San Fermin Festival

[Culture ★★]

(P1) The Spanish San Fermin Festival attracts 1 million visitors a year. It includes daily bull runs in the morning and bullfights in the evening.

(P2) The festival divides people into those who enjoy it and those who think that it’s just animal cruelty. Animal rights activists covered themselves in fake blood in protest. They wore nothing but black underwear, bullhorns, and carrying red buckets reading, “Pamplona: Bloodbath for Bulls.”

(P3) An animal rights organizations organized the protest. The organization wants to bring an end to the use of bulls in Spain’s fiestas. They say that people kill or mistreat around 50 bulls every year.

WORDS: 102

SOURCE: http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/san-fermin-festival-level-2/

VOCABULARY: attracts, divides, cruelty, activists, fake, buckets, mistreat

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.

1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
2. Are you for or against this festival? Why?
3. Would you run with the bulls? Why or why not?
4. Are there festivals in your country or city? If yes, tell me about one.

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

1. How many people go to the event each year?
2. The bullfighting starts in the morning. (T or F)
3. What do the people against the bull runs put on their bodies?
4. Which group planned the protest?
5. How many bulls are treated badly or die every year?

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

• bull runs (P1)
• bullfights (P1)
• covered themselves (p2)
• bullhorns (P2)
• bring an end (P3)

Image source: by “unknown” http://www.viajesbbb.es/DownFileForm.asp?file=13F7DF52600429CBE2CC7A4C2DEB0B6808669BA7F4DD8FAB02B1ECA443833FFF&cd=1