The metro, trams, and busses are.

2.  Mrs. Svobodová rides her bicycle to work.  In which situation does she break the rules of the road?

a) She rides her bike on the sidewalk. - Against the law.

b) She rides the bike on the right side of the road.

c) She rides her bike in a row behind her colleague.

d) She rides her bike and gives a hand signal to change the direction of travel.

3.  Mr. Svoboda wants to drive a car.  What type of driver's license does he need?

Driver's license type B.

4.  How many alcoholic beers can a driver drink according to the law while driving a car in Czech Republic?

None.

5. Which means of transportation has priority over a pedestrian at a crossing?

Trams

6.  What is mandatory car insurance called?

Povinné ručení - Liability

7.  Who is obliged by law to wear clothes with reflective elements?  

A person who goes out of the village at night by road.

8.  How does a child smaller than 150 cm have to travel in a car?

The child must sit restrained in a child car seat.

9.  From what age can children ride a bicycle on the road without the supervision of other people?

From age 10.

10.  Which of the following is piece of mandatory equipment of a car?

First-aid kit.

Czech Citizenship Exam: Customs & Traditions

Here are 10 possible questions and answers I need to study for the Czech Citizenship exam.  This is from section 1: Customs and Traditions.

These are the questions in English however the exam will only be in Czech.  

1.  What day is the start of the Czech calendar?  

The 1st of January.

2.  What is the name of the pre-Christmas holiday season?

Advent

3.  An Easter egg is an egg that is dyed and decorated.  When do women and girls give Easter eggs to men?

At Easter - Velikonoce.

4.  Which national holiday is celebrated in the Czech Republic in autumn?

The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day.

5.  Good Friday is a holiday that commemorates the death of Jesus Christ.  Which holiday season does Good Friday belong to?

Easter

6.  The memory of the deceased is popularly called Dušičky in the Czech Republic.  It is a day when, according to Czech tradition, graves are decorated with flowers, candles are lit and the dead are remembered.  What time of year is this holiday celebrated?

In the autumn.

7.  What food is usually eaten in the Czech Republic for Christmas Eve dinner?

Fried carp.

8.  On what day do Czechs usually give Christmas presents?

24th December.

9.  According to tradition, who brings presents for Christmas in the Czech Republic?

Ježíšek - Baby Jesus.

10.  Which holiday ends the Christmas season?

The Three Kings.

Czech Life and Institutions Exam

I've decided to apply for Czech citizenship.  Both Czech Republic and the USA allow for dual citizenship so I'll be able to have two passports.  There are a number of requirements in order to apply as a single non-EU citizen.   

1. I have permanent residency in Czech Republic.
2. I have lived here for at least 10 years.  Five years must be after having received permanent residency.
3. I will have to pass a Czech language test at the B1 level according to the CEFR.
4. I have to pass the Czech Life and Institutions exam known as the české reálie.
5. Plus a whole lot of paperwork.

I've pulled the trigger and my citizenship test is scheduled for 25 April.  So here's a bit about the exam.

The Czech Life and Institutions Exam is a 30 question multiple choice exam and it is entirely in Czech.  Each question has four possible answers with only one correct answer.  The exam takes 30 minutes and it costs 1600 Kč ($70).  In order to pass you have to score at least 60% by answering at least 18 questions correctly.

Results are available 30 days later with a certificate issued within seven weeks of passing.  If you fail the exam you can just retake it.  There is no limit to the number of times that the test can be retaken.

The Ministry of the Interior has a database of 300 test questions broken down in to 30 different sections.  The 30 exam questions will come from the 300 sample questions.  There will be 16 questions about life and institutions, 7 questions about basic Czech geographical information, and 7 questions about basic historical and cultural information.

Here are the 300 sample questions, broken down by the 30 different areas, in English so you have an idea of the types of things a potential Czech citizen is required to know.  

Basic Civics

Section 01:  Customs and Traditions

Section 02:  Transportation   

Section 03:  Health and Rescue System

Section 04:  Education

Section 05:  Political System

Section 06:  Legislative and Executive Power

Section 07:  Judicial Power and Protection of Citizens

Section 08:  Elections

Section 09:  Basic Legal Terms, Administrative and Criminal Law

Section 10:  Civil Law

Section 11:  Family Law

Section 12:  Currency and Banking System

Section 13:  Tax System

Section 14:  Social Security

Section 15:  Employment

Section 16:  Business

Basic Geographic Information

Section 17:  Location, Area and Natural Conditions

Section 18:  Nature and Landscape

Section 19:  Regions and Places

Section 20:  Environmental Protection

Section 21:  Sociocultural Background

Section 22:  Socioeconomic Background

Section 23:  International Background

Basic Historical and Cultural Information

Section 24:  Medieval

Section 25:  New Age

Section 26:  History of Czechoslovakia Until 1948

Section 27:  History of Czechoslovakia From 1948 Until 1989

Section 28:  History of the Czech Republic Since 1989

Section 29:  Significant Personalities From the 19th Century to the Present

Section 30:  Art From the Middle Ages to the Present

Update:  I received my certificate for passing the citizenship test.

