Unit 8: Exercise 1

Match the phrases with the definitions.

cultural activities cultural awareness cultural desert cultural diversity

cultural heritage cultural identity cultural traditions

1. a feeling of belonging to a society based on such things as nationality, beliefs and

interests: __________________
2. the variety of cultures in a particular area or country: __________________
3. the events, rituals and customs that a society shares and performs:
__________________
4. the objects and traditions of a culture that are passed from one generation to the next:
__________________
5. art, music, architecture and customs: __________________
6. a place that is spiritually or intellectually empty with, for example, no art or music
scene: __________________
7. the ability to recognise the different beliefs, values and customs that someone has
based on their origins: __________________

Unit 8: Exercise 2
Read the information. Then complete the sentences. Use the correct forms of the
words in brackets.

Learning the different parts of speech of vocabulary will help you to avoid mistakes in the
IELTS Speaking and Writing tests. It will also help you to recognise words in the Reading
and Listening tests, so it is a good idea to learn whole word ‘families’ when you record new
vocabulary.

For example, for the noun globe, other words in its word family include global (adjective),
globally (adverb), globalisation (noun) and globalise (verb). It is also a good idea to find out
which negative prefix (un-, dis-, il-, etc.), if any, a word uses.

1. Many sociologists say that native culture has an enormous influence on people’s
social ______________ (behave).
2. ________________ (tradition) in the UK, the bride’s father will accompany her into
the church before the wedding ceremony.
3. It is believed that shaking hands as a form of greeting ______________ (origin)
thousands of years ago as a way of showing that you were not carrying a weapon and
therefore were friendly.
4. In China, don't be offended if you offer a gift and it is refused, as in some places it is
_______________ (custom) to refuse a gift the first time it is offered.
5. In many cultures, it is considered extremely ________________ (polite) if you do not
hold a door open for another person.
6. One of the negative effects of ______________ (globe) is that many lesser-spoken
languages are gradually disappearing.
 7. Some historians claim that at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in the first
century BC, the majority of the native population came from one of 27 different
______________ (tribal).
8. Some people are very proud of their national ________________ (identify), whereas
others see themselves as global citizens.

Unit 8: Exercise 3
Read the information. Then complete the sentences using the words in the box.
Pay attention to whether the sentences should use defining or non-defining
relative clauses.

Remember:

 Defining relative clauses explain what something is – they define or explain

something. Without one, the sentence will probably feel incomplete:

The year that saw a great deal of social and political change in Germany was 1989.

If we removed the clause in bold, the sentence would feel incomplete.

 Non-defining clauses give extra information about something in the sentence and the
sentence would still make sense without one. Notice that we use commas to separate
non-defining clauses from the rest of the sentence:

The internet, which was invented by Tim Berners-Lee, has changed the world.

If we removed the clause in bold, the sentence would still feel complete and makes
sense.

 If a relative clause uses a verb + preposition, such as interested in or belong to, we

can put the preposition before the relative pronoun which. This is common in formal
written or spoken English. For example:

Traditional music is something which I am very interested in. (preposition at the end
of the sentence = informal English)

Traditional music is something in which I am very interested. (preposition before

which = formal English)

,which during which to which which which whose

1. The Cannes Film Festival is an event _____________ cinema enthusiasts wait for all
year.
 2. Bollywood is the name of the Indian movie industry _____________ is based in the
city of Mumbai.
3. The Last Night of the Proms is a UK festival of classical music _________________
takes place in the Royal Albert Hall in London.
4. Tango is a dance ________________ origins lie in poor areas of Buenos Aires and
Montevideo.
5. The House of Windsor is the royal house _______________ the Queen of the United
Kingdom and her family belong.
6. The 1960s was a period ________________ Europe experienced a lot of social and
cultural change.

Unit 8: Exercise 4
Read the information. Then choose the correct relative pronouns to complete the
sentences.

