Halloween · Worksheet C1
Read the passage and answer the questions. (CEFR B1–B2)
1Halloween is often described as an ancient Celtic festival, but historians are more careful. Many popular claims, such as the idea that Samhain was the Celtic New Year, were first suggested by scholars in the late nineteenth century. The historian Ronald Hutton has called the evidence for this flimsy. What we can say is that the modern holiday is a mixture of Gaelic seasonal customs, Christian feast days, and later inventions.
2The holiday also shows how culture travels in surprising directions. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried it to North America, where it became a huge commercial event. From there, it was exported back to Europe. In Germany, a public relations adviser for the costume industry has claimed that companies began promoting Halloween after carnival was cancelled in 1991 during the Gulf War. In France, a mobile phone campaign in the late 1990s helped make it fashionable.
3Not everyone welcomes these changes. Some Australians complain that Halloween is simply American culture arriving through supermarkets and social media. Others argue that every society borrows rituals and gradually makes them its own, as Australians have done with daytime trick-or-treating. Perhaps the real question is not where Halloween came from, but what each community decides to make of it.
What is the main idea of the passage?
According to the passage, who first suggested that Samhain was the Celtic New Year?
What helped make Halloween fashionable in France?
What can we guess from the fact that Hutton called the evidence flimsy?
In paragraph 1, what does flimsy mean in the evidence for this flimsy?
Why does the writer end with the question about what each community decides to make of Halloween?
Halloween · Worksheet C2
Match the words with the definitions. Then rewrite and summarize.
1. “What we can say is that the modern holiday is a mixture of Gaelic seasonal customs, Christian feast days, and later inventions.”
Hint: Start with We know, and use mixes and things added later.2. “Irish and Scottish immigrants carried it to North America, where it became a huge commercial event.”
Hint: Use brought and turned into a big business.3. “Perhaps the real question is not where Halloween came from, but what each community decides to make of it.”
Hint: Use Maybe, more important, and change it into.Summarize the passage in about 50 words.
Halloween · Worksheet C3
Prepare for a debate. Then write your opinion (100–150 words).
Add your own reason:
Add your own reason:
| Opinion | I believe / I think that … |
|---|---|
| Reason 1 | First, … For example, … |
| Reason 2 | Second, … In fact, … |
| Counter | Some people say … However, … |
| Conclusion | In conclusion, … |