In India, people celebrate the festival of Holi (pronounced “hoh-lee“) in March. This festival occurs after the wheat harvest. Wheat is used to make many important foods in India. Holi celebrates the triumph of good over evil.
Holi is a very bright celebration. People light bonfires, tell stories, and cover each other in a variety of coloured powders. These powders are called gulal (pronounced “goo-lahl“). People are then sprayed with water, and everyone becomes a beautiful, brightly colored mess. This custom of colouring people comes from a legend about a trickster who loved to trick his friends by pouring coloured water on them.
Questions
1) The festival of Holi occurs after
A. the month of March
B. the wheat harvest
C. people are sprayed with water
D. people are covered with colourful powders
2) The custom of colouring people during Holi comes from
A. a legend about a trickster
B. stories that are told around a bonfire
C. the triumph of good over evil
D. harvesting wheat in March
3) Which word best describes the festival of Holi?
A. colourful
B. tricky
C. flavourful
D. wet
4) As used in paragraph 2, which of the following best illustrates the actions of a trickster?
A. For Tony’s birthday, Mike brings him a soccer jersey signed by his favorite
player.
B. Micah invites Delea to work with his group for a school project, and then he
asks his mum to bake brownies when the group meets to work.
C. Jill excitedly convinces Mae to come see a rabbit outside, but it turns out
that the rabbit is a stone statue Jill placed in the garden.
D. Robert refuses to let Travis play basketball at lunch, because Travis is just
learning to play.