May 1st

Exercises for the 2nd Test - Key:

Tenses:

1 is going to snow

2 we are doing

3 were, was

4 are going to spend

5 will shine

6 did Joe go, wanted, was not

7 broke, stole, were not, were

8 eats, is eating

9 When does Sally normally get up

11 I am going to go

11 lived, went, worked

Key:
Personal Possessive Pronouns
1 my / me / it
2 Her /her
3 their /them
4 our / us


Question Words:
1 Who
2 How
3 Where
4 When
5 How
6 Who
7 How
8 What






On May 1st all over Austria young man put up a tree in the centre of the village. This custom is called “Maibaumaufstellen”.
This is an old tradition.
You need a beautiful tree that is 30 to 40 metres high.
The tree is chopped early in the morning on April 30th.
Then the young men take off the bark and the branches. This chases away the evil spirits and the witches.
Legend has it that these evil spirits and witches hide under the bark as beetles.
Later the men decorate the tree. On top of the tree there are green branches. There the Germanic gods live.
The wreath stands for he female element, the trunk stands fort he male element.
In the night the men have to watch over the tree. They have to be careful that nobody steals or damages the tree.







Vocabulary:

to put up - aufstellen
custom - Brauch
chop - fällen
bark - Rinde
branches - Äste
to chase away - vertreiben
evil spirtis - böse Geister
witch - Hexe
legend has it - die Legende besagt
to hide - verstecken
beetle - Käfer
to decorate - schmücken
wreath - Kranz
femaile - weiblich
male - männlich
trunk - Stamm
to watch over - bewachen
to steal - stehlen
to damage - beschädigen



Questions:

On which day do people put up the "Maibaum"?

What sort of things are there on the wreath?

Is there a "Maibaum" in your village?

Why is May 1st a holiday in Austria?