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Reading Comprehension 1

Text A

I was very excited when Linda Bong invited me over to visit her family for theChinese New Year. You see, Linda Bong is of Peranakan descent. I have never eento a Peranakan home so I eagerly acce!ted. "he Peranakan or Baa Nyonya are theearly descendents of the Chinese who came to the #alay Peninsula, settled downand assimilated into the local culture.

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"he Baa Nyonya culture is an interesting mix of the Chinese tradition, the #alaylanguage and Chinese and #alay customs and cuisine. "he Nyonyas are usuallydressed in sarong and keaya and the family converses mainly in #alay.

Linda ex!lained that a long time ago, her great grandfather was very rich and an elitememer of society like most of the other Baas. "he Baas were arrogant as they 10 were !roud of their luxurious lifestyle and their envied status in society. $nfortunatelyin the early %&'(a, the Baa heritage started to decline. )uring the )e!ression, theBaas who owned large ruer estates suffered great losses. "hen, during the*a!anese occu!ation of #alaya, the Baas shared hardshi!s and discriminationalong with the non+Baa Chinese. "he non+Baa Chinese who were accustomed 15 to hard work managed to recover. owever, the rich Baas, orn with silver s!oonsin their mouths, were unale to co!e and went into a !eriod of decline. "hey lostmost of their !ro!erty and wealth and ecame -uite !oor.

I listened in fascination as Lindas mother descried the Baa Nyonya traditionalwedding ceremony. #atchmaking was a norm of the Baa Nyonya tradition. 20 Peo!le were !roud to e matchmakers as these matchmakers were well rewardedwith cash and other !ossessions. /ngagement gifts usually varied. Lindas mother received a owl of glutinous rice alls in syru!, candles, meat, a wedding dress,shoes and two diamond rings. In return, her family had to give the groom a silver elt,a !air of mens sli!!ers emroidered y the ride and a fan to carry on the 25 wedding day. "heir wedding was a lavish twelve+day affair. "he ridal chamer wasin the rides house and five days efore the wedding, a teenage boy was asked toroll back and forth from one end of the bed to the other, three times . "his oy had toe orn in the year of the dragon and have oth !arents still alive. 0adly, thesetraditions have disa!!eared today.30 

Nevertheless, the Baa Nyonya dialect can e considered as one of the still survivingtraditions today. "he Baa Nyonya s!eak Baa #alay, which is a collo-uial form of #alay. It orrows lierally from the okkien dialect. It is also a striking evidence of the #alay and the Chinese culture. 1lthough those who s!eak Baa #alay maymis!ronounce certain words, their overall accent and intonation are definitely 35 

more #alay than Chinese. 1nother heritage that has survived is the Nyonya cuisine. Nyonya cuisine that isasically Chinese shows a strong #alay and Indian influence. Curries, condimentsand elacan are !art of the Nyonya cuisine. 1lso, the uni-ue architecture of their homes and the designs of the furniture are a reflection of the Baa Nyonyaculture.40   "he Baa Nyonya rememer their ancestors and !ay res!ect to their ancestors. "hey hang !ortraits of their ancestors in their homes as !art of their reverence for their ancestors. "hey also urn !a!er money and other !a!er re!resentations of material !ossessions for their dead so that their dead may notwant for anything in their afterlife.

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Answer the following questions.

© Panitia Bahasa Inggeris, SMK Sultan Ismail, Johor Bahru

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%. 2rom Paragra!h %, who are the Baas3

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5. 2rom Paragra!h 5, what does the Baa Nyonya culture consist of3

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'. 2rom Paragra!h ',

a6 why were the early Baas !roud and arrogant3

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6 list two factors that caused the downfall of the Baas.

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7. 2rom Paragra!h 7,

a6 8i6 why would !eo!le of the Peranakan culture want to e matchmakers3

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  8ii6 what was Lindas fathers engagement gift3

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6 9: a teenage oy was asked to roll ack and forth from one end of the edto the other, three times. ow was this teenage oy chosen3

;.

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hearing all the noise the newlyweds are to come out and  provide their tormentor with various refreshments.

In Italy, it was customary for the groom to carry a talisman, a !iece of iron, in his!ocket on the day of his wedding. "he talisman was elieved to ward off misfortuneand !rotect him. "he ride wore a veil which was elieved to !rotect her from evils!irits. In the early days of arranged marriages, the ride and groom often never saweach other at all efore the wedding. /ven when cou!les were well ac-uaintedefore marriage, it was still considered ad luck for the groom to glim!se the ride

efore the wedding. 1fter the wedding the newlyweds would shatter a vase or glassinto many !ieces. "he numer of !ieces re!resented the ex!ected numer of yearsthey would e ha!!ily married.

In Ireland, newlyweds celerate the month after the wedding y drinking 9mead ? adrink made of fermented honey. 2ollowing the wedding, the ride and groom weregiven a sufficient amount of mead along with s!ecial golets so they could sharetheir uni-ue rew for one full moon or a month after the wedding. It is elieved thatthis delicate and !otent drink was the est way to ensure a good eginning to a newmarriage. Incidentally, the word 9honeymoon may have originated from this tradition.

/ggs which re!resent fertility and righteousness in many #uslim cultures are often

given to guests as symolic gifts. 1lso the ride and groom may e showered withrice, sweets and flowers as they exit the wedding rece!tion. In Indonesia, the groomste!s on an egg to show his a!!roval of the marriage. In #orocco, an egg is rokenduring the rece!tion ecause the egg white signifies light and luck for the cou!le.#oroccan weddings can last u! to seven days. "he first three days are s!ent!re!aring for the wedding. @n the fourth day, a sheikh unites the cou!le. @n the fifthand sixth day there will e !arties and feasts. @n the seventh day, friends and family!lace the ride in the arms of the groom, signaling the end of the ceremony. "hecou!le de!art in a shower of figs and raisins. @nce the ride arrives at her newhome, she has to circle it three times to estalish ownershi! efore she can enter.

In Aorea, the groom gives the rides mother a wild goose. "raditionally, a live goose

was !resented ut today a wooden goose is often used. =ild geese are true to their mates and thus this gift is a !romise that he will care for her daughter for the rest of his life. "he traditional Aorean wedding is held at the rides home. ows are taken ina ceremony called 9Aunere. "he ride and groom ow to each other and seal their vows y si!!ing a s!ecial drink !oured into a gourd grown y the rides mother.Aorean wedding an-uets are very sim!le. Noodles oiled in eef sou! is the onlyre-uired dish. Long noodles symolie a wish for a long and ha!!y life.

Answer the following questions.

%. 2rom !aragra!h %, how would you define a wedding3

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5. 2rom !aragra!h 5,

a6 i. what are two uni-ue

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a6 i. what was the 2rench tradition called3

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ii. 9: !rovide their tormentors with various refreshments. =ho were thetormentors3

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6 =hen do the tormentors gather3

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7. 2rom !aragra!h ;, which word means strong 3

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;. 2rom !aragra!h D, what do the following signify3

a6 "he gift of the wild goose

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6 Noodles

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© Panitia Bahasa Inggeris, SMK Sultan Ismail, Johor Bahru