Unit 5 Here are the seasons to enjoy

II. Basic Listening Practice

1.       Script

W: Of all the holidays people celebrate, Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day… which are the most important to you?

M: Christmas and Easter, because they mark events in Jesus Christ’s life: his birth and his escape from a tomb into heaven. The other festivals, I think, are mainly created to increase sales.

Q: How many holidays does the man believe to be important?

2.       Script

M: I used to love giving my mother a present on Mother’s Day. It always made her cry. Then she’d hug me hard enough to squeeze the breath out of me.

W: Mothers are really no different from anyone else. They love to be loved, that’s all.

Q: What was the mother’s response to her son’s gift?

3. Script

M: Every country has its own unique holidays. There is one exclusive to some British Commonwealth countries like Britain, Australia and Canada. That’s Boxing Day.

W: I know. And it’s a perfect date for a holiday, being the day after Christmas Day. Apparently it began with the custom of giving the poor boxes of food; thus a boxing day.

Q: what was the origin of Boxing Day?

4. Script

M: I absolutely hate Christmas shopping. I can never figure out what to buy for everyone, so I rush around like an idiot at the last minute, buying junk.

W: Then maybe you shouldn’t buy any gifts just tell people “Merry Christmas!” instead.

Q: What does the woman mean?

5. Script

M: When all the children come home for Christmas, there won’t be enough room for everyone… What shall we do? Maybe some will have to stay in a hotel.

W: I want them all here. We’ll make it work. I can hardly wait to see everyone. It doesn’t matter if we’re a bit squished. We’ll be like turkey stuffing.

Q: What does the woman mean?

 

III. Listening In

Task 1: Expensive holidays

Grace: So, Mark, what are you going to get me for Chinese Valentine’s Day— a holiday for the Cowherd and Girl Weaver to meet?

Mark: Sorry. I’ve never heard of it. Anyway, we already celebrated Valentine’s Day in February. I gave you a bunch of red roses.

Grace: But there’s another lover’s day in the world. Isn’t it wonderful if lovers have more than one lover’s day a year.

Mark: Do you mean I have to get you a present for each lover’s day?

Grace: Well, you’d better give me a present from time to time if you want to win my heart.

Mark: I gave you a beautiful card on New Year’s Day… and a Christmas gift a couple of days before that. Then I invited you to a dinner on the Chinese New Year’s Day, that it, the Spring Festival.

Grace: Thank you for that. Nowadays the Chinese Spring Festival is getting popular here, and it’s exciting.

Mark: But few people here know anything about a foreign lover’s day.

Grace: You see, I enjoy celebrating holidays again and again.

Mark: But it’s hard on the wallet. I’ll end up in the poorhouse at this rate.

Grace: But it’s romantic! And don’t forget it’s only another month before my birthday.

Mark: Your birthday was last month! I already brought you a ring!

Grace: That was my birthday on the Western calendar. Next month, it’s my birthday on the lunar    calendar!

 

Task 2: April Fool’s Day

Script

On a flight from the West Coast to the East Coast, the lead flight attendant was eager to get in early as her boyfriend, a pilot, was going to have a short stopover at the destination airport. She made a point of telling her fellow crew members about this. Because it was April 1st, April Fool’s Day, the day people play tricks on one another, the captain decided to have a little fun.

About an hour before landing, he made an announcement that went like this: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. I have a little bit of bad news. There’re some thunderstorms at our destination, and they've currently closed the airport. They expect it to reopen in about 30 minutes to an hour. As one might expect, this will result in long delays. As we’ve come all the way from the West Coast, we don’t even have enough fuel to circle until the airport reopens. Therefore, we are going to be diverting to Cleveland, and we should be landing in about 30 minutes. We’ll take some fuel there and get you back on your way to our original destination. I’m terribly sorry for the delay. However, we’ll get you there just as soon as possible.

