Mardi Gras Celebration

Mardi Gras Celebration!

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Develop your reading skills. Read the following text and do the comprehension questions

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Mardi Gras Carnival!

Louisiana hosts one of the most well known celebrations - Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". This holiday is sometimes called "Shrove Tuesday". People wear masks and costumes, overturn social conventions, dance, organize competitions

and parades. Related popular practices were associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent.

Today Mardi Gras is celebrated in many parts of the world - Brazil, Belgium, Italy, Panama. The American town which holds the biggest celebration is New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the French explorers who started this celebration on the Mississippi River in the late 17th century.

Parades are divided into organizations called "Krewe". These Krewes are responsible for all aspects of their parades. The parades go in the streets ruled by the "King and Queen." Beads, "doubloons" and cups are thrown to the throngs of spectators by the riders as souvenirs of Mardi Gras.

Source: Wikipedia and Metro

Comprehension:

 

1. The origin of Mardi Gras is 
a. Secular
b. Religious 

2. What does Mardi Gras mean?
a. Happy New Year
b. Fat Thursday
c. Fat Tuesday

3. On this celebration "Kings and Queens" lead 
a. Kingdoms
b. Parades 

4. What are thrown from Mardi Gras floats in parades?
a. large golf balls.
b. popcorn.
c. beads and doubloons. 

Answers :

1. B

2. C

3. B

4. C

Source : http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-mardi-gras.php ( Accessed on 28 May 2015 )

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The Wall of China

Reading Comprehension - The Wall of China

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Develop your reading skills. Read the following text and do the comprehension question

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The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was first built between 220–206 BC. In fact, it began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the "Great" wall until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to serve as fortification to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from invasion. Afterwards it was rebuilt and maintained over the years, between the 5th century BC and the 16th century.

One of the myths associated with the Great Wall of China is that it is the only man-made structure that can be seen from the moon with the naked eye. The legend originated in Richard Halliburton's 1938 book Second Book of Marvels. However, This myth is simply not true. Richard Halliburton's claim was contradicted by astronauts Neil Armstrongby and Yang Liwei. A more plausible assumption would be to say that the Great Wall can be visible from a low orbit of the earth which is not unique in this regard as many other artificial constructions can be seen from that height.

Source: Wikipedia

 

Comprehension

    1. The Great Wall of China was first built as a single wall.
a. True
b. False

    2. The Great Wall of China
a. was built in a single dynasty.
b. was refurbished during its history.

    3. The Great Wall was first designed
a. to protect the Empire from invasion.
b. to help trade between different provinces.

    4. The wall can be seen from moon with the naked eye.
a. True.
b. False.

Answers :

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.B

Source : http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading_wall_of_china.php ( Accessed on 24 May 2015 )

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The History of Pizza

The History of Pizza

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Develop your reading skills. Read the following text and do the comprehension questions

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The modern pizza was originally invented in Naples, Italy but the word pizza is Greek in origin, derived from the Greek word pēktos meaning solid or clotted. The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The first major innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. It was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began.

While it is difficult to say for sure who invented the pizza, it is however believed that modern pizza was first made by baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples. In fact, a popular urban legend holds that the archetypal pizza, Pizza Margherita, was invented in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pie swathed in the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.

Later, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world:

·         The first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, was opened in 1830 in Naples.

·         In North America, The first pizzeria was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring Street in New York City.

·         The first Pizza Hut, the chain of pizza restaurants appeared in the United States during the 1930s.

Nowadays, many varieties of pizza exist worldwide, along with several dish variants based upon pizza.

Source: Wikipedia

Comprehension:

1. Historians know who invented the pizza.
a. True
b. False

2. The word pizza has an Italian Origin.
a. True
b. False 

3. Raffaele Esposito was the first to prepare modern pizza.
a. True
b. False

4. The first pizzeria was opened in New York.
a. True
b. False

Answers :

1. B (It is difficult to say for sure who invented the pizza)

2. B (It has a greek origin)

3. A 

4. B (In Naples)

 Source : http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-history-of-pizza.php ( Accessed on 23 May 2015 )

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