Номер 5, страница 114 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс учебник Комарова, Ларионова

Unit nine.

Reading.

Time for a haircut.

Akash is one year old, and he has to have his hair cut. His family live in India, and they are Hindus. Today, they are celebrating the ceremony of Mundan, when babies have their hair cut for the first time.

Akash is held by his mother, Rudrani.

Akash mustn't move too much. In the Mundan ceremony, the body and soul are cleaned. Hindus believe that children are also stopped from getting pains, like toothache or headaches, as they grow.

These are the rules for the Mundan ceremony.

• One. You must cut the hair when the child is one or three years old.

• Two. You must shave the head, but leave a small area of hair at the crown.

  This hair is called the Shika. Hindus believe it protects the brain.

• Three. The child must sit facing the west side of the sacred fire.

• Four. You must wash the head with holy water, Ganga jal, after shaving.

• Five. You must offer the hair to the gods, or to the holy river, I.E., the Ganges.

Hindus believe that the child is given a long life and a better future after the Mundan ceremony. Some Hindus go on a special pilgrimage to Rishikesh, a city on the banks of the Ganges in the north of India, and perform the ceremony there.

In the ceremony, trained priests say prayers.

The child and his or her family offer their prayers to the Ganges River.

This part of the ceremony is called the Ganga Aarti.