全國英語等級考試教材第三級Unit09

[00:00.00] CHAPTER 9 HOLIDAYS [00:12.49]Unit 9 Holidays [00:18.26]Conversations [00:21.79]Peter is making a phone call to Jo about the Thanksgiving Day. [00:30.12]Peter:Hello!This is Peter.May I speak to Jo,please? [00:36.60]Jo:Speaking. [00:39.55]Peter:Jo,would you like to come over here and see the Thanksgiving parades? [00:45.79]Jo:Yes,I'd love to. [00:49.35]Peter:What time shall we meet?Around 10? [00:54.39]Jo:I'm afraid it is too early, [00:58.46]and I was about to make apple pies when the phone rang. [01:04.42]Shall we put it off till 11? [01:08.96]Peter:Fine.Where shall I meet you? [01:13.33]Jo:At the south gate of the railway station,please. [01:18.58]Peter:Right.I will expect to see you at the south gate of the railway station around 11. [01:25.66]See you then. [01:28.82]Jo:See you then. [01:31.69]Lisa and Fran are talking about their Christmas. [01:38.95]Lisa:Morning,Fran.Did you have a nice Christmas? [01:44.10]Fran:Yes.It was very exciting. [01:48.36]Lisa:What did you do? [01:51.91]Fran:My friend Yun and I went to Blackpool. [01:57.08]On the 22nd of December,we failed to rent a car. [02:03.01]So we had a bus tour in London. [02:07.45]We hopped on and off,and had a boat-trip along the Thames River. [02:13.62]Unfortunately,it was freezing sitting on the top of the bus. [02:19.96]On the 23rd,we got a car and visited Oxford on the way. [02:26.21]We visited the Lake District after Christmas.And you? [02:32.76]Lisa:Mine is a really happy one.i went to France for my brother's wedding. [02:39.71]I met all my relatives and friends.It was really wonderful. [02:46.19]Fran:I'll have to teach at the first period. [02:50.95]Please tell me something about France during the coffee break. [02:56.51]You know,it is hard to apply a visa to other European countries. [03:02.86]Lisa:Yes.I promise you.Meet you in the staff room. [03:08.00]Fran:It's very kind of you.See you! [03:12.16]Lisa:Bye! [03:15.11]A and B are talking about their May Day holiday plan. [03:23.36]A:Have you decided how to spend your May Day holiday? [03:29.53]B:Yes.I'm going to see the sunrise on the top of Mount Huashan with my family. [03:37.08]Have you been there? [03:40.55]A:I went there with my friends when I was studying in Xi'an Foreign Language lnstitute. [03:48.00]Are you going to climb it by the old route or the new route? [03:53.87]B:What's the difference? [03:57.32]A:Well.The old route is harder.The steps are narrower and steeper. [04:05.08]The road is rougher.The newly-built road is wider and flatter. [04:11.74]Besides,the views are not the same. [04:16.50]B:Then I'll climb up by the old route at night and walk down by the new route. [04:23.47]A:It's a good idea.And if you don't want to climb,you may take a cable car. [04:30.84]B:I hear people say it is cold and windy on the top,especially before daybreak. [04:38.49]Should I bring soem warm clothes? [04:42.85]A:You may if you like.There are coats for renting. [04:48.71]B:I'm arateful to you for the information.Have a nice holiday! [04:54.58]A:You too. [04:57.64]Two China exchange teachers are talking about their Christmas holiday in the UK. [05:06.70]A:What's the hostess'family like? [05:10.86]B:Very big.Grandparents,parents,uncles and aunts,brothers and sisters, [05:19.01]cousins,nephews and nieces.I did not feel lonely at all. [05:25.77]A:That's good.There are only 5 people in my hostess'home. [05:32.43]The house is near the lrish Sea.I enjoyed staying there for my birthday. [05:39.38]B:What was your Christmas gift from the family,if I may ask? [05:45.63]A:Three pairs of nylon socks and three pairs of stocking. [05:51.66]I gave the family