Argentinian National Customs text for Reading Comprehension as required by Trinity exam grade 7. Use of Relative clauses and Passive Voice

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National Customs
Argentina is a very interesting country where we can find people from different
countries like Italy , Spain, Portugal, England .They have brought their customs and
traditions here which have coexisted with the gauchos or local cowboy .
Our gaucho was the nomadic horseman of our pampas .He was an itinerant rural
labourer who was needed at the farms because of his skills in all rural activities .He
had to assemble the cattle and drive it to the market . At the `pulperìas `or
drinking shops , the gauchos indulged in their favourite pastime : cockfighting, cards
and horseracing .They also had the opportunity of meeting people , dancing, singing ,
drinking and quarelling .
Image of a gaucho drinking mate
Folkore is the music associated with people born and bred in the country and in the
provinces . The Chamamè had its origin in the province of Corrientes while the
chacarera was originally danced in the province of Santiago del Estero .The gato is
similar to the chacarera but dancers stop to talk or make humorous comments .We
usually dance these at school festivals or at the `peñas `or places where folklore is
danced .
People dancing the gato

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Men wear gaucho clothes and women wear long dresses when they dance thses typical
folklore dances.
On Sundays , families meet and eat asado or roast which consists of a large piece
from the cow`s ribs .It is prepared by the man while his wife prepares salads and
desserts . We also eat pasta which comes from our Italian heritage .We love eating
desserts like custard with our dulce de leche , a kind of jam made from milk
.Saturdays are pizza days or empanadas or pasty days in which we share a good time
with friends .Guests usually take a present when they are invited to somebody`s
house .It may be a bunch of flowers for the hostess or a bottle of wine for the host .
Roasting the asado
Going to the football stadium to watch a football match used to be very popular
before violence settled in the stadiums due to social unrest and poverty caused by
economic problems .Nowadays it is safer to watch it on television at home or at some
friend`s house. This year , lots of people travelled to Brazil to watch the football
matches for the world cup .Germany beat Argentina 1-0 and we are subchampions.The
country stopped to watch the matches the Argentinian team played .
Argentinian fan at the 2014 World Cup

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Some people like dancing the tango , a kind of music associated with the `porteño`or
inhabitant in the port of Buenos Aires . The tango was not considered respectable at
the beginning because it was listened to and danced by what was considered the
lower or working class. Nowadays it has become the music that stands for or
represents Buenos Aires and there are many tango places called `tanguerìas ` where
we can listen to and learn to dance .
Couple dancing the tango
It is not surprising that porteños should like the tango because of the melancholy
associated with the themes of the lyrics which depict sorrow for situations which are
already over or no longer possible which is attributed to the feeling of not belonging
of the immigrant .
Drinking mate , a kind of green tea sipped with a pipe from a gourd or `mate `, is
another custom we share with people from Uruguay, our neighbouring country.We
offer our guests a `mate ` to welcome him /her.
Friends passing the mate around
When we marry , the bride usually wears a long white dress and we do not have
brides maids or maids of honour .The groom wears a dark suit .We also have to
consider the length of the party which lasts from night till very early on the following
day . Families also get together to celebrate birthday parties . We eat the cake and
sandwiches . We also celebrate anniversaries and fifteenth year birthday for girls
which is a kind of introduction into society .They wear long dresses and dance a waltz

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with their father and friends .Some girls prefer travelling to Orlando , Miami , in the
United States of America instead of having a party .There are organized trips to
Disneyland for two weeks where the girls can celebrate their birthday and ride all
the games there.
We celebrate Easter, our independence day on july ninth, Halloween ,Christmas and
New year`s Eve. Every family has a different tradition according to their origin but
we love celebrating . We have also started celebrating Saint Valentine on February
the fourteenth.
We love celebrating

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National Customs
1-Tell me about some interesting customs in your country .
2-What do you do here when you meet someone for the first time ?
3-Tell me some of the marriage customs here in Argentina .
4-What typical food is eaten at a wedding ?
5-If I were invited to somebody `s house for dinner , what would you recommend me
to take ?
6-What is one of your favourite customs in Argentina ?
7-Do you think it`s important to learn about the customs from other countries ?
Why?
8-Do you know any British customs ?