CULTURAL QUIZZES. READING COMPREHENSION.

CULTURAL QUIZZES

Name:                                                                                  

Grade:                                                                                             

	Objectives: The students must be able to: ·         Show comprehension while Reading a text. ·         Complete a text giving to it meaningful sense.
Instructions: Read the following texts and complete them with the right words.

Federico García Lorca

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Federico García Lorca was born _____________________________ Fuente Vaqueros,
Granada _____________________________ the 5th of June, 1898 and died the 19th of August,
1936. His life spanned the years _____________________________ the Year of Disaster
and the Spanish Civil War _____________________________ ultimately victimized him.
He travelled _____________________________ Spain and America, principally Argentina,
living and writing some _____________________________ the most beautiful poetry ever written.
Lorca's poetry and plays combine elements _____________________________ Andalusian folklore
with sophisticated and _____________________________ surrealistic poetic techniques,
cut _____________________________ all social and educational barriers.
His poetry has been translated _____________________________ a dozen languages.
August 19, 1936, Falangist soldiers dragged _____________________________ Spanish poet
and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca _____________________________ a field, shot him
and tossed his body into _____________________________ unmarked grave.
. Franco's government tried _____________________________ obliterate Lorca's memory
His books were prohibited, _____________________________ name forbidden but he quickly became
an almost mythical figure, a symbol of all the victims _____________________________ political oppression.

Sarah an indigenous Australian.

(a can do Team interview. March 2000)

 I grew up in an aboriginal community called Pomporal; which is in the Golf of Carpentaria. It was very isolated - Much more isolated than living in a town. We had running water but there wasn't a proper sewage system. Housing and overcrowding were the worst problems. But nutrition was not much better. We had one shop - was called a 'store' - but  we didn't have fresh veggies and that sort of thing. We had more fish than meat because Pomporal is right on the ocean.

My father is a white Australian from Tasmania. He sent me away to a boarding school which he thought was the best in the southern part of Australia. I was luckier than my friends because, unfortunately in the aboriginal community, a lot of kids are illiterate.

The boarding school was mixed, with lots of different kids - most of them from even more isolated regions than mine. - A lot of farming children and international kids. It was an adjustment. I used to be really embarrassed to tell people where I was from because it wasn't considered as civilized as most other places.

Then I left school and took charge of my own life and travelled. I went and lived in Sydney and lived in Perth and Northern territory and then I packed up and backpacked around the world. That made me realize I was lucky: I belong to two worlds - I am a bit of a Bush girl ... but I also love to have caviar and champagne.

I've got a long-term goal: My greatest desire is to study medicine and be a doctor. As I just told you, the basic living conditions are terrible in indigenous communities - no better than in most Third-World countries. I want to help change that. I'd love to be a flying doctor. As a kid, we used to watch when there was an emergency in the community - you know a pregnancy or an accident or whatever. The planes would land on the grass airstrips and they would take the person away in no time. I'm most interested in Third-World medicine. One of my biggest and most consuming passions is bush medicines.  You know, with my western knowledge, I'd really like to bring back the natural remedies that our indigenous people have used for so many years. Some of them are just as good as our modern chemical medicines.

This is what I'd love to do! I know I will do it.

Questions:



1) In which country did Sarah grow up? __________________
[ ]Tasmania
[ ]Australia
[ ]Great Britain

2) What was Sarah's food? __________________
[ ]lots of meat
[ ]Some fish
[ ]lots of veggies

3) Where is Pomporal situated? __________________
[ ]On the ocean
[ ]In the desert
[ ]In the middle of Australia

4) Is Sarah's father an aborigine? __________________
[ ]No
[ ]Yes
[ ]not mentioned

5) What sort of school did she go to? __________________
[ ]A medicine school.
[ ]A boarding school
[ ]An aborigine school

6) Was that school located near the place where she grew up? __________________
[ ]Yes
[ ]not mentioned
[ ]No

7) Why did she say she was luckier than her friends? Because __________________
[ ]she wasn't illiterate
[ ]Her father came each week
[ ]She wasn't a farming kid

8) When she took charge of her own life where did she live first? __________________
[ ]in Sydney
[ ]in Perth
[ ]in Northern territory

9) What is her greatest desire? __________________
[ ]To be a lawyer
[ ]To be a doctor
[ ]To be a nurse

10) Are some natural remedies good medicine? __________________
[ ]Yes
[ ]No
[ ]not mentioned.

