Reading. (6 points) The Snake Festival Every year on the first Thursday in May the small village of Cocullo in Italy sees thousands of visitors. They are all arriving to see the annual Snake Festival. The festival is held on Saint Dominic's Day. St Dominic lived in the town in the 11th century. At that time there were many snakes in the village and many people died of snakebite. Saint Domenic got rid of the snakes and the people of Cocullo hold this festival every year to remember him. For some weeks before the festival, people collect snakes and then, on St Dominic's Day, they put all the snakes on a statue of St Dominic. At midday they carry the statue and the snakes in a procession through the village. At the front of the procession is a band playing music and at the back are women in costume who give sweets and bread shaped like snakes to the people who are watching At the end of the procession there are fireworks.
The Land Diving Festival Pentecost Island in Vanuatu is famous for the Land Diving Festival, which takes place every Saturday in May. This festival celebrates the harvest, but there is an old story which says that it began when a woman had an argument with her husband and ran off into the forest. He followed her and she climbed a tree to get away. He climbed the tree after her and she jumped down. He jumped after her and was injured. She was unhurt because she had tied a vine to her ankle which stopped her hitting the ground. Now the men of the island hold this festival every year. They build a wooden tower, 20 to 30 metres high. They climb the tower and tie vines to their ankles. Then they jump off the tower. The people below sing and dance to encourage them. The islanders believe that the higher you jump, the better the harvest will be. In the 1980's the New Zealander AJ Hackett developed the modern sport of bungy jumping, based on this festival.
Task 3. Answer the questions filling in the table: Questions
1. Where does it take place?
The Snake Festival
The Land Diving Festival
2. When does it happen?
3. Why do people celebrate it?