北师大高中英语教材英文模块1 Unit3

北师大高中英语教材英文模块1 Unit3Unit 3 CelebrationLesson 1 FestivalsA: AutumnEvery year in September or October, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by the Chinese people all over the world. On this day, the moon is said to be its biggest and brightest. People like to meet in the evening and watch the moon.The Mid-Autumn Festival is important because it is a special occasion for family. It is also a day for special foods like moon cakes. There are all kinds of moon cakes. Traditional moon cakes are usually made with bean paste, but nowadays, there are many different kinds of moon cakes including fruit, coffee, chocolate and even ice-cream moon cakes.B: WinterThe Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations.There are many stories about how the Lantern Festival started. In one story, lanterns were lit to celebrate the power of light over darkness. In another story, a town was almost destroyed but the light from many lanterns saved it. The story was about a god who wanted to burn down the town. He was fooled when he saw thousands of lanterns. He thought the town was already burning.In the past, lanterns were usually lit by candles and decorated with pictures of birds, animals and flowers, etc. Nowadays, most lanterns are made with light bulbs and batteries, and they come in many shapes and sizes. In the north-eastern part of China, there are even ice-lanterns.The special food for the Lantern Festival is the sweet dumpling. Sweet dumplings are boiled and serve d in hot water.C: SummerThe Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year, As it is in early summer, it marks the beginning of the hottest season of the year.The tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival started more than 2,000 years ago. In the old days, dragon boat races were organized only by Chinese people. However, in recent years, people from other cultures have also taken part in races and enjoyed the fun.There is a special food for the festival. It is called zongzi, which is sticky rice in fresh bamboo leavesLesson 3 Weddings.Weddings in IndonesiaIf a friend gets an invitation to a wedding, you can go with him/her, even if you don’t receive an invitation yourself.The times of the wedding ceremony and the reception are both on the invitation. However, you ought not to go to the invitation. However, you ought not to go to the ceremony because it is only for close family. If you really want to see it, you ought to ask first. Everyone can attend the reception afterwards.Nowadays, Indonesian women don’t have to cover their heads, but they un usually wear traditional clothes.There is a box at the entrance to the reception and you ought to put money into it! But don’t worry, you don’t have to contribute a lot of money.And remember- at most wedding receptions you can’t drink alcohol.Greek WeddingsOn the day of a Greek wedding ceremony, the bridge-groom has to ask the bride’s father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The bridge-groom’s best man then goes with the couple to the church, to be married.During the church ceremony, the best man should help put crowns made of flowers on the heads of the bride and bridegroom. A long silk ribbon that links the crowns is a symbol of a long and happy life for the couple.After the ceremony, the guests can attend a wedding a wedding reception, which is usually a huge party and can last through the night. There is a lot of eating, drinking and dancing, including the famous Greek circle dance, where everyone joins in. During the reception, guests can throw dishes on the floor and put money on the bride’s wedding dress for good luck.Lesson 4 Christmas Memories of ChristmasFor me, Christmas always began in the middle of the cold, windy month of November. My sister, Alison, and I sat down in front of the fire and wrote a letter to Father Christmas telling him about all the presents we wanted. We seriously wrote “Father Christmas, the North Pole” on the envelope, before giving them to our mother to post.With December our excitement grew each day——as we opened the new year calendar, Christmas cards arrived in the post, Christmas lights course, there was snow everywhere. Enough snow to make snowmen, and to have exciting snowball fights in the school playground.On Christmas Eve, the whole family helped to decorate the house, put up the Christmas tree, the decorations and the balloons. Then, in the afternoon, when Auntie Kathleen and my two cousins arrived, everything was ready. Before we went to bed, we left some wine and biscuits for Father Christmas and then put our stockings at the end of our beds. We tried to stay awake as long as possible to see Father Christmas but the next thing we knew it was morning. Christmas morning!At the bottom of the bed was the stocking, now full of all kinds of small presents and sweets. Christmas morning was bright and sunny and , after church, my cousin David and I went out into the garden to play with our new presents. Lunch was always late, but what a lunch! A big turkey with all the vegetables followed by Christmas pudding. I like turkey breast the best. I put so much food in my mouth sometimes that it was hard to swallow. We sang Christmas carols happily, laughed at jokes, put on silly paper hats and laughed again.After lunch, the adults slept on the sofas in front of the Queen’s speech on television while we all played cards. Then we had tea, with a huge Christmas cake covered with snowmen. It didn’t seem possible, but we carried on eating. By bedtime a ll of the children were very tired. As soon as we turned off the light, we all fell into a deep, happy sleep.Culture Corner Happy Halloween!Halloween is celebrated by Western cultures every year on the night of 31 October. But did you know that it is one of the oldest holidays in history?Over 2000 years ago, people known as the Celts lived in Northern Europe. They worshipped the sun god and believed the god made their crops grow. On the night of 31 October, after their crops had been harvested and stored for winter, the Celts began a 3-day New Year holiday. During this time, they offered crops and dead animals to thank the god and danced in costumes made from animal heads and skin.Later, when the Romans invaded Europe, they adopted the Celts' New Year customs and used them in their own festivals. After 835 AD, the Catholic Church in Europe invented a holiday on 1 November, All Hallows' Day, to honor saints. Later, it invented another holiday on 2 November, All Souls' Day, to honor dead people.To celebrate All Souls Day, people made big bonfires and dressed up as angels, devils, saints and witches. They lit candles in lanterns