Unit 5: Our custom and traditions

A. Pronunciation
1. Circle the word in each line with the underlined part pronounced differently. Then
practise saying it aloud.
1. A. singer B. England C. angle D. longevity
2. A. language B. opening C. convert D. animal
3. A. morning B. thinking C. union D. ornament
4. A. drink B. thank C. funny D. uncle
5. A. offering B. tradition C. young D. wrinkle

2. Say the sentences aloud, paying attention to the underlined words containing the sounds
/k/ and /g/.
1. She wants to become a folk singer.
2. Tet is a time for family reunions and gatherings with friends.
3. They had a lion dance group perform at their daughter's wedding.
4. The Vietnamese carefully prepare offerings for the Kitchen Gods.
5. Everyone needs to wait for the host to start eating.

B. Vocabulary & Grammar

1. Look at the pictures and complete the phrases. The first letters are given to you.
2. Choose the correct answer A, B, or C to complete each sentence.
1. In many cultures, a _____ represents youth, beauty, and pleasure.
A. blooming flower B. communal house C. bamboo pole
2. _____ such as kumquat trees, peach blossoms, and apricot flowers are popular at Tet.
A. Blooming flower B. Vegetables C. Ornamental trees
3. Traditionally, the _____ in a village is a place for villagers to meet or worship.
A. festival B. market C. communal house
4. Every year, the Bulgarians hold the Surva Festival to chase away _____.
A. bad spirits B. festival goers C. martial artists
5. In many Vietnamese villages, people put up a _____ in the yard of the communal house to welcome Tet.
A. fight B. barrier C. bamboo pole
6. During Tet, the Kinh often prepare traditional _____ such as banh chung and boiled chicken to worship
their ancestors.
A. decorative items B. food offerings C. spirits
7. Last year, thousands of festival _____ participated in the Lim Festival in Tien Du District.
A. comers B. goers C. movers
8. Learning _____ can help build physical strength and improve confidence.
A. martial arts B. physics C. chemistry

3. Complete the text with the words from the box.

break custom traditionally

maintain practise traditions

I think each family has their own customs and (1) _______. For example, my uncle's children always spend
two weeks in the countryside in summer time. Holding a party on everyone's birthday is another custom they
(2)_______. As for my family, it is becoming a (3) ________ for us to bake a special cake on the last Sunday
of each month. We also have a home cinema night every Saturday when we enjoy a film together. For my
extended family, (4) ______ we gather on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
In my opinion, it is good for families to (5) ______ from time to time, they can (6) _______ their traditions.
However, with tradition and try something new to add variety to their lives.

4. Complete each sentence with a, an, the, or 0 (zero article).

1. I lost my wallet on _____ last day of my stay in Paris.
2. What are some things I should know about _____ Vietnamese table manners?
3. We often stay at home on New Year's Eve but this year was _____ exception.
4. My village holds an annual festival that welcomes _____ thousands of festival goers.
5. We went to _____ Chinese restaurant last night.
5. Some of the lines in the text below have an article which is incorrectly used. If the line
has a wrong article, circle it and write the correct one on the right of the line. If the line is
correct, put a tick (V).
Line The text Correction
1. Hung King Temple Festival is one of the national public ________the_________
2. holidays of Viet Nam. The festival aims to remember and __________________
3. worship the Hung Kings, the first kings of the nation. It is often ____________________
4. held between the first and the 10th day of the third lunar month. ____________________
5. The main ceremony happens at Hung King Temple in ____________________
6. Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province. Each year, about four million ____________________
7. festival goers arrive at Phu Tho to join the festivities. ____________________
8. There are over 1,400 Hung King Temples across Viet Nam, so ____________________
9. whether you visit the main temple in Phu Tho or not, you can ____________________
10. be a part of the festivities at any place in the country. ____________________

C. Speaking
1. Choose the suitable response A, B, C, or D to complete each of the following exchanges.
1. A: Mountain girls help their mothers with housework when they are five or six.
B: ____________________
A. Do they?
B. Are they?
C. I agree.
D. Should they?
2. A: The Tay in Viet Nam and the Thai in Thailand speak similar languages.
B: ____________________
A. Are they?
B. I like the Tay.
C. The same language.
D. Wow! I didn't know that.
3. A: Visiting one another is a type of entertainment among mountain peoples.
B: ____________________
A. It's the same in my village.
B. We don't visit them.
C. It's my favourite entertainment.
D. I have no idea.
4. A: Lahu boys generally get married at 16.
B: ____________________
A. I don't know what it means.
 B. I think it's too early to get married at that age.
C. I think they have to help their family.
D. They don't agree with me.
5. A: Mountain peoples treat one another as extended family members.
B: ____________________
A. It's a good idea.
B. I like to go to the mountains.
C. I love it.
D. I don't know.

