IELTS Short Answer Questions for the Reading Test require you to locate answers in the passage. Skim read the passage and then spend time preparing the questions. Pay attention to question words which will help you understand what type of words you need for your answer. The answers for short answer questions always come in order in the passage. This is a reading practice lesson created for IELTS candidates.
The History of Easter Eggs: Reading Practice for IELTS
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. The practice of decorating eggshell is ancient. Ostrich eggs with engraved decoration that are 60,000 years old have been found in Africa. In Europe, it was traditional to use dyed and painted chicken eggs at Easter, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans.
Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and other Central European countries where they are concealed in the garden for children to find. The British Queen, Queen Victoria, was also known to enjoy egg hunts, organising them for her children inside Kensington Palace in London which brought the tradition to the UK. Eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth. Some magic rituals, these days, often use eggs to promote fertility and restore virility (of the body and mind); and to foresee the future. The Easter Bunny is another symbol associated with Easter but the origin is unclear. Some people believe that the Easter Bunny came about because both eggs and rabbits are often seen as symbols of fertility. Others believe the Easter Bunny originated in Germany were it was a judge of how well behaved children had been by the start of the season. The naughty or nice theme for children can be seen again in the tradition of Santa Clause at Christmas. Nowadays, in many countries, the Easter bunny is responsible for bringing the children their Easter eggs.
Questions 1-5 Short Answer Questions
Answer the questions below. Choose no more than two words from the passage for each answer.
- What is another name for Easter Eggs?
- What type of eggs were formerly used at Easter in Europe?
- Where are egg hunts often conducted as part of a hide and seek game in some countries?
- What did eggs represent on the whole?
- What determined if children had been naughty or nice at the beginning of Spring.
Questions 6-10 Paraphrasing Vocabulary Practice
This question type does not appear in the IELTS test, but learning to spot paraphrases is an essential skills for IELTS Reading. Note: the answers for these paraphrases do not come in order.
- 6.ceremonies
- 7. sweets
- 8. adorning
- 9. originated
- 10. carved / etched
Answers
Click below to reveal the answers.
Answers- PASCHAL EGGS
- CHICKEN / CHICKEN EGGS
- “chocolate eggs” cannot be the answer because it is a modern custom and the question specifies “formally used” meaning in the past.
- (THE ) GARDEN
- The use of brackets in answer keys means you can put the word in brackets in your answer or not – both options are correct. You can’t use brackets for your answers in the test, this is only in answer keys.
- “Kensington Palace” is not the answer because this only refers to the UK rather than some countries which means the answer actually is contained in the sentence before that.
- FERTILITY REBIRTH
- using “and” would be wrong – just two words are needed.
- No punctuation is needed but would not be counted wrong if you used a comma
- EASTER BUNNY
- 6. rituals
- 7. confectionery
- 8. decorating
- 9. came about
- 10. engraved
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All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written to help you gain awareness of IELTS questions types and to build useful skills.
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