British_and_American_festivities.pdf

G reE fl^A pplE G i n a D. B. C l e m e n

festivities lH British

and

American

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Contents INTRODUCTION AND GLOSSARY

4

CHAPTER ONE

C olum bus Day

CHAPTER TWO

Halloween

15

MAKE A JACK-O'-LANTERN

21

AMERICAN PUMPKIN PIE

22

CHAPTER THREE

Guy Fawkes Night

25

CHAPTER FOUR

T hanksgiving

32

CHAPTER FIVE

C h ristm as Father C h ristm as C h ristm as Foods

39

HOW TO MAKE A YULE LOG

56

C h ristm as arou n d the World

58

CHAPTER SIX

New Year

61

CHAPTER SEVEN

M artin Luther K ing Day

69

CHAPTER EIGHT

C hinese New Year

75

CHAPTER NINE

Valentine’s Day

82

CHAPTER TEN

P resid en ts’ Day

87

CHAPTER ELEVEN

St P atrick ’s Day

95

CHAPTER TWELVE

E aster

101

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

May Day

109

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Independence Day

115

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

N otting Hill Carnival

122

U N D E R S T A N D IN G THE TEXT

7

53 55

12, 20, 29, 36, 50, 67, 72, 80, 85, 91, 98, 107, 112, 120, 125

PROJECT ON T H E W E B

52, 91

E X IT TEST - Portfolio

127

K E T Cambridge KET-style exercises T: g r a d e s 3 / 4

Trinity-style exercises (Grades 3/4)

The text is recorded in full. B E T These symbols indicate the beginning and end PffBt of the extracts linked to the listening activities.

Introduction In this book you will learn about the most important festivities of the year in Britain and America, their origins and how people celebrate them. Here are some words and expressions you will find in various chapters of this book. How many of them do you know? Things to see o r do a t festivities

a bonfire :

• co stu m e s :

flags :

• to give cards

• fireworks :

• a float :

to m arch : soldiers walk in this way. m arching band s : these groups of musicians march and play music in a parade (see below for ‘parade’). • a m ask : • a parade : a celebration with a procession of people and floats in the streets. • to m ake a sp eech : to talk formally about a subject in front of a group of people.

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Historical background

• bishop : an important priest in the Christian Church (see below for ‘priest’). • C elts (people) / C eltic (adjective) : these people originated in West and Central Europe in about 1200 BC. They came to the British Isles in the fifth century (see below for ‘b c ’). • colon ists (people) / colony (place) : these people went to a different country and started living there. The new country became a colony of the original country they came from. • p agan s : these people believed in gods of nature. Pagan religions are older than the major religions of the world today. • priest : this person performs religious ceremonies. • the Rom an Em pire : this enormous empire included most of Europe, the Middle East and the north coast of Africa. It lasted from the first to the fifth centuries AD (see below for ‘a d ’ ). • slaves (people) / slavery (system) : these people were not free; a master owned them. Times, days and measurements

•

AD

: abbreviation for A nno D o m in i. A way of counting the years after Christ was born.

•

BC

: abbreviation for B efore C h rist. A way of counting the years before Christ was born. Note: non-Christians sometimes use CE (Common Era) instead of AD, and BCE (before the Common Era) instead of BC. This system counts the years in the same way. • century : 100 years. • mile : 1 mile = 1.609 kilometres. • public holiday : a national holiday. Others

• crops / harvest : crops are plants that farmers grow for food. The harvest is the period of the year when the farmers collect the crops.

5

BEFORE YOU READ A

What do you know about Christopher Columbus? Choose the correct answer A, B or C. 1. When was Colum bus born?

□

1351

B

□

1451

C

□

1551

A

□

Italian

B

□

Spanish

C

□

Portuguese

A

□

The world was square

B

□

The world was flat.

C

□

The world was round.

4. W hich continent did

A

□

America

Colum bus travel to?

B

□

A ustralia

C

□

Africa

2. W hat was his nationality?

3. W hich of these things did Colum bus believe?

A

A

TRAVELLING BY SEA Do you know these words connected to travelling at sea? Match them to the correct defii a. to sail

To travel in order to find new places.

b.

navigator

ii. To travel across an area of water.

c.

ship

iii.

d. voyage

iv.

e. to explore

V.

f.

A

i.

port

vi.

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that you do not understand. • a float

• a mile

• costum es

• to m arch/m arching bands

• a parade

• a colony

6

CHAPTER

ONE

Columbus Day On th e s e c o n d M o n d a y o f O c t o b e r A m e r i c a n s c e l e b r a t e Colum bus Day; they rem em ber Ch ristoph er C o lu m b u s’s voyage to America in 1492.

Who was Christopher Columbus? Christopher C o lu m b u s was born in 1451 in G enoa, a city on the n orth -w est c o a s t o f Italy. At this tim e G e n o a w as a very important com m ercial port. The young Ch ristoph er often went to the port and w atched the ships leave: they seem ed to go under the horizon. 1 M any p eople at this time thought the world was flat, but others — C o lu m b u s included — believed that the world was round. C o lum bu s wanted to test this idea. He first went to 1. h o r i z o n : w h ere the s e a a n d the sky m eet.

7

British and American

Festivities

sea when he was only fourteen years old. C olu m bus went to live in Portugal. When he was only twentythree he had the id ea o f goin g to In dia, C h in a and J a p a n by sailing west. If the world was round, this was possible, he thought But he needed money, ships and men. He asked a lot of people fo r s u p p o r t , 1 in c l u d i n g the k in g s o f P o r tu g a l, E n g l a n d an d France, but he got no help. Then he explained his idea to King F erd in an d and Q u e en Isa b e lla o f S p ain . T hey were in terested and, after som e years, decided to help him.

Colum bus before the Queen (1843) by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze.

1. s u p p o r t [ s a 'p o it] : (here) fi n a n c ia l help.

T H E FIR S T VOYAGE.

The first voyage (1893) by Prang Educational Company.

They gave him three ships: the San ta M a ria, the N in a and the P inta. It was difficult to find sailors for the voyage becau se it was long and dangerous. Finally, C o lu m bus found about ninety men. He was ready to test his theory. On 3 A ugust 1492, C olu m bu s and the sailors left Palos, on the coast of Spain. Q ueen Isabella and other important people went to see him leave. Col u m b u s n a v ig a te d with a m a g n e tic c o m p a s s . 1 H is sh ip s t ra v e lle d a b o u t 1 5 0 m ile s a day. T h e v o y a g e w as lo n g a n d difficult, but the three ships arrived at the island of San Salvador in the B aham as on 12 O ctober 1492. C o lum bus claim ed 2 these new lands for Spain. C o lu m b u s’s voyage changed the future of navigation, and the m agn etic c o m p a ss :

2. c l a i m e d : sa id they w ere the p ro p e rty o f S p a in .

9

COLUMBUS TAKING POSSESSION OF T H E N EW COUNTRY.

Columbus taking possession of the new country (1893) by Prang Educational Company.

world. People in Eu rope called the new lands the ‘New World’. W hen C olu m bu s returned to Spain he told the King and Queen about the new lands and showed them gold, valuable objects and even some natives. They were very happy with C olum bus’s discovery. After C o lu m b u s, people from other E u ro p e an co u n tries also went to the New World. Spain, Portugal and England established colonies there. They found many new foods, plants and animals in the New World.

Celebrating Columbus Day The first celebration of Columbus Day was on 12 October 1792, in New York City, three hundred years after Colum bus’s voyage. Four hundred years after the discovery of the New World, the city of

10

Columbus Day

Chicago celebrated Colum bus’s discovery with the Great Columbian Exposition. This exhibition, starting in May 1892 and finishing in October, attracted twenty-eight million visitors. Many streets, schools and universities all over the world are called ‘Colum bus’. Today many Americans celebrate Colum bus Day with colourful parades. There is also sometimes a kind of ‘Miss Columbus’, called a Colum bus Day Queen. The parades are very long, with big floats dedicated to Columbus and marching bands. There are multicultural floats, too, and people of different nationalities participate in the parade. Sometimes there are protests by groups of native Americans on Columbus Day. They remember that the arrival of Columbus meant the beginning of the domination of native Americans.

Columbus Day Parade in New York City.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT KET A

Are these sentences ‘Right’ (A) or ‘W rong’ (B)? If there is not enough information to answer ‘Right’ (A) or ‘W rong’ (B), choose ‘Doesn’t say’ (C). There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

People in the United States and Great Britain celebrate Columbus Day. A Right

1

(B) W rong

C Doesn’t say

C hristopher Colum bus came from Genoa A Right

2

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Colum bus thought the world was flat. A Right

3

B Wrong

C Doesn’t say

C olum bus’s father was a rich man. A Right

4

B W rong

C Doesn’t say

Colum bus wanted to sail to the West. A Right

5

B W rong

C Doesn’t say

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Colum bus a ship for the voyage. A Right

6

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

No one lived in the continent of America before Columbus arrived there A Right

7

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

A fter Colum bus, many other people explored the New W orld. A Right

8

B W rong

C Doesn’t say

The Italian population of San Francisco organized the first Colum bus Day in 1792. A Right

9

B W rong

C Doesn’t say

Not all native Am ericans are happy about Columbus Day. A Right

B W rong

C Doesn’t say

Which of these men were great explorers? Circle their names. Marco Polo Captain Cook

King Arthur

Magellan

King Ferdinand

Robin Hood

Vasco Da Gama

Sir Francis Drake Amerigo Vespucci

Name a famous explorer from your country................................................... What countries or regions did he e x p lo re ? ....................................................

12

T: GRADE 3

T O P IC -J O B S Columbus became a great navigator. In a port like Genoa, many people worked on ships or at sea. What different jobs did people do in your town? What jobs do they do now? Think about a job you want to do. Bring a photo or picture of someone doing this job to the class and talk about it. Use the following questions to help you. a. W hat job do you want to do? b. W hy do you like this job? c. Is it interesting? Is it dangerous? Look at the picture and read the text below.

