III. READING

Read the passage and choose the best answers.

The Tet holiday is celebrated (1) ___________ the first day of the Lunar New Year in Viet Nam. Several weeks before the New Year, the Vietnamese clean their houses and paint the walls. New clothes are bought for the occasion. One or two days before the festival, people make Banh Chung, (2) ___________ is the traditional cake, and kinds of jam. On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gets together for a (3) ___________ dinner. Every member of the family should be present during the dinner in which many different kinds of dishes are served. On New Year morning, the young members of the family pay their respects (4) ___________ the elders. And the children receive lucky money wrapped in red tiny envelopes. Then people go (5) ___________ their neighbours, friends and relatives.

1. A. by                        B. in                             C. on                            D. at

2. A. which                  B. what                        C. where                      D. why

3. A. reunited              B. union                       C. reunite                    D. reunion

4. A. at                         B. to                             C. about                       D. in

5. A. visited                 B. visiting                     C. to visit                     D. visit

Read then decide whether the following sentences are True (T) or False (F).

Worshipping “Ong Cong, Ong Tao’’ (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) is a long-standing custom of great significance as it symbolises the farewell to all bad things of the old year to help people relaxedly enter a new year of peace and happiness. As the legend goes, “Ong Cong” (Land Genie) is the one in charge of land while “Ong Tao” (Kitchen Gods), consisting of two males and one female, are those who keep a watch over kitchen affairs of a family. They take note of a family’s issues in a year and will ride carps back to Heaven on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to report all the good and bad things of that family to the God of Heaven.

Rituals and offerings vary according to region. Typically, apart from lamps, incense, votive papers, fresh flowers, and a five-fruit tray, there is also a tray of traditional dishes such as steamed sticky rice, chicken, pork pie, fried spring rolls, and bamboo shoot soup. However, depending on each family’s conditions, people can also prepare vegetarian dishes as offerings.

The offerings also include a set of votive paper clothes and, especially, golden carps - the “vehicle” for the gods to return to Heaven. People often prepare two or three alive carps and then release them into a river or a lake after the worshipping ritual with the belief that the fish will carry the gods to Heaven. Nowadays, live carps can also be replaced with paper ones, which will be burned together with other paper offerings after the ritual.

The worshipping ceremony is conventionally held at any time from the noon of the 22nd day of the 12th lunar month to the noon of the next day because people believe the gods will leave for the Heaven after midday and thus, if the ritual were conducted after that, they would be unable to receive offerings. With the appropriate practice of the Land Genie and Kitchen Gods worship, people can help uphold and pass down traditional cultural values in modem life.

Statements

True (T)

False (F)

1. Land Genie and Kitchen Gods ride carps back to Heaven on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month.

2. Rituals and offerings are the same throughout the country.

3. Golden carps are the “vehicle” for the gods to return to Heaven.

4. If the ritual were conducted after the noon of the 23rd day, the gods would still be able to receive offerings.

5. People can help uphold and pass down traditional cultural values in modem life.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions.

The practise of ancestor worship is relatively straightforward. Nearly every house, office, and business in Viet Nam has a small altar used to commune with ancestors. Incense sticks are burned frequently. Offerings are often fruit, sweets, and gifts. The latter items arc such as votive papers, such as motorbikes, cars, houses, etC. After worshipping, people burn the paper gifts called votive papers so that the spirits of the gifts can ascend to heaven for the ancestors to use.

In the past, the income from a plot of land was used to maintain the altar and arrange the rituals, but this tradition has now faded away. However, the custom that the eldest son will arrange the ceremonial and inherit the family house upon the death of his parents is still generally observed.

Another traditional clement is placing wooden tablets on the altar for each of the ancestors over recent generations. It is less rigorously observed today, and photographs often replace tablets. Some pagodas house commemorative tablets for ancestors on behalf of regular worshippers.

1. Mow Vietnamese people commune with their ancestors nowadays?

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2. What are two items frequently burned?

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3. Are offerings often fruit, sweets, and gifts?

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4. Why do people burn votive papers?

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5. Will the eldest son arrange the ceremonial and inherit the family house upon the death of his parents?

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