Antarctica

Geography: Antarctica is the icy continent at the South Pole. It is covered by permafrost (permanently frozen ground), is surrounded by water, and is about 1 1/2 times larger than the United States. The world's largest desert is on Antarctica. 98 percent of the land is covered with a continental ice sheet; the remaining 2 percent of land is barren rock. Antarctica has about 87% of the world's ice.

Climate: The South Pole is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at the South Pole; it reached -128.6°F (-88.0°C)! On average, most of Antarctica gets less than 2 inches of snow fall each year.

People: Although scientific expeditions visit Antarctica, there are no permanent human residents (because of the extreme weather, which includes freezing temperatures, strong winds, and blizzards). There are about 4,000 seasonal visitors to Antarctica.

Location: Antarctica hasn't always been located at the South Pole. It has drifted, like the other continents, and has ranged in location from the Equator (during the Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago) to the South Pole. During the time of the dinosaurs (the Mezosoic Era about 65 million to 248 million years ago), Antarctica was more temperate and home to dinosaurs and many other life forms. Now, there is very little indigenous life.

Exercice : Answer full sentences :

Ex : Is Antartica a hot continent ? No, Antarctica is an Icy Continent.

Questions:

10. Has Antarctica always been located at the South Pole ? _____________________________
1. How was the weather in Antarctica during the time of the dinosaurs ? _____________________________
2. Is there some life in Antarctica now ? _____________________________
3. How many oceans can we see on the map, surrounding Antarctica ? _____________________________
4. Is Antarctica near North America ? _____________________________
5. Has Antarctica ranged in location from the Equator to the North Pole ? _____________________________
6. How many visitors are there to Antarctica ? _____________________________
7. Are there permanent human residents ? _____________________________
8. Why are there no permanent human residents ? _____________________________
9. Does most of Antartica get less than 2 inches of snow fall each year ? _____________________________

The Taj Mahal.

 In 1612, a prince called Jahan, met a pretty girl who was selling jewels in a market. Mumtaz Mahal was nineteen years old and of Tatar origin. They fell in love and decided to get married.

Sixteen years later, the prince became Shah Jahan, Emperor of India. As Mumtaz Mahal did not want to live like the other eastern women who were submissive and only looked after their children, she gave her husband advice about the administration of the country. She showed great intelligence and determination when she chose to give more money to the poor and less to the rich.

Unfortunately she died when giving birth to her fourteenth child in 1630. Stricken with grief, the Shah ordered the court to mourn for two years.He wanted to abdicate but it was not possible, as his children were too young to take his place as Emperor.

In memory of his wife and as a token of his love, he erected a sort of temple on the bank of the Jumma River in Agra that he called the Taj Mahal. Seventeen years later, the monument,built by twenty thousand workers, was finished. It became Mumtaz Mahal's resting place. Her tomb is situated in the middle of a room magnificently decorated with jewels, pearls, gold and silver, precious stones and rich carpets. The Taj Mahal , with its four minarets and its sixty-five meter high dome, is totally made of white marble , the colour of which changes with the time of the day and the weather.

According to a legend, the Shah wanted to build another Taj Mahal in black marble on the opposite side of the river but he did not have the time to erect it because his son took over his throne. So when he died, he was buried next to his beloved Mumtaz Mahal.

