Trung Thu, a Vietnamese festival GO Learning objective ‘Compare the language, style and impact of a range of non-fiction writing. | ( Van Prepares for the Festival Word d i Rou Originally, TrungThu came about as a way for parents to make aa up for lost time with their children after the harvest season. ROE 4 How people enjoy Trung Thu stalls Van is twelve years old and lives in Vietnam. Each year she joins ete 4 | 5 2 8 eee unbaked =| 5 hordes of other children who go out into the streets with glowing lanterns to enjoy Trung. ‘This mid-aueumn festival celebrates the beauty of the moon, which is brighter and whiter than at any other time of year. The festival involves a family gathering where parents spoil their children 10 with treats and rasty moon cakes. OnTrung Thu, the moon {looks like a yellow ball, full and. beautiful. My mother buys me moon cakes ond arrange them on a tray with some fruit. We eat them Trung Thu masks Van and her friends enjoy wearing masks on Trung Thu. In ac harenrenifenincrseenia the past children made their own masks, but today they buy insidemy star lantern ight it them, Colourful masks are dotted around the shops on Hang ‘and go outside to meet my ; ; 15 Ma Street, which sell a wondexfal variety of plastic and ois dag ey is | papier-maché masks. epee ; Moon cakes j On nearly every street corner, there are stalls selling fish and ; flower-shaped moon cakes. Moon cakes are a traditional part 20 of the Trung Thu festivities and come in two varieties Bénh Deo is unbaked, white and sticky, and Banh Nuong is brown and baked. Moon cakes contain unusual fillings, such as sugar with meat or eggs. , from Celebration! Celebration! (Children Just Like Me) by Anabel KindersleyComprehension na Read the passage about Trung Thu and choose the correct answers. 1 TrungThu isa mid-autumn festival celebrating 4. growing-up b themoon © birthdays 2. The children go out into the streets with @ lanterns b firecrackers ¢ kites 3 During this festival the parents spoil their children with a newclothes b tostytreats ——€ books and paints 4 Moon cakes contain unusual fillings such as 4 fish with chocolate b pototoand fruit ¢ meat and sugar 5. The stalls in the street sell 4 colourful masks —_b olive oil € recipe books Oe emery What do you think? moon cakes small cakes 11 Why have the subheadings been used? Choose one answer, traditionally eaten during the 4 Totell the reader what each paragraph is about mid-autumnn festivities in various parts of Asia papier-mécché paper mixed with glue or flour and water; used for making ornaments, spoil to give achild everything they ask for in a way that has a bad effect on 3. If nonfiction texts were all facts, they could be uninteresting for their behaviour readers. What two personal features has the writer included to make the text more appealing to the reader? a ‘Summatise the Trung Thu festival in 100 words for a book on celebrattions ‘around the world. Include personal opinions as well as facts. b Tohelp the reader understand the text ¢ To make the text more interesting To give the main ideas 2 ‘Von Prepares for the Festival’is a non-fiction text, so its purpose is to give facts and information. Write down six facts you have found out from the extract.Grammar and vocabulary Connectives GO Learning objective Use connectives to structure an argument or discussion. In writing, connectives are very important in helping the reader to follow points and ideas. a Complete the sentences below with one of the following words. although before however when since while during a he was « good sportsman, Juan was not good at basketball. b he has had a new teacher, he has quickly improved. © —____ hertime at junior school, she ployed in many tennis matches. a she moved to Hong Kong, Anya had not celebrated Chinese New Year. a 1. Itis important that the right type of connective is used. Choose five connectives from below and insert them in the right spaces in the paragraph Iwould like to make the point that celebrations make people feel happier. there were no celebrations, the world would be a very dull place. ,ifthere were too many celebrations, no work would get done! if celebrations last too long, they can get in the way of daily life. I would like to make a plea that we do not lose our celebrations across the world. They are very important! 2. Read through your text to check it makes sense. Write a paragraph arguing why a particular celebration in your culture is important. Use as many connectives as you can from the exercise above to help you link and connect your points.