Festivals Unit 4

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Reading

Reading comprehension

Festivals

Unit 4

Skill: Identifying the sequence of events

Sometimes you are asked to identify the sequence of events in a text. Pay attention to the time words, and the words or phrases which show the sequence, e.g. at the beginning, at first, before/after, next, then, after that, at last and finally.

25 September 20XX Dear Diary,

I had a lovely evening tonight. Grandma and I went to Victoria Park to look at the moon and play with lanterns.

She told me the story behind mooncakes.

At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor created a new order. Chinese people were forbidden

to gather in public or possess weapons. At night, they were not allowed to go out. After a period of time, a rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang, suggested rebelling on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Zhu applied for and got permission to distribute mooncakes to Chinese people at Mid-Autumn Festival. Inside each mooncake, he had put a piece of paper saying, ‘Kill the Mongols at Mid-Autumn Festival’. Since the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, they did not know the message. Finally, the plan succeeded. The Mongols retreated back into Mongolia.

Zhu founded the Ming Dynasty.

Grandma is going to donate some mooncakes to the charity this Saturday. If I am free, I will join her.

Answer the following questions.

1. How did the writer feel today?

A. She felt happy.

B. She felt sad.

C. She felt tired.

D. She felt angry.

Yuan Dynasty (phr.) 元朝

emperor (n.) 皇帝 forbid (v.) 禁止 gather (v.) 聚集 possess (v.) 擁有 weapon (n.) 武器 rebel (n.) 造反者 Zhu Yuanzhang (n.) 朱元璋permission (n.) 許 可

distribute (v.) 分發 Mongol (n.) 蒙古人 retreat (v.) 撤退 found (v.) 建立 Ming Dynasty (phr.) 明朝

Vocabulary help

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Unit 4 Festivals

2. Look at the word ‘order’. Which meaning corresponds to the word in the diary entry?

1. (v.) to give instructions

e.g. Mandy ordered the boy to get out.

2. (v.) to ask for goods or a service e.g. I have ordered the book online.

3. (n.) the state that exists when people obey laws

e.g. The police were called in to restore order.

4. (n.) the way in which people or things are arranged

e.g. The students lined up in order of height.

A. 1 B. 2

C. 3 D. 4

3. A ‘weapon’ is .

A. a book

B. an object that is used for attacking others C. a small lamp

D. an object that is used for cooking

4. Which of the following was/were prohibited during the Yuan Dynasty? Put a tick ( 4 ) next to each one that applies.

eating mooncakes owning weapons

attending public meetings

having dinner with friends at home

5. Number the following events in chronological order. Write 1–5 on the lines provided.

Ming Dynasty was founded.

The mooncakes were distributed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chinese people should stay at home at night.

Zhu Yuanzhang fought against the Mongols.

Yuan Dynasty was founded. 1

6. What will the writer do this Saturday if she is free?

7. Use ONE word to fill in each blank.

If you have any extra mooncakes, you can (i) them to charities.

Volunteers will help to (ii) the mooncakes to the elderly.

TSA

HKDSE

Pay attention to paragraph 2 about what people were forbidden or not allowed to do.

Smart tip

You can get the answers from paragraphs 3 and 4.

Smart tip

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Vocabulary

B. Fill in the blanks using the vocabulary above.

Exercise

A. Label the equipment and facilities below in the campsite map. Write the correct letters (A–H) in the correct places. Some of the answers can be used more than once.

A. sleeping bag B. shower facilities C. tent D. charcoal E. bow and arrow F. mattress G. utensils H. branches

Let me introduce our campsite to you. When you arrive, you may unpack your

bag at the (1) first. Set up a (2) . Then you

can stay away from the strong sunshine. After that, you may want to visit the archery range. You can borrow a (3) there and have some fun.

When you feel hungry in the evening, you can go to the (4) . No barbecue forks? You can cook in the cooking area but you need to bring your own

(5) . You can use (6) to make a fire. When

the fire is stronger, put (7) to make it more long lasting. At night, make sure you sleep in your (8) to keep warm. You can use a thin (9) so that you can sleep more comfortably.

tent (n.) 帳篷 charcoal (n.) 炭 bow and arrow (phr.) 弓和箭

Vocabulary help campfire (n.) 營火 archery (n.) 射箭 camp bay (phr.) 營 位

Vocabulary help

You can get the answers from both the campsite map and Exercise A.

