1. Unit 6 Celebration of Holidays

2. Main Points Ⅰ. Leading In Ⅱ. Text A Ⅲ. Text B ●Vocabulary Practice Ⅳ. Practical Writing

3. Ⅰ.Leading In Introduction to the Holidays ◆ Western holidays ◆ Chinese holidays

4. Western Holidays ● Christmas ● New Year’s Day ● Valentine’s Day ● April Fool’s Day ● Easter ● Halloween ● Thanksgiving Day

5. Christmas (Dec.25)  Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.  It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.  To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.  The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.  In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

6. Christmas Traditions Christmas tree

7. Santa Claus ◆ Santa Claus and St. Nicholas The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words “to sell what you own and give the money to the poor”, Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. ◆ Legends about Santa Claus There are many legends about santa Clause and his kindness and love. The following two stories are selected just for class use.

9. Chinese festival ● Spring Festival ● The Lantern Festival---Yuanxiao Jie ● Qingming---The Clear & Bright Festival ● Dragon Boat Festival ● Festival of Qi Xi Jie (Chinese Valentine's Day‘) ● Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival ● Double Nineth (Elder Day) ● Dong Zhi - Winter Solstice Festival Dec 22,2004 ● Ethnic Group Festivals ★ The Date of Chinese festival

10.  New Year's Day First Day of the First Month of the year  The Lantern Festival ---Yuanxiao Jie 15-th Day of the First Month of the year  Qingming---The Clear & Bright Festival  Dragon Boat Festival 5-th Day of the 5-th Month of the year Sweet Dumpling Dragon Boat Races  Festival of Qi Xi Jie 7th Day of the 7th Month of the year Sometimes called the 'Chinese Valentine's Day'  Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival 15-th Day of the 8-th Month of the year  Double Ninth (Elder Day) 9-th Day of the 9-th Month of the year  Dong Zhi - Winter Solstice Festival Dec 22,2004  Ethnic Group Festivals

11. Ⅱ. Text A Happy New year

12. Ⅰ.Pre-reading Activities Prepare the following topics in groups: ● celebrations of the New year in China; ● celebrations of the New Year in their hometowns; ● their most recent celebration of the New year; ● their plans for this year’s celebration of the New Year; ● the party they are going to have to celebrate the coming New Year;

13. Ⅱ. While-Reading Activities ( Ⅰ ) Read the text through, try to answer the following questions, and then do reading comprehension exercises on page 94. 1. Is New Year’s celebration the most important one for Americans? Why or Why not? 2. How do people celebrate New Year? 3. What do most Americans and Europeans promise to do? ( Ⅱ ) Read the text paragraph by paragraph, and find the topic sentence in each paragraph

14. ( Ⅲ ) Language Points 1. eve: the night or day before the stated religious day or holidays  In the United States, many people go to New Year’s Eve parties. 2. measure v. 1)show or record  Time is measured by the hour, minute, and second. 2)find the size length, amount, degree etc. of sth. in standard units  How does a teacher measure his students’ success? 3. give importance to : pay attention to  We should give much more importance to English learning.  Importance is given to learning foreign languages. 4. bring in: cause to come in; introduce  They brought in different customs and cultures.

15. 5. common: adj.1) usual a common error  Everybody should know it, as it is common sense.  Have…in common: share with someone else  They have many interests in common. 6. tradition n. 1) principles, beliefs, practices, etc. passed down from the past to the present  In Germany, some people still follow this old tradition. 2)a customary way of thinking or behaving that has been passed down in this way  The writer is sad because he feels that old traditions are being forgotten. 7. drive away: drive off; force away  Don’t drive away the students who want to help you. 8. gather: v. 1) come together  On New Year’s Eve, crowds gather in Times Square in New York City.

16. 2) collect  They have gathered a lot of information on the subject. 9. let off: fire or cause to explode  The inexperienced soldier let the gun off in error. 10. in the shape of : in a certain form in which something may exist or appear  He has a watch in the shape of a rabbit. 11. light up: cause to begin giving out light  When the play ended, all the lights lit up. 12. put up: build, or raise into position  They planned to put up a statue of the late President. 13. resolution: n. a firm decision  He made a resolution to lose weight through exercising.

