Entering the already crowded festival site. I was a little uneasy. I’d heard discouraging tales of muddy fields, shocking toilet facilities and not being able to find your tent among so many others exactly the same as yours
Entering the already crowded festival site. I was a little uneasy. I’d heard discouraging tales of muddy fields, shocking toilet facilities and not being able to find your tent among so many others exactly the same as yours. I had, of course, tried to prepare for every eventuality. In my rucksack was a brightly coloured flag to raise above my tent so I could find it easily, bright green wellington boots and - just in case the sun did come out- some suncream. As it turned out, all of them proved to be very useful.
The three-day Glastonbury Festival of contemporary Performing Arts, held on Worthy Farm in Somerset every June, is the largest open-air music festival in the world. The festival grew from humble beginning in l970 into the massive event it is today. The main organiser of the festival is the farm's owner, Michae1 Eavis, who started it all up because he likes music, and he still makes the final choice of which big-name bands will appear. Over 100,000 tickets were sold this year, which is a lot of organisation for one farmer. (In fact, he does hire a music promotion organisation to help him sort out all the complications of running such a huge festival, so he isn't quite all on his own.)
But it's not just music at the festival. As I wandered about the site, looking for somewhere to pitch my tent, I realised that this was, indeed, a festival of performing arts. There were theatre tents, dance performances, jugglers and mime artists all over the site. You certainly wouldn’t starve in this place, either. I’d never seen so many food stalls in my life. Whether you prefer Thai, Indian and African, to mention just a few, or even good old English staples such as jacket potatoes, there was something for everyone.
After a pleasant evening of meeting people from every imaginable walk of life and dancing the night away at the dance village, I awoke to the sounds of thunder and lightning. The downpour only lasted a couple of hours, but it was still one of the worst rainstorms of the past 100 years, I was one of the lucky ones. Although my tent leaked a bit and my clothing was damper than I would have liked, at least I was on high ground. Some poor souls who had camped further down the hill had to try to retrieve whatever belongings they could from tents submerged under four feet of water. The organizer did an efficient job of mopping up most of the water fairly quickly, but there was no escaping the mud. Festival-goers didn’t let that dampen their spirits in the least, though, and thanks to my green wellies, nor did I.
The famous Pyramid Stage had its usual line-up of great bands and there were plenty of big names playing on the Other Stage, too. In fact, there are so many stages, with so many different types of music and things going on, that it can be really difficult getting to see and do everything you want to. I found myself running from one venue to the next, trying to catch at least part of my favourite acts, and still missed a few altogether.
Then it was all over, and I had to pack up my mud-caked belongings and head back to the real world again. It had been a pleasant surprise to discover that 100,000 people crammed into muddy fields in basic conditions (the stories I'd been told about the' toilets were true) can still manage to have the time of their lives. Tickets aren’t cheap, but since over £1million in proceeds the festival, goes to charity, it would be childish to complain, I left clutching the handcrafted souvenirs bought from various stalls, and warm, happy feeling that I'm sure is shared by anyone who has experienced the magic of the Glastonbury Festival.
1. When the writer arrived at the festival, she_____
A. was afraid she might not enjoy it. B. had to walk across muddy fields.
C. was wearing we wellington boots. D. was shocked by the toilets.
2. The organization of the festival_____
A. is managed by Michael Eavis alone. B. is difficult due to the size of the project.
C. takes just a few days in the summer. D. is completely controlled by a music company.
3. What impression did the writer get walking round the festival?
A. There was too much food on sale. B. It was a very theatrical festival.
C. It was easy to get lost on the site. D. There was lots to see and do.
4. The writer uses the phrase ‘from every imaginable walk of life' (underlined) to show_____
A. the lively way people at the festival behaved. B. what activities people were doing at the festival.
C. there were a wide variety of people at the festival. D. how many people she had met at the dance village.
5. The flooding didn't affect the writer as much as some people because_____
A. her tent didn’t let any water in. B. she had set up her tent on a hill.
C. she didn't mind wearing damp clothes. D. the organisers were good at their job.
6. What complaint did the writer have about the performances at the festival?
A. She didn't manage to see some performances. B. She became tired from running around the site.
C. There was too much music on at the festival. D. It wasn't possible to see a full performance.
7. What feature of the festival had the writer not expected?
A. Tickets for the festival were very expensive. B. There were over 100,000 people there.
C. Festival profits are donated to charity. D. It was enjoyable despite the lack of comfort.
8. What was the writer's attitude to the festival by the end of it?
A. She realised the discouraging stories she'd heard were untrue.
B. She felt that attending the festival had been a special experience.
C. She thought she had spent too much on tickets and souvenirs.
D. She was sad that she would have to go back to a normal life again.