How do traditions survive?

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

1. Which traditions are important in your family?
2. Is there a tradition you would like to end?
3. Have you ever taken part in a very old custom?
4. Do young people in your country keep traditions?
5. Which festival do you enjoy most?
6. Have you started a new family tradition?

Read each word and the example. Then say a sentence about a tradition.

Choose the word that fits.

1. A fixed series of actions performed in the same way each time, often with symbolic meaning, is a .
2. Museums try to old objects so that future generations can see them.
3. Many people their sense of humour from their parents.
4. People from whom we are descended, such as great-grandparents, are our .
5. Stories, songs and beliefs passed down in a community are its .
6. Tourists often look for food, not copies made for visitors.
7. A skilled worker who makes things by hand is an .
8. Looking back at the past with warm, sentimental feelings is called .

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

1. a ritual is a set of actions performed in the
   different way each timesame way each timerandom way
2. to preserve = to keep something
   far awaysafe from losshidden
3. to inherit = to receive from
   a friend onlya shopearlier generations
4. ancestors = people from whom a family is
   divideddresseddescended
5. authentic =
   genuineinventedcopied
6. nostalgia = a sentimental longing for the
   weatherpastfuture

Use these phrases to describe customs and how they change.

• I hope so.Сподіваюся, що так.A: Will the custom survive? B: I hope so.
• I'm afraid not.Боюся, що ні.A: Do children still learn it? B: I'm afraid not.
• Some do, others don't.Одні так, інші ні.Some families keep the custom, others don't.
• She wanted to, but...Вона хотіла, але...She wanted to, but she couldn't.
• The old ones are better.Старі кращі.The old festivals are better than the new ones.
• He did so because...Він зробив це, тому що...He did so because it was the tradition.
• If you want to, ...Якщо хочеш, ...Come along, if you want to.
• It is passed down from...Це передається від...The recipe is passed down from mother to daughter.

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

1. At Ise, the main buildings are rebuilt every twenty years.
   TrueFalse
2. Hobsbawm and Ranger argued that all traditions are very old.
   TrueFalse
3. The text says that a custom has to adapt to survive.
   TrueFalse
4. UNESCO adopted its convention on intangible heritage in 2003.
   TrueFalse
5. The text claims that lists alone are enough to keep a custom alive.
   TrueFalse

1. Should every tradition be preserved?
2. Can a tradition change and remain the same?
3. Which customs would you drop and which would you keep?
4. Can a new tradition become real?

Common mistakes: after an auxiliary, drop the repeated verb (he didn't, not he didn't it); use so and not after hope, think and be afraid; use ones for plural nouns and one for singular; use do so, not do it so. ✗ She wanted to join, but he didn't to → didn't. ✗ I hope it so → I hope so. ✗ better than the new one (plural) → the new ones. ✗ I can't it → I can't.

1. She wanted to join, but he
   didn't todidn't
   .
2. A: Will it survive? B: I hope
   soit so
   .
3. A: Is it dying out? B: I'm afraid
   nonot
   .
4. The old festivals are better than the new
   onesone
   .
5. They asked her to stay, and she
   did it sodid so
   .
6. He doesn't dance, but his sister
   doesis
   .
7. I'd love to take part, but I
   can'tcan't it
   .
8. Some people keep the custom;
   others don't itothers don't
   .

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

1. She wanted to join, but he didn't to. →
2. I hope it so. →
3. The old festivals are better than the new one. →
4. He doesn't dance, but his sister is. →
5. I'd love to take part, but I can't it. →
6. They asked her to stay, and she did it so. →

Answer in detail. Use ellipsis and substitution.

1. Will your family traditions survive? I hope so, or not?
2. Some people keep traditions, others don't. Which are you?
3. Are older customs better than newer ones?
4. What would you do if the tradition asked you to do something you disliked?
5. Would you like to take part in a very old ritual, or would you rather not?
6. Do you think a recipe, a song or a festival is the easiest to pass down?

Three people discuss traditions. Compare them. Who values traditions most? Who wants to change them? Whose view is closest to yours?

Your teacher will time you.

1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
2. Part 1: describe a tradition that matters to you.
3. Part 2: explain how it survives or why it may disappear (use ellipsis and substitution, for example so, not, one / ones and do so).
4. Part 3: say what you would do to keep it alive.

1. Which tradition do you value most?
2. Do you celebrate old festivals?
3. Do you cook family recipes?
4. Have you ever changed a tradition?
5. Do you think young people care about customs?
6. Would you like to learn a traditional craft?
7. Is there a tradition you dislike?
8. Have you started a new tradition?

1. Who taught you your family traditions?
2. Who in your family keeps the old customs?
3. Who makes traditional things by hand in your area?
4. Who should preserve old songs and stories?
5. Who would you like to learn a craft from?
6. Who in your life is full of nostalgia?

1. Should schools teach traditional crafts?
2. Are traditions always good?
3. Can a tradition be invented?
4. Is tourism good or bad for traditions?
5. Should governments protect traditions?