2. GAME: HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the questions about ethnic groups in Viet Nam.
Example: A: Where do the Khmer live?
B: They live in Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Kien Giang./
I think they live in Soc Trang./
I don’t know.
1. Where can you see waterwheels: in Dien Bien or in Kien Giang?
2. What province is home to most Thai people in Viet Nam?
3. How do mountain children go to school?
4. Do all the ethnic minority groups speak the same language?
5. Is music a major form of entertainment among minority peoples?
6. Can you name some provinces in the Central Highlands?
7. What minority group has the Apsara dance?
8. What is the name of this game? Who plays it?

3. Work with a partner. Read notes about the Thai people. Take turns to ask and answer
about the information.
Population: over 1 million (third largest ethnic group in Viet Nam)
Living place: mainly in Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, and Nghe An
Houses: stilt houses
Women costumes: short vest, long black skirt, and scarf
Economy: growing rice and other crops, raising silkworms, weaving
Characteristics: hard-working, helpful, cool, hospitable
Traditional culture: xoe, sap (folk dances), con throwing (game), legends (stories), bamboo flutes (musical
instruments), and songs
D. Reading
1. Choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to fill in each blank to complete the passage.
 There are about 1.3 million Khmer people living in the southern provinces of Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, and Can
Tho. They earn a living by farming, (1) ___________ and producing handicraft products. The Khmer live
harmoniously with other ethnic (2) __________ in the Mekong Delta, while keeping their unique culture and
lifestyle.
The Khmer are Buddhists. There is a (3) _______ in every village. The temples are not only places for the
Khmer to practise (4) ______ religion. They are the village schools too. At the age of 12, Khmer boys come
to live and (5) _______ in a temple for several years before they become adults. There, they learn about
Buddhism, and to read and write the Khmer (6) ________. They also learn how to behave towards their
grandparents, parents, teachers, old people, and others in their (7) ___________. They learn basic knowledge
of their traditional culture - folk tales, songs, and (8) ______________.
1. A. go fishing B. fishing C. fish D. fishes
2. A. groups B. persons C. religions D. nature
3. A. school B. cathedral C. Rong D. temple
4. A. the B. their C. its D. a
5. A. play B. help C. study D. visit
6. A. language B. letters C. reports D. stories
7. A. area B. family C. community D. home
8. A. singing B. eating C. work D. dances

2. Read the passage and fill in each blank with one word from the passage.
Living in the mountains can be very hard. First, there is not enough land to grow crops or raise livestock.
Building houses is also difficult because the land is not flat. The air in the mountains is another problem. The
higher we get, the thinner the air becomes. This means there is less oxygen, which makes breathing harder.
Despite these challenges, people around the world have lived and worked in mountainous areas for centuries.
There are many health benefits of living in the mountains. Being on the mountaintops allows you to live far
from pollution. The air you breathe is fresher. There are places where you cannot drive a car or a motorbike,
so you have to walk. Travelling up and down hills and mountains on foot helps keep you active. Finally,
mountain people are quite simple and friendly. They live a peaceful life.

Life in the mountains can be (1) ____________.

Three difficulties: Three benefits:

- not much (2) ___________ for crops - less (4) __________
- land not flat for house building - fresher (5) __________
- less oxygen making (3) _______ hard - (6) ___________ life

3. Read the passage and do the tasks.

Bac Ha Sunday Fair
 Bac Ha Sunday Fair in Lao Cai is the largest and most colourful highland market in Viet Nam. Every
Sunday, the market is crowded with minority people from villages far and near. The Flower Hmong, Tay,
Nung, Dao, and other ethnic groups come wearing their colourful traditional costumes. They come on foot or
on horseback, bringing with them anything they can exchange. These goods may be vegetables and fruits
they grow in their gardens or medicinal plants they gather from the forests and mountains. They also sell
other items like the clothing they weave or silver jewellery they make. The market has a large place to sell
poultry and animals like chickens, ducks, dogs, buffaloes, and horses.

Bac Ha Sunday Fair is also a place for people to meet and chat. After they finish their market activities, they
gather around a big hot pan of thang co, a famous traditional Hmong food from horse meat. Young people
come there with the hope of finding a lover.
a. Fill in each blank with a word from the passage.
1. Bac Ha Sunday Fair is the largest _____ market.
2. Some people go to the market on _____.
3. An example of a minority group at the market is the _____.
4. They sell medicinal _____ they gather from the mountains.
5. Thang co is a famous Hmong _____.
6. Young people go to the market to look for a _____.

b. Write short answers to the following questions.

1. How often does the market open?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What clothes do minority people wear to Bac Ha Sunday Fair?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Can you buy a dog from Bac Ha Sunday Fair?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. When do the market goers sit down for thang co?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

E. Writing
1. Choose the sentence that is best written from the words and phrases given.
1. Stilt house / appear / different size / and style.
A. A stilt house appears in a different size and style.
B. A stilt house appear in different sizes and styles.
C. Stilt houses appear in a different size and style.
D. Stilt houses appear in different sizes and styles.
2. Terraced field / attract / lot / visitor.
A. Terraced fields attract a lot of visitors.
B. A terraced field attracts a lot visitor.
C. Terraced fields attract lot visitors.
D. Terraced field attracted a lot of visitors.
3. The Jrai / decorate / house / dead / with / wooden statues.
A. The Jrai decorate the houses for dead with wooden statues.
 B. The Jrai decorating the houses for the dead with wooden statues.
C. The Jrai decorate houses for the dead with wooden statues.
D. Jrai decorate houses for the dead with wooden statues.
4. What / the Hoa / wear / special occasion?
A. What do the Hoa wear on special occasions?
B. What do the Hoa wear on special occasion?
C. What do the Hoa wear special occasions?
D. What the Hoa wear on special occasions?
5. How much / time / minority children / spend / do housework?
A. How much time do minority children spend do housework?
B. How much time do minority children spend doing housework?
C. How much time do minority children spend doing houseworks?
D. How much time minority children spend doing housework?

2. Based on the information below, write a paragraph of about 70 words to introduce the
Hoa.

Population: 1 million
Living place: all over the country
Economy: planting wet rice, making handicrafts, trading
Food and drinks: fried and spicy food, healthy drinks like ginseng and daisy tea
Traditional cultural activities: theatrical performances, lion dances, comedies with flute and stringed
instruments.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________
KEY
A. Pronunciation
1.
1. D
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. B

B. Vocabulary & Grammar

1.
1. an ornamental tree
2. a blooming flower
3. a communual house
4. a bamboo pole
5. bad spirits
6. food offerings
7. martial arts
8. festival goers

2.
1. A
2. C
3. C
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. B
8. A

3.
1. traditions
2. practise
3. custom
4. traditionally
5. maintain
6. break

4.

2. ∅
1. the

4. ∅
3. an

5. a
5.
1. How many Katu people are there?
2. Where do they live?
3. What are the Katu like?
4. What are their traditional dances?
5. When do they hold the rice spirit feast?

C. Speaking
1.
1. A
2. D
3. A
4. B
5. C

2.
1. In Dien Bien.
2. Son La (biggest population: 482,485, making up 54.8%), Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lam
Dong, and Dak Lak (with population getting smaller).
3. Mainly on foot or by bicycle.
4. No, they don't. They speak different languages.
5. Yes, it is. (flutes, mouth organs, bamboo harps, bronze drums, and gong).
6. There are five provinces in the Central Highlands: Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lam Dong.
7. The Khmer. (Người Khmer.)
8. Nem con / Con throwing. Minority groups in the Northern Highlands play it. (Thai, Tay, Dao, Nung...)

D. Reading
1.
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. A
7. C
8. D

2.
1. hard
2. land
3. breathing
4. pollution
5. air
6. peaceful
3.
a.
1. highland
2. foot/horsesback
3. (any of) Tay, Nung, Dao
4. plants
5. food
6. lover
b.
1. Every Sunday. / On Sundays.
2. Colourful traditional costumes.
3. Yes, I / we can.
4. After they finish their market activities.

E. Writing
1.
1. D
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. B