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Succeed TRINITY ISE II - Prep Reading Task 1-p1-13-TB_CAE-PR-TEST-1.qxd 16-Mar-16 1:31 AM Page 7
TRINITY ISE II Preparation for the Reading Test - Task 1
Section 1:Matching Titles to Paragraphs
Pre-reading
Write down as many ideas as you can think of for your answers to
these questions. Then, if possible, discuss your notes with a partner.
1. What big national celebrations are there in your country?
2. What celebrations from other countries or cultures do you know about?
3. What’s your favourite celebration and why?
4. What do people do during this celebration?
5. What are the benefits of having things to celebrate?
Exercise 1
This is NOT an exam task, but it will help you practise reading for gist. Think about how texts are structured and how the different
ideas/topics are usually linked together in a logical order. When you have finished this task, you should find the actual exam task
which follows easier. Why? Because Exercise 1 will help you get a general understanding of what each paragraph is about.
Read the following text about Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year’s celebration. The paragraphs are not in the correct order.
Put the paragraphs in order from 1-5. Write the correct paragraph number on the answer line.
Reading for gist
Happy New Year!
5
...............
Paragraph
Perhaps the biggest and most famous of these is the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration, now a three-day event. In 1996-97,
400,000 people attended, making it the biggest single New Year’s celebration in the world that year. In recent years, the
attendance figures for the celebration have dropped somewhat, but only because a limit has been imposed on how many
people can go for safety reasons. The street party is still one of the largest New Year’s events across the globe and features
well-known bands performing in front of the beautiful Edinburgh Castle. It’s quite the celebration and has been voted one
of the top 25 travel experiences on the planet by the Discovery Channel – the only festival to feature on the list.
3
Paragraph
...............
Apart from singing this popular Robert Burns lyric, other traditional customs of Hogmanay include redding and first-footing.
The former involves cleaning the home before the New Year. It is particularly important to make sure that fires are cleared
of ashes and the leaves of the juniper tree are also sometimes burned in a custom that is traditionally thought to keep
away evil spirits. The latter refers to the tradition of the first visitor into the home after midnight on New Year’s taking a gift
for the homeowners with them. This visitor or first-footer is thought to bring luck to the household. The traditional gift was
coal (or alternatively salt) but, nowadays, drinks and food are more typical, as the arrival of the first-footer often signals
the start of a great party.
7
TRINITY ISE II Preparation for the Reading Test - Task 1
Section 1:Matching Titles to Paragraphs
Pre-reading
Write down as many ideas as you can think of for your answers to
these questions. Then, if possible, discuss your notes with a partner.
1. What big national celebrations are there in your country?
2. What celebrations from other countries or cultures do you know about?
3. What’s your favourite celebration and why?
4. What do people do during this celebration?
5. What are the benefits of having things to celebrate?
Exercise 1
This is NOT an exam task, but it will help you practise reading for gist. Think about how texts are structured and how the different
ideas/topics are usually linked together in a logical order. When you have finished this task, you should find the actual exam task
which follows easier. Why? Because Exercise 1 will help you get a general understanding of what each paragraph is about.
Read the following text about Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year’s celebration. The paragraphs are not in the correct order.
Put the paragraphs in order from 1-5. Write the correct paragraph number on the answer line.
Reading for gist
Happy New Year!
5
...............
Paragraph
Perhaps the biggest and most famous of these is the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration, now a three-day event. In 1996-97,
400,000 people attended, making it the biggest single New Year’s celebration in the world that year. In recent years, the
attendance figures for the celebration have dropped somewhat, but only because a limit has been imposed on how many
people can go for safety reasons. The street party is still one of the largest New Year’s events across the globe and features
well-known bands performing in front of the beautiful Edinburgh Castle. It’s quite the celebration and has been voted one
of the top 25 travel experiences on the planet by the Discovery Channel – the only festival to feature on the list.
3
Paragraph
...............
Apart from singing this popular Robert Burns lyric, other traditional customs of Hogmanay include redding and first-footing.
The former involves cleaning the home before the New Year. It is particularly important to make sure that fires are cleared
of ashes and the leaves of the juniper tree are also sometimes burned in a custom that is traditionally thought to keep
away evil spirits. The latter refers to the tradition of the first visitor into the home after midnight on New Year’s taking a gift
for the homeowners with them. This visitor or first-footer is thought to bring luck to the household. The traditional gift was
coal (or alternatively salt) but, nowadays, drinks and food are more typical, as the arrival of the first-footer often signals
the start of a great party.
7
