APIEReading: UNESCO Carnival Traditions
Carnival parades and costumes
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
🎉 UNESCO Carnival Traditions
Explore two famous festivals from Belgium and Bolivia added to the UNESCO heritage list.
How to Use This Lesson
👨🏫 For Teachers
Set a 15-minute timer for students to skim and read the article.
Check the 8 questions together by reviewing the sentence evidence boxes.
👩🎓 For Learners
Read paragraphs A to D carefully before looking at the tasks.
Answer the questions in order and check your evidence for each answer.
Example sentence pattern: "The street we walked along was full of people."
Two Amazing Carnivals on the UNESCO List
The Carnival of Binche in Belgium takes place during the three days before Lent. It begins on Shrove Sunday. On Mardi Gras, people called Gilles come out into the street. Several hundred Gilles walk in red, yellow and black costumes.
UNESCO says that a Gille wears a hat with ostrich feathers, wooden shoes, bells and a wax mask with small glasses. Music is part of the day too: people play traditional tunes on the viola and the drum, and local brass and clarinet bands play as well.
The Carnival of Oruro in Bolivia lasts ten days. The main event is the procession, which people call the entrada. The dancers walk along a route that is four kilometres long.
UNESCO says that more than 28,000 dancers and 10,000 musicians in about 50 groups take part in the procession at Oruro. The carnival also leads to popular arts such as masks, textiles and embroidery. UNESCO put both carnivals on its list in 2008.
IELTS Practice Questions
Answer all 8 questions based on the text above.
Questions 1–2: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information, FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
1. The Gilles wear costumes that are made of only red and black fabric.
2. Local people in Binche make their wax masks by hand at home before the carnival starts.
Questions 3–4: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
3. What does paragraph B tell us about the music played during the Carnival of Binche?
4. According to UNESCO, how many groups participate in the Oruro procession?
Questions 5–6: Which paragraph contains this information?
Which paragraph contains the following information? Choose the correct paragraph letter, A, B, C or D.
5. The specific distance that participants walk along during the main procession.
6. Details about special clothing items and accessories worn by carnival figures.
Questions 7–8: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
7. The carnival in Oruro leads to popular arts such as masks, textiles and ____.
8. The Carnival of Binche officially begins on ____ before the Gilles walk out on Mardi Gras.
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