Read the text and for questions 1-5 choose the correct answers A-E.
The Pingxi Sky Lantern festival of Taiwan is one of the most colourful of the many lantern festivals, and this year my friends and I have been lucky enough to go along too. Originally, the lanterns were released by people working and living far from home in the countryside, to let their families know that they were safe and well. But now, the custom is used to bring peace and good fortune. The festival takes place over the Chinese New Year. It brings thousands of people together in the rural district of Pingxi to release their hopes and dreams high into the skies.
We arrived and bought kits to make our own lanterns. Coloured rice paper, thin bamboo strips and wire were all that was needed. Stalls provided pens for us to write our wishes on the lanterns. I had to think very hard about what I wanted to write on my lantern and was really looking forward to letting it go. People all around us were carefully adding their messages onto lanterns. Some people were wishing for a happy marriage, some for career success and others for a year of good health and happiness. It was great to see so many people getting excited about releasing the lanterns. Families were laughing and smiling and the children were adding their messages to the paper: some wishing for good grades, others drawing small pictures to decorate the lamp.
Then we released them and thousands of glowing paper lanterns lit up the sky. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The little flames lifted them high over the treetops and towards the mountains. Some people cheered as their lantern climbed higher into the night sky. Everyone watched them floating up, getting smaller and smaller until some of them disappeared into the darkness. It was a wonderful experience and I will be talking about it for years to come!
1) What is the writer doing in the text?
... 2) Why were the sky lanterns used to begin with? ...
3) What does the writer say about writing on the lantern? ...
4) What did the writer enjoy most? ...
5) What attitude did the writer have about releasing the sky lanterns? ...