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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #63091 Easy Quebec Winter Carnival: traditions and history

Read the following passage.

A. The Quebec Winter Carnival is an outdoor festival that celebrates winter in Quebec City between late January and mid-February. Its best-known sight is Bonhomme's Ice Palace, which is built entirely from blocks of ice and rises each year near Old Quebec. Ice and snow sculptures by local and international artists stand around the city, and two Night Parades are held. Many visitors dress in red and tie an arrow sash around the waist. In the nineteenth century, this woven belt was used to tighten coats so that the cold could not creep in, and it also gave support to the back.

B. The carnival's host is Bonhomme Carnaval, a snowman who wears a red tuque. He first appeared in public at the Porte Saint-Louis on January 9, 1955, and the mayor of the day gave him his first set of Keys to the City. Every mayor since has done the same at the start of each carnival. Bonhomme is different from the straw or wooden Bonhomme of some European carnivals, which is sacrificed at the end; he simply leaves and comes back the next winter. He makes almost 1,000 appearances a year, and schools across Canada use him and the carnival to teach French.

C. Some events test people's courage in the cold. In the Canoe Race, dozens of teams cross the icy waters of the Saint Lawrence River in four categories, and spectators can watch for free from the quays of the Port of Quebec. In 1976, ice canoeing as a sport was born out of the carnival. In the Snow Bath, first held in 1987, participants jump into an outdoor snowbank in nothing but swimsuits and snow boots. Hundreds of volunteers help run the carnival every year, and each must be free for at least one full shift of about six hours.

D. The first major winter carnival in Quebec City took place in 1894, but it was interrupted by the two world wars and the Great Depression. In 1954, a group of business people revived the festivities to promote the economic development of the old capital, and the first modern carnival was held in 1955. Because the region had no ice supplier, the palace was built of snow until 1992. In 1997 the carnival began to become more family-oriented, and its Queen and Duchesses disappeared, although the Duchesses returned in 2014. Since 2019, the celebrations have been condensed to 10 days built around major events.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.

- 1.
At the opening of each festival, the leader of the city presents the snowman with a special symbol.

- 2.
Quebec City held its first large winter festival in the 1890s.

- 3.
Every year the palace of ice goes up close to Old Quebec.

- 4.
Business leaders brought the event back in the 1950s to help the local economy.

- 5.
People can watch the boat race from the port without paying.

- 6.
The Duchesses came back in 2014 because many visitors had asked for their return.

- 7.
Long ago, the colourful sash was worn to keep the cold away from the body.

- 8.
For many years the ice palace was actually built of snow, as local ice could not be bought.

- 9.
Anyone who helps out at the event has to be free for a minimum of one long work period.

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