our Chinese paper-cuttings and some rubbings. [05:57.69]And a bag of Maojian Tea. [06:01.93]Passage [06:05.27]Christmas Lost and Found [06:09.63]Christmas was a quiet affair when I grew up. [06:15.28]There were just my parents and I. [06:19.82]I vowed that someday I'd marry and have six children, [06:25.78]and at Christmas my house would vibrate with energy and love. [06:32.44]I found the man who shared my dream, [06:36.80]but we had not reckoned on the possibility of infertility. [06:42.57]Undaunted,we applied for adoption,and then he arrived. [06:49.03]We called him Our Christmas Boy because he came to us during that season of joy. [06:56.89]Then nature surprised us again. [07:01.46]We added two biological children to the family-not as many as we had hoped for, [07:09.61]but three made an entirely satisfactory crowd. [07:15.49]As Our Christmas Boy grew, [07:19.93]he made it clear that only he had the expertise to select and decorate the Christmas tree. [07:27.50]He rushed the season,starting his gift list in November. [07:33.75]He pressed us into singing carols, [07:38.71]our froglike voices contrasting with his musical gift of perfect pitch. [07:45.48]Each holiday he stirred us up,leading us through a round of merry chaos. [07:53.13]Then,on his 26th Christmas, [07:57.99]he left us in a car accident on his way home to his wife and infant daughter. [08:04.65]But first he had stopped by the family home to decorate our tree. [08:11.73]Grief-stricken,his father and I sold our home,where memories clung to every room, [08:20.69]and moved away. [08:24.03]Seventeen years later,we grew old enough to return home, [08:30.41]and settled into a small quiet house,like the house of my childhood. [08:37.17]Our other son and daughter had married [08:41.72]and had begun their own Christmas traditions in another part of the country. [08:48.17]One day,I heard the doorbell ring. [08:52.85]There stood our granddaughter, [08:56.89]and in her gray-green eyes I saw the reflection of Our Christmas Boy. [09:03.74]Behind her,lugging a large pine tree,came her mother and stepfather. [09:11.11]They swept past us in a flurry of laughter;and then decorated the tree. [09:17.66]"You'll recognize the ornaments,"said my former daughter-in-law. [09:24.32]"They were his.I save them for you." [09:29.47]When I murmured that we hadn't had a tree for 17 years, [09:35.53]our granddaughter said,"Then it's time to have one!" [09:41.09]They asked us to join them the next morning for church and for dinner at their home. [09:48.04]Our granddaughter ordered,"I'm singing the solo and I want you to be there." [09:54.89]We had long ago given up the poignant Christmas services, [10:00.82]but now,we sat rigid in the front pew,fighting back tears. [10:07.69]Our granddaughter's magnificent voice soared,clear and true,in perfect pitch. [10:15.42]How her father would have relished that momen! [10:20.67]We had been alerted that there would be a lot of people for dinner-but 35! [10:28.53]I could not sort out who belonged to whom,but it didn't matter. [10:35.01]They all belonged to each other. [10:39.27]It occurred to me that a true family is not always one's flesh and blood. [10:47.13]It is a climate of the heart. [10:51.21]Had it not been our adopted son, [10:55.46]we would not now be surrounded by caring strangers. [11:01.39]Later,our granddaughter asked us to come along with her to a place she likes to go. [11:08.53]In the foothills there was his grave. [11:13.49]As we stood by the headstone in the chilly but somehow comforting silence, [11:20.72]we were not prepared for our granddaughter's next move. [11:26.05]Once more that day her