Celebrating a Fifteenth Birthday

Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 1

A quinceañera (pronounced "KEEN-saye-an-YEH-ra") is a special celebration held for

many girls in Spanish-speaking communities of the United States and in Latin America on

their fifteen birthday. The celebration may be different in different countries. The word

quinceañera can refer to the celebration or to the girl. The birthday is special because it

celebrates that a girl is not a child anymore and has become a woman. It is a very

important day for many young girls, a day they dream about for a long time. Everyone

who knows the girl will celebrate it with a church ceremony and a big party.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
celebration = __________________

communities = __________________
different
= __________________
refer to
= __________________ M.5/9
special
= __________________
child
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
church
ceremony = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Celebrating a Fifteenth Birthday
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 2

There is a lot of preparation before a quinceañera celebration. The most important

and expensive preparation is buying the girl's dress. The dress is like a wedding' dress but is

usually pink; however, today many girls also wear dresses in other light colors. The birthday

girl chooses 14 girls and 14 boys who will be her attendants? at the ceremony and the

dinner dance that follows. Traditionally, these girls and boys are younger than the birthday

girl, but sometimes they are the same age.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
preparation = __________________

dress = __________________
wedding
= __________________
light colors
= __________________ M.5/9
attendants
= __________________
Traditionally
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
same age
younger = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Celebrating a Fifteenth Birthday
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 3

The dresses for the girl attendants are in the same color and style as each other, but

they are different from the birthday girl. The reason for this is that all eyes will go to the

birthday girl on that special day. Then the family orders a cake that is special, like a

wedding cake. Sometimes the godparents pay for the cake. Many times, the cake is so big

that it needs a special table. Next, the parents rent a hall for the party and rent a band to

play music. After that, they decide on the special food to serve the guests. Often a

quinceañera celebration can cost as much as a big wedding; the size of the party depends

on how much the girl's parents can afford.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
different = __________________

reason = __________________
godparents
= __________________
rent
= __________________ M.5/9
guests
= __________________
cost
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
depends on
afford = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Celebrating a Fifteenth Birthday
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 4

On the night before the girl's fifteenth birthday, a band plays in the evening outside

her window. Then the day of her birthday arrives. First, the girl's family, her godparents, and

her attendants go to a religious ceremony in the church. The girl receives a bouquet of

flowers and blessings that will help her be a strong woman. Her parents are proud of their

grown-up daughter, and they embrace her. Then she leaves the church with her attendants

and goes to the hall for the special party. Before they go to the party, they pose for

photographs.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
religious = __________________

receives = __________________
bouquet
= __________________
blessings
= __________________ M.5/9
proud of
= __________________
grown-up
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
daughter
embrace = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Celebrating a Fifteenth Birthday
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 5

The hall is beautifully decorated with flowers, and it is full of guests. They wait for

the girl and her family to arrive. The band plays music, and the party begins with a dinner.

After the dinner, the girl dances the first dance with her father. Then the other attendants

start to dance, followed by the guests. Everyone has a good time, and they all dance until

midnight. It is a day a young girl will always remember.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
decorated = __________________

full of = __________________
wait
= __________________
band
= __________________ M.5/9
followed by
= __________________
midnight
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
arrive
remember = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 1 - 2

Barrington Irving was the first African American to fly solo around the world. He did it in
an airplane he built himself. He also started an organization to get young people interested in
aviation and to teach them not to be afraid to follow their dreams.
Irving was born in Jamaica in 1983. When he was six years old, his family moved to Miami,
Florida. His parents, who were not rich, operated a bookstore. When Irving was not in school, he
worked at the bookstore. One day he met an airline pilot there. Irving was only 15 at the time.
The pilot took Irving to the airport where they got on a Boeing 777 airliner. The pilot let him sit
in the cockpit and play with the controls. From that time on, Irving was determined to fly. He
wanted to do everything to make this dream come true.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
fly solo = __________________

airplane = __________________
built M.5/9
= __________________
organization
= __________________
aviation 1) ___________________________ No. _____
= __________________
afraid
2) ___________________________ No. _____
cockpit = __________________

determined 3) ___________________________ No. _____

= __________________
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 3

To make money for flying lessons, Irving took small jobs at airports after school. He

studied hard and graduated from high school in 2002. Because he was such a good student,

Irving got a scholarship to go to college and study aviation. While Irving was in college, he

wanted to share his love of flying with high school students in poor neighborhoods. He

visited schools in his free time and talked about careers in aviation.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
graduated = __________________

scholarship = __________________
college
= __________________
poor
= __________________ M.5/9
neighborhoods
= __________________
careers
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
job
aviation = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 4

When Irving got his pilot's license, he began to have a bigger dream. He wanted to fly

around the world to show young people that there is no limit to your dreams if you really

want something. He had no money to rent a plane, so he asked the makers of airplanes to

give him parts for free so he could build his own plane to fly around the world. They

agreed.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
license = __________________

no limit = __________________
rent
= __________________
asked
= __________________ M.5/9
maker
= __________________
own
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
agreed
build = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 5

Meanwhile, in 2005, Irving started a non-profit organization, called Experience

Aviation, to get poor young people interested in flying. He even taught them how to put a

plane together, which helped them to understand math and science. Later, the students built

a plane and Irving flew it. The next year, with the help of others, Irving got money to start

a learning center in a Miami airport with equipment to help the students learn to fly a

plane.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
Meanwhile = __________________

non-profit = __________________
experience
= __________________
poor
= __________________ M.5/9
interested in
= __________________
plane
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
equipment
learning center = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 6

On March 23, 2007, when Irving was 23 years old, he took off from the Miami airport

on a flight around the world. Students in the United States and all over the world followed

his flight on the Internet, and Irving spoke with them by satellite phone. After 97 days and

27,000 miles (about 43,000 kilometers), Irving became the youngest person at that time to

fly solo around the world.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
take off = __________________

airport = __________________
all over the world
= __________________
followed
= __________________ M.5/9
satellite phone
= __________________
became
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
fly solo
flight = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 Barrington Irving’s Dream to Fly
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 7

Today, as part of Experience Aviation, Irving plans to have a 'Classroom in the Sky."

