human tower two
The Human Tower, two
Vocabulary
| tower | date back | competition |
| human | tradition | hold/held/held (2) |
| region | spirit (2) | participant |
| layer | UNESCO | impressive |
| team | challenge | team spirit |
| attract | strength | quality (2) |
| practice | regarded | spokesperson |
| add (2) | courage | senior (2) |
| list | tangible | masterpiece |
| oral | heritage | atmosphere |
| local | resident | identification |
Video
Transcript
Tarragona, Spain, Oct 6, 2018.
A competition of building human towers, also called Castells, was held in the city of Tarragona, Spain on Saturday.
The tradition dates back to the eighteenth century in Spain’s Catalonia region. It attracts thousands of participants, including children and senior people to build impressive human towers between six and ten layers.
The competition challenges not only strength, but also team spirit, balance and psychological quality.
At the top of the tower must be children, who are often regarded as the best spokesperson for courage.
Guillermo, Casteller: “I have practiced castell for five years, and this is not the first competition for me.”
In 2010, UNESCO added the Castells to its list of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Montserrat, French Tourist: “Very interesting. This is our first time to be here in Tarragona. The atmosphere here could not be felt anywhere else.
Jose, Local Resident: “I try to watch every competition here. This is a very important local culture, like our local language and dance.
It is a self-identification of our culture.”
Questions
1. Are the participants doing this for fun, is it a contest or both?
2. Is this a new, modern festival, or is it an old tradition?
3. What do the participants do?
4. The participants wear blue jeans, T-shirts and sneakers. True or false?
5. Is it easy? What sort of qualities does it take to build a human tower?
6. The participants have to practice before the event. Is this right or wrong?
7. Is the Castell recognized by the United Nations?
8. This human tower is only a sport. Is this correct or incorrect?
A. I have seen human towers before. Yes or no?
B. Our city, region and country has festivities and celebrations.
C. Would you like to visit the Castell in Tarragona, Spain?
D. Might there be controversy about the human tower festival?
E. What will happen in the future?
