Page 3 - İngilizce 10 | 4.Ünite

TRADITIONS THEME 4

1 C
Read the texts and answer the questions.

They Make It Happen: Travel Back In Time

The Amish in the USA are a German and Swiss descendant community. They are famous for their lifestyle as they
resist against most of the changes in time. They do their best to preserve their traditions in social life. They do not
benefit from most of the advantages of modern technology because they see it as a threat to their traditions and
way of life. Their children go to school until a certain age. They use horses and buggies or bikes for transportation
within the community. Their economy is based on farming. They have their own style of wedding ceremonies and
funerals. Gas lanterns light their houses. As you can guess, their style of dress is plain. They live on fertile lands
in their traditional houses. Thousands of people want to witness this “resistance against time” on site and visit
Amish communities. There are hotels for these visitors nearby. Most visitors feel impressed. Here are two visitor
comments:

Jamal from Morocco: ‘‘It was incredible. They reminded me of my childhood days in the village, in some ways.
We used to wake up to the sound of roosters at dawn and go to the farm. We used to make our own bread and eat
traditional dishes. We used to gather together in one of the houses of the village in the evening and have chats.
This was a way to socialize. There was no technology, at all. We didn’t even have electricity. We used to have gas
lanterns and fire to light the house. It’s difficult to believe but the Amish still have these. Evenings without TV or
computers may sound to be dull and boring, but those were more enjoyable times. I don’t know why. The Amish
don’t see school as an important place, but in my childhood we all went to school because our parents wanted us to
be well-educated and have a better life than theirs. Of course they were state schools with very strict teachers and
firm discipline. I really miss those days and this visit to an Amish community gave me a sense of those days.’’

Kate from the UK: ‘‘It was a travel back in time. I noticed many similarities with our past lifestyle in the
countryside. Children and teenagers used to play with each other and animals on wide open spaces. We didn’t
use to go away from home to parks or movies. School was another chance to share with friends. Adults used to
spend most of their time helping each other with the work on and around the farm. There were limited activities in
social life but people were happier. Fashion industry was not advanced then. People used to dress in similar ways.
I mean, plain and modest dresses were very common. Few people had cars in the countryside, so most people
used to travel by horse and buggies. Technology was not only limited in transportation but almost in everything.
Fortunately, we had electricity and black&white TV sets. Some houses had telephones and we could use them in
emergencies. We went to state schools. There were a few universities and going to a university was more difficult,
so we didn’t use to focus much on university education. With this visit, I remembered what it was like to be part of
that kind of lifestyle. The smell of the soil, horses, cows, fresh milk... It was incredible.’’

1. What is special about the Amish lifestyle? .........................................................................................................
2. What were the ways to socialize in Morocco and the UK? ................................................................................
3. What did Jamal’s parents think about education? .............................................................................................
4. How did people use to light their houses in Morocco when Jamal was a child? ...............................................
5. How was the UK different from Morocco in technology when they were children? ............................................

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