Smart tip

Campsite map

Campfire site Toilets

Archery range

Camp bays Cooking area

Barbecue site

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Unit 2 Camping

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We put the time in between spend and a gerund.

Smart tip

Each verb in the box can be used once only.

Smart tip reservoir (n.) 水塘 fantastic (adj.) 極好 的

Vocabulary help

litter (v.) 亂丟垃圾 injure (v.) 受傷 prohibit (v.) 禁止

Vocabulary help

Grammar

Gerunds

A gerund is the -ing form of a verb. You use gerunds as nouns. They can be used:

■ as the subject, e.g. Camping is fun.

■ as the object, e.g. I like singing around the campfire.

■ after prepositions, e.g. Judy is responsible for washing the utensils after dinner.

Here are some common verbs that are always followed by gerunds.

admit advise avoid consider deny discuss

enjoy finish involve keep mind miss

practise quit recommend spend suggest tolerate

Exercise

A. Read the speech. Fill in the blanks using the correct gerund form of the verbs in brackets.

It was very hot last Saturday. We could not tolerate (1)

(stay) at home. My dad suggested (2) (go) to Pok Fu Lam Reservoir for some fresh air. We were excited about (3)

(get) there. We walked up to the reservoir after (4) (get) off the bus. The view there was fantastic. We took many pictures.

(5) (spend) a day out of the city was really a good choice for us.

B. Read the notice. Fill in the blanks using the correct gerund form of the verbs in the box.

invite swim camp call arrive cook litter hike (1) is becoming more popular in Hong Kong because of the fresh air in the countryside. Before (2) the campsite, most people enjoy (3) . Here are some points to note while hiking and camping.

✽ Consider (4) your friends. Don’t go hiking alone.

✽ Avoid (5) near rocks. You may be injured by the rocks.

✽ (6) is prohibited. Take all the rubbish with you.

✽ Be sure to put out the fire after (7) .

If you need any help along the way, please don’t mind (8) us through this number: 3111 2222.

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To-infinitives

A to-infinitive is to + the base form of a verb. You use to-infinitives:

■ as the subject/object, e.g. To survive in the wild is not so easy. You need to be brave.

■ after a noun/pronoun, e.g. Simon has a lot of hiking experience to share with us.

Here are some common verbs that can only be followed by to-infinitives.

agree aim appear choose decide expect

hope learn mean offer plan prepare

promise refuse seem try want wish

Some verbs such as expect, offer and want can be followed by an object and a to-infinitive.

e.g. My mum expects me to come home early.

Exercise

C. Read the message. Fill in the blanks using the correct to-infinitive form of the verbs in brackets.

John Smith is a famous adventurer. He has agreed

(give) a talk at our school next Tuesday.

(introduce) the basic skills of hiking and camping is the purpose of this talk. He has a lot of exciting stories

(3)

(share) with us. If you want

(attend) the

talk, please sign up at the Students’ Union office by this Friday. We hope

(5)

(see) you there.

D. Read the leaflet. Fill in the blanks using the correct gerund or to-infinitive form of the verbs in brackets.

(1) (camp) with wild animals in Africa

(2) (sleep) under the stars with wild animals must be a memorable experience. However, not many people seem (3) (have) this chance.

Now we offer you an opportunity (4) (get) close to wildlife.

This tour is organised by Wildlife Conservation Group. It plans (5)

(let) animal lovers know how to protect nature and learn (6) (save) wildlife, especially the endangered species.

Before the tour, we expect participants (7) (attend) a one-day workshop. They will be asked (8) (fill) in different forms including the health declaration form. They will also practise (9) (speak) some simple African words and phrases.

adventurer (n.) 冒 險家

Vocabulary help survive (v.) 生存 wild (n.) 野外

Vocabulary help

memorable (adj.) 難忘的

wildlife (n.) 野生生 物conservation (n.) 保育endangered species (phr.) 瀕危 物種declaration (n.) 聲 明

Vocabulary help

Pay attention to the verbs before the blanks.