Weekend in Černý Důl

This weekend was a team getaway in Černý Důl, a small town of about 700 people in the Krkonoše Mountains.  It's about a 3,5 hour drive from Brno near the Polish border.

Černý Důl is popular in the summer for hiking and for skiing in the winter.

Krkonoše is a mountain range in the north of Czechland and southwest Poland.  The mountains in Silesia  occupy 454 sq km (175 square miles) in Czechland and 177 sq km (68 square miles) in Poland.

Sněžka is the highest point in Czechland at 1.603 metres (5,259 feet) tall.

On Friday night we arrived at our pension and had some great food waiting for us.  The chef apparently placed high in a Czech Masterchef competition.  

It was quite a spread with the absolutely fanciest chlebíčky I've ever had.

On Saturday we took the ski lift up the mountain.  Half the group went skiing and snowboarding while some of us went for a long winter hike.

In typical Czech fashion you hike until you come to a pub where you have a beer before continuing on until you reach the next pub.  

On Saturday night we had dinner and hung out drinking at the pension.  So much slivovice but fortunately not enough to make Sunday morning painful.

On the way back home we stopped off at EB Diner for lunch.  I sear that this is my new happy place.  Overall a great weekend.

CSFD.cz

CSFD.cz is the Česko-Slovenská filmová database - the Czech-Slovak film database.  It's basically the IMDb for Czech and Slovak speakers. 

ČSFD is an Internet database of films and television shows.  There is a social network aspect to it where fans contribute ratings and reviews.  There are more than 845.000 films in the database.

While there is more content on IMDb, I'm starting to use ČSFD a bit more.  Or at least I start off with ČSFD and use IMDb if I couldn't find what I was originally looking for.  There are some films on ČSFD that are not on IMDb and vice verse.  

ČSFD obviously has way more info on Czech and Slovak films and series.  It gives me the chance to see the Czech language movie trailers.  If it a trailer isn't in Czech then it's usually in English with Czech, or Slovak, subtitles.  

While IMDb went online in 1993, ČSFD began in 2002.

Sometimes the hardest bit is simply finding the name of a movie in another language because titles aren't always a direct translation.  Titles can differ due to specific cultural references or on how something may get marketed.

Taken in Czech is called 96 Hodin which translates to "96 hours".

The movie Bad Santa over here in Czechland is Santa je úchyl! which translates to "Santa is a pervert!"

Coming from Atlanta, where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind, I was surprised to find out that here it is known as Jih proti Severu which is "The South Against the North."

Sometimes the titles make more sense over here.  For example, the 2014 film about Alan Turing was called The Imitation Game in the USA.  Over here it was Kód Enigmy, "The Enigma Code" which to me made way more sense as the movie title. 

The translations aren't just a Czech thing.  I remember this one time that Claudia was telling me something about a movie in German called Schokolade zum Frühstück, "Chocolate for Breakfast."  

I had no idea what the hell movie she was talking about.  That's because in English it is known as Bridget Jones's Diary.

At least in Czech it is Deník Bridget Jonesové.

IT Nightmares

Last night was a presentation call "IT Nightmares" at Masaryk University.  It was for 1st year students in the Faculty of Informatics.  The point was sharing real world examples of when things didn't go quite right and how to overcome difficulties.  

IBM was the event sponsor and there were two other companies that joined in the presentation.

Somehow I was tasked to be the moderator.  Fortunately it was all in English.  It was a lot of fun and I had the chance to talk to several students afterwards.

2019 World AIDS Day

Today is Word AIDS Day.  It amazes me that people know what their Facebook status is but don't have a bloody clue about their HIV status.

It's an increasing problem here in Czechland.  Apparently between 2010 and 2018, there's been an increase of HIV here of 128%.  That's the 5th largest increase of any country in the world.  

Currently there are 3.488 people here that are registered as HIV positive.  The real number must be much higher if you factor in those at risk and who don't have a clue as to their status.