When deciding which relative pronoun to use in a relative clause, remember:

 For defining relative clauses that refer to a person or people, we usually use who or
that. Note that we can use whom when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause:
She is a musician who / whom I admire greatly.
 For defining relative clauses that refer to a thing or things, we usually use which or
that.
 We sometimes use when in defining relative clauses to refer to a time, date, day or
period, especially after phrases like a time / a period / a day, etc.: It is a day when
everybody decorates their houses with flowers.
 We sometimes use where or in which in defining relative clauses to refer to a place or
location: I live in a place where / in which there are a lot of traditions.
 The relative pronoun that indicates possession is whose.
 We cannot use that in non-defining relative clauses.

1. He’s the professor which/who/whom gives lectures about local history and culture.
2. Mandarin is the dialect that/whrere/whom is most commonly spoken in China.
3. Blues is a style of music that/which/whose roots can be traced back to African
American musical traditions, especially in the South of the USA.
4. Thanksgiving is a North American festival in that/when/which people give thanks for
the previous year’s harvest.
5. That’s the woman which/whom/whose we saw giving a demonstration of folk
dancing.
6. The Day of the Dead festival in Mexico is a time when/which/whom people
traditionally visit the graves of friends or family members.
7. Bonfire Night, that/when/which is on 5 November every year, commemorates the
capture of Guy Fawkes and his failed attack on the British Houses of Parliament.
8. The UK is one of the few countries in the world where/which/who people drive on the
left-hand side of the road.
Unit 8: Exercise 5
Correct the underlined relative pronouns in the sentences.

1. Halloween is an ancient Celtic festival when is now celebrated in many countries

across the globe.
2. Yorkshire puddings, that are made with flour, eggs and milk, are a savoury food
served with roast beef in the UK.
3. In Denmark, parents have to select baby names from a list of around 7,000 names
who the government has approved.
4. Niue is an island nation in the South Pacific which coins feature characters from
Disney and Star Wars movies.
5. In Sudan there are more than 200 pyramids, where is more than the number of
pyramids found in Egypt.
6. According to Greek myth, the name ‘Europe’ came from the Phoenician princess
Europa, which was the mother of King Minos of Crete.
7. Hawaii is the only place in the US which coffee is grown commercially.
8. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, who is located in
Wales, has the longest name of any town in Europe.

Unit 8: Exercise 6
Read the sentences. Put the words in the correct order to add the underlined
sentences to the first sentences as relative clauses. Think carefully about the
correct position of the relative clauses and whether they are defining or non-
defining. The first one has been done for you.

1. A sari is a type of South Asian dress. It consists of a single piece of fabric between four
and nine metres long.

A sari is a type of South Asian dress which consists of

a single piece of fabric between four and nine metres long

2. The Inca city of Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by historian Hiram Bingham. It
is situated 80 km from the city of Cuzco.

Hiram Bingham the city of Cuzco rediscovered of by

which , 1911 the situated is , machu Picchu 80km city
in was from historian Inca

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______

3. Gobeklitepe is a well-known Turkish prehistoric site. Its origins are estimated to date
from more than 12,000 years ago.
 12000 is whose to years prehistoric well-known Gobeklitepe
a origins date estimated Turkish are ago site from
more than

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______
_______

4. The Haka is a traditional war dance of the Maori people of New Zealand. It is often
performed by the New Zealand national rugby team before games.

Rugby traditional national New Zealand the of , team

New Zealand is a the Haka dance of is the war
performed games by people often Maori before which

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

5. The Brothers Grimm were two German brothers. Their fairy stories became popular all
over Europe.

Fairy over brothers popular two Europe whose the Brothers Grimm
stories German were become all

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______ _______

6. The Mexican tortilla is a type of traditional flatbread made from corn. The Maya first
made them more than 10,000 years ago.

Corn tortilla made more traditional the mexican age a

type , Maya is first the 10000 from which years of
flatbread than made

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

Unit 8: Exercise 7
Read the information. Then read the sentences and decide if the underlined
relative pronouns can be removed. Choose can be removed or cannot be
removed.
In many defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause:

Salsa is a style of dance that is popular in Latin America.