Smart tip Some verbs such as like, love, prefer and start can be followed by either gerunds or to-infinitives.

Smart tip

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Unit 4 Festivals

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Skill: Identifying facts and opinions

A fact is something that is known to be true and can be supported by evidence. An opinion is a thought or belief about someone or something. It cannot be proved. Here are two examples.

Fact The Mid-Autumn Festival is either in September or October.

Opinion I think the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday is too short.

Pay attention to the verbs, adjectives and adverbs used by the speakers while listening. The following words are often used to express opinions.

Verb Adjective Adverb

believe feel like think

bad good interesting

terrible

awfully so too very Listening

Exercise

A. Read the following statements and identify whether each of them is a fact (F) or an opinion (O).

1. Christmas is a great time of reunion.

2. Chung Yeung Festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar.

3. Mooncake is the festive food for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

4. I think Chinese New Year is the most important festival.

5. Among all the Western festivals, I don’t like Halloween.

B. Listen to the conversation and identify whether each of the students’

responses is a fact (F) or an opinion (O).

1. Mary 2. Ian 3. David 4. Jenny 5. Fred 6. Lily

reunion (n.) 團聚 calendar (n.) 曆法 festive (adj.) 節日 的

Vocabulary help evidence (n.) 證據 prove (v.) 證實 awfully (adv.) 非常

Vocabulary help

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Exercise

Complete the article using information from the Data File and your notes.

Integrated skills

Situation

You are Joey Lau, a student reporter for your school newsletter. You are listening to a radio programme about an international festival. You want to write about it in the newsletter.

Listen to the radio programme. As you listen you can make notes on the note-taking sheet.

Listening note-taking sheet

Data File

Study the Data File for relevant information to be included in the writing task.

1. Email from Ada to Joey 2. Postcard from Peter to Joey Hi Joey,

I’ve got some more information from the Internet about the festival you told me yesterday. During the festival, people are not allowed to smoke for safety reasons.

I look forward to reading your article.

Ada

Dear Joey,

This festival is wonderful.

You should come here one day. You can meet people from different countries.

Peter

It is an international festival that takes place in every year. The festival is

held . The objective is .

During the festival, there are many activities. The two most popular ones are . The reasons are

. However, people are not allowed .

Someone who has been there comments that

and .

instil (v.) 灌輸 discipline (n.) 紀律 skydiving (n.) 高空 跳傘

bungee jumping (phr.) 笨豬跳

Vocabulary help

First write the name of the festival. Then give information about it. After that, provide a fact and an opinion about the festival from the Data File.

Smart tip

Name of the festival:

When: every year Where: the Philippines Objective: to instil discipline in participating

Activity: [Tick 2 and write the reasons in brackets.]

Watching sunrise ( ) Skydiving ( )

Watching sunset ( ) Bungee jumping ( )

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Unit 5 Shopping

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Story: Recounting events

In a story you recount events happened in the past or personal experiences by using the past tenses and adverbs of sequence, e.g. first, next, then and finally. The three basic elements of a story are problem, climax and resolution. You can add in direct speech to make your story more interesting.

A story should include the following:

Title

Give your story an appealing title.

Opening paragraph

Describe the time, place and characters in the story.

Body paragraphs

Describe what happened and let the readers understand the problem. After that, include the story climax that usually creates great suspense or surprise for the readers.

Closing paragraph

End your story with a resolution.

recount (v.) 敘述 basic (adj.) 基本的 element (n.) 元素 climax (n.) 高潮 resolution (n.) 解決 方法appealing (adj.) 令 人感興趣的 suspense (n.) 懸疑

Vocabulary help

complain (v.) 投訴 disappointing (adj.) 令人失望的

discount (n.) 折扣 fitting room (phr.) 試身室pleasant (adj.) 令人 愉快的queue (n.) 隊 return (v.) 退還 rude (adj.) 粗魯的 unacceptable (adj.) 不能接受的 unfit (adj.) 不合身 的Young Fashion Zone (phr.) 年輕人 的時尚服飾區

Vocabulary help

Exercise

You are going to write a 100-word story about one of your shopping experiences.

Step 1: Planning — guiding questions 1. When was that shopping experience?

