Chinese New Year

Of all festivals in the Chinese calendar, the New Year is without doubt the most colourful and important. It (1) (celebrate) ... on the first day of the First Moon of the lunar Calendar and so varies every year from late January to early February.

On New Year's Eve families (2) (get) ... together for a meal and (3) (eat) ... jiaozi, or dumplings. Children (4) (give) ... red lucky money packets by their parents to wish them luck throughout the year. At midnight fireworks (5) (light) ... up the sky. On New Year's Day, people (6) (visit)... relatives, friends and neighbours to wish them peace and happiness. These traditions (7) (pass) ... down through the years – but how (8) ... it all (start) ...?

The story goes that there (9) (be) ... once a beast called Niah who (10) (swallow) ... up people on earth. He (11) (terrify) ... of loud noises and the colour red and, just in case he (12) (come) ... back, the people of China (13) (put) ... up red decorations and (14) (let) ... off firecrackers to scare him away. Red (15) ... now (consider) ... a lucky colour.

The festival traditionally (16) (end) ... on the 15th day of the lunar month with the Lantern Festival when the streets (17) (fill) ... with dragon dances. It is thought that the longer the dragon's tail, the more good he (18) (bring) ... to the community.

Chinese New Year customs (19) (vary) ... from place to place. However, the celebrations (20) (have) ... the same meaning all over the world – to wish for peace, good luck and happiness.

(New Millennium 10. Student’s Book. p.52)

8. a) Look at these short extracts about Chinese cultural festivals and the table below with useful words and phrases.

The Taipei Lantern Festival is held at the time of China's traditional Lantern Festival, which falls two weeks after the Chinese New Year and features children parading about the streets at night carrying homemade lanterns. Lanterns remain the focus of the festival. The most spectacular of all is the theme lantern at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

Chinese New Year's Day will normally fall between January 10 and February 19. It is the grandest holiday for all Chinese around the world and is celebrated in many ways during the course of the season, depending on your age, sex, and marital status. It celebrates the birth of a New Year, a time for renewed hope.

noun	verb	adjective
There are big celebrations on New Year's Day.	New Year's Day is celebrated in many ways. The festival celebrates the New Year.	It was a public holiday and everyone was in a celebratory mood.
The festival is a time of renewal.	Each year, the festival renews the national spirit of the people.	The success of the cancer drugs gave her renewed hope.
The festival is held in March, [special day(s)/event] The festivities go on for days, [enjoyable activities]		There was a festive mood in the village during the spring holiday.
The parade in the town square was a very colourful spectacle.		The parade is always very spectacular.
Many customs have their origin in pagan ceremonies.		A ceremonial procession is held through the streets of the city.

b) Other useful words and phrases connected with festivals

•A lot of people are very superstitious, especially about numbers and colours.

[have illogical beliefs about hidden forces in nature]

•The festival celebrated the centenary/bi-centenary of the country's independence. [100th anniversary / 200th anniversary]

•In some cultures, traditional festivals celebrate the end of periods of penance [actions to show you are sorry for bad deeds] and fasting [not eating for a long period].

•The Rio de Janeiro carnival is always a very flamboyant [extremely colourful and exaggerated] and raucous [very noisy] event.

•The Festival of the Dead was very sombre [serious, heavy and sad] and atmospheric [had a special feeling or atmosphere].

•The annual holiday commemorates all those who died in the country's civil war. [formal: respects and remembers officially]

c) Use words and phrases from a) and b) to rewrite the underlined words. Use the word-class indicated and make any other necessary changes to the sentence.

1 For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. (verb)

2 The festival events included parades, sports and musical gatherings. (noun (plural)

3 There was a feeling of celebration about the whole weekend. (adjective)

4 For the country people, the spring festival symbolically renews the fertility of the land. (noun)

5 There was an atmosphere of ceremony as the military bands marched round the main square. (adjective)

6 People tend to be in a mood for having a festival when the harvest is successfully completed. (adjective)

7 You should go and see the lantern festival. It's always very spectacular. (noun)

(English Vocabulary in Use. Advanced. pp.102-103)

9. Here is an extract of someone talking about a festival using rather informal language. Write it as a more formal description, using words and expressions from the box instead of the underlined words, and making any other necessary changes.

parade atmospheric focus be believed to associate

pagan symbolize somber superstitious flamboyant

raucous trace

– Well, it’s called the Festival of flowers, and it’s all to do with the coming of spring, after the dark, serious winter months. It all started with a religious tradition of taking flowers to the church to offer them to God. Spring flowers are the main thing in the festival, and there is always a big gang of people marching through the streets dressed in traditional costumes. It’s all very lively and extremely colourful and rather noisy, and it has a great feeling about it. The flowers mean new life, and people thought they would be guaranteed a good harvest later in the year if they were offered to God. Nowadays most people don’t have such funny beliefs about nature, but there is still a really old, Pre-Christian atmosphere about it all …

(English Vocabulary in Use. Advanced. p.103)

10. Read the following model and underline the examples of passive voice. What techniques are used to describe the atmosphere?