In 1893 the city of Chicago held the G reat Colum bian Exposition. The Exposition was on Lake M ichigan. It was a very important event for the city of Chicago. The city built many new, beautiful buildings. There were buildings to represent the different states of the United States of America and almost 50 foreign countries participated. Inside the buildings there was information about each state or country: its history, culture and art. Now complete the sentences with the words from the box. states

Lake Michigan

Chicago

information

a. The G reat C olum bian Exposition was on

buildings

countries

in the city of

b. There were buildings to represent d iffe re n t.................... and foreign c. There w a s .................... about each state or country inside the 13

BEFORE YOU READ It is a Halloween tradition to make a ‘jack-o-lantern’. Which vegetable do you think you use to make one?

Do you know these popular Halloween foods? Match them to their names. candied apples

liquorice

popcorn

pum pkin pie

C .........................

D

Match these scary Halloween costumes to their names. ghost

B

14

vam pire

skeleton

witch

CHAPTER

TW O

Halloween October 31 is Halloween. It is a fun event in the United States, Great Britain and, now, in many other countries, too.

The Origins of Halloween Halloween has Celtic origins. The Celtic calendar was in two parts: sum m er and winter. Sum m er was from May to the end of October, and winter was from N ovem ber to the end of April. The ancient Celtic festivity Sam hain 1 celebrated the end of the year: the start of winter. It began on the evening of O ctober 31 and continued until the next day. 1. samhain : [saun].

15

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

Druidical ceremony at Stonehenge from The costume of the original inhabitants of the British Isles (1815) by Meyrick & Smith.

D ru id s w ere C e ltic p r ie sts. On O c to b e r 31 they p e rfo rm e d r e l i g io u s r i t u a l s a n d t a lk e d a b o u t f u t u r e e v e n t s . T h e C e l t s believed that gh o sts, w itches and evil 1 spirits return ed on the night of O ctober 31. They believed that evil spirits entered the body of a person or animal. They wore frightening costu m es and m ade big fires to send them away. The colours of Halloween — orange and black — are of Celtic 1. ev il : very bad.

16

Halloween

origin, too. Orange was the colour of the harvest, and black was the colour of winter and long nights. The D ruids believed that black cats had special powers and could feel if spirits were near. So black cats have becom e symbols of Halloween. The R om ans invaded G reat Britain in AD 43. After this invasion S a m h a in b e c a m e a h a r v e s t fe s t i v a l , an d on O c t o b e r 31 the Romans honoured their goddess of fruit trees, Pomona. D u r i n g th e c e n t u r i e s , th e R o m a n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h p u t Christian festivities in the p lace of pre-C h ristian festivities. In the eighth century the C h u rch decided to call 1 N ovem ber All Saints’ Day. Another name for this day was All H allow s’ 1 Day. The evening o f 3 1 O c t o b e r w as All H a l l o w s ’ E v e. 2 T h is b e c a m e Halloween.

Celebrating Halloween Today Halloween is celebrated in the USA, and has becom e popular in E u r o p e , too . M a n y c h ild r e n a n d a d u l t s go to H a llo w e e n parties, wearing scary costu m es and m asks. American children take their co stu m e s and m asks to school. Some typical Halloween co stum es are witches, ghosts, skeletons, monsters, vampires and aliens. M any parents make the costum es, but some prefer to buy them. In the afternoon the children put on th e ir c o s t u m e s a n d h a v e a H a l l o w e e n p a r t y at s c h o o l . Pumpkins, ghosts, witches and bats decorate the school hall and the classroom s. There are, of course, party gam es. One is called ‘bobbing for 1. H a l l o w s : sa in ts. 2. E v e : the day b e fo re a festivity.

17

Bobbing for Apples (early 20th centurj by Clara M. Burd.

ap p le s’. To play this gam e you put water and apples in a big bowl. The apples stay on top of the water. You m ust take an apple out of the water with your teeth, but you c a n ’t use your hands. It’s not easy! Many people get very wet! It is a popular tradition in the U SA to buy a big pumpkin and make a jack -o ’-lantern. People put their jack -o ’-lanterns in front of the windows of their hom es or in their gardens. This tradition originated in G reat Britain and Ireland, when people wanted to frighten evil spirits. But they didn’t use pumpkins then: they used big turnips. 1 In the United States there w eren’t any turnips, so 1. t u r n i p s : ro u n d v e g e ta b l e s (see p a g e 14). 18

Halloween

people used pumpkins. Another popular Halloween tradition is ‘trick or treating’. This began in the nineteenth century, and was an Irish tradition. Irish immigrants brought ‘trick or treating’ to the United States Today c h ild r e n an d t e e n a g e r s go ‘trick or t r e a t i n g ’ in the evening. They visit their n e ig h b o u rs’ h ou ses in their co stu m es. When the door opens they say ‘Trick or treat?’ People usually give them sweets or money. But when people do n ’t give them a treat, the children play a trick. They som etim es write on windows with soap or even throw an egg at the front door of the house. Halloween is not ju st for children. Many teenagers and adults wear costum es and go to parties on Halloween night.

A group of friends at a Halloween party.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT KET Choose the correct answer A, B or C. There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

W hen do we celebrate Halloween?

A B C

1

W hat are the origins of H alloween?

A B

□ 0 □ □ □

C □ 2

W hen was Sam hain?

A □ B □

C □ 3

W ho were the Druids?

On 1 Novem ber On 31 O ctober On 30 O ctober German Irish Celtic at the end of w inter at the beginning of the year at the beginning of sum m er

C □

Celtic witches Roman priests Celtic priests

A □ B □

4

W hat is ‘bobbing for a pples’?

A □ B □ C n

a Halloween game a Halloween food a Halloween costum e

5

W ho introduced the custom of ‘trick or tre a tin g ’?

A □ B □

Am erican children Irish im m igrants the Romans

C □

To scare and to frighten have almost the same meaning. We use them to talk about something that makes us afraid. Look at their verb and adjective forms: VERBS : to scare, to frighten (He frightened the old lady.) ADJECTIVES : scary, frightening (/ d o n ’t like that mask. It’s scary!) to describe the way a person feels: to be + scared, frightened (She was scared.) Look at the sentences below. Do you need to use an adjective or a verb? Circle the correct word. a. Evil spirits sca re /sca ry me. b. The haunted house is frighten/frightening. c. Can we see your sca re d/sca ry costum e? d. The ugly mask frig h tened/frightening the small child.

e. This is a very sca re /sca ry ja c k -o ’-lantern! f. Don’t be scare/scared\ It’s only a costum e. 20

Make a Jack-o'-lantern •^ B u ^ ^ b i g ^ o u n d pum pkim

Use a spoon and clean the inside of the pum pkin.

Cut off the top of the pum pkin.

Think of a funny or scary face. Then take a pen and draw the eyes, nose and mouth on the pum pkin.

W ith a knife, cut out the eyes, nose and mouth. Be careful!

■

n "■

Put the ja ck-o ’-lantern in front of a window, I on your terrace or in I your garden.

American PUMPKIN PIE Invite your friends to a Halloween party. To make your party a big su ccess, make an American pumpkin pie! It’s delicious and easy to make! Here’s a recipe for four people.

In g r e d ie n ts 2 kg of pum pkin 1/2 litre of milk 4 eggs 1 cup of brown sugar 4 tablespoons of flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 100 g of butter 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/4 teaspoon of cinnam on pow der (SALT)

• ■ ... U te n s ils to u s e a big frying pan a tablespoon a teaspoon a wooden spoon a big bowl

y

S

a non-stick pie dish £

1.

22

-

&

b ak in g pow der : this helps the bread or cake mixture to get bigger in the oven.

1 Cut the pum pkin into small pieces and remove the p e e l.1

4 Add the pum pkin and milk m ixture to the ingredients in the bowl and mix.

1.

Put the pieces into a big frying pan and add the milk. Cook the m ixture for 30 m inutes. Don’t forget to mix it.

5 Put the m ixture into a non-stick pie dish and then put the dish into the oven (180 °C) for one hour.

3 Now break the eggs into a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, salt and cinnam on powder. Mix these ingredients.

6 Serve the pum pkin pie cold. Happy Halloween!

peel : (here) the skin of vegetables or fruit.

23

BEFORE YOU READ A

Match the words in the box to the correct picture. gunpow der

barrels

light the fuse

KET A Listen to the beginning of Chapter Three. For questions 1-5, tick ( / ) A, B P t- B or C. 1

When is Guy Fawkes Night? A B C

□ □ □

on 5 Novem ber on 15 Novem ber on 25 Novem ber

2

W ho passed laws against C atholics?

A B C

□ □ □

King Henry VIII Guy Fawkes King Jam es I

3

Who wanted to destroy Parliam ent?

A B

□ □ □

a group of C atholics a group of priests a group of the K ing’s soldiers

□ □ □

the Guy Fawkes Plot the Bonfire Night Plot the G unpow der Plot

C 4

W hat was the plot called?

A B C

A

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that you do not understand. • a bonfire

24

• costum es

• firew orks

THREE

CHAPTER

- ////

A,//, //,/„,/■ A

S’///// A

,

„/

/ / / / / A / > / '/ / /V/ ///. i / s f / t s ' t . /A t

a > /A t*/.

1 A

Concilivm Septeiu Nobilivm. Anjjiorvm ( ’omYrantivui 111 Xecem .lacobi I. Magn;p Britannia* R e p s , Totivsq An«iiri Convocati Parlicmcnli

t. ftvhrt W intrr-3.CArista/Jur H'riyfi/

4.bh n >Writjhl

.* Thomas frrry

6'. t-nit/o Pawkrs J HoNrt (a/rsh y

,

V

room regularly’ or ‘I’m going to do more sport’. M ost people don ’t keep their resolutions, but some do!

New Year’s Day In m an y a n c i e n t c i v il i z a t i o n s the s e a s o n s c o n t r o l l e d the calendar, and the New Year began on the first day of spring. But in 45 BC th e R o m a n E m p e r o r J u l i u s C a e s a r c r e a t e d a new calen dar. It was called the J u l i a n ’ calen dar, from ‘J u l i u s ’. The first day o f the new year becam e 1 January. The name Jan u ary ’ com es from Ja n u s, the Rom an god of doors. Ja n u s was therefore also the god of beginnings. But the Ju lian calendar was not exact b ecau se it had 365 days. This was different from the solar year. 1 In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII corrected the Julian calendar and introduced the Gregorian calendar. He eliminated ten days from O ctober that year: Friday 15 O c to b e r 158 2 w as the next day afte r T h u rsd a y 4 O cto b e r 1582! He also added an extra day to February every four years. This special year is called a leap year. It makes the calendar the sam e as the solar year. S c o tla n d started u sin g the G reg orian ca le n d a r in 1600, but G reat Britain and its colonies only started using it in 1752. In G re at B ritain a lot o f fam ilie s have a sp e c ia l lun ch and spend a quiet day at home. In the United States a lot of families have ‘Open H o u se ’ on New Year’s Day. The first president of the U nited S tate s, G eorge W ashington, introduced this tradition in the late 1700s. During ‘Open H o u s e ’ the front door of your home is open all day. Friends and relatives come to visit. M any clubs and organizations have ‘Open H o u se ’ too. 1. s o l a r y e a r : the tim e the e arth tak e s to go a r o u n d the su n .

