Reading - The Ghost of the Theater

Read the text and complete the activities below.

Theater people are very superstitious. One of the oldest traditions is the "Ghost Light." When a theater is empty at night, the staff never leaves it completely dark. They leave one single light bulb burning in the center of the stage.

Why? For safety, of course—so people don't fall into the "pit" (the area for the orchestra). But the legend says something different. Many people believe that every theater has a ghost. If the theater is completely dark, the ghosts become angry and play tricks on the actors during the show. The "Ghost Light" allows the ghosts to perform their own plays at night, which keeps them happy!

In Brazil, the Teatro Amazonas and the Theatro Municipal of São Paulo both have famous legends about ghosts that live behind the curtains. Some actors swear they have heard footsteps when the building was empty.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Fill in the Blanks

1. Theater people are very , so they follow many traditions.

2. A "Ghost Light" is a single left on the stage.

3. The light helps people stay and not fall.

4. The "pit" is the area where the sits.

5. Legends say that ghosts play if the room is dark.

6. The light lets the ghosts their own shows.

7. Some actors say they have heard in the empty buildings.

8. Two famous theaters in are mentioned in the text.

Activity 2: Vocabulary Hunt

Find words in the text that represent:

1. Something people believe without proof (superstition):

2. A soul of a person who died:

3. To do a show for people:

4. A glass object that gives light:

5. A sound of walking:

6. Very, very old:

7. A place where musicians sit:

8. To promise that something is true: