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Easter: A Festival of Light, Language and Renewal. Verb Form Gap Fill
History of the Holidays: Easter
Read the following text and fill in the gaps with the verb that best fits each space using the correct verb form of the verbs below. There are TWO extra verbs you will not need. The activity begins with an example (0).
Verbs: regard, light, unite, spare, become, ostracise, ensure, dye, observe, exacerbate, think, appear, rise.
Easter: A Festival of Light, Language and Renewal
Easter (0) is widely regarded as the holiest day in the Christian calendar, its significance rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet what may strike many as surprising is that this profoundly solemn religious festival has come to be associated with chocolate eggs, rabbits and pastel-coloured springtime decorations. Were one to accept this at face value, one might assume the two things had nothing to do with each other. In fact, the opposite is true: beneath the cheerful exterior lies a history far older, one steeped in ancient mythology, Jewish tradition, and centuries of remarkable cultural exchange.
From Passover to Easter
According to the Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus travelled to Jerusalem with his apostles to celebrate Passover — the Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Following the Passover meal, he was arrested, tried and crucified on what has since become known as Good Friday. Two days later, however, he is said (1) from the dead, an event that was to become the very foundation of Christian belief.
The earliest Christians — many of whom were of Jewish origin — had initially celebrated the resurrection as part of Passover itself. Indeed, the early name for Easter was Pascha, derived directly from the Hebrew Pesach, meaning Passover, a linguistic connection that survives to this day in most of the world's languages, including French (Pâques), Spanish (Pascua) and Italian (Pasqua).
The word Passover itself has its origins in one of the most dramatic narratives in the Torah, the Book of Exodus. After nine plagues had failed to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage, God decreed a final and devastating judgement: the death of every firstborn in Egypt. Instructed to mark their doorposts with the blood of a sacrificed lamb, the Israelites (2) when the "Destroyer" passed through Egypt that night. The biblical line encapsulating this moment reads: "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" — the very phrase from which William Tyndale coined the English word Passover in his landmark Bible translation of 1530.
Fixing the Date of Easter
In the early centuries of Christianity, Easter was celebrated on different days of the week, giving rise to considerable confusion across the growing Church. It was not until 325 AD that the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and the Council of Nicaea resolved the matter, ruling that Easter should always be observed on a Sunday — specifically, the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. This means Easter can fall anywhere between 22nd March and 25th April, earning it the designation of a "moveable feast," firmly anchored, even so, to the ancient lunar rhythms that had governed religious calendars long before Christianity.
It was around this time that Christians also began lighting the Paschal candle at the Easter Vigil — a large, ornate candle whose flame symbolises the light of Christ emerging from the darkness of the tomb, and which continues (3) at baptisms and funerals throughout the year.
Holy Week: The Final Days of Jesus
The week leading up to Easter is known as Holy Week, and each day carries its own theological significance. It begins with Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, where crowds are said to have spread palm branches before him. Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday recall his teachings in the city — Wednesday being referred to by some traditions as Spy Wednesday, in reference to Judas Iscariot's betrayal. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples' feet, the word Maundy deriving from the Latin mandatum, meaning "commandment." Good Friday marks the crucifixion and (4) as a day of solemn reflection and fasting, followed by Holy Saturday, a day of quiet waiting representing the time Jesus spent in the tomb.
These final three days — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday — form the Paschal Triduum, widely regarded as a single, continuous act of worship rather than three separate occasions, and considered by many Christians to be the most sacred period in the entire liturgical year.
Pagan Traditions and the Spring Equinox
Long before Christianity spread across Europe, the spring equinox had already been revered as a sacred turning point, when light and darkness briefly stood in perfect balance. Among Germanic and Saxon tribes, the dawn goddess Eostre gave her name and symbols — the fertile hare and the egg — to what would later become Easter imagery. Rather than eradicating these customs, the early Church chose to absorb them, aligning the resurrection story with familiar themes of renewal and rebirth so that the festival would feel both recognisable and transformative. Indeed, the very word Easter, first recorded by the monk Bede, is (5) to stem from Eostre and shares roots with words such as east and aurora, all of which evoke the golden light of daybreak.
The Easter Bunny and Modern Customs
The hare had long been revered as a symbol of fertility in European folklore, believed to be sacred to the goddess Eostre and admired for its extraordinary reproductive capacity. Unlike rabbits, hares possess the rare biological ability of superfetation, meaning they can conceive a second litter while still carrying the first — a seemingly magical trait that (8) wondrous to ancient observers.