64

Open H ouse’ in the United States on New Year’s Day.

On N ew Y ear’s D ay it is co ld in m an y p a rts o f the U n ite d States, but in California and many southern states it is warm and sunny. In these p laces there are p arades and A m erican football games. T hese football gam es, after the end of the normal football season, are called bowl gam es. E a ch region has its parade and bowl game. The P asadena ‘Tournam ent of R o se s’ parade is a very colourful

65

Eagles on a float in the Pasadena ‘Tournament of R oses’ parade.

event. It started in 1890. There are about sixty sp ectacular floats in the parade every year. Colourful, beautiful flowers completely cover each float. There are figures of favourite ch aracters from stories and fam ous people on the floats. The queen o f this parade is called the Citrus Q ueen, b ecau se a lot of citrus fruits 1 grow in southern California. T h o u san d s of people go to watch the parade, and more than seventy million watch it on television. After the parade everyone goes to the football stadium to watch the Rose Bowl game.

1 . c i t r u s f r u i t s : o r a n g e s, le m o n s, lim e s a n d g ra p e fru its.

66

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T A

Complete the sentences about New Year’s Day. There is an extra ending that you do not need to use. 1. 2. 3. 4.

EH EH EH EH

In many ancient civilizations Janus was the Roman god The G regorian calendar Friends and relatives

5. □

In some Am erican states

6.

In Pasadena, C alifornia, there is

O

a. corrected the Julian calendar. b. the T o u rn a m e n t of R oses’ parade. c. created the Julian calendar. d. of doors. e. the New Year began on the first day of spring. f.

come to visit during ‘Open H ouse’.

g. there are football gam es on New Y ea r’s Day. What New Year’s Resolutions will you make this year? Make a list and discuss with the class. New Y ea r’s R esolutions 20__ 1 ..................................................................................... 2 .....................................................................................

3.................................................................................. 4.................................................................................. T: GRADE 4

Ak

T o p ic -S p o rts American football is a very popular sport in the United States. Do you have a favourite sport? Bring to the class a photo/picture of your favourite sport. Talk to your partner about this sport. Use the following questions to help you.

a. W hat is the name of the sport? b. Describe the sport. c. Is this sport popular in your country? d. Do you do this sport, or are you a spectator?

67

BEFORE YOU READ J tk

What do you know about Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.? Discuss these questions with the class. Who was he? Where was he from? What did he believe? What did he do? When did he die?

.is k

Read this part of Dr King’s famous speech.

‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a n ation where they will not be j u d g e d by the c o l o u r o f t h e ir sk in b u t by the content of their character. I have a dream today.’

Now match these words to their meaning. 1.

a dream

a. a country

2.

a nation

b. a person’s race or origins

3.

to judge som eone

c. a person’s personality

4.

the colour of som eone’s skin

d. a hope for the future

5.

character

e. to form an opinion about someone

Complete the sentences with words from the box. Use your dictionary to check any words you don’t understand. segregation

boycott

march

brutality

a. The black people of M ontgom ery, Alabam a, decided to ............... all buses. They d id n ’t travel by bus for over a year. b. Black children co uldn ’t go to the same schools as white children because there was .................. c.

Many policem en attacked the people. This was an exam ple of police

d. In 1963, Dr King organized a big ............... on W ashington, DC.

68

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Martin Luther King Day On the th ird M o n d a y in J a n u a r y A m e r ic a c e l e b r a t e s M a rtin BET Luther King Day. This is quite a new public holiday in the United States: it started in 1983. Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. 1 was an important person in the American Civil Rights movement. He believed in non-violence. Dr King was born on 1 5 Jan u ary 1929 in Atlanta, G eorgia and became a Baptist minister. 2 At that time there was segregation in the so u th e r n s t a t e s o f A m e r ic a . B la c k p e o p le c o u ld not u se certain types of public transport and go to the sam e schools and churches as white people. Dr King didn't agree with this and he protested in public. The police arrested him several tim es. On one occasion Jo h n F. Kennedy asked the police to free Dr King. 1. J r . : J u n i o r . S o m e m e n u s e this title a fte r th eir n a m e if their fa th e r also has the s a m e n a m e . 2. B a p t i s t m i n i s t e r : a r e lig io u s l e a d e r in the B a p t i s t C h r i s t ia n religion.

69

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

In m any so u th ern towns an d citie s, b lack p eo ple sat at the b a c k o f the b u s an d w h ite p e o p l e at the fr o n t . In 1 9 5 5 in Montgomery, Alabam a, one lady, R osa Parks, refused to give her seat to a white person. The police cam e and arrested her. Dr King then o rgan ized a boycott o f the M on tg o m ery B u s S y stem . No black person used a bus in M ontgom ery for 382 days. In the end th e S u p r e m e C o u r t d e c i d e d to s t o p s e g r e g a t i o n on p u b l i c transport. After this victory Dr King was fam ous.

3??s N O W .'

NOW/

1

W in o 8C §u*te in1

law VOTING

3Pf1 N ow /

JE A /O

U

■ ' V n1 km L vI E

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SEGREGATED^ RULES 1

//v u PUBLIC

u sc h o o ls

’smimto E/VO *m RULES

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Martin Luther King, Jr. (front, centre) leads the march on W ashington, DC 28 August 1963.

70

Martin Luther King Oay -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After this there were many other victories. He campaigned against segregation and inequality in other cities in the South. In 1963 in Birmingham, Alabam a he organized another peaceful protest. He invited children and young adults to march with him. The police commissioner, Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor, ordered his policeman to attack them with dogs and water cannons. Televisions and newspapers all over the world showed these pictures of police brutality. In A ugu st 1963 Dr King helped to organize the Civil Rights march on W ashington, D C . On that day he gave his most fam ous speech: everybody now knows the phrase ‘I have a d ream ’. These are some lines from that speech: ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be j u d g e d by the c o lo u r o f th e ir sk in b u t by the content of their character. I have a dream today.’ In W ashington, D C more than 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 people listened to this speech. In 1964 Am erica p assed the Civil Rights Act. This changed the lives of African-Americans forever. In this year Dr King won the Nobel Peace Prize. On 4 April 1 96 8 a m an c a lle d J a m e s E arl Ray a s s a s s in a t e d Dr King in Memphis. Every year Americans remember Dr King’s work by celebrating this national holiday. All the schools close for the day. People try to remember what Dr King believed in. They try to help someone on this day. It is not a day for rest but a day to think about how we can help people around us. In 1969 Dr King’s wife, Coretta Scott King opened the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She wanted to help society change in a peaceful way.

71

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones. T 1. A m ericans celebrate Martin Luther King Day on the second Monday in January. 2. Martin Luther King Day started in 1983. 3. Martin Luther King was born in M em phis in Tennessee. 4. Martin Luther King was a Baptist m inister. 5. There was segregation in all Am erican states. 6. John F. Kennedy asked the police to arrest Dr King. 7. In 1961 Dr King organized the march on W ashington, DC. 8. He believed in violence. 9. Martin Luther King won a Nobel prize. 10. Martin Luther King Day is a day of rest. Many people play sports. Jzk

F

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

□

□

Dr King was born in Atlanta, Georgia; in 1963 Dr King helped to organize the March on Washington, DC; a man named James Earl Ray assassinated Dr King in Memphis. Do you know where these places are? Look at these descriptions and write the names in the correct boxes.

72

a. M emphis is in the south-central part of the United States. It is on the M ississippi River. b. W ashington, DC is on the East Coast of the United States, on the Potomac River, to the north of Virginia. c.

Atlanta is in the South East of the United States, above Florida.

d.

New York City is on the north-east coast.

e.

P hiladelphia is in the East. It is between New York City and W ashington, DC.

BEFORE YOU READ

A

Look at this Chinese calendar. Write the names of the animals in the spaces. rat ox

tiger dragon

snake horse

sheep m onkey

cockerel dog

pig rabbit

12.

1.

11.

2.

10.

9.

8.

7.

73

A

Look at the table below and answer these questions. a. W hen were you born? Look for your birth year and find your Chinese Zodiac sign. W hat is it? ............... b. W hat is your best frie n d ’s sign? ...............

A

A

Read the characteristics of your sign. Are they true? Why or why not? Rat Years: 1960 1972 1984 1996 Character: happy, charm ing, am bitious

Horse Years: 1966 1978 1990 2002 Character: popular, talkative, independent

Ox Years: 1961 1973 1985 1997 Character: works hard, patient, tim id

Sheep Years: 1967 1979 1991 2003 Character: gentle, intelligent, loves beautiful things

Tiger Years: 1962 1974 1986 1998 Character: strong personality, courageous, tem peram ental

Monkey Years: 1968 1980 1992 2004 Character: intelligent, creative, solve problem s easily

Rabbit Years: 1963 1975 1987 1999 Character: peaceful, sociable, secretive

Cockerel Years: 1969 1981 1993 2005 Character: faithful, punctual, eccentric

Dragon Years: 1964 1976 1988 2000 Character: energetic, honest, generous

Dog Years: 1970 1982 1994 2006 Character: loyal, honest, good leader

Snake Years: 1965 1977 1989 2001 Character: sensitive, responsible, careful with money

Pig Years: 1971 1983 1995 2007 Character: strong, kind, likes to learn

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that are new or that you do not understand. • bc

• a float

• firew orks

• costum es

• a mask

• a parade

74

CHAPTER

n

EIGHT

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a very important festivity for Ch inese people everywhere. It is also called the Spring Festival or the L un ar New Year. The exact date of the C h inese New Year changes from year to year, but is always between 21 Jan u ary and 19 February. In ancient C hina people used the moon to calculate time, and in the C hinese lunar calendar every month begins with the new moon. Every year o f the C h in e s e C a le n d a r h as an an im a L s n am e. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cockerel, dog and pig. The C h inese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of that animal.

