III reading

3. Easter is the most important Christian holiday. Do you know why?

Here is a text that deals with the date when Eater is celebrated; the origin of the word “Easter”; Easter symbols and Easter customs in western Christian countries.

The paragraphs of the text are jumbled.

a) Read the text and make it logical.

A) Nowadays Easter eggs are usually made of chocolate, marzipan and other types of confectionery. Many households still dye, color, or decorate real hard-boiled eggs. The most traditional color for dying eggs is red. This comes from the legend that Our Lady stood below the cross with a basket of eggs, and the eggs were splattered with the blood of Christ.

B) Another popular Easter symbol is the Easter hare or Easter Bunny, as it is known in America. It was believed in Celtic times that the hare chased away the spirit of winter. Some English and American children spend the Easter morning hunting for the eggs that the Easter Bunny has hidden from them. And the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

C) The word “Easter” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “Eostre”, which is the name of Goddess of Spring and Dawn. Easter is a major holiday in the Christian world because on this day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

D) Some Easter observances are older than Christianity. Eggs, for example, have always been a traditional symbol of re-birth. As such, they were attached to spring ceremonies all over the world well before Christianity, most notably in China and ancient Egypt.

E) One of the best known of Easter customs, which has a long history, is Easter parades or Easter Bonnet parades as they are called in the U.K. They originated with the tradition of buying new clothes for Easter, which people wore to church.

b) Give three facts from the text that you think are the most interesting.

*c) Do you know the origin of the word “Paskha”? Do you usually present any gifts on that day?

Give a one-minute talk on Easter observances in Russia.

IV speaking

4. Present the poster you have prepared to the audience.

*5. Look at the pictures and

a) Write down 7-10 words (expressions, collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, etc.) which are suitable for describing these pictures.

a) b)

c) d)

b) Describe a picture using your notes. Let your group mates guess what picture you have described (a, b, c, d).

V writing

7. People remember special gifts or presents that they have received.

Here is the main body of the essay about special gifts people get.

a) Read it

b) Write an introduction and conclusion

c) Entitle it.

Gifts from other people can make us feel joy every time we look at them. A gift from our parents or friends makes us feel loved each time we see or use it. An object that has belonged to a family for a very long time and that has been given to us by a grandparent makes us feel connected to our past. A gift from a good friend is a reminder of all the good times we have shared. A memento from a respected colleague is a reminder of a job we worked on successfully together.

Gifts may also pinpoint special events in our lives. Gifts given to us for Christmas, remind us of those celebrations. The same is true for gifts given for birthdays and graduations, and for the anniversaries of special days in our lives, like our graduation day.

Gifts can also be a symbol of the person we were at a particular point in our lives. A gift received in childhood may remind us of a passionate hobby that is now boxed in the attic. A gift received when we attended an international conference and had a great success is a symbol of our achievements in career.

DIY