Here, that refers to salsa and is the subject of the relative clause.

If the relative pronoun is the object of a defining relative clause, it can be removed:

Salsa is a Latin American dance that I would love to learn.

Here, that again refers to salsa, but in this relative clause I is the subject and that is the
object: Salsa is a Latin American dance I would love to learn.

1. In Japanese mythology, earthquakes were caused by Namazu, a giant catfish that lived
submerged in mud under the Japanese islands. can be removed/cannot be removed
2. I wrote to that cultural festival organizer whom I met at the conference last month to ask
for a job. can be removed/cannot be removed
3. The US constitution, which was signed in 1787, has been amended 17 times. can be
removed/cannot be removed
4. The tour guide whom I spoke to yesterday told me that The Elephant House is the café
where J. K. Rowling wrote parts of the first Harry Potter book. can be removed/cannot be
removed
5. I’ve booked tickets for the play that I read about in the newspaper. can be
removed/cannot be removed
6. Many buildings in London have blue signs on them that give information about famous
people who lived there. can be removed/cannot be removed
7. The Mayans of Mesoamerica had detailed knowledge of astronomy, which they used to
create calendars. can be removed/cannot be removed

Unit 8: Exercise 8
Read the information. Then complete the sentences. Use the indefinite pronouns
in the box.

everything something anything nothing

everywhere somewhere anywhere nowhere
everyone / everybody someone / somebody anyone / anybody no one / nobody

Some and any

Some is usually used in positive sentences. Any is used in negative sentences and questions.
However, there are occasions when we use some- and any- pronouns in questions. For
example:
Would you like something / anything to eat?

In addition, we can use any- pronouns in positive sentences to suggest the idea of it doesn’t
matter which / I don’t mind which. For example:

I want to go somewhere / anywhere that is hot for my holidays.

Remember that all indefinite pronouns behave like singular nouns.

Anything everybody everyone noone no body nothing nowhere

somebody someone something something somewhere

1. ______________ should study a foreign language, and if possible, go to live in another

country and learn about its culture.
2. She is _______________ who demonstrates a keen interest in foreign languages.
3. The free healthcare provided by the National Health Service in the UK is
_______________ that I value very much.
4. _______________ that I’ve always wanted to visit is the Great Wall of China.
5. When I arrived at the airport, it was difficult because there was ________________ who
spoke my language.
6. There was _______________ close to the theatre to have dinner after the performance, so
we took a taxi and ate at home.
7. I was surprised when I went to England because the people are _______________ like the
stereotypical English people I have seen in movies.
8. Please check that you haven’t forgotten ________________ before we leave for the
airport.

Unit 8: Exercise 9
Match the sentence halves.

that I needed to practise a lot. where they spoke another language.

that I wouldn’t be prepared to eat. who doesn’t speak at least a little English.

that I’d like to visit is Japan.

1. Somewhere _____________________________
2. Eating food with chopsticks is something _____________________________
3. My grandparents wouldn’t visit anywhere in the world
_____________________________
4. I love exotic food and there is nothing _____________________________
5. I don’t know anybody _____________________________
Unit 8: Exercise 10
Read the comments made during a weekly team meeting by an auction house
director. Complete the sentences with the words in the box.

Anybody anyone anything everybody everyone no one

nobody something which which/that who whose

Good morning, ________________ . I am pleased to report that ___________________ on

the team failed to meet their targets last week. In fact, I would like to single out one
outstanding colleague ________________ expert artistic knowledge and detailed market
experience have resulted in the acquisition of a sizable number of paintings
_________________ have come from a private collection of fine art in Prague. So,
congratulations to Alina, _________________ wins this week’s enterprise bonus. It is also
my great pleasure to announce that company profits this year have increased by 10%,
__________________ means the whole team will receive a bonus at the end of the financial
year. My fellow directors and I would like you all to know that your contribution is
_________________ the company values very much. Now, before we finish the meeting, is
there _________________ else that ________________ in the team would like to discuss?