75

British and American FG StivitiC S

Celebrating the Chinese New Year C h inese fam ilies celebrate the new year for two weeks. They decorate their houses, towns and villages with coloured lanterns, flow ers and m any oth er d e c o ra tio n s. They carefu lly clean the house and throw away old things. This m eans they are throwing away the bad luck 1 o f the p ast year. It is very important for the Ch inese to be with their families on New Year’s Eve. On this occasion the family eats a big, delicious meal together. Fish is always part of the dinner, along with rice, different m eats, and vegetables. E ach food has a special meaning, and the C h in e se believe these foods bring good luck. On New Year’s Day the C h inese wear new clothes to symbolize the New Year. Red is a popular colour b ecau se the Ch inese believe that it is lucky. Parents and family m em bers give children the traditional N ew Year’s gift c a lled ‘L ai s e e ’ (lucky m oney): a red and gold envelope with some money inside.

Lai see envelopes. 76

Chinese New Year

New Year’s Day in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

There are a lot of big Ch inese com m unities outside China. In many big cities su ch as L o n don , N ew York and S an F ra n c isc o there are areas called 'C hinatow n’. In these areas there are many C h in e s e s h o p s a n d r e s t a u r a n t s . C h i n e s e N ew Year is a b ig celebration both for the C h in e se and the local people of these areas, and there are a lot of colourful decorations in the streets of every Chinatown.

77

British and American FG StivitiG S

A Chinese dragon in a Chinese New Year parade

A very important celebration is the parade on New Year’s Day, when th ere are a lot o f s p e c t a c u l a r flo a t s . T h e d rag on is an important part o f the parade b ecau se people believe it is noble and lucky. In the parade a dragon can som etim es be twenty-five m etres long and can have about sixty men move under its body and tail! People often throw money at the dragon and the dragon tries to catch it in its big mouth. Som etim es there is more than one dragon in the parade. If so, there is a dancing competition between the dragons.

78

Chinese New Year

Lion dancing is an ancient Chinese tradition, and lion dancers are always part of the parade. Two men usually move under each lion. It has a big head and a long body. M usicians play the drums 1 and c y m b a ls 2 d u r i n g th e lio n d a n c e . T h e r e a re a l s o n o is y fireworks. The Chinese believe that the noise frightens evil spirits. During the parade children represent the twelve anim als of the Chinese calendar. Ch inese children like wearing the costum e of their favourite animal during the parade. There are also acrobats and m usicians in beautiful costum es. M ost of the costum es and masks in the parade come from China.

Chinese lion dancers.

1. d r u m s :

2. c y m b a l s

79

o'

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T KET Choose the correct answer A, B or C. There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

A nother name for Chinese New Year is A EH W inter Festival.

1

B 0

the Lunar New Year.

C 0

Lai see.

Chinese New Y ear is always A E l between 1 January and 19 February.

2

3

B □

on 21 January every year.

C □

between 21 January and 19 February.

In the Chinese Lunar calendar A 0

every month starts with the new moon.

B □

every month ends with the new moon.

C □

every month starts the day before the new moon.

The Chinese celebrate New Year for A 0

4

two days.

B □

two weeks.

C O

ten days.

On C hinese New Y ea r’s Day, C hinese children A O

play special games.

B [^] wear new clothes. C Q 5

6

receive a lot of sweets.

‘Lai se e ’ is A Q

a C hinese card.

B □

a Chinese calendar.

C □

an envelope with some lucky money.

The most im portant figure in the Chinese New Year parades is the A O monkey. B □

dragon.

C O

lion.

A

GRAMMAR CHECK There are a lo t o f sp ecta cular floats. We use a lot of to mean a large num ber or quantity of som ething. We can also use many or much but these are more com m on in questions and negative sentences; they are not so com m on in affirm ative sentences. There were a lot o f flags at the parade. There w eren’t m any balloons. Note: When we use a lot of for uncountable nouns (nouns we cannot count as separate objects: water, flour, money, etc.) the verb is in the singular form. There is a lot o f su ga r in a pum pkin pie. Look at the words in the box. Write C for countable or UC for uncountable next to each one. present Q

money O

vegetable L j

rice □

snow O

lantern I I

Now complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb to be and a lot of. You also need one word from the box above (make plurals if necessary). Mum p re pa re d rice with som e fish for dinner. There were a.Jp.t. of. vegetables.

also

a. Today is the start of Chinese New Year. T h e r e .............. beautiful ............. in the streets. b. In some countries t h e r e ............................... in Decem ber and January. c. T h e r e ............................... but we ate it all! d. Look at all these envelopes! I hope th e r e ............................... inside them. e. T h e re ............................... under the Christmas tree, ready for you to open.

BEFORE YOU READ Listen to the beginning of Chapter Nine about Valentine’s Day. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

a. On V alen tin e ’s Day people celebrate by giving cards to people they love. b. The top of the Empire State Building has green lights on it on February 14. c. Lupercalia was a Celtic festival. d. Valentine secretly married young lovers. e. European immigrants took the Valentine tradition to America. f. People always sign V alentine cards with the ir names.

T

F

Q

Q

CHAPTER

NINE

Valentine s Day On 14 February lovers celebrate Valentine’s Day. People in love give each other cards and presents: flowers — especially roses — chocolates or jewellery. 1 In the evening there are special parties, and couples som etim es go to restaurants for a romantic dinner. In New York City on the top of the Em pire State Building there are red lights on Valentine’s Day.

Where does Valentine s Day come from? The ancient Rom an festival o f Lupercalia was on 1 5 February. On this day young men took the nam es o f young women out of a vase. The couples formed in this way stayed together until the next L u p e rc a lia . As u su al, the C h ristia n C h u rch w anted to rep lace pagan festivals with Christian festivals. So, at the end of the fifth century Pope G elasius created St Valentine’s Day on 14 February. 1. j e w e l l e r y :

82

Valentine's Oay

N ob o dy knows exactly who V alen tin e w as. T h e re are three possibilities! Som e people think he was a Christian priest when C laudius II was the R om an emperor. W hen he needed a lot of soldiers for his army C la u d iu s did not perm it m arria ge s, 1 but V alen tin e p e r fo r m e d m a r r ia g e s se cre tly . T h e a u t h o r it ie s discovered this, and executed him in AD 270. There were another two Valentines in the third century: the R om ans executed them because they were Christians. A legend says that one of them fell in love w ith the d a u g h t e r o f the p r i s o n k e e p e r . B e f o r e h is e x ecu tio n he w rote a le tte r to her: he s ig n e d 2 it ‘from your Valentine’.

Valentine’s Cards European imm igrants took the Valentine tradition to America. They m ade b e a u tifu l V ale n tin e ’s ca rd s. On the o u tsid e o f the cards they painted b u tte rflie s,3 flowers, cupids and hearts and on the in sid e they w rote o rig in a l p o e m s . In 1 8 4 7 an A m e ric a n , Esther Elowland, created the first com m ercial cards: people could then buy cards in shops. Today few people make Valentine’s cards: they buy them. M ost cards are rom antic, but som e are h u m o ro us. In A m erica many P ® people also send cards to parents, relatives and friends as a sign of friendship. In G reat Britain this is not co m m o n ; V alentine’s

1 . m a r r i a g e s : c e r e m o n ie s w h en a m a n a n d w o m a n b e c o m e h u s b a n d an d wife. 2. s i g n e d : w rote his n a m e at the b o tto m o f the letter. 3. b u t t e r f l i e s :

83

British and American FG StivitiC S

cards are for lovers. However, the cards are usually anonymous — even between h usban d and wife! People do n ’t sign their nam es: they sign the card with a question mark, or they do not sign the card at all. In the United States young schoolchildren take to school the sam e num ber of V alentine’s cards as the num ber of children in the c la s s . T h e re is no n am e on the e n v e lo p e, bu t e ach child writes their name inside the cards. On Valentine’s Day children make colourful red and pink decorations for their classroom , and the teacher gives the cards and some sweets to every child.

Young children ‘posting’ Valentine’s cards at school.

84

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T A

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box. presents hum orous im m igrants som eone cards love Roman priest pagan hearts poems friendship a. On V alen tin e ’s Day people in love give each other . .................. and b.

Lupercalia was a ....................festival.

c. The Christian church wanted to re p la c e .................... festivals with Christian ones. d. Some people believe V alentine was a Christian ..... ............. at the tim e of the Roman empire. e.

European ....................took the V alen tin e ’s tradition to Am erica.

f.

Before com m ercial cards people painted ................. they wrote original ......................

on cards and

g* Some V alen tin e ’s cards are ....................and others are romantic. h. In Am erica you can also give som eone a V alen tin e ’s card as a sign o f ...................... or affection to i. V alen tin e ’s Day is an occasion to e x p re s s ............... ....................special.

A

GRAMMAR CHECK Use the prepositions in the box to complete the following sentences. to

for (x 2)

from

with

on (x 2)

a. A young man took the name of a young la d y

in (x 2) a special vase.

b. Three Christian martyrs called Valentine liv e d .............the third century c. There are red lights

ad.

the top of the Empire State Building.

d. People made beautiful cards with butterflies, flow ers and hearts painted them. e.

In Am erica people send cards ........... parents, relatives and friends.

f.

In the United States children take cards to school ........... other children in the ir class.

g. People usually write an anonym ous m essage h. Couples sometimes celebrate Valentine’s D a y i.

Am erican children make V alentine decorations classroom .

the card. a romantic dinner. their

85

A

WORD PUZZLE Do you remember these words? Complete the spaces with the correct letters. 1. an object to put flow ers in

_ a __

2. pretty metal or stones you wear

j __ e

3. an ancient Roman festival

_ _ P _________ i _

4. som ething funny or am using

m

5. a beautiful insect

r_ o_s

t _ r_ I_

BEFORE YOU READ KET A Listen to the beginning of Chapter Ten about Presidents’ Day and IBEffS- complete the table.

G E O R G E W A SH IN G T O N

A

1

George W ashington was born on ............ F e b ru a ry ............ in

2

At the age of tw enty he becam e a ............ with t h e .............. army.

