Dragon Boat Racing | Elementary ESL Reading Worksheet PDF

Free, classroom-ready, one click — includes answer key on page 3.

Reading Worksheet — Elementary (C) | tahricteaches.com

Dragon Boat Racing is a fun sport from China. It is more than 2,000 years old. People race long, narrow boats on rivers and lakes. Each boat looks like a dragon with a colorful head and tail. Today, many countries around the world enjoy this exciting sport.

A dragon boat has a team of 20 people. They sit in two rows and use paddles to push the water. One person sits at the front and beats a big drum. The sound of the drum helps the team work together. Another person stands at the back and steers the boat.

The race happens on the Dragon Boat Festival. This special day is in May or June. Families watch the boats and cheer for their favorite team. They eat sticky rice cakes called zongzi. These small cakes are wrapped in green leaves.

The sport began with a sad story. A poet named Qu Yuan jumped into a river long ago. Local people raced their boats to save him. They also threw rice into the water for the fish. This is why people still eat rice cakes during the festival.

Dragon boat racing is now a popular sport in many cities. Teams practice hard every week. They must be strong and fast. Most of all, they must work as one team. Winning is nice, but having fun together is the best part of the race.

A. 語彙

dragon ____
paddle ____
drum ____
festival ____
sport ____
team ____
race ____
narrow ____
cheer ____
ancient ____

a. thin from one side to the other; not wide
b. shout loudly to support a person or team
c. competition to see who is the fastest
d. special day or event when people celebrate something
e. musical instrument that you hit to make a loud sound
f. game or activity that needs physical effort and skill
g. short pole with a flat end used to move a boat through water
h. very, very old; from a long time ago
i. group of people who work or play together
j. large imaginary animal with wings that breathes fire in stories

B. 真か偽か

____ Dragon boat racing is a new sport that started ten years ago.
____ Dragon boats look like dragons with a head and a tail.
____ There are 20 people on a dragon boat team.
____ The person at the front of the boat plays a drum.
____ The Dragon Boat Festival happens in December.
____ People eat sticky rice cakes called zongzi during the festival.
____ Zongzi are wrapped in red paper.
____ A poet named Qu Yuan jumped into a river long ago.
____ Dragon boat racing is only popular in China today.
____ Teams must work together to win the race.

C. 空欄を埋める

単語バンク: paddles, drum, team, festival, race, dragon, narrow, cheer

The boat is long and ___, not wide.
People use ___ to push the water and move the boat.
One person beats a big ___ to help the team work together.
Families ___ for their favorite team during the race.
The Dragon Boat ___ happens in May or June.

D. 理解度チェック問題

How many people are on a dragon boat team, and what do they do?
Why do people eat sticky rice cakes during the Dragon Boat Festival?
Why is the drum important on a dragon boat?

E. ディスカッションの質問

Would you like to be part of a dragon boat team? Why or why not?
What special festivals or sports does your country have, and how do people celebrate them?

Answer Key (click to reveal)

A. 語彙: 1-j, 2-g, 3-e, 4-d, 5-f, 6-i, 7-c, 8-a, 9-b, 10-h

B. 真偽: 1-F, 2-T, 3-T, 4-T, 5-F, 6-T, 7-F, 8-T, 9-F, 10-T

C. 空欄補充： 1-narrow, 2-paddles, 3-drum, 4-cheer, 5-festival

D. 理解力:

There are 20 people who sit in two rows and use paddles to push the boat through the water.
Long ago, people threw rice into the river to feed the fish so they would not eat the poet Qu Yuan’s body.
The sound of the drum helps the team paddle together at the same time.

🇹🇼 Also in Chinese: This topic is available on 18KEnglish.com — bilingual worksheets for Chinese-speaking students.