English B2 FCE

Slovakia and (0) THE Czech Republic were formed (1) ............ 1993 when Czechoslovakia went through a peaceful split — a 'velvet divorce'. The beautiful country of The Czech Republic, (2) ............ has borders with Germany, Poland, Austria and, of course, now Slovakia, has quickly become a big attraction to tourists from all (3) ............ the world. At the time of the split, the Czech authorities failed to register in the UN's list of countries the short, geographical name of the new state and entered only its formal, political name, 'The Czech Republic'. It has (4) ............ said that, until now, The Czech Republic has had no shortened version of its name like, for example, 'France' when we refer (5) ............ The French Republic. In 2016 officials decided to rectify the situation, declaring that the country should henceforth be known (6) ............ Czechia. Some cynics say the reason for this is (7) ............ make it catchier and easier to use when promoting the country. However, the idea has been met with concern (8) ............ many of its 10.5 million citizens.