17. 14. involve: v. have as a necessary part or result  This will involve a lot of time and energy. 15. carry out: 1) fulfill  Don’t blame me ---I’m only carrying out orders. 2) perform; conduct  They then held a meeting to discuss how to carry out the operation

18. Ⅲ.After-reading Activities (Homework) 1.Please read Text B after class and prepare more information about the Chinese Spring Festival and Christmas. Compare them in class next time. 2. Answer the following questions about the text. a. How do people celebrate Christmas in the West? b. Who decided the date of Christmas? c. How many cards do Americans send every year? d. Why does Father Christmas put presents in stockings instead of other places?

19. Ⅲ. Text B Christmas Tradition

20. ● Language Study: 1. honor: show honor to  They built the statue to honor the friendship between France and the United States. 2. attempt: n. | C| an effort made to do something  He made an attempt to escape, but failed. v. make an effort at  He attempted to leave but was stopped. 3. select: v. choose  He was selected to play for England.

21. Selected as: choose to be  He selected a novel as a birthday present for his sister. 4. design: v. develop and draw the plans for  The book is designed mainly for college students 5. exchange: v. give and receive in return  At the end of the meeting, they are exchanging phone numbers and addresses. 6. original: adj. first; earliest  He found an original drawing of Picasso’s in the basement of his father’s house. 7. hang up: hang a piece of clothing on something  Did you notice those hams hanging up in the butcher’s window?

22. 8. in debt: the state of owing  Wasteful people usually end up in debt. 9. be about to: be just ready to  He looked as if he was about to burst into tears. 10. land: v. come down from the air onto a surface  The plane was forced to land in the desert

23. Ex. Ⅰ Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the word given. 1. Their house is in a very (favor) _____________position near the park. 2. I was ____________( honor) to have been mentioned in his speech. 3. This shows that they do not understand the (important)____________ of the question. 4. The (celebrate) ____________didn’t end until midnight. 5. They took part in all kinds of social (act) ___________on campus. 6. The writer’s sudden (die)___________ was much regretted in Britain. 7. December25th had been a (wide) ___________celebrated day in the Roman world. 8. The test will involve (answer) ____________questions about a picture. 9. The streets were very (noise) _____________throughout the night. 10. Six theatre companies have been (select) _____________to take part in this year’s festival.

24. Ex. 2 Choose the best item to complete each of the following sentences. 1. It’s all right to borrow money sometimes, but don’t let it become a(n)____________. A. habit B. tradition C. spirit D. action 2. There’s a (n)__________ in our office that when it’s someone’s birthday, they bring in a cake for us all to share. A. habit B. tradition C. spirit D. action 3. The baby___________ an attempt to stand up, but failed. A. did B. took C. wanted D. made 4. The fact that he didn’t say “No” immediately is a good___________. A. activity B. experience C. sign D. design 5. Have you discovered that the two cultures have a lot in___________. A. spirit B. effort C. common D. fact 6. The house was just as what she had______________. A. thought B. believed C. considered D. imagined 7. He _____________ and built his own house. A. designed B. believed C. determined D. put 8. The practice of hanging up stockings is believed to be _________with St. Nicholas. A. included B. connected C. determined D. selected 9. He never carried___________ his promise to stop playing PC games A. on B. about C. out D. in 10. To let __________fireworks on New Year’s Eve is a tradition in China. A. up B. in C. of D. off

25. Ⅳ Practical Writing

26. Personal letters have five parts :date, opening, body, closing and signature. Here are some samples:

27. Sample 1 Your Name Address Phone Number E-mail (optional) Date Name of Receiver Title Company Name Address Dear __________: When writing a letter using block form, no lines are indented. Include your name, address, and phone number where you can be contacted, as well as the date. You then include the name and address of the person you are sending the letter to. With new paragraphs, just skip a line instead of indenting. Add your phone number where you can be contacted in the last paragraph. If the receiver needs to use a relay service to call you, briefly explain that you are deaf/ hard-of-hearing and that s/he can call you through relay. Give the receiver his/her state relay number and explain that s/he will need to give the operator your number. Then give him/her your number. ClickClick here for a list of state relay numbers. Sincerely, Your Signature Your Name Your Title

28. Sample 2 Your Name Address Phone Number E-mail (optional) Date Name of Receiver Title Company Name Address Dear __________: When writing a letter using indented form, indent each paragraph. First include your name, address, phone number, and the date. This information should be located at the top of the page, either in the center, or indented on the right side of the paper. You then include the name and address of the person to whom you are sending the letter. At the end of the letter, place your signature on the right side of the page. Don't forget to provide any relay information if necessary. Sincerely, Your Signature Your Name Your Title

29. The End Thanks for your participation and have a good time