3

The W ar of Independence started in ............ and ended in .................

4

George W ashington was the ............ of the Am erican .................

5

In 1789, he becam e t h e ............ of the United States.

6

He died in ............... He w a s .............. years old.

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that are new or that you do not understand. • colony/colonists • to make a speech

86

• slavery/slaves

CHAPTER

TEN

imti Himn

Presidents Day In the United States people celebrate P res id ent s’ Day on the third Monday of February. This festivity celebrates the birthdays of two great presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

George Washington George Washington was born on 22 February 1732 in Virginia. At this time America was still a British colony. At the age of twenty Washington b e c a m e a soldier with the British army and fought against French colonists in America. In 1759 he married, and became the owner of a big plantation. 1 Fie also became interested in politics.

1. p l a n t a t i o n : a b ig farm .

87

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

In 1765 the American colonists began to protest against Great Britain. They did not want to have British laws and pay taxes 1 to the British king, George III: they wanted America to become an i n d e p e n d e n t nat ion . T hi s was the b e g i n n i n g o f the A m e ri ca n Revolution. 1. t a x e s : you have to p ay this m o n e y to the g o v e rn m e n t.

George Washington (1824)

by Rembrandt Peal

Presidents' Day

The A m eri can War of I n d e p e n d e n c e las te d from 1775 until 1783. For all this time Washington was the colonists’ leader and commander of the American army. Washington bec am e the first president of the United States in 1789. He was d e d i c a t e d and h on es t, and was p r e s i d e n t until 1797, when he chose not to accept a third Presidency. He retired from public life and two years later, in 1799, he died at the age of sixty-seven.

Abraham Lincoln Another great presi den t, A b ra h am Lin col n, was born on 12 Febr ua ry 1 8 0 9 in Kentucky. As a chil d L i n c o l n only went to school for about a year, but he loved reading and studying: he wanted to learn. When he was a young man Lincoln decided to enter politics in Illinois and also to study law. In 1836 he be ca m e a l a w y e r 1 in Springfield, Illinois. He also continued in politics, and in 1837 he became a member of C o n g r e s s , 2 representing the state of Illinois. Lincoln becam e the sixteenth president of the United States in 1861. At this time the question of slavery divided the North and the South of the United States: the South wanted slavery but the N o r t h di d n o t . T h i s w a s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c a u s e o f the American Civil War. This terrible war lasted from 1861 to 1865, and more than 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 soldiers died before the North won. The Battle of Gettysburg was a very important victory for the North. It lasted three days in July 1863, and 4 0 , 0 0 0 soldiers died. On 18 November 1863 Lincoln went to Gettysburg to open the 1. l a w y e r : this p e r s o n a d v ise s p e o p le a b o u t the law. 2. C o n g r e s s : e le c t e d g ro u p o f p e o p le , sim ila r to P a r li a m e n t in B ritain . T h e A m e r ic a n C o n g r e s s m a k e s laws.

British and American

Festivities

Abraham Lincoln greeting African Americans by an unknown artist.

National Cemetery at the place of the battle. He gave a famous speech, called ‘The Gettysburg Ad dr e ss’, expressing the principles of democratic government. In his speech Lincoln used, for the first time, the famo us expression ‘government of the people, by the people, for the p eo ple .’ Soon after the end of the war, on 14 April 1865, Lincoln and his wife went to the theatre in Washington, DC . A man called Jo hn Wilkes Booth, a member of a Southern plot, shot and killed him. Lincoln was only 56 years old. P r e s i d e n t s ’ Day is a n at io n al holiday. M an y pe o pl e put the A m e r i c a n f l a g o u t s i d e t h e i r h o m e s , a n d s o m e go to v i s i t Washington’s home in Virginia, or Li nc oln ’s home in Illinois.

90

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T KET jfk

Read the text below and choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). G eorge W ashington was born (0) ..&. V irginia and lived on (1) ...... fa m ily’s plantation. He becam e a soldier (2) fought in the British army during a war against the French. The Am erican colonists chose W ashington to be the (3) of their arm y during the Am erican Revolution. The colonists (4) the war against Britain and Am erica becam e an independent nation. G eorge W ashington became the first President of the United States of Am erica. Abraham Lincoln only went to school (5) a year, but he wanted to learn so he continued to read many books. Later he decided to enter politics. He also became a fam ous lawyer. People liked and respected (6) ....... He was President of the United States during the Am erican Civil War. The North fought (7) the South. President Lincoln passed a law against slavery. (8) called it the Em ancipation Proclam ation. The North won the Civil W ar in 1865. 0

A on

1

A him

( D in B he

C at C his

2

A and

B but

c

yet

3

A director

B leader

c

teacher

4

A won

B wins

c

winning

5

A from

B to

c

for

6

A his

B him

c

he

7

A against

B to

c

at

8

A She

B He

c

It

PROJECT ON THE WEB Let’s find out about som e presidents of the United States. Your teacher will give you the correct w eb-site address. Choose a president and click on his name. Prepare a fact file on the president and present it to the class.

91

A

Complete the notes in the table about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. When you finish, make full sentences using the Past Simple. If you chose a different president for your project on the Web, make a similar table with information about him. Abraham Lincoln Date

W hat happens works as a lawyer becom es congressm an

1861 1861-65 man assassinates President Lincoln at the theatre

Rewrite these sentences in the correct order. There is an example at the beginning. a. ce le bra te /P re sid e nts’ D ay/February/A m ericans/in Americans celebrate. Presidents'. Day .in. February.................................... b. taxes/about/The colonists/protested

c.

a /W ash in g to n /did/presidency/accept/third/not

d.

fire /stud ie d/th e/b y/Lin co ln /in/e ven in g s/th e

e.

the /w a s/Lincoln/during/C ivil W ar/P resident

f.

passed/slavery/H e/law /a/against

g. h om es/of/M any/P residents/these/visit/A m ericans/the/tw o

92

A

Have fun with this crossword puzzle! Across 3.

The capital city of the United States ofAm erica

4.

A big battle of the Am erican Civil War.

8.

Lincoln only went to school for a year, but hewanted to

9. 11.

is .....

Young George W ashington lived on a.... .............. Lincoln was born in the state o f .................

Down 1. George W ashington was the ................. of the colonists. 2. George W ashington was born in the state o f .................. 5.

P residents’ Day is celebrated in this month.

6.

President Lincoln passed a law a g a in s t..................

7. The name of the British king during the Am erican Revolution. 10. Lincoln’s job before he became President.

□ □

^ □

3nnnn n n m nn «□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ 6

3

7

□

□ □ □ □ « □ • □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

□

93

BEFORE YOU READ Jk

Look at the pictures. Which ones are typically connected to Ireland and the Irish? Tick ( / ) them.

A O

sham rock

B QJ leprechaun

D O

Father Christmas

E I I wine

G O

A

] the Union Jack

the Tricolour flag

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that are new or that you do not understand.

94

a slave

to m arch/m arching bands

a parade

a flag

• Romans

a priest

a bishop

• firew orks

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

St Patrick s Day St Patrick’s Day on 17 March is the most important Irish festival. E ® Bec aus e of terrible conditions in Ireland during the 1800s many Irish went to A m e ri ca , so the Irish co m m u n i t y in the U n i t ed States is very big. They went to live all over the country and took their traditions with them. There are also many Irish in Britain, and all over the world.

Who was St Patrick? St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was probably born in Wales, in ab o u t AD 38 9 : his fa t h er was a C h r i s t i a n . W hen Patrick was sixteen years old some pirates 1 took him to Ireland, where he becam e a slave. After six years he e sca p ed 2 to France. He bec ame a priest there. 1. p i r a t e s : th e se p e o p le a t t a c k sh ip s at s e a a n d take th in g s from them . 2. e s c a p e d : ran aw ay ( b e c a u s e he w a n te d to be free).

95

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

He returned to Ireland as a bishop in about 432 . He converted a lot of Irish people to Christianity, and he introduced the Roman alphabet to Ireland. He wrote his autobiography in Latin about his life and work in Ireland. He died in about 461. There are legends about St Patrick. One legend says he took all the snakes in Ireland to the top of a mountain and pushed them into the sea. Another legend says he used the shamrock to teach the Irish about Christianity: he used the three leaves of this plant to explain that for Christians God is three beings at the same time.

Celebrating St Patrick s Day In Ireland St Patrick’s Day is an i m p o r t a n t re lig io u s holiday. Bu si n es se s are closed and people go to ch u rc h . In 1995 the Irish governm ent started the St Patrick’s Day Festival, a four-day festival in the capital city, Dublin. On St Patrick’s Day there are a lot o f tr i co lo u r fl ag s in the str ee ts. Irish p eo p le c r e a t e d this flag in 1848 with a special meaning. The green r e p r e s e n t s Irish C a t h o l i c s (mostly from the south of Ireland) a n d the o ra n g e r e p r e s e n t s Irish P r o t e s t a n t s ( m o s t l y f r o m t he north of I re la n d ). T he white rectangle in the middle represents the h ope for p e a c e betw een

96

The Chicago River becomes green for St Patrick’s Day.

Catholics and Protestants. In the United States, the first celebration of St Patrick’s Day was in Boston in 1737. Today on 17 March the Irish community in A m e r i c a o rg an iz e s p a r a d e s with m a r c h i n g b a n d s and Irish music in many towns and cities. The parade in New York City is the biggest in the world: more than 15 0,000 people take part in the marching. And in the city of Chicago, the Chic ago River is coloured green on St Patrick’s Day! The Irish believe that green is a lucky colour, and a lot of p e o p l e w e a r g r e e n c l o t h e s on S t P a t r i c k ’s Day. T h e g r e e n s h a m r o c k is a s y m b o l o f I r e l a n d , a n d a n o t h e r s y m b o l is a le p re c h a u n , a kind of Irish fairy. 1 This little old m an usually wears green.

1. f a i r y : a f a n ta s y c h a r a c te r , not real. A fairy h a s m a g ic a l p ow ers.

97

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T A

Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones. T a. St P atrick’s Day is on 17 March.

□

□

b. The Irish com m unity in Am erica is very small.

□

□

c. St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

□

□

d. St Patrick becam e a priest in Ireland.

□

□

e. St Patrick brought C hristianity to Ireland.