made of hollowed-out turnip or pumpkin to frighten away ghosts. On this night, people also travelled from village to village to ask for food. It was believed that any village that did not give food would have bad luck.Gradually, over the years, the Celtic, Roman and Catholic customs and holidays got mixed together, and finally 31 October became known as Halloween,In the nineteenth century, Irish immigrants took Halloween customs from Europe to the USA. Today, in the USA and the UK in particular, Halloween has become a special occasion for young people, In these countries, children wear spooky costumes and go from door to door saying "Trick or treat!" and they are given sweets to take home.Language Spot1 A CHRISTMAS CAROLIt was Christmas Eve. Ebenezer Scrooge was in his office, the office of Scrooge and Marley. His clerk, poor Bob Cratchit, was working. Suddenly, Scrooge's young nephew came into the office. "Hello uncle. Merry Christmas!" he said happily. "Do you want to come and have Christmas dinner with us tomorrow?" "Christmas?" Scrooge replied. "Bah! Humbug!" Scrooge hated Christmas and he refused his nephew's invitation for dinner on Christmas Day. His nephew went away. Later two men came to the office, asking for money for the poor."Bah! Are there no prisons for these people?" Scrooge refused to give even a penny.Then, when it was time to close the office, Bob Cratchit asked for the day off, because it was Christmas."All right," Scrooge said, "but be here early the next morning!"That evening Scrooge was sitting in front of his fire at home when, suddenly, he saw a ghost in front of him. "Who are you?" Scrooge asked nervously."In life, I was Jacob Marley, your partner. I am wearing these chains and I can never be in peace, because when I lived, I only though about money. But I am here to help you. You have a chanmce to escape my terrible destiny. Tonight three ghosts will visit you." Then the ghost of Marley disappeared.Scrooge went to bed and fell asleep, but in the night he woke up.The figure of a strange old man appeared near his bed."I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. Of your past," it told Scrooge. The ghost took Scrooge to scenes of Christmases from the past. In one scene Scrooge saw himself as a boy at school. He was reading a book. All the other boys had gone home for Christmas. In another scene Scrooge saw himself as a young man. He was talking to his girlfriend, who he didn't marry because she didn'thave any money. Scrooge began to feel sadder and sadder."Stop! Show me no more!" he cried. Finally the ghost brought him home and Scrooge fell asleep again. Later that night, Scrooge woke up again."I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look at me!" said the second ghost, laughing. He was a large man with a beard, wearing a green robe. He took Scrooge to the house of Bob Cratchit and his family. It was cold in the house and Bob and his family were sitting around a very small Christmas pudding."What a wonderful pudding. Merry Christmas everyone!" cried Bob.Scrooge felt sad, because he could see how poor the Cratchits were. Bob's smallest child, Tiny Tim, was weak and ill. The ghost finally took Scrooge to a very poor area of London. There were two poor children out in the street."Can't we do something to help these children?" he asked the ghost, who repeated what Scrooge had said before."Are there no prisons?" The ghost laughed and disappeared.Then, the third ghost appeared. He was dressed in black and looked..."Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future?" Scrooge asked nervously.The ghost did not answer. It took Scrooge and showed him scenes of the future. In one, people were talking about Scrooge's death, but not one person was unhappy about it. The ghost also took him to the Cratchit family. The family was very sad. The little boy, Tiny Tim, had died.The next morning, Scrooge opened his window and asked, "What day is it today?""Why sir, it's Christmas Day," replied a young boy in the street.Scrooge was very happy. He gave money to the boy to buy an enormous turkey for the Cratchit family. Then he went out into the street."Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" He wished everybody he saw Merry Christmas. He met the man who had asked for money for the poor and gave him a large sum of money. Scrooge then went and visited his nephew and had the best Christmas dinner in his life. The next day he went to his office early. He waited for Bob Cratchit."You are late!" said Scrooge in an angry voice."Yes, I'm afraid I'm going to ... increase your salary! Merry Christmas, Bob!"From that day, Scrooge was the happiest man in the world. He gave money to the poor. He helped Bob Cratchit's family. And people always said of him: "He knew how to celebrate Christmas."Focus on ReadingWhat they think about ThanksgivingThanksgiving is an important festival in North America. We interviewed several students from the US and Canada. here is what they have told us about their Thanksgiving experiences. Josie from New York, USA“ In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated every year at the end of November. It is to remember the first group of people from Europe to live in America. When they first arrived, they found the environment strange. But they learned to survive after some native American friends showed them how to grow and find food. Thanksgiving is meant to be a traditional celebration.Todd from California, USA“ Thanksgiving is the firs t day of Christmas shopping. That means we have four weeks to buyChristmas presents for our families and friends. For me and my friends, the most important part of the festival is the big football game on TV. The match is watched by millions of people all over America. Thanksgiving is seen as an exciting day for football!”Lan from Saskatoon, CanadaIn Canada, Thanksgiving is held on the 2nd Monday in October. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, many people go to church. Thanks are given for all the good things that happened to them during the year. I always give thanks for the nice big turkey I’m going to have at the family dinner! Like all festivals, Thanksgiving is about food!Katle from Maritimes, CanadaOn Thanksgiving Day, we have dinner with all our cousins, aunts and uncles. It is always very busy. Sometimes we have two Thanksgiving dinners because we go to both our grandp arents’ houses. The dinner is usually attended by more than twenty people at each house! My mother and my aunts do all the cooking but the washing-up is done by me and my cousins. And that’s not an easy job! But I don’t mind because Thanksgiving is meant to be a time to give thanks.。