2. Where were you?

3. Who was with you?

4. Why did you go there?

Writing

Short Stories

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The climax is the most interesting part of a story.

You can use adjectives, adverbs and connectives such as although, however and because/since/as to write the climax.

Smart tip

Step 2: Planning — organiser

Step 3: Writing

I went shopping at with

. We went there because .

When we arrived, .

Title:

Problem Climax Resolution

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Unit 6 Nature and the environment

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Making suggestions

You may make suggestions in an individual presentation or a group discussion. When you are making suggestions, make sure your suggestions are relevant to the topic and are feasible.

There are two ways to make suggestions:

Giving reasons

You can use because, as and since to show reasons for your suggestions, e.g.

Let’s join the Clean Beach campaign because we can help make our Earth clean and we can play on the beach afterwards.

Describing the good points

You can use positive adjectives to describe the good points of your suggestions, e.g.

I’m going to list ten simple things we can do to save our world while living a happier and healthier life.

Besides can/could, there are a number of expressions you may use to make suggestions.

Does it matter…? Don’t you think…?

Let’s… Shall we…?

What about…? Why don’t…?

You can use should to talk about duty or give advice, e.g.

We should switch off the electrical appliances when we are not using them.

We should stay calm when there is an earthquake.

relevant (adj.) 相關 的feasible (adj.) 可行 的earthquake (n.) 地 震

Vocabulary help

consume (v.) 吃 excess (adj.) 多餘 的food bank (phr.) 食 物銀行

Vocabulary help

Speaking

First, we should shop wisely. Let’s make a shopping list so that we won’t buy more than we need. Second, we should store food in the right places and consume the food before it goes bad. Third, why don’t we donate the excess food to food banks?

What should we do to reduce food waste?

Here is an example.

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Exercise

You are going to give a presentation about ways to protect the environment. Complete the mind map and write a 100-word script in the space below.

Good morning, everyone. I’m going to talk about ways to protect the environment.

Thank you for listening.

carbon dioxide (phr.) 二氧化碳 eco-friendly (adj.) 不損害環境的 energy-efficient (adj.) 節省能源的 filter (n.) 隔塵網 global (adj.) 全球的 greenhouse effect (phr.) 温室效應 organic (adj.) 有機 的overload (v.) 使負 荷過重temperature (n.) 氣 温unplug (v.) 不插電

Vocabulary help Apart from the given branches, you can add one or two more branch(es) in the mind map.

Remember to give a reason for each of your suggestions.

Smart tip

Ways to protect the environment

reduce electricity use

reduce and recycle waste

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Unit 3 Pets

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Play the riddle game below about some animals. Write the correct answers in the spaces provided.

feather (n.) 羽毛 fin (n.) 鰭

shiny (adj.) 閃亮的 fetch (v.) (去 ) 拿來 wag (v.) 擺動 radish (n.) 小蘿蔔 hay (n.) 乾草 icon (n.) 象徵 stripe (n.) 條紋 scratch (v.) 抓 claw (n.) 爪子 scale (n.) 鱗

Vocabulary help

Fun break

dog rabbit hamster parrot horse goldfish snake zebra cat

• I have a tail.

• My feathers are colourful.

• I can fly.

• I like talking and singing.

• I have fins and my eyes are big.

• My body is shiny.

• I can swim.

• People usually put me in a bowl.

• I have four legs.

• I have a good sense of smell.

• I like fetching balls.

• I wag my tail when I am happy.

(1) (2) (3)

• My legs are strong and I have a long tail.

• I eat grass.

• I can run very fast.

• People can ride on my back.

• Most of us are white.

• I eat radish and hay.

• I am an icon of a festival.

• Children love me very much.

• I am small.

• I eat seeds.

• I am a mouse but people are not afraid of me.

• I like running on a wheel.

(4) (5) (6)

• I look like a horse, but I am not.

• My body is black with white stripes.

• I eat a variety of grasses.

• You can see me in a zoo.

• I like staying indoors.

• I can catch mice.

• I love eating fish.

• I like scratching with my claws.

• I don’t have legs.

• I have scales on my skin.

• My tongue is like a fork.

• I can live in the water, forests and deserts.

(7) (8) (9)