□

□

f.

A

F

A legend says that St Patrick pushed the leprechauns in Ireland into the sea.

□

□

g. The orange part of the Tricolour represents the Irish C atholics.

□

□

h. A m ericans celebrated St P atrick’s Day for the first time in 1737 in Boston.

□

□

i.

Green is a lucky colour for the Irish.

□

□

j.

On St P atrick’s Day the river in C hicago becom es orange and green.

□

□

Odd one out! Circle the word that doesn’t belong. a. orange

green

colour

purple

b. snake

bishop

fish

horse

c. sham rock

leprechaun

rose

whiskey

d. legend

tale

story

music

e. France

Ireland

Am erican

Britain

Now use the odd words to complete the sentences. 1.

The band played traditional.........................................

2. My fa v o u rite .................................... is green. 3.

Patrick became a .....................................

4.

The .................. is not a traditional symbol of Ireland.

5.

The .................. com m unity in the United States is very big.

98

What nationality are people that come from the countries in the box? Look at the endings of the nationalities in the table below. Write each nationality in the correct column. A m erica England Ireland Portugal

A

A ustralia France Italy Scotland

Canada G erm any Japan South Africa

China G reece Norway Spain

Denmark Holland Poland W ales

-an

-ish

-ese

others

American

English

Chinese

Welsh

Read about what these people do for some of the festivities you know about. From the information guess what nationality they are.

a.

New Y e a r’s Eve is one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Lisa’s country. She likes to spend Hogm anay in her home town with her frie n d s........................................

b. Sean celebrates his co u n try’s patron sa in t’s day on March 17. Last year he spent a few days in the capital city because every year they organize special e ve n ts........................................ c. Jam es and Mark have a special dinner with their fam ily in November. They love their gra nd m a ’s pum pkin p ie ........................................ d. New Year is C h e n ’s favourite tim e of year. It is a tradition in his country for relatives to give you little envelopes of money. His parents buy him new clo th e s ........................................ e. Sarah and Lucy usually have a traditional dinner at home on C hristm as Day. Their favourite part of C hristm as is reading jokes from the Christm as crackers and watching old films. 99

BEFORE YOU READ J ik

What do you know about Easter? Match the words in the box to the correct picture. Easter Bunny

Easter egg

Easter bonnet

Listen to the beginning of Chapter Twelve. Are the following sentences C U f true (T) or false (F)? T

F

Easter is a C hristian celebration.

□

d

Easter is always on the last Sunday before the full moon in March.

□

□

The word Easter probably com es from the name of an old pagan goddess.

□

□

Pagans did not have eggs as sym bols of new life.

□

□

Rabbits were sym bols of fertility.

□

□

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that are new or that you do not understand. • a parade

• to march

• pagans

• costum es

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CHAPTER

TWELVE

Easter Ea ster is the most important festivity of the year for Christians. B t i On E a s t e r Day C h ri st ia ns celebrate the res urrection 1 of J e s u s Christ. Easter Day is on the first Sunday after the full moon in March. This day is between 22 March and 25 April. The date is later in the calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church. N o n - C h r i s t i a n s like E a s t e r t im e b e c a u s e s o m e t r a d i t i o n s remind people that nature is coming alive again after winter.

The Origins of Easter The modern English word Ea ster may come from the name of an old northern Eu ropean pagan goddess. The goddess with the most similar name was Ea str e, but there were other g o d d e ss es with names similar to Easter. They were all god desses of spring

1. r e s u r r e c t i o n : c o m in g b a c k to life a fte r b e in g d ead .

101

British and American

Festivities

and fertility. 1 Pagans celebrated spring and the beginning of new life with festivals in March and April. Wh en C h r i s ti a n i ty b e c a m e im p o rt an t, the C h r i s t i a n E a s t e r gradually replace d p aga n festivals. But we still use today some s y m b o l s fr o m p a g a n s p r i n g f e s t i v a l s : fl o w e r s a n d e g g s were symbols of new life, and rabbits were symbols of fertility. ^

Easter Today For Christians the week before Ea ster is Holy Week. On Holy Thursday Christians remember the last meal J e s u s had with his Disciples. 2 On Good Friday Christians believe that J e s u s Christ died on the cross. 3 On Easter Day they believe that J e s u s Christ came back to life, and went to heaven. 4 Many Christian families go to church on Ea ster Day in the morning. There are also non-religious Easter traditions. One of these is wearing new clothes or new shoes. In America there are Easter Bonnet parades. Girls and women make their own original Easter bonnets and march in a parade. The famous Easter Bonnet Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City is a tradition from the middle of the nineteenth century. Thousa nd s of people go to watch it.

Easter Eggs and the Easter Bunny In the days before Easter American and British schoolchildren sometimes paint Easter eggs with bright colours.

1. f e r t i l i t y : the ability to p r o d u c e p la n ts or c h ild ren . 2. D i s c i p l e s : the twelve m e n w ho follow ed J e s u s C h rist. 3. c r o s s :

^

4. h e a v e n : in C h r is tia n ity a n d s o m e o th e r relig io n s, G o d lives in heaven. G o o d p e o p le go h ere w h en they die.

102

Easter

The Easter Bonnet parade in New York City.

103

E a s t e r e g g r a c e s in the W h ite H o u s e g a r d e n s .

Immigrants from Germany brought the tradition of the Easter Bunny 1 to America. On Eas ter Day there are Easter egg hunts. 2 P a r e n t s h ide e g g s a n d a s k t h ei r c h i l d r e n to fin d t h em . T h e children go and look for the eggs. When they find them they put them in colourful Easte r baskets. The child with the most eggs is the winner. There are many games that you can play with eggs. For example, you can roll 3 eggs down a hill: the eggs must arrive at the bottom without breaking. On Easter Monday children from Washington, DC go the White House gardens and play all kinds of games with eggs. This tradition goes back to 1872, and the children of the President of the United States usually take part in the games. 1. B u n n y : c h il d r e n ’s n a m e for rab bit. 2. h u n t s : in a h u n t you look for so m e th in g . 3. r o l l : m ove by tu rn in g over a n d over.

104

Easter Special Easter Foods Fam ilies usually spend E a ster Day together. The traditional Easter meal is roast lamb, new po tatoe s, peas and other vegetables. T h e r e a r e c h o c o l a t e e g g s fo r children. Some eggs have a surprise in t h e m , o t h e r s ha v e s o m e o n e ’s n a m e on the m , an d o t h e r s ... are just empty chocolate eggs! H ot c r o s s b u n s are ty pi ca l on G o o d Friday in Britain. The y are small, sweet cakes with a cross on t o p : the c r o s s r e p r e s e n t s J e s u s Ch ris t’s death on the cross.

H o t c r o s s b u n s.

Events before Easter Before Easter there is a period of time in the Christian calendar called Lent. It lasts for forty weekdays until Easter Day. During Lent some Christians do not eat some of their favourite foods. The day before Lent starts is called Shrove Tuesday. On this day the Christian tradition is to use all the fat foods in the kitchen before Lent begins. Shrove T ue sd ay in G re at Britain is also called Pancake Day b e c a u s e it is t r a d i t i o n a l to e a t p a n c a k e s . 1 T h i s is b e c a u s e pancakes use fat foods in the kitchen before Lent starts. In some places there are pancake races. People run and toss 2 pancakes in 1. p a n c a k e s : thin, soft, flat c a k e s m a d e o f flou r, m ilk a n d eggs. T h e y are u su a lly serv ed with l e m o n a n d su g a r. 2. t o s s : throw in the air.

105

British and American F cS tiv itiG S

a frying pan. They must not drop the pancakes as they run. Shrove Tuesday is called Mardi Gras in America. ‘Mardi G r a s ’ means T a t Tuesday’ in French: the name refers to using fat foods before Lent. Mard i G ra s is f a m o u s in A m eri ca b e c a u s e of the carnival in New Or lea ns . Traditionally, carnival was a time of eating, drinking and fun before the serio us period of Lent. In New Or lea ns there are ce lebr ation s and p ar a d es with amazing co stumes for twelve days before Mardi Gras. Around three million people go to this carnival every year.

Pancake races on Shrove Tuesday (1949) by W alter Molino.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT KET

Jk

Choose the correct answer A, B or C. There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

German im m igrants introduced A O

many Easter songs.

B □

the Easter card.

C \7 \ the tradition of the Easter Bunny. 1

In New York City thousands of people participate in the A □

egg races.

B □

big Easter egg hunt.

C 2

4

G

is a traditional Easter egg hunt in every city and town.

B □

are traditional egg gam es in the W hite House gardens.

C □

is a concert in Central Park.

The British usually eat hot cross buns A □

on Holy Thursday.

B □

on Good Friday.

C □

on Easter Day.

During Lent, some people stop A

GG

B □ C 5

Easter Bonnet parade.

On Easter M onday in Am erica there A

3

[G]

GG

eating some things they like. playing gam es and going out. doing things they d o n ’t like.

The carnival £Mardi G ra s’ is in A

□

B □ C

GG

New York. W ashington, DC. New O rleans.

I & Let’sgo on an Easter egg hunt! Go through the maze and collect the eggs. Each coloured egg represents a letter of the alphabet and the eggs on the correct route will spell the answer to this question.

KEY

$A 9 9c C

R

ff

9

T

f

£ f r

u

Whose eggs are they? They a r e _______________________________ .

Test your memory! What happens on these days? Easter Sunday

Ash W ednesday

Shrove Tuesday

Good Friday

BEFORE YOU READ j£k. The words below are all in Chapter Thirteen about May Day. Can you guess what their connection is? flow ers

108

ribbons

dances

sum m er

public holiday

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

May Day the coming of sum mer on the first day of May. In itries 1 May is now a festival celebrating labour, 1 but originally this day was a nature festival to celebrate new life and welcome the warmer weather.

The Origins of May Day Many ancient cultures had festivals at this time of the year. T h e C e l t s c e l e b r a t e d the b e g i n n i n g o f s u m m e r on the nig ht before 1 May. The name of this festival was Beltane. It was the opposite of S a m h a i n , the festival ce le br at in g the beg inn ing of winter. On the night of Beltane the Celts made big bonfires. At this time of the year the R o m a n s h ad a festivity ca lle d

1. l a b o u r : w ork an d p h y sic a l effort.

