Festivals, Food, and Fun
What are some unusual sports you know?
There are many interesting festivals around the world that take place once a year. Many include traditional sports events.
P1Every July, people across Mongolia celebrate Mongolian independence with the "Naadam" festival. They dress in colorful costumes, and eat special Mongolian foods. Naadam starts with a big parade. After the parade, there are two days of traditional competitions: horse racing, archery, and wrestling. Bareback horse racing is the most popular sport. Jockeys are as young as six years old. In the past, only men competed in the Naadam competitions. Today, women compete, too.
P2If you visit Scotland in the spring or summer, be sure to go to the "Highland Games." From May to September, people gather to celebrate Scottish culture. The festival includes bagpipe and dancing contests. There are many sports events. The caber toss is the most well-known event. Contestants, called "tossers," throw cabers. Cabers are tree trunks that are wide at one end and narrow at the other end. They are over nine feet tall and weigh 175 pounds. The tossers wear kilts, traditional skirts for Scottish men. The caber is the symbol of the Highland Games.
P3Thousands of people gather each May for the "Cheung Chau Bun Festival" in Hong Kong. The festival honors a sea god, Pak Tai. There are parades and musical performances. The "bun snatching" competition is a race to the top of a 50-foot tower covered with buns. Contestants have three minutes to "snatch" as many buns as they can from the tower. They believe that the buns at the top will bring them the most luck.
If you enjoy sports and learning about other cultures, visit a festival in another part of the world!
Task A
Instructions:Read the passage and answer the questions.
- What does Naadam celebrate?
a. Female participation in sports
b. Traditional Mongolian sports
c. Mongolian independence
d. The best dancers in Mongolia - Which traditional sport is the most popular at the Highland Games?
a. Wrestling
b. Caber toss
c. Dance competition
d. Archery - How tall is the tower made of buns?
a. 6 feet high
b. 9 feet high
c. 50 feet high
d. 175 feet high - Where is the festival that has a food competition as a traditional sport?
a. Scotland
b. Australia
c. Mongolia
d. Hong Kong - What is true of P2?
a. The Highland Games takes place in spring or summer.
b. There are two sports events in the Highland Games.
c. The tossers compete in a dancing contest.
Task B
Instructions: Write the main idea/topic for each paragraph.
Guideline
Topic of the passage: Unusual/Interesting traditional sports events around the world
Main idea of the passage: People around the world celebrate their interesting traditional sports events.
P1
Topic:Naadam festival - horse racing
Main idea: People across Mongolia celebrate their Independence Day by organizing traditional sports competitions such as horse racing, archery and wrestling.
P2
Topic: Highland Games - caber toss
Main idea: In Scotland, in the spring or summer people celebrate Scottish culture by organizing traditional sports events,” called “Highland Games where the caber toss is the most well-known sports event
P3
Topic: Cheung Chau Bun Festival - bun snatching
Main idea: In Hong Kong, to honor a sea god people celebrate Cheung Chau Bun festival each May by organizing a bun snatching sports event.
Celebrating Motherhood Across the Globe
Lifestyle
Mother's Day is celebrated in many countries all over the world. How do you celebrate Mother's Day?
P1Telephone companies say that telephone lines are the busiest on Mother's Day. Mothers deserve to have at least one day a year when their children make sure to call just to say "Thanks, Mom." After all, without our mothers we wouldn't be here!
P2Mother's Day began in ancient Greece. Every spring there was a festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many deities and Cybele, the Great Mother of Gods. England began celebrating this spring festival in the nineteenth century, in March, to honor all mothers. They called this day "Mothering Sunday."
P3Today, many countries celebrate Mother's Day - usually in May or March. Traditionally, people give cards and flowers, and write little notes to their mothers on this day.
P4Mother's Day is not an official holiday in China, but people celebrate it by giving flowers to their mothers and helping mothers who are poor. Israel celebrates Mother's Day on the birthday of Henrietta Szold, who helped many children escape Nazi Germany. The day is now focused on familyand is known as Family Day. Young children in kindergarten celebrate it, and gift-giving is not as common. Beginning in 1931, Japan celebrated Mother's Day on March 6, the birthday of Empress Kojun. In 1949, Japan decided to celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, like many other countries. People like to give roses andred carnations to their mothers on this day.
P5In the early twentieth century in the US, Anna Jarvis created "Mother's Work Day." This day was meant to help people in her community who were suffering from poor health conditions. Anna Jarvis passed away in 1905, buther daughter Anna dedicated her life to creating a day to honor mothers. Anna received help from politicians and businessmen like President RooseveltandJohn Wannamaker. Finally, in 1914 Woodrow Wilson agreed to make Mother's Day a national holiday. Anna was disappointed that the holiday quickly became a day of business and profit rather than celebrating motherhood.
P6We should celebrate our mothers everyday, but Mother's Day is a special time for children to really appreciate the women who brought them into this world.
Task A
Instructions:Read the passage and answer the questions.
1.In ancient Greece, there was a spring festival every year to honor ...
a. Rhea and Cybele
b. Henrietta Szold
c. Empress Kojun
d. Anna Jarvis
2. According to P3, People usually celebrate Mother's day by ...
a. giving cards.
b. giving flowers.
c. writing notes.
d. All of the above.
3.Where is Mother's Day celebrated by children in kindergarten?
a. Japanb. Chinac. Israeld. USA
4.What is "Mother's Work Day"?
a. A day to honor all mothers.
b. A day to help poor mothers.
c. A day to help people in poor health conditions.
d. A day to be with your family.
5. Anna Jarvis was very proud of her hard work to create Mother's Day and believed it was a success.
a. True b. False
Task B
Instructions: Write the main idea/topic for each paragraph.
Guideline
Topic of the passage: Mother’s Day
Main idea of the passage: Mother's Day is celebrated in many countries all over the world.
P1
Topic: Phone calls during Mother’s day
Main idea: A lot of people call their mothers to say “thanks, mom” on Mother’s day.
P2
Topic: The Origin of Mother’s Day
Main idea: Mother’s day began in Greece to honour the goddesses Rhea and Cybele. , and English people began celebrating Mother’s day to honour all mothers in the 19th century.
P3
Topic: Celebration of Mother’s Day in many countries
Main idea: People in many countries celebrate Mother’s day by giving cards and flowers to their mothers.
P4
Topic: Mother’s day in China, Israel, and Japan
Main idea: People in China, Israel, and Japan celebrate Mother’s Day where giving flowers to mothers is common in China and Japan.
P5
Topic: America’s Mother’s day
Main idea:Mother’s day began in the early twentieth century in the US, and became a national holiday in 1914.