Text interpretation activity, aimed at students in the seventh year of elementary school, consists of several open and closed questions. The text asks: Why do we have last names? What's up? Are you curious? Are we going to read and do the proposed activity?
You can download this Portuguese activity in an editable Word template, ready to print in PDF and also the answered activity.
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SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read:
There was a time when people only had one name. Can you imagine the confusion?
Silva, Oliveira, Faria, Ferreira… Everyone has a last name and we have to thank the Romans for that. It was this people, who more than two thousand years ago built an empire with the conquest of a large part of the lands bathed by the Mediterranean, the inventor of fashion. They came up with the idea of adding the common name, or first name (from the Latin
With the decay of the Roman Empire, this practice was weakening until, in the Middle Ages, surnames fell into disuse and people started to be called only by their first name. I, for example, would just be Raquel at that time. What a mess that must cause, isn't it? Imagine how many other people named “Raquel” must not exist? For this reason, surnames were used again and became mandatory in the 11th century. So there was no way to confuse a Raquel Pereira with a Raquel Valença, and that was very important when collecting taxes from the right people and avoiding marriages between people of the same family.
Again, surnames weren't invented out of thin air. Men started to choose surnames that had to do with their place of origin – Coimbra is a case in point of these – or to confirm the relationship – the surname Fernandes, for example, means 'son of Fernando'. Others chose surnames that referred to physical and personality characteristics, such as Louro, Calvo and Severo. There were also those who adopted surnames linked to activities developed by the family, as is the case of Ferreira, who is probably a reference to the profession of blacksmith.
The custom of using surnames proved to be very useful, it spread throughout Europe, the European colonies and, later, the world. Today you can't imagine someone without a last name, it's on the identity card, on the form we fill out on the school's enrollment card and on so many other important documents, is it or isn't it?
Raquel Teixeira Valença. Available at: www.chc.org.br
Question 1 - The text above serves the purpose of:
a) highlight the importance of the Roman Empire.
b) explain the appearance of something to the reader.
c) disclose the first surnames used.
d) express an opinion about a fact.
Question 2 - In all passages, the author dialogues directly with the reader, except in:
a) "Can you imagine the confusion?"
b) "What a mess this should cause, isn't it?"
c) “The custom of using surnames proved very useful […]”
d) “[…] and in so many other important documents, is it or isn't it?”
Question 3 - According to the author, it was the Romans who invented surnames. For what purpose?
A:
Question 4 – Identify the fact that led to the weakening of the practice of surnames:
A:
Question 5 - According to the text, surnames were used again in the 11th century, becoming mandatory. They allowed the differentiation of people with the same name. Check the alternative that does not contain an important factor for the use of surnames:
( ) identify people's place of origin.
( ) avoid marriages between members of the same family.
( ) collect taxes from correctly identified people.
Question 6 – The author emphasizes that “surnames were not invented from scratch”. Because?
A:
Question 7 – In the excerpt “[…] and this was very important […]”, “very” expresses the idea of:
a) intensity
b) vagueness
c) time
d) mode
By Denyse Lage Fonseca – Graduated in Languages and specialist in distance education.
At answers are in the link above the header.
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