109

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

Floralia in honour of Flora, the god dess of flowers and spring. When they invaded Britain they brought this festivity with them. D u r in g the M id d le A g e s M ay Day w as one o f the m o st i m p o r t a n t days in the year. Everyb ody got up early and went ‘m a y i n g ’ : they w e n t in to the c o u n t r y to c o l l e c t fl o w e r s an d branches of trees to decorate their homes. Then there were games and singing and dancing. The most important dance was around the M a y p o l e . P e o p le c h o s e a girl fro m the vil la ge to be the ‘Queen of the M ay ’.

May Day Today In G r e a t Britain May Day is a pu bli c holiday. But it is not always on the first of May: it is on the first Monday in May. It is

Children dancing around the maypole.

110

May Day

Morris dancers at a May Day celebration.

much less important than in the Middle Ages, but there are still some traditions. In t r a d i t i o n a l M a y p o l e d a n c e s c h i l d r e n d a n c e a r o u n d the M ay p o le . T h e M ay p o l e , the a n c i e n t symbol of life, has man y colourful ribbons 1 on it. The ribbons represent the rays 2 of the sun. You can also see M orris d a n c i n g on May Day. T hi s kind of dancing probably came from Spain in the fifteenth century, but it is a very B r i t i s h t r a d i t i o n now. M o r r i s d a n c e r s d a n c e with handkerchiefs 3 and bells. 4 They move their feet a lot to make the bells ring. This was to wake up the spirits in the earth after winter. 1. r i b b o n s : 2. r a y s :

111

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T KET Are these sentences ‘Right’ (A) or ‘W rong’ (B)? If there is not enough information to answer ‘Right’ (A) or ‘W rong’ (B), choose ‘Doesn’t say’ (C). There is an example at the beginning (0). 0

The Romans were the first people to have a May Day Festival. (A) Right

1

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

The Maypole has ribbons in different colours. A

10

Right

May Day is a public holiday in the United States. A

9

C D oesn’t say

May Day is on 1 May in G reat Britain. A

8

B W rong

The Queen of the May always wore white clothes. A

7

Right

An im portant event of May Day was a big dinner in the forest. A

6

C D oesn’t say

In the M iddle Ages to go ‘m aying’ was to cut dry grass. A

5

B W rong

Beltane was a Celtic festivity. A

4

Right

The festivity continues for one week. A

3

C D oesn’t say

In many countries May Day is a festival to celebrate work. A

2

B W rong

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Morris dancing probably com es from fifteenth-century Spain. A

Right

B W rong

C D oesn’t say

Answer these questions

a. Is May Day a public holiday in your country? If it is, what do you do? b. Do you have special traditions for this day?

112

itW

May Day celebrates the coming of summer. What things do you associate with the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter? Work with a partner and think of at least five things for each season. Then tell the class. Do you all agree?

KET

A

You will hear some information about the Beltane Fire Festival, which j53ir takes place on the night before May Day in Edinburgh. Listen to the information and complete the table. BELTANE FIRE FESTIVAL 3 0 A p ril

Date:

0

Time:

1 ...................... o ’clock t o ........................ o ’clock

Place:

2

................................... Hill

E vents/attractions:

3

...................................and ...................................

Cost of tickets:

4 £ .......................................

How to get there:

5

Safety points:

6 no g la s s ................................. / d on’t go near t h e .................................

....................... from W averley Station

113

BEFORE YOU READ KET A . Listen to the beginning of Chapter Fourteen about Independence Day IB S ' and for each question tick ( / ) the correct answer A, B or C. There is an example at the beginning (0).

^

0

Independence Day is on

A □ B □ C 0

4 June. 14 July. 4 July.

1

In 1765 the thirteen Am erican colonies belonged to

A □ B □ C □

France. G reat Britain. Spain.

2

The Boston Tea Party was

A □ B □ C □

an act of protest. a social event. an Independence Day party.

3

The Am erican colonists

A □ B □ C □

wanted more English tea. did not want to pay another tax. did not want native A m ericans to have tea.

4

They read the Declaration of Independence

A □ B □ C □

in New York. in Boston. in Philadelphia.

5

In 1783 Am erica and Great Britain signed a peace treaty

A □ B □ C □

in London. in Paris. in Boston.

6

Betsy Ross

A □ B □ C □

broke the Liberty Bell. m arried G eorge W ashington. made the first Am erican flag.

GLOSSARY CHECK You can find definitions of the following words in the glossary on pages 4-5. Check any words that you do not understand. • colony/colonists

• a flag

• costum es

• to make a speech

• a public holiday

• a parade

• firew orks

• a century

114

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

Independence Day The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is ‘Am eri ca’s birthday’. It is a p u bl ic holiday, and A m e r i c a n s r e m e m b e r the i de al s of liberty, equality, and opportunity for everybody.

The American Revolution In the eighteenth century there were thirteen British colonies in America. But, starting in 1765, these colonies began to protest. They did not like paying high taxes to G rea t Britain, and they wanted America to bec ome an independent nation with its own government. A number of different acts of protest against Great Britain started the American Revolution. T h e B o s t o n Tea Party is the m o s t f a m o u s o f th e se ac ts of protest. In 1773 the British Parliament put a new tax on tea. The A m eri ca n c o lo n is ts were very angry: they did not want to pay

115

The Boston Tea Party (18th century) by an unknown artist.

another tax. So, on 16 De ce m be r 1773, a group of colonists in Boston put on native American clothes, went onto three British ships, and threw 342 valuable boxes of tea into the sea. T h e B r i t i s h P a r l i a m e n t r e a c t e d with se v e re laws , an d the colonists protested even more. In April 1775 the American War of Ind ep en de nc e began, with battles between British soldiers and American colonists at Lexington and Concord. A group of fifty-six Americans — principally Thom as Jefferson, and including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and others — w r o t e th e D e c l a r a t i o n o f I n d e p e n d e n c e . T h i s d o c u m e n t declared equality and liberty for all men, the separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain, and the creation o f the United States of America. On 4 July 1776 the leaders of the Bevolution approved this document. On 8 July 1776 they read the Declaration of Independence for

116

Independence Day the first time in public. This was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After reading it they rang 1 a bell. It became a tradition to ring this bell every 4 July, until it broke in 1835. The bell, called the ‘Liberty BelL, is still an important symbol of Independence Day: it is on display in the Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia. The war continued after the Declaration of Independence. The French took part on the side of the Americans in 1778, and in 1781 American and French soldiers won an important battle in Yorktown, Virginia. In 1783 America and Great Britain signed the final p e a c e treaty in Paris, and the U n i t ed S t a t e s of A m er ic a bec ame an independent nation.

The Declaration of Independence, 4 July, 1776 (1776) by John Trumbull.

1. r a n g : (ring, ran g, ru n g ) m a d e a s o u n d typical o f b ells.

117

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

The American Flag The American colonists wanted a flag for their new country. In 1776 Washington asked a friend, Betsy Ross, to make the first American flag. He showed Betsy a design of the new flag. There were thirteen red and white stripes, 1 and a circle of thirteen white s t a r s on a bl u e b a c k g r o u n d . T h e n u m b e r t hir te en was important b e c a u s e there were thirteen states in 1776. In Ju n e 1777 the new American flag was ready. Now there are fifty states and fifty white stars on the flag, but there are still only thirteen stripes. Americans call their flag ‘The Stars and S tr ipe s’.

Betsy Boss and the first ‘Stars and Stripes’ (1920) by John Ward Dunsmore.

Independence Day

Independence Day Today Today Americans celebrate 4 July in different ways. There is an American flag on public buildings and schools. Many people put a flag o u t s i d e their windo ws or in their g a r d e n s . T h e fl ag is important to Americans; every morning, not ju st on Independence Day, sch oo l ch il dr en salu te the flag before they start the da y’s lessons. Every city and town organizes celebrations, and there are red, white an d bl ue d e c o r a t i o n s on the s t r e e t s . S o m e t r a d i t io n a l events are p a tr io tic s p e e c h e s , p a r a d e s , b a s e b a l l g a m e s, competitions, music, dancing, picnics, b arbecues and fireworks. Picnics and barbe cue s are an American tradition, and at this time of the year people eat h a m b u r g e r s , hot dogs, p o ta to sal a d, chocolate cake and ice cream. In t h e E a s t t h e r e a r e h i s t o r i c parades with people in co stumes from the e ig h t ee nt h century. In the West there are s p e c t a c u l a r rode os , events where cowboys ride wild h orse s and c atc h young cows with ropes. T her e are also native American pow-wows — m eetings of m em bers of different tribes —and traditional dances.

American flags outside houses for Independence Day celebrations.

119

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T KET A

Read the text and choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). The thirteen Am erican colonies (0 ) A . to G reat Britain at the beginning of the 1770s. The Am erican colonists paid (1) taxes to Britain but they now wanted (2 ) independence. The British Parliam ent put a new tax on tea ( 3 ) the colonists were very angry. T heir act of protest was called the Boston Tea Party. The colonists formed an army and fought ( 4 ) the British. In 1783 America and Britain signed a peace treaty in Paris. (5) A m erican patriots were Thom as Jefferson, Benjam in Franklin and John Adams. G eorge W ashington (6 ) ..... Betsy Ross to make the first Am erican flag. ( 7 ) the United States people celebrate Independence Day (8) different ways. 0 (A) belonged 1 A top 2 A th e y ’re 3 A because 4 A against 5 A All 6 A said 7 A In 8 A on

A

B B B B B B B B B

C C c c c c c c c

were high there and for Any dem anded At in

connected tall their but with Some asked On very

What did these people do? Read the questions and choose the correct name. a. b. c.

Betsy Ross George W ashington Cowboys

d. e. f.

The colonists The British Parliam ent Thom as Jefferson

Who: 1.

O threw tea into the sea at Boston?

2.

Q wrote most of the D eclaration of Independence?

3.

O made the first Am erican flag?

4.

□ put a new tax on tea?

5.

Q

6- □

120

celebrates Independence Day with rodeos? was the first President of the United States?

A

GRAMMAR CHECK Look at th e s e s e n te n ce s: •

T he c o lo n is ts p a id h ig h ta x e s to G re a t B rita in . T h e re w e re a c ts o f p ro te s ts .

•

T he n u m b e r th irte e n w a s im p o rta n t. T h e re w e re th irte e n s ta te s in 1776.