This time, he wants to fly a jet around the world and get thousands of students to work

together with him to help solve problems he has while flying. Through the Internet, the

students will be able to see Irving, get information from him, and talk or blog with him as

he flies. Irving is really determined to help young people become interested in flying.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
solve problem = __________________

through = __________________
able
= __________________
get information
= __________________ M.5/9
determined
= __________________
interested in
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
flying
thousands = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 1

In 1984, the Guinness World Records called Ranulph Fiennes the “world’s greatest living

explorer." Since then, he has broken many records in world exploration. Ranulph Fiennes, born in

England in 1944, started his life of adventure in the 1960s. He is fearless and also uses his

expeditions to raise money for charities.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
greatest = __________________

explorer = __________________
records
= __________________
exploration
= __________________ M.5/9
adventure
= __________________
fearless
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
expeditions
raise money = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 2

Fiennes, together with Charles Burton, went on The Transglobe Expedition, a three-year

expedition from 1979 to 1982. During this time, they broke three records. They were the first to

reach the North and South Poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and the Arctic Ocean by boat,

and the first to go around the world along its polar axis. They had traveled 52,000 miles (83,686

kilometers), and as of 2014, no one else has done this.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
reach = __________________

cross = __________________
North Poles
= __________________
South Poles
= __________________ M.5/9
axis
= __________________
traveled
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
go around
no one else = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 3

In 1992, after seven expeditions over a period of 26 years, Fiennes and a team of
researchers found the lost Middle Eastern city of Ubar, in Oman. The city had been covered
in sand for over a thousand years. Fiennes said it was just luck that they found it! The
next year, Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud, an expert on human health in extreme conditions,
became the first to cross the continent of Antarctica with no support. It took 93 days and
was the longest unsupported polar Journey in history. In 1996, Fiennes tried to walk to the
South Pole alone, this time for charity. However, he was unsuccessful because he got sick
and had to return home.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
researchers = __________________

lost = __________________
covered
= __________________
sand
= __________________ M.5/9
expert
= __________________
extreme
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
continent
unsuccessful = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 4

In 2000, Fiennes walked solo and unsupported to the North Pole, but he couldn't finish

it because his sledfell through the ice. When he tried to pull the sled out of the water, some

fingers on his left hand got frostbite. Later, to avoidsurgery, he cut the top part of his

fingers off himself.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
sled = __________________

fell = __________________
pull out
= __________________
frostbite
= __________________ M.5/9
avoid
= __________________
surgery
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
unsupported
North Pole = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 5

Three years later, Fiennes had a heart attack, was in a coma for three days, and had
heart surgery. Before his heart attack, Fiennes had agreed to run in a special marathon for a
heart charity. The marathon was going to be about three and a half months after his surgery,
and it was not one marathon but seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. At this
point, Fiennes didn't want to do the marathon, but he had no choice. So he had to learn to walk
again, to walk uphill, and then to run. His doctor said he could do the marathons if his
heartbeat did not go over 130 beats per minute. Fiennes forgot to take the machine to measure
his heartbeat during the marathons, so he did not know how fast his heartbeat was.
Nevertheless, he completed all seven of the marathons!

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
heart attack = __________________

agreed = __________________
charity
= __________________
uphill M.5/9
= __________________
heartbeat
= __________________
machine 1) ___________________________ No. _____
measure = __________________
2) ___________________________ No. _____
completed = __________________
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 6

Fiennes has a fear of heights. He thought if he climbed Mount Everest, he could get rid

of his fear. In 2005, he climbed Mount Everest, but couldn't make it to the top because he

didn't feel well and had to go back. Climbing Mount Everest didn't help him get rid of his

fear because he said it wasn't vertical enough. So he thought he would climb the very

vertical Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
fear = __________________

heights = __________________
climbed
= __________________
get rid of
= __________________ M.5/9
top
= __________________
vertical
= __________________ 1) ___________________________ No. _____
Mount
enough = __________________ 2) ___________________________ No. _____
 The Fearless Fiennes
Read and summarise the paragraph. Then find the meaning of the given words.

Paragraph 7 - 8

Fiennes climbed Mount Eiger, but that did not help him get over his fear of heights either.
However, with that climb, he raised a lot of money for a charity that helps people with cancer.
Fiennes tried to climb Everest again in 2008 but still couldn't make it. Yet, he did not give up. In
2009, Fiennes climbed Mount Everest and became the oldest British person to do this and to
cross both poles. In 2012, Fiennes went on The Coldest Journey expedition, which crosses
Antarctica in winter. However, in February 2013, Fiennes left the expedition, again because of
frostbite.
Why has the fearless Fiennes gone on these dangerous expeditions all of his life? He says
he does it to raise money for charities. For him, it's his job, just like other people who work in
an office from 9 to 5.

Let's summarize!

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Vocabulary
either = __________________

raised = __________________
cancer M.5/9
= __________________
give up
= __________________
became 1) ___________________________ No. _____
= __________________
cross
2) ___________________________ No. _____
fearless = __________________

dangerous 3) ___________________________ No. _____

= __________________