Unit Six

Section A: Happy New Year

 

Ⅰ. Main Idea

The text chiefly deals with New Year’s Eve, the oldest, and most important celebration in quite a great number of countries and places throughout the world.

    The most common way for Americans of bringing in the New Year is holding great parties. In recent years, however, it has also got more and more popular for Americans to join in the festivities outside their homes. For example, they go to the biggest and noisiest celebration in Times Square, New York City.

Americans and Europeans make New Year’s resolutions, but sadly, only few people carry them out.

 

Ⅱ. Structure

Part I: (Para. 1) New Year’s Eve is many countries’ oldest, most significant celebration.

Part II: (Para. 2-5) The most common American way to welcome the New Year is having grand parties.

Part III: (Para. 6) Americans and Europeans make New Year’s resolutions, but sadly, few people carry them out.

 

Ⅲ. Text Learning

1.    New Year’s Eve is the world’s oldest celebration. (Para.1)

It is the oldest custom for people all over the world to welcome the coming of the New Year on the night before the New Year’s Day.

eve: n.

(1)    [U] the night or day before the stated religious day or holiday

e.g.  He went to bed on Christmas Eve very early.

       In the United States, many people go to New Year’s Eve parties.

(2)    [the + singular (of)] the time just before an important event

e.g.  He could hardly go to sleep on the eve of his visit to China.

       She felt very nervous on the eve of her examination.

2.         The most popular way to bring in the New Year in the United States is with a big party.

The Americans’ most common way of welcoming the New Year is to have a big party.

bring in: cause to come in; introduce

They brought in different customs and cultures.

She brought in a few customers.

3.         There, they can eat, drink, and dance until the early hours. (Para.2)

In the hotel or restaurant, they can eat, drink, and dance until the early hours of the next morning.

4.         Some of them ring bells or let off fireworks. (Para.3)

Some of the people ring bells or set off fireworks.

let off: fire or cause to explode

They let off their guns at the enemy.

5.         At midnight, they began to cheer as an electric sign in the shape of a red apple lights up on top of a tall building.

At midnight, they shout happily when an electric sign that looks like a red apple gives off light on the top of a tall building.

 

Ⅳ. Stucture Focus

1. be true of :

that (it; the same) is (not) true of （情况）也是（并非）如此（这样）

This is not true of the United States.                                在美国却并非如此.

吸烟危害健康, 喝酒也是这样。    Smoking harms your health, and that is true of drinking.

学习汉语需要大量实践, 学习英语也是如此。

Chinese study needs much practice; the same is true of English learning.

2. so that :

so that引导目的状语从句时，表示“以便；为了”，从句中常使用can /could /may /might /will /would /should等情态动词或助动词；引导结果状语从句时，从句中一般不用can和may等词，在so that前可以用逗号，意思是“因此;所以”。如：

1. The little boy saved every coin so that he could buy his mother a present on Mother's day.

2. She bought a digital camera online so that she would save a lot of time.

3. It has become so popular that many American hotels and restaurants put up big screens so that their guests can watch it. 

这种观看方式非常受欢迎，所以美国许多宾馆饭店都安装大屏幕，以便宾客也能观看到。

Compare: so＋形容词或副词＋that ...引导结果状语从句。

(一)so＋形容词或副词＋that ...引导的肯定的结果状语从句，意思是“如此……以致于……”。如：

1. ---What a fine day it is today! ―Yes,the sunshine is so beautiful that I'd like to go swimming in the sea.

2. When the football fans saw Beckham, they got so excited that they cried out.

(二)so＋形容词或副词＋that ...引导的否定的结果状语从句，意思是“如此……以致于不能……”。如：

1. The camera is so expensive that I can't afford it.

2. Miss Gao asked a question, but it was so difficult that nobody could answer it

　　注意：当that引导的结果状语从句为肯定句时，so ... that ...可以与be ... enough to do转换；当从句为否定句时，可以与too ... to ... 或be not ... enough to do转换。如：

1. David was so careless that he didn't find the mistakes in his test paper. ---- David was too careless to find the mistakes in his test paper.

2. A：The boy is so young that he can't look after himself. --The boy is not odl enough to look after himself

so ... that ... 引导结果状语从句有时候可以与such ... that ...句型相互转换。如：

The stone is so heavy that I can't lift it up.      It is such a heavy stone that I can't lift it up.

In conclude:

so that　表示以便，为了的意思；　

so....that是表示如此．．．以致的意思．　

so that是连在一起用的，表示结果．如：我读更多的书，以便我能赶上我的同学．I read more books so that I can catch up with my classmates.

so ....that　是分开的，表示在什么条件下有的结果，that后加句子．如：我太累了，以致我一吃完晚饭就去睡觉了．I was so tired that I went to bed as soon as I ate the supper.

 

Ⅴ. Check-up Exercises

A

1.  政府要在附近建一个新的购物中心。(put up)

The government is going to put up a new shopping centre in the neighborhood.

2.一个愚蠢的错误就能给你带来许多麻烦。(involve)

One foolish mistake can involve you in a good deal of trouble.

3.  他知道从错误中学习的重要性。(importance)

He knew the importance of learning from mistakes.

4.  成功是不能用金钱来衡量的。

Success cannot be measured in terms of money.

B

1. In some countries, New Year’s Eve is the most important celebration of the year, but this is not true of the United States or Europe.

 在某些国家除夕夜是一年中最重要的节日，但在美国和欧洲却不是这样。

2. Many people give this celebration even more importance than people in East Asia give the Spring Festival.

 

许多人对这个节日的重视程度甚至超过了东亚国家对春节的重视。

3.  In the US, the biggest and noisiest party takes place in Times Square in New York City.

在美国，最大、最热闹的晚会在纽约的时代广场举行。