From the sixteenth century onwards, German families began telling their children that a magical hare — the Oschter Haws — would deliver coloured eggs to well-behaved youngsters. Children would build nests to attract the creature, a practice that gradually evolved into the Easter egg hunt and the modern Easter basket. Had German settlers not carried this tradition to the Americas in the eighteenth century, the Easter Bunny might never have become embedded in popular culture. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the White House lawn to children wishing to roll their eggs, paving the way for the famous Easter Egg Roll — a tradition that has endured ever since.
The History of the Easter Egg: From Nature to Chocolate
Long before the advent of Christianity, eggs had already been regarded as potent symbols of new life and rebirth across numerous cultures. When the new faith began to spread, these ancient associations were not discarded; rather, they were skilfully reinterpreted. The egg’s hard shell came to signify Christ’s sealed tomb, whereas the cracking of the egg was seen as emblematic of his resurrection. To this day, in many Orthodox traditions, eggs (6) a vivid red to symbolise the blood of Christ — a custom dating back to the earliest centuries of the Church.
There was, moreover, a practical reason why eggs became so firmly embedded in Easter celebrations. Throughout the forty days of Lent, the Church strictly forbade their consumption. Hens, however, continued to lay as usual, inevitably creating a surplus. In order to prevent the eggs from spoiling, families would hard-boil them; in time, eating these preserved eggs on Easter Sunday came to mark both the end of the long fast and the opening of the tomb.
The tradition was transformed in 1873, when the British company J. S. Fry & Sons produced the first hollow chocolate egg. Cadbury soon followed suit and, once a smoother variety of milk chocolate had been perfected, the chocolate Easter egg went on (7) an extraordinary commercial success. Today, what began as a simple religious emblem has evolved into one of the most popular — and commercially significant — traditions of the modern world.
The Easter Bunny and Modern Customs
The hare had long been revered as a symbol of fertility in European folklore, believed to be sacred to the goddess Eostre and admired for its extraordinary reproductive capacity. Unlike rabbits, hares possess the rare biological ability of superfetation, meaning they can conceive a second litter while still carrying the first — a seemingly magical trait that (8) wondrous to ancient observers.
From the sixteenth century onwards, German families began telling their children that a magical hare — the Oschter Haws — would deliver coloured eggs to well-behaved youngsters. Children would build nests to attract the creature, a practice that gradually evolved into the Easter egg hunt and the modern Easter basket. Had German settlers not carried this tradition to the Americas in the eighteenth century, the Easter Bunny might never have become embedded in popular culture. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the White House lawn to children wishing to roll their eggs, paving the way for the famous Easter Egg Roll — a tradition that has endured ever since.
A Festival for Everyone
Rarely does a single celebration manage (9) so many layers of human experience. Easter is simultaneously a Jewish story of liberation, a Christian story of resurrection and a universal story of the return of warmth and light. Whether one chooses to focus on the ancient goddess whose name gave us the word Easter, the Passover narrative at the heart of the Christian story, or simply the sight of daffodils in an English garden, the message remains the same: that life is a cycle, and that after every winter, however harsh, the light of spring will always return. It is, perhaps, this conviction above all others — ancient, universal and endlessly renewed — that (10) Easter's enduring place at the very heart of human experience.
KEY
1. to have risen
2. were spared (were forgiven)
3. to be lit/ being lit
4. is observed
5. is thought
6. are dyed
7. to become
8. would have appeared
9. to unite
10. has ensured
Extra verbs: ostracise, exacerbate
Ready for C1 p 43. Report on the Facilities Available for International Visitors in Palma de Mallorca. Verb Form Gap Fill
Read the following text and fill in the gaps with the verb that best fits each space using the correct verb form of the verbs below. There are TWO extra verbs you will not need. The activity begins with an example (0).
Verbs: base, provide, be, analyse, bequeath, exert, ensure, expand, interview, comment upon, forsake, invest, take, wish, follow, require, think.
Task instructions: You work for a regional tourism board. You have been asked to write a report on the facilities available for international visitors in your city.
Report on International Visitor Facilities in Palma
Introduction
The main objective of this report is (0) to analyse the current state of facilities available for international visitors in Palma and to identify specific areas where investment (1). This report (2) on a survey conducted among 500 foreign travellers during the peak autumn season, as well as on-site evaluations of the city’s transport and hospitality infrastructure. It is intended to inform the board of existing shortcomings while highlighting that, although the current outlook is promising, certain logistical aspects require immediate attention to maintain our competitive edge in the Mediterranean market.
