Useful Expressions ...spend the holiday with her mother... ...stay with her mom during the holiday... ...visit/see her mom over the holiday... They were happy just to have survived their first harsh winter... They were glad that they had survived the first severe winter. They were delighted to have lived through that difficult winter. ...that's good reason to celebrate... ...that's reason enough for a celebration... ...that's an ample excuse for a celebration...
...don't the Chinese have a festival of moon cakes to celebrate the harvest month?
Doesn't the moon cake festival celebrate the harvest month in China? Isn't the harvest month celebrated in China with the moon cake festival?
...symbolize a family reunion. ...represent the unity of a family all together. ...serve as a symbol of the family circle. ...to be together and share a huge dinner. ...to get together for a heavy dinner. ...for reunion and a large dinner. Just thinking about all that food makes my mouth water... The mere thought of the food makes my mouth water. Whenever I think about that food, my eyes light up. MODEL 3 Don't let ghosts frighten you on Halloween.
Listen to the dialog. If you have difficulty understanding the words missing from the blanks, you may refer to the boxes of useful expressions. Susan: Hey Kim! Are you okay? ______. Where did you go? Kim: Just to the corner, but ______.
Susan: What happened? You said you were only going to the store for a coke.
Kim: ______! ______.
Susan: It's October 31st, Halloween, the day for ______.
Kim: In the store window is a big vegetable with a carved face and candle inside.
Susan: It's a pumpkin. A face and a candle burning inside make it a Jack o' Lantern.
Kim: ______, \
Susan: No, they said, \ Kim: Well, ______. What's it called? Halloween?
Susan: Yeah, it's one of the oldest holidays in the West. Today it's mostly for children.
Kim: I myself would never dress like a ghost and shout, \
Word Tip
carve: 雕刻 (cut wood, stone, etc. to make a special shape) Language and Culture Tips
Jack o' Lantern a pumpkin that has a face cut into it and a candle put inside to shine through the holes
Tickle your feet. This is what \or treat?\sounds like to some foreign listeners.
Trick or Treat? When children call \or treat?\on Halloween, they are offering you a
choice: give them a treat of fruit or candy or they will play a trick on you like rubbing soap on windows or overturning garbage tins.
Listen to the dialog again, repeat it sentence by sentence, and then role-play it in pairs.
Now Your Turn
Create a dialog with your partner according to the instructions, referring to the useful expressions in the boxes if necessary.
An American student A finds a Chinese student B, who has only recently arrived in the U.S., badly shaken. B described the terrible things he/she experienced: People in funny clothes and masks were everywhere, a guy with a bloody mask suddenly jumped out from a street corner, kids gave out horrible cries like ghosts, etc. A explains that it was Halloween. Useful Expressions You seem badly shaken. What has upset you? What's troubling you?
...I'm frightened out of my wits, scared silly, terrified. I'm scared out of my wits. I'm frightened to death. People in funny costumes and masks everywhere! Some in tall, pointed hats.
People all over wore strange clothes and masks, some in tall, pointed hats. People in peculiar outfits were everywhere, with some wearing tall, pointed hats.
...dressing like witches and ghosts. ...wearing clothes like witches and ghosts. ...putting on the costumes of witches and ghosts. A crowd of children followed me shouting... A group for children ran after me, crying out... Crowds of kids trailed after me, calling out... They were hoping you'd give them candy. They expected candy from you.
They expected you to treat them with sweets or chocolate (or they'd play a trick on you).
...it's a funny kind of holiday.
It's a funny/strange/peculiar holiday.
That's an odd sort of holiday. Questions for Discussion
1. What do you think are the reasons for festivals to exist?
2. About how many festivals do you think are necessary for a country? About 10, 20, 30, or more? Explain.
3. What is the probable reason for ancient Chinese to create the Double-Ninth Festival?
4. Why is there the Teacher's Day, but not the Scientist's Day?
5. Search the Internet to find out information about Easter and the Chinese Pure Brightness Day (for tomb-visiting). Then describe the similarities and differences between them.
Ⅴ. Let's Talk
What to Do for Mom
Listen to the passage and complete the table with the information you hear. What to Do for Mom: Look out for anything that ______.
Details or Examples: For example, a casual dress or a ______. Or, it may be a hair clip with a touch of ______. Check out if she is planning to get _______ or a new steam iron.
What to Do for Mom: Try to be guided by her ______.
Details or Examples: If she likes ______, how about giving her ______ or something that has ______ on it?
What to Do for Mom: Spend some ______ with her.
Details or Examples: You can ______ for the day. You can also throw a little party and ______.
What to Do for Mom: If she likes _______, take a trip with her.
Details or Examples: A special trip to _______ could show her how much you care for her.
Word Tips
hair clip: 发夹 steam iron: 蒸汽熨斗
perfume: 香水 (a liquid with a strong pleasant smell that people put on their skin or clothing)
durables: 耐用品 (goods expected to last a long time) outing: 郊游，远足 (a short trip for pleasure) Discussion
According to a newspaper article, far more flowers are sold on Valentine's Day than on Mother's Day. What do you think of this? Discuss with your partner what you can do for your mom on Mother's Day. There're some suggestions: giving mom a bouquet of carnations, looking out for anything she plans to buy, spending time with her by taking her to see a movie, taking her to a restaurant, cooking a meal for her, throwing a party for her, taking photos of her, cheering her up with your academic achievements, etc. Ⅵ. Further Listening and Speaking Listening
Task 1: Celebrations on the New Year's Eve
Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each question you hear. 1. A) How noisy and happy people are on New Year's Eve. B) The fight against alcohol on New Year's Eve. C) Various activities to celebrate New Year's Eve. D) The artistic touch on New Year's Eve. 2. A) Sailing on a lake and a river. B) Sailing on a lake and an ocean. C) Sailing on a river and an ocean. D) Sailing on a lake and a canal. 3. A) They kiss their spouses but not others. B) They all make a lot of happy noise. C) They all keep quiet. D) Some are noisy while others are quiet. 4. A) They all celebrate First Night events without alcohol. B) Most of them celebrate First Night events with alcohol. C) A few of them celebrate First Night events with alcohol. D) They all celebrate First Night events with alcohol. 5. A) Music and art. B) Performances and exhibits. C) Cruising trips. D) Fireworks. Word Tip
statue: 雕像 (a form sculpted, modeled, carved, or cast in material such as stone, clay, wood, or bronze) Task 2: Mother's Day
Compound Dictation: Listen to the passage and fill in the blanks with the information you hear
In the U.S., Mother's Day is a holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. It is a day when children ______ their mothers with cards, gifts, and flowers. It was first ______ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907.
Long before that, there were days honoring mothers even in ______ Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the mother of the gods who was given ______.
Later, in the 1600s, in England there was an _______ observance called \It was _______ during June, on the fourth Sunday. On Mothering Sunday, the _______, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. _______.
In the U.S., in 1907, Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia, to ______, which was the second Sunday in May. The next year Mother's Day was again celebrated in Philadelphia. Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. They were successful. In 1914, _______.
Word Tips
Philadelphia: (美) 费城 (宾夕法尼亚州首府)