It was at this moment that you could hear someone running up to the cockpit. The cockpit door flew open and sure enough it was the lead flight attendant mumbling something like, “This can’t be happening. What shall I do?” As she went on painfully, the captain made another announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, happy April Fool’s Day

 

Task3: What to do for mom?

Script

Young men and women, tomorrow will be Mother’s Day. Some of you are still wondering what to do for your mom. Here’s my advice.

Look out for anything that she plans to buy, and buy it if you can afford it. For example, a casual dress or formal office wear. Or, it may be a hair clip with a touch of difference. Check out if she is planning to get a new microwave or a new steam iron, and give it to her if you can afford it.

You can get some ideas by considering what her likes and dislikes are, how about giving her a pet or something that has a cat’s picture on it? But make sure she doesn’t find out that you’re getting her a present. Let her gift be a pleasant surprise.

Definitely spend some time with her, especially if you are not living with her. Make her feel special. For example, you can cook a special dish for the day. You can also throw a little party and invite those who are close to her.

And of course, if she enjoys outings, take a little trip with her. And if possible, take on with your entire family. She’ll love it for sure. After all, she is the one who takes care of all of you. A special trip to the countryside could show her how much you care for her, if she is happy, I ‘m sure you’ll feel happy, too.

 

 

 

 

V. Let’s Talk

1) e  2) b  3) g  4) d

5) h  6) a 7) f  8)c 

 

VI.  Further Listening and Speaking

Task1: The Wilsons’ Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of America’s most popular holidays. It is a day for expressing thanks for the good things in life. It is also a day for family reunion. On that day many people travel long distances to get together with their families. For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the time when the members of a family gather.

But not everyone can spend Thanksgiving with his or her family. Today we’ll introduce you to a couple, Joan and Sandy Wilson, who could not afford to travel long distances to visit their parents. They regretted not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with all their family members. But soon they met other people who also were separated from their families. So the Wilsons began holding a yearly Thanksgiving dinner for what they called their “extended family”. This included people in their community. All the guests brought food to share for Thanksgiving dinner.

The group has grown over the years. To accommodate all the guests, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson now have to add small tables to their large one in the big dinner room. At first, many of their friends brought their babies and young children. Now some of the first guests are grandparents.

Like other Americans, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and their visitors enjoy a long day of cooking, eating and talking. The traditional meal usually includes a turkey. Other traditional Thanksgiving foods served with turkey are sweet potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pies.

 

Task 2 : Father’s Day

Father’s Day is a fairly new celebration in Britain compared with Mother’s Day, which has been a popular festival in the U.K. for a very long time.

The origins of the celebration are American, and it was inspired by the actions of a man named William Smart. His wife died giving birth to their sixth child, so he raised six children alone without remarrying, which was undoubtedly unusual back in those days.

His daughter, Sonora Dodd, realized when she was an adult what her father had sacrificed for his children. It was in the early 1900s and she was actually at church one day, listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day. She thought there should also be a Father’s Day celebration. So the tradition was born, on the third Sunday every June, close to the anniversary of Sonora’s father’s death.

British took the idea of Father’s Day from the American celebration and it has been celebrated officially since the 1970s. What do British people do for Father’s Day? Well, most people buy their fathers a card. The card probably has a nice message on it saying what a great dad their father is. Some people do buy present as well. Popular gifts for dads are probably ties, chocolates, or socks because these are things that dads can always use even if they don't want them. Some families might do things together to celebrate Father’s Day like going for a meal. As a special treat, British people might give their dad a bit of a rest—make him a cup of tea, or even wash his car and mow the lawn.

 

Task3: St. Valentine’s story

Script

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. He wanted to have a big army, and he expected men to volunteer to join. Seeing many men did not want to leave their wives and families, Claudius had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So he passed a law to forbid any more marriages. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn’t going to support that law!

I was a priest, and one of my favorite activities was to marry couples. I kept on performing marriage ceremonies, secretly. One night, we heard footsteps and shouts of soldiers outside. It was scary! The couple I was marrying escaped in time, but I was caught. I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

Then wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed, “Love from your Valentine.”

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day.