Transport and Accessibility
The first observation to make concerns the airport-to-city link, which constitutes the primary first impression of the city's infrastructure for all international arrivals. While the bus service is frequent, it appears that the majority of tourists find the lack of a rail connection somewhat frustrating. In order to gather qualitative data, I interviewed several frequent flyers who stressed that a dedicated light-rail system (3) far more efficient than the existing road-based options. Interestingly, despite the city's walkable layout, many visitors are concerned that pedestrian signage is not nearly as clear as it should be. In contrast to other European hubs, Palma’s cycle lane network (4) significantly; nevertheless, it (5) that further integration with the historic centre is necessary to ensure seamless navigation for those opting for sustainable transport.
Hospitality and Service Standards
Regarding the service industry, it (6) by a number of people we talked to that the level of English proficiency in non-central districts is nowhere near as high as in the primary tourist hotspots. This language barrier often leads to a cause of dissatisfaction among those (7) to explore the authentic culture of the island. Furthermore, while the local gastronomy is undoubtedly world-class, all those who (8) believe that the city's "green" initiatives are not quite as visible as they are in competing destinations. Surprisingly, there is a distinct lack of digitalised ticketing for cultural heritage sites, which remains a significant problem for visitors trying to plan their itineraries efficiently. In spite of this, the quality of boutique accommodation remains by far the best in the Balearic Islands.
Recommendations for Future Investment
In the light of the results of the survey, I would strongly recommend that the board should prioritise digital infrastructure by implementing a unified "Smart Palma" app for real-time transport updates and ticket bookings. I feel it would be to our advantage if we (9) in more electric vehicle charging points and solar-powered street lighting to address the growing demand for sustainable travel. Another option would be to offer subsidised English language workshops at EOI Palma for staff in the hospitality sector, as this (10) a significant impact on our international reputation. If these recommendations (11), then Palma will undoubtedly solidify its status as a premier year-round destination.
Conclusion
(12) all the factors mentioned into account, the outlook for tourism in Palma remains optimistic. (13) that the aforementioned recommendations are taken into consideration, I believe we can significantly enhance the visitor experience. From the evidence gathered, we conclude that while our traditional hospitality is excellent, our future success depends on modernising our infrastructure. All things considered, it would seem that a shift towards digital and sustainable investment is the best idea (14) long-term growth.
KEY
1. is required
2. is based
3. would be
4. has expanded
5. is thought
6. was commented upon
7. wishing
8. were interviewed
9. invested
10. would exert
11. are followed
12. Taking
13. Provided/ Providing
14. to ensure
Extra verbs:
forsake (abandon, renounce)
bequeath (leave in will)
Vocabulary:
Touchpoint: Any point of contact between a customer (tourist) and a provider (the city). Interaction. Sp. Punto de contacto.
Competitive Edge: The advantage that makes one destination better than its rivals. What makes Palma stand out. Sp. Ventaja competitiva.
Qualitative Data: Information based on opinions and descriptions rather than just numbers. Sp. Datos cualitativos
Pedestrian Signage: The physical signs that help people find their way while walking. Sp. Señalización peatonal.
Seamless: Smooth and continuous, without any problems or interruptions.
Ready for C1 p 113. A People's History of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Listening
In Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Clarissa Dickson Wright explores the history of breakfast and its best-known ingredients.
What do you know about the English breakfast?
Related story:
All episodes:
What do you know about the English breakfast?
E.g.
hash browns: (plural) a dish of chopped potatoes and onions, fried until they are brown.
hearty: (of a meal or somebody’s appetite) large; making you feel full. E.g. a hearty breakfast. to have a hearty appetite. The men ate a hearty breakfast Sp. los hombres tomaron un copioso desayuno
Listen and fill in the gaps:
Our food traditions are what connects us most directly to the past. We take the rituals of breakfast, lunch and dinner for 1___________ as if they have always been there as we know them. But 2__________ the stories of our three main meals and you discover gastronomic revolutions, technological 3________ and sometimes, 4___________ realities. "5_________, that would cause really bad breath". Food is about more than just 6__________/ __________. The history of our meals is rich and complex and this is what I am 7_________/ ________/ __________/ explore. "Right, 8____________/ ________!
Breakfast is the meal that has the most 9_____________ history. The origins of the ingredients are 10________/ _________/ in our collective past. I have come to the kind of 11______________ where it still takes 12___________/ _________/ __________- the British 13___________. The full English breakfast is the best-known contribution to international 14_________. It is what most of the people think of as the 15_______________ morning meal. However, we can even find people having it in a biker's café on a Friday night. "You can't 16__________ a full English just after a long ride". "You can eat it during the day. Most weekends, we have a 17__________ of some kind". "I was accused by my wife of 18________/ _________/ ________ at one point.
