Festivity Worksheet USA www.ef.com
A - Read the text and answer the question Like most countries, the USA has about ten public holidays spread throughout the year. These celebrate a mixture of religious and historical events and can be happy, like Christmas, or somber, like Memorial Day. Some of the holidays like New Year’s Day are international, whereas others are only American. Two of the most typically American holidays are Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The first one celebrates the day in 1776 that the American colonists declared independence from Great Britain. It is celebrated with firework displays and barbecues. Thanksgiving celebrates the first successful harvest of the Pilgrims, a group of early settlers, in 1621. Of the other five public holidays, some celebrate great Americans, like Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, and Columbus Day. The other two are Veterans Day, remembering those who have served their country in the military, and Labor Day. There are other holidays which people like to observe, but which are not public holidays. Two holidays mark tragic events in US history, which the American people want to remember. The first of these is Pearl Harbor Day, honoring the 2,400 people who lost their lives in the first attack of World War II. The other one, Patriot Day, honors the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Other unofficial holidays honor ordinary people, such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, or nature, such as Earth Day and Arbor Day. Some of them are romantic, such as Valentine’s Day, and some of them quirky, such as Halloween and Groundhog Day. How many holidays are mentioned? _____________________________________
B - Read the article again. Circle the correct answer. 1
Compared to other countries the USA has … a more public holidays. b fewer public holidays. c about the same number of holidays.
2 Independence Day celebrates an event from the … a 16th century. b 17th century. c 18th century. 3
Soldiers are celebrated on … a Columbus Day. b Veterans Day. c Labor Day.
4 Pearl Harbor Day marks an event in the … a 1920s. b 1930s. c 1940s. 5 Which word means “individual”? a quirky b unofficial c romantic
D-R ead the sentences. They contain the wrong Key Words. Correct them. 1 Memorial Day marks those who honors their country and died. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ 2 On Labor Day people displays the end of summer. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ 3 Presidents’ Day served all 44 men who have held the office. __________________________________ __________________________________
C - Read the article again and answer the questions 1 Which holiday features a special meal? ____________________________________
__________________________________ __________________________________ 4 B oth New Year’s Day and Independence Day have firework somber. __________________________________
____________________________________ 2 Which historical holiday has the oldest origins?
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____________________________________ ____________________________________ 3 For which holidays do you not get a day off work?
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__________________________________ 5 Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Day, and Patriot Day are all celebrate. __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________
International Language Campuses 18AM_FestivitySheet_USA_A4.indd 1
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