GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:

UNIT 2. CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Skill Focus: Exam Focus:

- Locating key information - Table/Note Completion
- Sentence Completion
- Multiple choice questions

Reading 1
Table completion
Task 1: Work in pairs. You are going to read a passage about cities around the world. Before
you read, decide if these are good or bad aspects of cities. Write G (good) or B (bad).
1. Friendly inhabitants G

2. Fast public transport

3. Crowded streets
4. A high crime rate
5. People in a hurry
6. A relaxed lifestyle

The world's friendliest city

A team of social psychologists from California has spent six years studying the reactions of
people in cities around the world to different situations. The results show that cities where
people have less money generally have friendlier populations. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which
is often known for its crime, comes out top, and the
capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, comes third.
But what makes one city friendlier than another? The
psychologists from California State University say it has
got more to do with environment than culture or
nationality.
They carried out a study into the way locals treated
strangers in 23 cities around the world. The team
conducted their research through a series of tests, where they dropped pens or pretended
they were blind and needed help crossing the street.
The study concludes that people are more helpful in cities with a more relaxed way of life
such as Rio. While they were there, researchers received help in 93 percent of cases, and the
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GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:
percentage in Lilongwe was only a little lower. However, richer cities such as Amsterdam and
New York are considered the least friendly. Inhabitants of Amsterdam helped the researchers
in 53 percent of cases and in New York just 44 percent. The psychologists found that, in these
cities, people tend to be short of time, so they hurry and often ignore strangers.
(Adapted from an article by Victoria Harrison, BBC News)

Task 2: Read the passage quickly again. Which of the good and bad aspects in Task 1 are
mentioned?
Task 3: Match the words and phrases in italics in this table with the words and phrases in
italics in the passage.

city positive aspects negative aspects % of help Exam tips: Table

received completion

Rio de • friendly • People don't 93% • Quickly look for words

Janeiro inhabitants have so much and phrases in the
passage which mean the
• more 1……………. 2 ………………….
same as words and
lifestyle • Has reputation phrases in the table (for
for 3………………. example: not many - few;
Amsterdam • richer People Amsterdam: well-known - famous),
then read around those
and New • have little 53%
words carefully.
York 4 …………….….. New York:
• don't pay 44% • Copy the words from
the passage into the table
attention to
exactly as you see them.
5 ………………….…

Task 4: Now complete the table. Choose ONE word from the passage for each answer.

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GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:
Reading Passage 2
Note Completion
Task 1: Work in small groups. You are going to read a passage about Costa Rica. Before you
read, look at the photos of Costa Rica on the right. What do they tell you about the country?
Task 2: Read the passage below quickly. Who are:
1. Mariano Rojas? 2. Saamah Abdallah?

The happiest country in the world

Children growing up in Costa Rica are surrounded by some of the most beautiful and diverse
landscapes in the world. Preserving tropical rainforests isn't Costa Rica's only success,
because the government also makes sure everyone has access to
health-care and education. So when
the New Economics Foundation
released its second Happy Planet
Index, Costa Rica came out number
one. The index is a ranking of countries
based on their impact on the
environment and the health and
happiness of their citizens.
According to Mariano Rojas, a Costa Rican economics professor,
Costa Rica is a mid-income country where citizens have plenty of time for themselves and for
their relationships with others. “A mid-income level allows most citizens to satisfy their basic
needs. The government makes sure that all Costa Ricans have access to education, health and
nutrition services.” Costa Ricans, he believes, are not interested in status or spending money
to show how successful they are.
Created in 2008, the Happy Planet Index examines happiness on a national level and ranks
143 countries according to three measurements: their citizens' happiness, how long they live
(which reflects their health), and how much of the planet's resources each country consumes.
According to researcher Saamah Abdallah, the Index also measures the outcomes that are
most important, and those are happy, healthy lives for everyone.
(Adapted from Yes! Magazine)

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GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:
Task 3: Look at the notes below.
1. What are the notes about? Find which sentences in the passage deal with this.
2. Find words in the passage which mean the same as the words in italics.

The Happy Planet Index

Year started: 1 ……………
Number of countries it lists: 2 ………………..
Measures each country's happiness according to:
• its effect on the 3 ……………….. (i.e. the quantity of the
Earth's 4 ……………………. that it uses);
• the 5 ……………………. of the population (i.e. how long
people live);
• how happy its 6 …………………… are.