The full English has become so 19___________, that people have it at any time. The story of having bacon and eggs for breakfast is 20___________/___________/ up with the customs of the past. Only after the morning mass could you break your 21_________. Having bacon and eggs has also a religious history although it 22________/ _________ almost by accident because for 23___________ half the days of the year, the church 24______________ people to eat meat.
When you could not eat meat, you would have to face something like for example 25________/ ________ which has been 26___________. "Do you think that 27_____________ would improve the smell?"
Father Tim Gardner is an expert on mediaeval religious 28____________.
"That is fascinating. I never actually thought of the 29_______________ on meat eating as being because meat was actually the product of obvious reproduction"
The most intensive period of 30______________ was 31_________. The traditional thing to do was to eat what you would not be allowed to, like pancakes, and bacon and eggs. "It is not just the butter, milk and eggs that we 32__________/ ___________ on 33______________ Tuesday. The day before used to be known as 34__________ Monday. Therefore everything began with a single day of 35_____________
KEY
hash browns: (plural) a dish of chopped potatoes and onions, fried until they are brown.
hearty: (of a meal or somebody’s appetite) large; making you feel full. E.g. a hearty breakfast. to have a hearty appetite. The men ate a hearty breakfast Sp. los hombres tomaron un copioso desayuno
Listen and fill in the gaps:
Our food traditions are what connects us most directly to the past. We take the rituals of breakfast, lunch and dinner for 1___________ as if they have always been there as we know them. But 2__________ the stories of our three main meals and you discover gastronomic revolutions, technological 3________ and sometimes, 4___________ realities. "5_________, that would cause really bad breath". Food is about more than just 6__________/ __________. The history of our meals is rich and complex and this is what I am 7_________/ ________/ __________/ explore. "Right, 8____________/ ________!
Breakfast is the meal that has the most 9_____________ history. The origins of the ingredients are 10________/ _________/ in our collective past. I have come to the kind of 11______________ where it still takes 12___________/ _________/ __________- the British 13___________. The full English breakfast is the best-known contribution to international 14_________. It is what most of the people think of as the 15_______________ morning meal. However, we can even find people having it in a biker's café on a Friday night. "You can't 16__________ a full English just after a long ride". "You can eat it during the day. Most weekends, we have a 17__________ of some kind". "I was accused by my wife of 18________/ _________/ ________ at one point.
The full English has become so 19___________, that people have it at any time. The story of having bacon and eggs for breakfast is 20___________/___________/ up with the customs of the past. Only after the morning mass could you break your 21_________. Having bacon and eggs has also a religious history although it 22________/ _________ almost by accident because for 23___________ half the days of the year, the church 24______________ people to eat meat.
When you could not eat meat, you would have to face something like for example 25________/ ________ which has been 26___________. "Do you think that 27_____________ would improve the smell?"
Father Tim Gardner is an expert on mediaeval religious 28____________.
"That is fascinating. I never actually thought of the 29_______________ on meat eating as being because meat was actually the product of obvious reproduction"
The most intensive period of 30______________ was 31_________. The traditional thing to do was to eat what you would not be allowed to, like pancakes, and bacon and eggs. "It is not just the butter, milk and eggs that we 32__________/ ___________ on 33______________ Tuesday. The day before used to be known as 34__________ Monday. Therefore everything began with a single day of 35_____________
KEY
1. granted
Take something for granted: to expect something always to happen or exist in a particular way, and to not think about any possible problems or difficulties. E.g. Losing my job taught me never to take anything for granted. Take it for granted (that): You can't take it for granted that they'll behave themselves.
2. unpick:
1. undo the sewing of. E.g. I unpicked the seams of his trousers. 2. Carefully analyse the different elements of (something). E.g. Elisabeth did not want to unpick the past.
3. leaps
(leap: a long or high jump. E.g. a leap of six metres. (Figurative) Few people successfully make the leap from television to the movies.
4. gruesome:
/ˈɡruːsəm/ very unpleasant and filling you with horror, usually because it is connected with death or injury. Sp. repelente, horripilante, espantoso. E.g. a gruesome murder. Gruesome pictures of dead bodies (humorous) We spent a week in a gruesome apartment in Miami.
dingy:
/ˈdɪndʒi/ dark and dirty. E.g. a dingy room/hotel. dingy curtains/clothes.
seedy:
dirty and unpleasant, possibly connected with immoral or illegal activities. E.g. a seedy bar. the seedy world of prostitution. A seedy dive.
dive:
a bar, music club, etc. that is cheap, and perhaps dark or dirty. E.g. The band played in every smoky dive in town.
