Pre-IELTS 2 Adults- Lesson 4

Answer Keys Listening – Speaking

Unit 2: Festivals and celebrations
Exercise 1:
1. Do 2. Does 3. Are 4. do
5. Is 6. are 7. does 8. Is
Exercise 2:
A. B- A- C- A
B.

C.
1. In Japanese, hana means flower, and mi means to watch.
2. This festival takes place every spring, all over the country.
3. The cherry blossoms start to appear in southern Japan in March and finish in northern Japan
in May.
4. People meet with family or colleagues under the trees and eat food or sing. In places like
Ueno Park in Tokyo, you can also see paper lanterns in the trees.
5. This festival is a celebration of nature and it is also a reminder that nothing in life lasts long.
6. This festival is also celebrated in other places, like Australia or Europe.
Pre-IELTS 2 Adults- Lesson 4

Listening transcript:
There are many festivals in Japan. I want to talk about one of the biggest celebrations. It happens
every year. Everyone can see it, and everyone can take part. It takes place in every town and city
in the country, from the hot south to the cold north.
This festival is called hanami. In the Japanese language, hana means flower, and mi means to
watch. This is a celebration of watching flowers – or to be more exact, about viewing the little
pink flowers which appear on cherry trees all over the country. This is the cherry blossom
festival, and it happens every year after the end of winter.
There are millions of cherry trees in Japan, and for a few short weeks, whole cities turn pink. It’s
a very beautiful sight. In the south, the pink flowers can start to appear in the early spring. By the
beginning of May, this slowly spreads to the north of the country. Japanese people watch the
daily TV news closely to find out when the hanami will come to their area.
There are many well-known places where you can see thousands of trees together. Ueno Park in
Tokyo is perhaps the most famous, and you can see many parties here in the spring. At night,
beautiful paper lanterns hang from the trees. It’s a good feeling to be with other people enjoying
the beauty of nature.
This is a happy festival. It’s traditional for people to go out with their family or the people they
work with. They sit under the trees and eat or sing songs. They eat special food, such as dango –
a colourful sweet made from rice.
This tradition is spreading to other countries, too. You can celebrate hanami with Japanese
communities in the USA or Australia. Even countries like Finland are starting to have their own
flower-watching festivals.
But I think this is also a festival with some sadness. After a short time, the cherry flowers die and
fall away. And then, the trees grow new leaves. Japanese people know that life is short.
Everything gets old and changes, and we should celebrate beautiful things while we can.
Exercise 3:
A. Before listening:
Pre-IELTS 2 Adults- Lesson 4

B. While you listen

Listening script:
Gemma: Hi Makayla. How’s it going?
Makayla: Oh, hi Gemma. Fine, thanks. How are you?
Gemma: Yeah, I’m good. Listen, it’s Jack’s birthday next week and we’re going to have a
surprise celebration this weekend. Do you want to come with us?
Makayla: Yeah, that would be great. What are you going to do?
Gemma: Well … I’m not sure … have you got any ideas?
Makayla: Mmm … how about going to the cinema?
Gemma: Yeah, maybe … Are there any good films on at the moment?
Makayla: Mmm … There’s that one comedy, Lucky Break.
Gemma: Oh, no … we saw that last week. It’s really not that funny.
Makayla: Oh, right. Erm … How about going ice skating?
Gemma: Mmm, no … Jack doesn’t like ice skating.
Makayla: Well ... what does he like?
Gemma: Well ... he likes bowling … What about bowling?
Makayla: Yeah! That’s a great idea. Everyone likes bowling.
Gemma: OK.
Makayla: When shall we go?
Gemma: How about Saturday afternoon?
Pre-IELTS 2 Adults- Lesson 4

Makayla: All right. Where shall we meet?

Gemma: Let’s meet at the shopping centre in front of the bowling place.
Makayla: OK. When shall we meet?
Gemma: Erm … 3 o’clock?
Makayla: OK, that sounds great! So, Saturday afternoon, in front of the bowling place.
Gemma: Yeah, it’s a plan! I’ll tell the others.
Makayla: Cool!
Exercise 4:
1. I suggest buying food from our countries.
2. OK, you could bring some Japanese food.
3. Why not make something, like a cake for example?
4. Can I think about making something else?
5. How about helping me make my food?
6. Shall we go to the shops now?
Exercise 5:
Pre-IELTS 2 Adults- Lesson 4

Exercise 6:
Discuss with your partner using the useful language
Sample discussion:
A: What kind of festival do you want to hold?
B: How about a harvest festival?
A: What do you mean?
B: I want to hold a festival about mid-autumn, which celebrates the largest full moon in the year.
A: Yes, that sounds good. Shall we hold it on the 14th day of the 8th lunar month, in Old Quarter?
B: Why not on the 15th?
A: Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea. The street will be too crowded on the 15th.
B: Hmm, I agree.
A: At the festival, people can try different kinds of moon cakes and fruit.
B: Absolutely. And tea too.
A: That’s a great idea.
B: I’d suggest we prepare star lantern to give children.
B: Yes. And traditional dragon dance! Shall we do that?
A: Sure. Fantastic.