Spooky Use of English Practice

Here are some Halloween Use of English activities I prepared for my FCE students. My students always ask for some Halloween related activities, but we can always do fun stuff. I hope that thanks to these activities I will kill two birds with one stone - they will learn something more about Halloween and we will practise Use of English for the FCE exam :).

Part 1 Multiple-choice cloze

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Halloween: Where It All Began

In Ireland, 1) _____ Halloween originated, the day is still celebrated much as it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were in the days of the Celts, and all over the country, children 2) _____ dressed up in costumes and spend the evening “trick-or-treating” in their neighborhoods. After trick-or-treating, most people attend parties with neighbors and friends. At the parties, many games are played, including “snap-apple,” a game in which an apple on a string is tied 3) _____ a doorframe or tree and players attempt to bite the hanging apple. 4) _____ addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts, with candy or pastries as the “treasure.” The Irish also play a card 5) _____ where cards are laid face 6) _____ on a table with candy or coins underneath them. When a child chooses a card, he receives whatever prize is found below it.

A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or 7) _____ at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater’s future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its 8) _____. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as “knock-a-dolly,” a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened.

1.	a	when	b	whose	c	where	d	that
2.	a	make	b	set	c	take	d	get
3.	a	to	b	with	c	up	d	along
4.	a	In	b	On	c	With	d	No
5.	a	trick	b	play	c	game	d	toy
6.	a	up	b	down	c	back	d	off
7.	a	cooked	b	fried	c	boiled	d	baked
8.	a	way	b	road	c	path	d	street

Part 2 Open cloze

For questions 1–8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

The Legend of “Stingy Jack”

1)______ October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated 2) _____ candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”—the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, 3) _____ large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities.

People have been making jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween 4) _____ centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself 5) _____ a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to 6) _____ the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, 7) _____ the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack 8) _____ to bother him for ten more years.

Part 3 Word formation

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

The Legend of “Stingy Jack” (continued) Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an 1) _____ figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, 2) _____ not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a 3) _____ coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this 4) _____ figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, 5) _____ “Jack O’Lantern.” In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving 6) _____ faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to 7) _____ away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. 8) _____ from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o’-lanterns.

SAVOUR WILL BURN GHOST SIMPLE SCARE FRIGHT MIGRATE

Part 4 Transformations

For questions 1–6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. Write the missing words in CAPITAL LETTERS.

1. Due to bad weather, Ana Belén had to postpone the Halloween Party.

OFF

The Halloween party had ______________________________ of bad weather.

2. When Paulina was a little girl, she always wore princess dresses.

AS

Paulina used ______________________________ princess when she was little.

3. Fran said, “This is the scariest Halloween Party I have ever attended!”

BEEN

Fran said that it was the scariest Halloween Party ______________________________.

4. Not every child got candies at the Halloween Party.

ENOUGH

There ______________________________ all the children at the Halloween Party.

5. Michael says he liked last year’s Halloween Party more.

AS

According to Michael, this year’s Halloween party ______________________________ the previous one.

6. The Halloween Party was attended by more than 120 students!

IN

More than 120 students ______________________________ Halloween Party.

Texts adapted from: https://www.history.com/

Here's the link to the activities and the answer key

For more teaching ideas go to http://polishyourenglishwithpau.edublogs.org/