Questions:



1) The story takes place in __________________
[ ]Australia
[ ]India
[ ]Indonesia

2) The main characters are __________________
[ ]Aladin and Jasmine
[ ]Jahan and Mumtaz
[ ]Simba and Nalan

3) The prince met his wife in __________________
[ ]1602
[ ]1622
[ ]1612

4) She was __________________ when they met.
[ ]20 years old
[ ]21 years old
[ ]19 years old

5) She lived in a __________________ tribe
[ ]Gallic
[ ]Viking
[ ]Tartar

6) She was a very __________________ woman
[ ]sweet and calm
[ ]kind and happy
[ ]intelligent and determined

7) The prince became Emperor in __________________
[ ]1628
[ ]1630
[ ]1612

8) She fought in favour of __________________
[ ]poor people
[ ]pets
[ ]the rich
9) The Shah was stricken with grief because __________________
[ ]his wife had died
[ ]his wife wanted a divorce
[ ]his wife had met another man

10) He decided that the court __________________.
[ ]would mourn
[ ]would go on holiday
[ ]would have a party

11) They would do this for __________________
[ ]2 days
[ ]2 months
[ ]2 years

12) He could not abdicate because __________________
[ ]he refused to see his ministers
[ ]his children were too young to become Emperor
[ ]he was too sad

13) Then he decided to build __________________
[ ]Chichén Itza
[ ]the Petra temple
[ ]the Taj Mahal

14) The monument was built __________________
[ ]in Algeria
[ ]on the Jumma
[ ]in Agra

15) It took __________________ to build it.
[ ]40 months
[ ]70 years
[ ]17 years

16) __________________ people worked on the monument
[ ]36,000
[ ]25,000
[ ]20,000

17) It was made of __________________
[ ]white marble
[ ]white mud
[ ]white stone

18) It was decorated with __________________
[ ]blue pearls
[ ]precious stones
[ ]iron

19) Its dome is __________________ high
[ ]72 meters
[ ]33 meters
[ ]65 meters

20) The Shah was buried with __________________
[ ]his mother
[ ]his brother
[ ]his wife

The Bermuda Triangle

At 2 pm on 5 December 1945, five US bombers took off from Fort Lauderlale in the USA for a training flight in perfect weather. Shortly afterwards, the pilots radioed that their flight instruments were all malfunctioning. Two hours after take-off, all contact with the planes was lost. A reconnaissance plane was immediately dispatched to search for the missing planes. Within 20 minutes, radio contact with it had also been lost. No trace of any of the planes was ever found. In all, six planes and 27 men had vanished into thin air.

The disappearance of the six planes was far from being the first mysterious incident in the area: for years, navigational problems and strange magnetic forces had been reported. The disappearance was not even the greatest disaster within the triangle. The Cyclops, a 19,000-ton US ship was sailing from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia. In March 1918, it vanished with its crew of 309 from the surface of he ocean without making a distress call and without the slightest wreckage ever being found.

The losses of boats and planes in that area defy explanation. The disasters are the origin of a new phrase in the English language – the Bermuda Triangle and this phrase has entered legend. The Bermuda Triangle has been called the Devils' Triangle, the Triangle of Death, the Graveyard of the Atlantic. It has swallowed up 140 ships and planes and more than 1,000 people. Today many airmen and sailors are still afraid of that area of the Atlantic Ocean.

Questions:

1) Where was Fort Lauderlale located? __________________
[ ]In the U.S.A.
[ ]In Great Britain
[ ]In Ireland

2) What disappeared on 5 December 1945? __________________
[ ]Several US ships
[ ]Several US planes
[ ]Several US trains

3) It was the first incident in this area. __________________
[ ]?
[ ]False
[ ]True

4) What was 'the Cyclops'? __________________
[ ]a big monster
[ ]an alien
[ ]a big ship

5) When did it disappear? __________________
[ ]In nineteen thirty
[ ]In nineteen twenty
[ ]In nineteen eighteen

6) The ship was found in 1985. __________________
[ ]False
[ ]?
[ ]True

7) What is the other name of the Bermuda Triangle? __________________
[ ]The Devil's Area
[ ]The Sea Graveyard
[ ]The Triangle of Death

8) The Bermuda Triangle is located in the Atlantic Ocean. __________________
[ ]False
[ ]?
[ ]True

9) How many people have disappeared? __________________
[ ]about one thousand
[ ]about one million
[ ]about one hundred

10) This legend is over. Nobody believes it anymore. __________________
[ ]False
[ ]True