Worksheet | Music is GREAT

Task 1
Make some sentences from the words in the word cloud.

Look at the poster. Can you tell where the photograph is taken?

Which of the following adjectives would you use to describe the picture?

exciting overcrowded exhilarating splendid

awesome claustrophobic thrilling disconcerting

• Are these words positive or negative? awesome, energising, claustrophobic, exciting

• Can you think of any more adjectives to describe the picture?
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Worksheet | Music is GREAT
Task 2
Discussion

1. In pairs, talk about the music you like.

You should say:

• what sort of music you like to listen to and why

• how you access music
• where you listen to music
• who your favourite musicians/ bands are

2. Discuss the following question with your partner:

• How popular is live music in your country and are music festivals an
important part of the culture?

Task 3
Vocabulary
Match the words to their definitions.
Word Definition
1. exponentially (adverb) A. an abbreviated form of ‘wellington
boots’, which are rubber boots worn in
c wet, muddy conditions
2. countless (adjective) B. well known, or famous, usually for a
e positive reason

3. renowned (adjective) C. describes the way in which something

b is growing or increasing very quickly

4. quagmire (noun) D. the end or death of something

h

5. undeterred (adjective) E. very many

f

6. wellies (noun – plural – informal) F. not prevented from doing something,

a even though it may be difficult or
problematic
7. demise (noun) G. large in size, amount, degree or
d importance

8. substantial (adjective) H. a soft, wet area of land, which you

g may sink into if you walk across it

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Worksheet | Music is GREAT
Task 4

You are going to read a text about Glastonbury, a major music festival in England.

• Do you think this is an event you would like to go to? Why?

Glastonbury festival.

The first Glastonbury Festival took place in 1970 and was organised by Michael
Eavis, who still runs the festival now on his farm in Somerset in the south-west of
England. Michael charged people just £1 to enter, and the ticket included free milk
from the farm. Only 1,500 people attended on that occasion, but this number has
grown exponentially since then. In 2011, there were approximately 100 times more
people in the crowd and tickets, which cost £195 each, sold out within 4 hours. The
festival takes place almost every year in the last weekend of June and lasts for three
days.

Although it is best known for contemporary music, Glastonbury (or ‘Glasto’ as it is

often called) is host to other performing arts such as dance, comedy and theatre. The
festival site is now made up of distinct zones, each one providing something different
to cater for the tastes of all those present.

Countless famous British musicians have played at the festival, including Sir Paul
McCartney, Oasis and Coldplay, however the festival also attracts international
interest, and has seen headline acts in recent years such as the likes of Beyonce
Knowles, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z.

The festival is renowned for being extremely muddy, and on many occasions, most
notably in 1997, heavy rainfall turned the whole festival site into a quagmire.
Glastonbury-goers remain undeterred, however, and are quite happy to boogie the
festival away in their wellies.

Because of the high demand for tickets, the festival has also been famous for ‘fence-
jumpers’. In 2000, when only 100,000 tickets were sold, about 250,000 people
attended the event – many of whom jumped over the surrounding fence to gain entry.
Security increased in 2002 and a ‘superfence’ was created to prevent people from
entering without a ticket. In the same year, the new Pyramid Stage, graced by the
presence of David Bowie, was welcomed back following its demise in 1994 when it
burnt down just a week before the festival was to begin.

The festival supports Fair Trade and has made substantial contributions to charity
over the years. In 2003,over a million pounds was donated, and Greenpeace, Oxfam
and WaterAid continue to be main beneficiaries.

The next Glastonbury festival is set to take place in 2013, following a year off in 2012
to make way for the Olympics and give the farmland a chance to recover.
Registration for tickets is already open.

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Worksheet | Music is GREAT

Task 5

Find the numbers below in the text. Write a sentence to say what they refer to. The
first one is done for you.

1,500 The number of people who attended the first Glastonbury festival

100,000
The tickets that were sold
2013
Year of The nex Glastonbury festival.
150,000

4
hours that tickets are sold
1970

1997
The festival was do most notable.
>1,000,000

250,000
People attend the event
195
price in the festival in 2011
2002
The make way for the olympics
1994
Presentation of David Bowie
1
prince next to change of Michael Eavis

• Did any of these figures surprise you?

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Worksheet | Music is GREAT
Task 7

Extension activities

Option 1

Plan a trip to a festival. You may want to choose a festival you learned about during
the lesson, or another one of your choice. The following websites might be useful:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/

http://www.thefestivalcalendar.co.uk/

http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/599/the-worlds-best-music-festivals

http://worldparty.roughguides.com

Consider the following questions:

• Where is the festival?

• When is the festival?
• How will you get there?
• Where will you stay?
• How long will you stay?
• What will you do at the festival?

Give a short presentation to the class about your festival plans.

Option 2

Design a poster for your dream music festival.

1. Consider the following questions:

• What is the name of your festival?

• Where is it?
• When is it?
• How often does it happen?
• How long does it last for?
• How much do tickets cost?
• What sort of music is played?
• Which famous artists/ bands will headline?
• Will there be any other activities?

2. Present your poster to the class, explaining why you made your choices.

If you have Internet access, www.glogster.com enables you to produce an attractive,

online, interactive poster. You can embed music and movie clips to make your poster
even more appealing!

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© British Council 2012