APIEIELTS Reading: Busking Regulations in Australia
Busking and street performers
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
How to use this lesson
For the Teacher
- Use this 18-minute session for independent reading practice.
- Assess student comprehension using the provided explanation keys.
For the Student
- Read the passage carefully first, then complete the 10 questions sequentially.
- Check your answers against the provided explanations.
"Wherever the singer sets up, a small crowd soon stops to listen to her."
Busking Regulations in Australia
Byron Shire Council in New South Wales, Australia, says that musicians, actors and other street performers need a permit to perform in public for money. The council charges a one-off application fee of 32 dollars. A yearly permit costs another 32 dollars, and a one-month permit costs another 10 dollars.
The council's busking policy says that a busker may perform for up to two hours at any one site in the Shire, or for one hour at the sites that the council has set aside for buskers. Busking must stop at midnight, and no busking can take place between midnight and 8 am. A busker may not use the same site on two days in a row. Walk-by acts, where people do not have to stop and watch, must stay at least 50 metres apart.
Other councils have different rules. The City of Boroondara in Victoria, Australia, says that there is no cost for a busking permit. It also says that buskers cannot use sound amplifiers. A busker may only perform on the dates, at the times and in the places that the permit lists.
These rules seem to show that a council wants to share busy places among many performers, and I think the different rules in the two councils suggest that each council decides for itself. The facts here come from only two councils, and rules can change, so they do not show what most towns ask.
Questions 1–3
Which paragraph contains the following information? Choose the correct paragraph, A–D.
1. Information about the prohibition of sound amplification equipment.
2. Specific time limitations for performing at standard versus designated locations.
3. Details regarding financial charges for short-term and annual street performance authorizations.
Questions 4–6
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the reading passage? Choose YES, NO, or NOT GIVEN.
4. Buskers in Byron Shire are permitted to perform at any time during the night as long as they stay quiet.
5. Obtaining a busking permit in the City of Boroondara requires more administrative effort than in Byron Shire.
6. The differences in regulations between local councils indicate that each local authority makes independent decisions.
Questions 7–8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
7. What does the writer suggest about the underlying purpose of Byron Shire's site time restrictions?
8. Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude towards drawing general conclusions from the provided facts?
Questions 9–10
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
In Byron Shire, street performers must pay a one-off application fee of 32 dollars, whereas a busking permit in the City of Boroondara involves Question 9 ____ (9) . Furthermore, buskers in Boroondara are strictly forbidden from using Question 10 ____ (10) .
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