5. Decay:
/dɪˈkeɪ/ the process or result of being destroyed by natural causes or by not being cared for. Sp. descomposición. E.g. tooth decay (Sp. caries). The landlord had let the building fall into decay. The smell of death and decay hung over the town. The decay of the wood will spread if it is not removed.
6. filling up
(fill up (with something)/ fill something up (with something) to become completely full; to make something completely full. E.g. The ditches (channel at the side of a road) had filled up with mud. To fill up the tank with oil.
7. setting out to
(set out: to begin a job, task, etc. with a particular aim or goal. E.g. She set out to break the world record. They succeeded in what they set out to do.)
8. Dig in
(dig in (informal) used to tell somebody to start to eat. Sp. al ataque. E.g. Help yourselves, everybody! Dig in!)
tuck in / tuck into something
(British English, informal) to eat a lot of food, especially when it is done quickly and with enthusiasm. E.g. Come on, tuck in everyone! He was tucking into a huge plateful of pasta.
9. mysterious
10. buried deep
bury: /ˈberi/
11. establishment
(/ɪˈstæblɪʃmənt/ an organization, a large institution, a business or a hotel. E.g. an educational establishment. A research establishment. The hotel is a comfortable and well-run establishment. There are many eating establishments nearby.)
12. pride of place
(take/have/give pride of place: in the place that is most central or important. Sp. en el puesto de honor. E.g. The photo was given pride of place on the mantelpiece. The certificate has pride of place on my wall. Pride of place in her collection goes to the gold medal she won at the 1996 Olympics)
13. caff
(/kæf/ a café serving simple, basic food. E.g. a transport caff)
14. cuisine (/kwɪˈziːn/ a style or method of cooking. E.g. we spent the evening sampling the local cuisine)
15. quintessential
(/ˌkwɪntɪˈsenʃl/ representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class. Sp. por excelencia, por antonomasia. E.g. he was the quintessential tough guy—strong, silent, and self-contained)
16. beat
17. fry-up
(a meal of fried food, such as bacon and eggs. E.g. It's not good for your heart to eat too many fry-ups.)
18. living on them
(live on something (often disapproving) to eat only or a lot of a particular type of food. E.g. She lives on burgers.
19. iconic
/aɪˈkɒnɪk/ acting as a sign or symbol of something. E.g. His photographs have become iconic images of war.
20. intricately bound
Intricately: /ˈɪntrɪkətli/ very complicated or detailed.
Bound up with something closely connected with something. E.g. From that moment my life became inextricably (impossible to separate) bound up with hers.
21. fast
(a period during which you do not eat food, especially for religious or health reasons. E.g. to go on a fast. To break (= end) your fast.
22. came about
(come about to happen. E.g. Can you tell me how the accident came about?)
23. roughly
(/ˈrʌfli/ approximately but not exactly)
24. forbade
/fə ˈbæd / /fəˈbeɪd/ (forbid, forbade, forbidden)
25. salt fish
(fish that has been preserved in salt)
26. soaked
/səʊkt/ (soak to put something in liquid for a time so that it becomes completely wet. E.g. I usually soak the beans overnight.)
27. grace
( a short prayer that is usually said before a meal to thank God for the food. Let's say grace.)
28. strictures
(stricture /ˈstrɪktʃə(r)/ a rule or situation that restricts your behaviour. Restriction. E.g. strictures against civil servants expressing political opinions. The strictures imposed by the British Board of Film Censors)
29. constrictions
/kənˈstrɪkʃn/ (limitations, restrictions)
30. abstinence
31. Lent
32. use up
(use something up: to use all of something so that there is none left. E.g. Making soup is a good way of using up leftover vegetables.)
33. Shrove
/ˌʃrəʊv/ (Shrove Tuesday the day before the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras /ˌmɑːdi ˈɡrɑː/. Pancake Day)
Shrove Tuesday
Origin: (c. 1500) is from practice of celebration and merrymaking before going to confession at the beginning of Lent. Related to shrive:
shrive: (shrive, shrove/shrived, shriven/shrived)(of a priest) hear the confession of, assign penance to, and absolve.E.g. ‘none of the priests knew English or French enough to shrive the king’
34. Collop
/ˈkɒləp/ a slice of meat E.g. three collops of bacon.
rasher:
a thin slice of bacon (= meat from the back or sides of a pig). E.g. a fried egg and two rashers of bacon. a thick rasher of bacon.
35. indulgence
/ɪnˈdʌldʒəns/ the state or act of having or doing whatever you want; the state of allowing somebody to have or do whatever they want. E.g. to lead a life of indulgence. Avoid excessive indulgence in sweets and canned drinks. The menu offers a temptation to over-indulgence. There is no limit to the indulgence he shows to his grandchildren.
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