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Part C

Glastonbury Festival

1
The legendary five-day Glastonbury Festival has been bringing millions of fans to the southern
2
English countryside ever since 1970 when Michael Eavis, a farmer, decided to host an open-
3
air event at his dairy farm for an audience of 1,500 people. Nowadays Glastonbury is the place
4
to be during festival season in England. Not only are leading pop and rock stars invited to
5
perform, but also other, lesser-known artists.
6
What began as a blues music festival has developed into a major cultural event offering con-
7
temporary music, dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and much more. Glastonbury festi-
8
val has been held almost every year since 1981, but once every five years it takes a year off,
9
as it did in 2018, to allow the land, the locals and the organisers to rest and recover.

10
Glastonbury is now considered to be the largest greenfield music festival in the world with
11
performances on a number of different stages. The main “Pyramid Stage” is still one of the
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most recognisable with its tent-like roof; the second main stage is simply named the “Other
13
Stage” because this was where dance music was introduced to a wider audience for the first
14
time. There are further performance areas such as the “Green Fields”, where visitors can view
15
the whole festival area and enjoy the beauty of the countryside, and the “Unfairground”, where
16
there are sideshows and rides for visitors. And there is the magical “Kidzfield” where, once
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families come through the entrance archway, the kids can tell the adults what to do. Tony
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Cordy, the creator of Kidzfield, believes that parents “come here to rediscover their inner
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child” and the Kidzfield storyteller, John Row, is convinced “there is so much to do that chil-
20
dren can’t be bored!”

21
The number of festivalgoers has also rocketed. It was not uncommon in the earlier years to
22
find “fence jumpers”, who were so numerous that some years there were twice as many visitors
23
as were legally allowed. Finally the local council refused to give Glastonbury another licence
24
until the fence-jumping problem had been sorted. The organisers installed a “super-fence”
25
which reduced unauthorised entry dramatically. When the tickets went on sale that year, they
26
sold out within a day. The highly effective super-fence meant that fans were desperate to buy
27
tickets, as this was now the only way in. Recently, tickets for the festival have been personal-
28
ised, in an attempt to stop ticket fraud.

29
The price for a ticket in the first year was only £1. The following year the show became the
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Glastonbury Free Festival and, as the name suggests, it didn’t cost a penny. The event was
31
paid for by sponsors, so that the 12,000 people could watch the most popular bands and sing-
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ers. But tickets were re-introduced again later and prices have risen steadily over the years. As
33
it is a five-day festival, the ticket price also includes access to the camping fields, where fans
34
can pitch their tents anywhere they like. In future, festivalgoers will also have the option of
35
renting a pre-pitched tent instead of bringing their own.

36
Glastonbury is also well-known for its dramatic weather, and at least one downpour during
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the festival has almost become a tradition! Fiona, a festival regular from Scotland, remembers,
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“We had nowhere to go where we could stay dry. We just continued dancing through the mud.
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Leaving the site proved almost impossible and it took us half a day just to get out!” In recent
40
years the weather has been very “festival-friendly”. In 2017 temperatures reached close to 30
41
degrees. The chance of having a dry, sunny festival is about 20 %, and of having a wet and
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muddy one is about 45 %, so visitors should come suitably prepared.

43
When Glastonbury was founded, it was long before people became worried about the environ-
44
ment. These days everyone is aware of the need for sustainability. Nevertheless, despite the
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40,000 garbage bins dotted around the site, extensive tidying-up work is necessary after the
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festival is over. In fact the organisers have gone so far as to expect ticket buyers to sign up to
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a “Love the farm, leave no trace” pledge, in which they promise to cause as little damage to
48
the site and local environment as possible. Another measure recently introduced is a plastic-
49
bottle ban. The organisers have installed free water taps around the site so that visitors can
50
refill their water containers and thus reduce plastic waste.

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The organisers’ determination to protect the environment – to use its resources responsibly
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and to reduce the ecological footprint – also extends beyond the physical boundaries of the
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festival. Over the last few decades, the organisers have donated millions of pounds to leading
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environmental groups which all do invaluable work to meet the urgent needs of our planet.
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Michael Eavis and his team are working towards a more sustainable future and, as we know,
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we ALL have a vital role to play in achieving that.

Reading Comprehension (see the text above)

Task 1

Match the headings (A–H) with the paragraphs (1–7). Write the letters in the boxes. Use each Ietter only once. There are two headings you do not need. One heading (E) is already matched.

A

Building a barrier

B

A commitment spreads

C

From the beginning to nowadays

D

Whatever happens – the festival goes on

E

Organisational issues

F

The final festival

G

One festival – many locations

H

Getting rid of the rubbish

Paragraph 1 (lines 1–7)

Paragraph 2 (lines 8–13)

Paragraph 3 (lines 14–22)

Paragraph 4 (lines 23–30)

E

Paragraph 5 (lines 31–42)

Paragraph 6 (lines 43–48)

Paragraph 7 (lines 49 –56)

6 Punkte

Task 2

Give the line(s) of the full sentence in the text (above) where you find the following information.

There is an example (0) at the beginning.

line(s)

(0) From a small event to a huge festival

6–7

(1) A place where children and adults swap roles

(2) Free entrance to the festival

(3) Statistically more rain than sunshine

(4) Drinking water without causing litter

(5) Giving money to good causes

5 Punkte

Task 3

Answer the following questions according to the text above.

Write short answers. There is an example (0) at the beginning.

0. Who founded the festival? Michael Eavis

1. Why does the festival take a break regularly?

___________________________________

________________________________________________________________

2. What was the “Other Stage” initially for?

___________________________________

________________________________________________________________

3. What prevented the festival from being cancelled by the authorities?

___________________________________

________________________________________________________________

4. How did the fans react to the heavy rain?

___________________________________

________________________________________________________________

5. What are festivalgoers obliged to do when buying a ticket? (One obligation)

___________________________________

________________________________________________________________

5 Punkte

Task 4

The following words have various meanings. Which of the meanings below is the one used in the text above? Write the correct number in the box. There is an example (0) at the beginning.

(0) place (line 3)

place1 Noun

1

Rang

2

Platz, Ort

3

Rolle

place2 Verb

4

setzen

5

stellen

2

(1) stage (line 11)

stage1 Noun

1

Phase

2

Stadium

3

Bühne

stage2 Verb

4

inszenieren

5

veranstalten

(2) ride (line 16)

ride1 Verb

1

reiten

2

fahren mit

ride2 Noun

3

Fahrt

4

Reitweg

5

Fahrgeschäft

(3) prove (line 39)

prove1 Verb

1

bekunden

2

beweisen

3

sich erweisen

prove2 Noun

4

Beweis

5

Schätzung

(4) dot (line 45)

dot1 Verb

1

verteilen

2

sprenkeln

3

punktieren

dot2 Noun

4

Fleck

5

Punkt

4 P
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