| The arts around us LESSON 2A READING AND VOCABULARY |
1 SPEAKING In pairs, discuss the question. What cultural festivals do you know in Jordan or abroad?
Student’s own answer
2 Read the article below quickly and complete the notes on the right
| The Amman International Book Fair is a renowned event which people visit from across the world. The event is organised by the Jordan Publishers Union with the Ministry of Culture and usually takes place at the Jordan International Exhibition Centre. The Centre has the capacity to have exhibits from around 4,000 publishers and around 150,000 people have visited the two-week event in recent years. The prestigious event shows how important the publishing industry is to the country and how it can help improve society, as well as being able to make an international audience aware of Jordan’s achievements in publishing. It also allows visitors to learn about the books and culture of around 20 other countries whose publishers take part in the Fair. The countries are from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the USA, Canada, Italy, China and India. At the Fair, you can see Arabic and international books on many different subjects, including children’s books and poetry. Previous events have also included exhibitions on Islamic writing and works of art from different countries. There are also events for children such as storytelling and classes in calligraphy. The Fair also remembers the Jordanian poet Mustafa Wahbi Al Tal, whose legacy is the beautiful poetry that Jordanians still enjoy today, around 120 years after he was born. Matilda: I volunteered at a book fair last year. It was an awesome experience and I made a lot of interesting new friends. Fred: There are so many brilliant books to buy. I save up to buy a ticket every year! Habib: I went one year and it was very interesting, but too crowded. Ali: It’s true you have to queue a lot at a book fair, but it doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many fascinating people to talk to |
Student’s own answer
3 Read the article again and choose the correct answers.
1 How long does the Book Fair last for?
a ten days
b around 14 days
c a week
2 What can you learn about at the Book Fair?
a books from other countries
b the culture of Jordan and other countries
c both of the above
3 Who was Mustafa Wahbi Al Tal?
a a famous publisher
b a famous Jordanian poet
c the man who started the Book Fair
1 b
2 c
3 b
4 Study Active Reading. Find the underlined words in the article. Choose the correct meanings.
1 If someone is renowned, they are
a well-known.
b wealthy.
2 The capacity of a theatre is the
a largest number of people who can work there.
b who can be in the audience.
3 If something is described as prestigious, people
a fear it.
b respect it.
4 The legacy of something is how it affects people or events
a in the past.
b in the future.
ACTIVE READING | Understanding new words
• Read the whole sentence with the new word.
• Decide if the word is a verb, a noun or an adjective.
• Read the sentences around the new word and use the context to understand its meaning.
1 a
2 b
3 b
4 b
5 Study the adjectives in bold in the comments. Then find:
1 two opinion adjectives that mean ‘very good’: awesome, brilliant
2 an opinion adjective with the opposite meaning to ‘interesting’.
3 an adjective that means ‘a lot of people in one place’.
4 an opinion adjective that means ‘very interesting’.
1.awesome, brilliant
2 boring
3 crowded
4 fascinating
6 Complete the sentences with adjectives from Exercise 5.
1 The documentary was brilliant. I couldn’t stop watching it!
2 I tried to read that book, but I fell asleep. It was really ______.
3 I couldn’t get on the bus because it was too ______.
2 boring
3 crowded
7 🎧 6.3 Listen to a report about volunteers at a book festival. Are the sentences true or false?
1 Over 1,000 people volunteer to work at Chapter Fest.
2 Volunteers usually start work on the first day of the festival.
3 Volunteers don’t need experience in this kind of work.
4 Volunteers finish working when the festival ends.
Student's own answer
8 REFLECT | Culture
In pairs, discuss the question.
Do you think volunteering at a book festival is a good idea? Why? Why not?
Student's own answer
