Funeral Plans and Cemeteries
Pre-Listening
What are some common funeral customs where you live?
Listen and Read
Listen to the recording, answer the questions, and then read along with the audio recording.
Listening Quiz
Select the best answer for each question, then press Check Answers.
Use arrow keys to choose between options within each question.
1. The man’s father passed away ______ years ago.
2. When the family goes to the cemetery, they will clean the headstone, leave flowers, and ______.
My father passed away about two years ago, but our family often goes to the cemetery to pay our respects to his memory. During the burial service at the cemetery, our church leader offered a prayer, and some of the family said some parting words. It was heartbreaking to see my mom in so much pain after losing her best friend and companion for so many years.
After the service, the casket was lowered into the ground and covered, and then a headstone was placed over the grave with an inscription of my father’s name, date of birth and death, and his favorite short poem. My mom’s name was also inscribed on the headstone because she will eventually be buried next to my father. Today, we often go to the cemetery and clean the headstone, leave freshly-cut flowers, and recount stories about his life. No one is ever really gone as long as their memory lives on within you.
Vocabulary and Expressions From the Audio
- passed away (expression): a gentle way of saying that someone has died
- Her grandmother passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family.
- cemetery (noun): a place where the bodies of deceased people are buried
- The family gathered at the cemetery to lay flowers on his grave.
- pay respects (expression): to honor someone who has died by attending their funeral or visiting their grave
- Friends and colleagues came from across the country to pay their respects at the service.
- burial service (noun): a ceremony held at a cemetery when a body is placed in the ground
- The burial service was held on a quiet morning with only close family present.
- parting words (expression): final words said to or about someone, often at a funeral or moment of goodbye
- His daughter spoke a few parting words at the graveside before the burial.
- heartbreaking (adjective): causing great sadness or emotional pain
- It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to someone who had meant so much to so many people.
- losing (verb): experiencing the death of someone close
- Losing a parent is one of the most difficult experiences a person can go through.
- casket (noun): a box, usually made of wood or metal, in which a deceased person is placed for burial
- The pallbearers carried the casket slowly to the gravesite.
- headstone (noun): a stone marker placed at the head of a grave that typically displays the name and dates of the deceased
- They chose a simple granite headstone with his name and a short message.
- grave (noun): the place in the ground where a deceased person is buried
- She visited her father’s grave every year on his birthday to leave flowers.
- inscription (noun): words carved or engraved onto a surface, such as a headstone
- The inscription on the headstone read a short poem that the family had chosen together.
- inscribe (verb): to carve or engrave words onto a surface
- They asked the stonemason to inscribe a meaningful quote on the headstone.
- buried (verb): placed in the ground and covered with earth as part of a burial
- He was buried in the same cemetery as his parents and grandparents.
- recount (verb): to tell or describe past events or memories in detail
- At the service, his oldest friend stood up to recount some of their favorite memories together.
Discussion
Describe a typical cemetery in your country and then discuss how people honor their dead. Do they visit a cemetery on specific holidays throughout the year? Do people leave anything or do anything at the grave?
Role Play
Over the weekend, the wife and son of your teacher died in an unfortunate traffic accident. Your teacher is absent from school for some time, and upon his return to work, you see him in the hallway. Express your condolences and support.
Online Investigation
Burial and/or memorial services for honoring the dead vary depending on the practices of individual families as well as the influences of culture and religion. Choose a country which interests you of which you have little knowledge and then search the internet to understand their funeral practices better. How are these similar or different than your own?