We celebrate Christmas on December 25. Christmas honours the birth of Jesus Christ and is celebrated by Christians all over the world.

In England, preparations for Christmas begin in November, when shop windows are decorated with Christmas ornaments such as colourful streamers, silver tinsel and golden bells.

Christmas lists are written to Santa Claus by children. Finishing touches are put on Christmas cakes and puddings. A Christmas tree is decorated with ornaments, bulbs and a star at the top. Glittering lights are hung in the streets and on the trees, and wreaths are placed on city buildings and doorways.

On Christmas morning, the tearing of wrapping paper is heard as gifts are exchanged, opened and admired. If it is a "white" Christmas, fresh snow covers the town and snowmen are made. As the turkey is sizzling in the oven, its delicious aroma fills the house. Later, turkey, sausages, bacon, stuffing and potatoes are served for dinner. The family, dressed in their best clothes, sit down to enjoy a delicious meal which puts a smile on everyone's face. In the evening, families relax and enjoy the gifts they have received.

The warm feeling of Christmas spirit fills the home as the children play happily with their new toys and the adults relax. This is the time when family members feel closest to each other, after sharing a day of love and joy.

(Mission. Exam Focus. p.31)

11. Read the following account of a wedding and fill in the correct word derived from the words in brackets. Then, make the paragraph plan which has been used.

No one could ever have looked as beautiful as my sister did on her wedding day last summer. Her 1) ........... (rose) cheeks, together with her soft smile, lit up the old stone village church. She looked 2) ........ (glory) in her beautiful wedding dress. 3) ......... (excite) family members and friends were present to witness and celebrate the happy event. The wedding took place after months of frantic 4) ............ (prepare). The church had to be booked in advance, as well as the 5) ........ (luxury) hotel where the reception was held. The making of the wedding gown took weeks, as there were many alterations to be made. Then there were flowers to be ordered, cars to be booked, menus to be planned, and a band to be chosen for the reception.

On the big day, everything went perfectly. The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome. The service was very 6) ............. (move) and I know I was not the only one to shed a tear when my sister said, "I do". We emerged from the church and the 7) ............... (profession) photographer snapped photos of the 8) ............. (beam) newlyweds and guests. The reception was also 9) ............ (success): delicious food, bubbly champagne and loud music kept us 10) .............. (happy) dancing well into the early hours of the morning.

There was an overall feeling of happiness among the tired guests as the glowing new couple departed for their honeymoon.

(Mission. Exam Focus. p.31)

12. Read the following models and answer the questions:

a) Which model is a description of an annual event and which of a past event attended by the writer? b) Which tenses are used in model A and which in model B? Why? c) Which model has a personal style and which has an impersonal style? d) How does each model finish?

Model A

Graduation Ceremony

Graduation day at Swansea University takes place in July. The Town Hall is used for the ceremony. The occasion is kept formal and traditional in order to properly honour the achievements of the students.

Days before the ceremony, students are given their caps and gowns. A stage is set up and chairs are arranged for those attending. The hall is decorated with beautiful bouquets of flowers, and speeches are prepared by the invited guests of honour.

On the day itself, students and their families attend a cheese and wine party held by the faculty before the actual ceremony. A few hours later, usually around 2.30 in the afternoon, the ceremony begins. Speeches are made, then the students queue up in the order in which they are going to be called. Their names are read out one by one, and students go up onto the stage to receive their degrees from the Dean, who shakes each graduate's hand. All the graduates look sophisticated in their black caps and gowns as proud parents take photos of them. Afterwards, everyone attends a less formal dinner party where professors have the chance to congratulate the graduates.

Graduation day is a special occasion in a student's life. It is a time to feel pleased about reaching a very important goal.

Model B

“My Graduation Day”

On a sunny July afternoon in 1995 I graduated from Swansea University. It was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time, and the graduation ceremony gave me an absolute sense of fulfillment, as I had dreamt it would.

About a week before the ceremony, caps and gowns were handed out to all the students. The hall was prepared as workers set up a stage and chairs. Flowers were put all around the hall as well.

On graduation day, I arrived at the Town Hall to find the Dean and the lecturers already there along with hundreds of students. Soon the ceremony began and the speeches were made. Then we stood up and were called one by one to receive our degrees. The Dean shook our hands and congratulated us as everyone applauded. An informal dinner party followed the ceremony.

A feeling of pride and satisfaction stayed with me throughout the day. I will always remember my graduation because it signified the end of a long period of hard work and the beginning of a new era in my life.

(Enterprise 4. Intermediate. Coursebook. p.66)

13. Read the following model and underline the passive forms. Then, list the preparations made before the event and the activities which take place on the actual day. Finally, give the paragraph outline.