Task 4: Now complete the notes. Choose ONE WORD OR A NUMBER from the passage for
each gap.

Exam tips: Note completion

• Read the title of the notes first and find the right place(s) in the passage.
• Carefully read the parts of the passage which deal with the key ideas in the questions - the answers
may not come in passage order.

Reading 3
Multiple choice questions
Sentence Completion
Indian Marriages
Marriage is one of the oldest human institutions and this is as true in Indian culture as
anywhere else. In India marriage, called “Kanyadana" or “donating a virgin”, is thought of as
the greatest sacrifice that a father can make and for the groom as an obligation to perpetuate
his bloodline. Many people believe that a marriage is still binding after death.
In early times girls were thought to be ready for marriage after puberty and later even
children could be married. Divorce and remarriage were not always possible. By Medieval
times marriage was compulsory for girls, who very often married between the ages of eight

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GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:
and nine. Among those able to afford it, polygamy was common and rulers would often have
one wife from their own region and other minor wives from other areas. Now, divorce and
remarriage is possible and non-Muslim Indian men can only have one wife.
Although there are many regional variations, some features of the Indian wedding ceremony
are similar throughout the country. In general, weddings are very complicated events and
involve long negotiations about dowry payments prior to the event. After this has been
decided, a day is chosen by asking an astrologer to find a lucky day. Preparations begin early
because a marriage is not only one of the highlights of a person’s life, but a large and complex
social gathering to organize.
The night before, the bride, her friends and female relatives gather together for a party called
a “mehendi”, where they paint each other’s hands and feet with Henna and dance and listen
to music. Her guests often give the bride advice about married life and tease her about her
future husband. Weddings are traditionally held at the bride’s home or in a temple, but parks,
hotels and marriage halls are becoming increasingly popular. On the day a wedding altar or
“mandapa” is built and covered in flowers. All of the wedding ceremony will be held in the
altar.
The clothing a couple wear on their wedding day varies between regions and ethnic groups.
Women most commonly wear a sari. The bride wears a lot of jewelry as this symbolizes the
prosperity she will bring to her new family. In the South wearing flowers is common. The
groom wears traditional costume or a suit. Turbans are also popular headgear.
The ceremony begins with a mixture of turmeric, sandlewood paste and oils being applied to
the couples face and arms. In the past this was done to the whole body, but now it is only
symbolic, with only a little being rubbed on. Then they are showered in flowers. After this
they perform the rituals that will make them man and wife. First they garland each other and
then take seven symbolic steps together representing seven gifts and seven promises.
Finally, they say the vows and then they are legally married. The bride’s father or guardian
takes her hands and puts them in her husband’s giving her to him. Now she is no longer a
member of her father’s family, but a member of her husband’s. They then touch the feet of
their elders for luck.
After the wedding ceremony, the couple go to the groom’s house. The bride should be careful
to enter the house right foot first for luck. In the evening and late into the night the families
and their guests celebrate with dancing, music and food.

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GE3/Reading Handout 2 Student’s name:
Questions 1-3
Choose the correct answer from A – D.
1. In India, weddings are …
A. a duty for the man to continue his family. Exam tips: Multiple choice
B. thought to end at death. • Read all the choices
C. a duty for the father. carefully and underline
key words in the
D. seen as a benefit for the father.
question
2. Divorce and remarriage …
• Eliminate answers which
A. are only possible for non-Muslims. are clearly wrong.
B. were sometimes not possible in the past. • Make sure you can find
C. have always been possible. the answer in the text
D. have only become possible in modern times. (not just what you think
is true).
3. Indian weddings …
A. are straightforward and brief.
B. are thought to be lucky
C. are intricate and time consuming.
D. involve only the immediate family.
Questions 4-9
Complete the statements below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

Exam tips: Sentence Completion

• Underline the key idea in each question.

• Decide what type of information you need to complete the sentence.
• Read the section of the passage which deals with the key idea and choose your
answer.
• Read the completed sentence to make sure it is grammatically correct.

4. The evening prior to the wedding, the wife-to-be is given recommendations about
………………… .
5. The wedding ceremony is conducted in a special …………………
6. The gold and jewels the bride wears represent ………………… .
7. These days, the materials applied to the face and arms at the start of the ceremony are
just ………………… .
8. After the wedding, the bride has left ………………… and belongs to her husband’s.
9. It is important that the new bride goes into the new house with her…………………….. .

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