To join these sentences we use conjunctions. Common conjunctions are: and, but, or, so and because. Now look at the joined sentences: •

T he c o lo n is ts p a id h ig h ta x e s to G re a t B rita in and th e re w e re a c ts o f p ro te s t.

•

T h e n u m b e r th irte e n w a s im p o r ta n t because th e re w e re th irte e n s ta te s in 1776.

Rewrite these sentences choosing one of the conjunctions in brackets. a. On 16 Decem ber a group of colonists went onto three British ships. They threw 342 boxes of tea into the sea. (b u t/a n d /s o ) b. The Am erican Revolution started. The Am erican colonists wanted independence from G reat Britain, ( b u t/s o /b e c a u s e ) c. The Am erican Revolution started in 1775. It d id n ’t finish until 1783. ( b e c a u s e /s o /b u t)

d. The Liberty Bell d oesn’t ring any more. In 1835 it broke. ( b u t/a n d /b e c a u s e )

e.

Every town organizes celebrations. There are decorations on the street, (a n d /b u t/b e c a u s e )

BEFORE YOU READ 1111

Listen to the beginning of Chapter Fifteen about the Notting Hill Carnival and complete the sentences. a.

Notting Hill Gate is an area in

London.

b. The carnival is always on the Sunday and Monday o f .......................... c.

Many of the original participants of this festival were from the islands of and

d. The first carnival in Notting Hill Gate was in ....................... e.

Before the carnival some participants make the ir beautiful ......................... and practise playing the ir steel .......................

f.

More than a

people go to the see the carnival.

121

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is the biggest street festival in Europe. It takes place in Notting Hill Gate, an area of west London, on the last Sunday and Monday of August. The last Monday of August is always a public holiday, so most people are free to come.

How did the Carnival start? Aft er World War II an d d u r i n g the 1 9 5 0 s p e o p l e from the Caribbean, many of them from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, came to Great Britain to work. They did not forget their traditions. Carnival was an important Caribbean tradition: the first Caribbean carnival took place in 1833 in Trinidad to celebrate the end of slavery. In 1958 there was violence between white people and black

122

Hotting Hill Carnival p e o p l e in the N o t t i n g Hill a r e a . T h e next y e a r t h e r e w as a de ci si on to have a carnival to help b l a ck and white p eo ple in London to come together. It took place in different parts of west London, and in 1964 it took place in Notting Hill Gate. There weren’t many people in costume but they danced in the streets and played steel dru m s. 1 It was a great s u c c e s s . After 1964 it always took place in Notting Hill Gate.

The Carnival Today Today the Notting Hill Carnival is an enormous multicultural festival. More than a million people go every year. Su nd ay is a family day, the best day for children to go.

Crowds of people watch the carnival in Notting Hill Gate. 1. s t e e l d r u m s : s p e c ia l m e ta l d r u m s. (T h e s e are typ ical m u s ic a l i n s t r u m e n t s o f the C a r i b b e a n .)

British and American F e s tiv it ie s

During the year the participants prepare for the carnival. They mak e their c o s t u m e s , p r a c t i s e playing their steel d r u m s, and prepare their floats. On the days of the carnival, Notting Hill Gate is full of people, co lou r, e x c i t e m e n t , m u s i c an d n o i se . P e o p le with w o n d e r f u l c o s t u m e s d a n c e in the s t r e e t s . S t e e l b a n d s play ca ly p so , the traditional music of the Caribbean. They also play ‘soc a\ Soca is a newer form of music, a mixture of soul and calypso, but it is now associated with the carnival. There is also reggae, hip-hop and jazz. There is a parade with colourful floats, and there is a prize for the bes t float. The p ar a d e travels ab o ut four and a h alf miles through the streets of West London. And if you are hung ry aft er all that d a n c i n g , you ca n find people selling meat and vegetable patties, 1 salted fish and other delicious Caribbean specialities.

1. p a t t i e s : typical C a r i b b e a n fo o d , sim ila r to p ies. 124

UNDERSTANDING T H E T E X T A

Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones. T a. The Notting Hill Carnival is the biggest street festival in Europe.

□

□

b. Notting Hill Gate is in East London.

□

□

c. The first Caribbean carnival took place in Jam aica. d. The carnival is in a different area of London every year.

□

□

□

□

□

□

e. The participants prepare for the carnival a long tim e before. f.

People dance to different types of music at the carnival.

□

□

g- The parade travels five miles through the streets of London.

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□

h. The best float receives a prize.

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□

□

□

i.

A

F

Patties and salted fish are Caribbean specialities.

Circle the words that are part of the Notting Hill Carnival. noise

school

steel drum s

boats church

dragon calypso

April

costum es

parade

police

salted fish

garden

float

doctor

snow meat forest dance

prize

Now use some of the circled words to complete the sentences. a. T h e ..................... make a lot o f ..................... b. T h e ..................... travels four and half miles through the streets of London. c. There is a ......... ........... for the b e s t ............... ...............patties and .......................at the carnival. d. You can eat e.

People listen to the steel bands playing ..................... music.

f.

Carnival groups wear beautiful ..................... and ..................... in the streets.

125

A

The adjectives in the box below can describe the nouns in exercise two (on page 125). Use these adjectives with the nouns and put them into the correct columns. You can use the adjectives more than once. good

beautiful calypso

delicious colourful

long soca

short

loud

wonderful

KET

A

Complete this letter to your friend. Write one word for each space.

[ fatiA.k ( 0 ) . . t ? . ...................tk e (^M ottin ^ 'H ill ^A vniuA l ^ e -ste r^ A ^ . T k e c a o u u a I (1) .......................... ^ o n ^ e r f u l a ^A I Wa A a ( 2 ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o { ' f u n [ 'Y W trt fa A*s m u - s i r ( 3 )

Aa ^ ci^

.

in (4) .......................... -street-s. I -sa fa A lo t o { b e A u tifu l

60-stume-s aia.A {loA t-s. J o m e p eop le p lA ^e^ -steel A ru m s .

T k e r e faAs Al-so

(5) .............. lon^ pA rA ^e. T k e b e s t flo A t

(6) ................. ........ A p r i^ e . I Ate ue^etAble p A ttie s An^l sAlte^t f is k . T k e ^ (7) .......................... A d ic io u s . '}& o ( 8 ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . faAiA.t to 6ome ^>itk me nexrt ^ e A r ? R oue, -R o b

126

EXIT TEST Jk

Match the description to the festivity. a. b. c. d. e.

Colum bus Day Thanksgiving Chinese New Year St P atrick’s Day Martin Luther King Day

1. O

Halloween k. I. g* C hristm as m. h. V alen tin e ’s Day n. i. Easter j* Independence Day o.

f.

There is M orris dancing on this day.

2.

Q ] The Pilgrim Fathers started this festivity.

3.

O The colour of this day is green.

4. 5.

Guy Fawkes Night New Year P residents’ Day May Day Notting Hill Carnival

A decorated fir tree is one of the sym bols of this festivity.

[J On

this day some people plotted to blow up Parliam ent.

6. O

This festivity celebrates an Italian navigator’s voyage to the ‘New W o rld ’.

7. O

The Scottish celebrate Hogm anay at this tim e of the year.

8 . Q ] On this day A m ericans rem em ber the dream s of an A frican-Am erican. 9. r 1 0.

A m ericans rem em ber two fam ous presidents on this day.

O The British eat hot cross buns during this festivity.

1 1 . □ Ja ck-o ’-lanterns and scary costum es are part of this fun festivity. 12. O

Some children receive special red envelopes at this time.

13. Q

On this day A m ericans rem em ber the Am erican Revolution.

14.

QJ This is an enorm ous street festival in London.

15.

O On this day people can be rom antic!

SHIES Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones. T

F

1. People make resolutions on New Y ea r’s Eve.

□

2. The Portuguese King and Queen gave Colum bus three ships for his voyage.

□

□

3. Christm as is follow ed by Boxing Day in G reat Britain.

□

□

4. Halloween has Roman origins.

□

□

5. Martin Luther King came from the North of the USA.

□

□

6. On Easter M onday children play gam es with eggs in the gardens of the W hite House.

□

□

□

127

T

,A

F

7. The ‘Pasadena Tournam ent of R oses’ is on the first day of the New Year in C alifornia.

□

□

8. The Chinese think that red is an unlucky colour.

□

□

9. A group of patriotic A m ericans wrote the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776.

□

□

10. Guy Fawkes was the leader of the G unpow der Plot.

□

□

11. The origin of V alen tin e ’s Day is probably the Roman festivity of Lupercalia.

□

□

12. St Patrick brought C hristianity to Ireland.

□

□

13. The Notting Hill Carnival takes place before Easter.

□

□

14. The Pilgrim Fathers left Plymouth on a ship called the P in ta .

□

□

15. The Am erican Civil W ar was a war between the United States and Britain.

□

□

What are these people famous for? Match the names with the events below. a.

Betsy Ross

e. Abraham Lincoln

h. Guy Fawkes

b.

G eorge W ashington

f. Thom as Nast

i. Prince Albert

c.

St V alentine

g. St Patrick

j. W illiam Bradford

d. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella 1. [ j He created the modern image of Santa Claus. 2.

Q

They helped C olum bus with his plan to sail to the East.

3.

O

He brought the tradition of the C hristm as tree to Britain.

4.

Q

He was the governor of the Pilgrim F athers’ colony in Am erica.

5.

O He was the first P resident of the United States.

6.

O He stayed with the explosives under Parliam ent in the Palace of W estm inster.

7.

E ] He passed a law against slavery in Am erica.

8.

E ] He

9.

EH She made the first A m erican flag.

10.

secretly married couples when C laudius II was the Roman Emperor.

G He wrote about his life and work in Ireland - in Latin!

TOTALI

128

выложено группой vk.com/create_your_english

Who created Father Christmas and where does he live today? Why are coloured eggs and rabbits symbols of Easter? Why does the river in Chicago turn green once a year? Find out about the origins of British and American festivities and how they are celebrated today in this beautifully illustrated book. • Wide range of fun activities in the four skills • KET-style exercises • Trinity-style exercises (Grades 3 and 4) • Project work using the Web • Easy-to-make recipes • Full recording of the text with both American and British speakers • Exit test

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One

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