voice,so like her father's,lifted in song, [11:34.23]and the mountainside echoed on and into infinity. [11:39.87]When the last pure note had faded,I felt a sense of peace, [11:46.35]of the continuity of life,of ernewed faith and hope. [11:52.31]The real meaning fo Christmas had been restored to us. [11:57.95]Words and Expressions [12:01.71]vow vibrate reckon possibility [12:05.45]宣誓，立誓 顫動 料想，估計 可能性 [12:09.18]infertility [12:11.06]不能生育 [12:12.94]apply for undaunted adoption biological [12:16.88]請求，申請 大無畏的，勇敢的 收養(yǎng)，領(lǐng)養(yǎng) 有血親關(guān)系的 [12:20.81]satisfactory [12:22.64]滿意的 [12:24.46]expertise decorate carol [12:27.74]專門知識，專門技術(shù) 裝飾 圣誕節(jié)頌歌 [12:31.02]froglike contrast pitch round [12:35.15]蛙鳴般的 使對照，使對比 音調(diào) 一連串 [12:39.28]merry chaos infant grief-stricken [12:42.96]歡樂的，愉快的 無秩序，混亂 嬰兒的 悲痛欲絕的 [12:46.64]cling childhoood tradition doorbell [12:50.51]粘緊，附著 孩童時期 傳統(tǒng)，慣例 門鈴 [12:54.37]reflection lug pine flurry [12:58.11]映象，反射 拖拉 松樹，松木 陣風 [13:01.84]ornament murmur solo poignant [13:05.82]裝飾物 低聲說，低語 獨唱曲 令人痛苦的 [13:09.79]rigid pew magnificent [13:12.82]僵直的 教堂內(nèi)的靠背長凳 華麗的;高尚的 [13:15.85]soar relish alert flesh [13:19.73]高飛;昂揚 愛好，喜歡 警告 親屬 [13:23.60]climate surround caring foothill [13:27.38]氣氛 包圍 有同情心的 山麓，小丘 [13:31.15]grave headstone chilly comforting [13:35.12]墓穴，墳?zāi)?墓石 寒冷的 安慰的 [13:39.10]mountainside echo infinity fade [13:42.82]山腹，山腰 發(fā)回聲 無限 減弱下去 [13:46.54]continuity renewed restore [13:49.71]連續(xù)性 更新的;重建的 恢復(fù)，使回復(fù) [13:52.89]Exercises [13:56.05]Section I Listening Comprehension [14:01.61]Listen to teh record. [14:06.16]Answer each question by choosing A,B,C or D from the four possible choices. [14:15.30]A [14:18.46]1.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in many countries,but the date is not the same. [14:27.00]In Canada,it is the Monday of the second week in October, [14:33.17]while,in the US,it is the Thursday of the fourth week in November. [14:39.83]2.I heard many Chinese people celebrate Mid-Autumn Day [14:46.99]and wanted to know more about it, [14:51.64]so I asked a Chinese visitor who is living in my friends'house. [14:58.12]She told me it is the 15th day of the 8th month. [15:04.59]Seeing my puzzled look,she explained that in China people adopt two systems: [15:12.14]the solar calendar and the lunar calendar. [15:17.81]Lunar calendar is set according to the movement of the moon. [15:23.87]Some other festivals like Dragon Festival and Chongyang Festival, [15:31.24]and the Spring Festival are all dependent on the lunar calendar. [15:37.90]3.Easter is the spring feast of the Christian church. [15:44.95]The English name derives from Eostre. [15:49.50]Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring,who was honoured in April. [15:55.45]It is for commemorathing the resurrection of Jesus. [16:00.81]It is a movable feast, [16:04.34]falling on the first Sunday following the full moon after 21 March; [16:10.79]that is between 22 March and 25 April. [16:16.85]4.Yuanxiao Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. [16:25.91]It marks the end of the Spring Festival. [16:30.59]It is called Yuanxiao Festival [16:35.13]because of the special food we have on this special day. [16:40.46]Yuanxiao is a small ping-pong size dumpilng [16:46.52]made of sticky rice with different sweet filling. [16:51.70]The wore"overnight". [16:56.35]Yuanxiao Festival is the time for family reunion and party. [17:04.99]5.Good Friday is the anniversary of Jesus's death on the cross, [17:12.36]the Friday before Easter. [17:16.02]Among Christians it is a day of mourning and penitence. [17:22.49]In the Orthodox,Roman Catholic,and American churches, [17:28.06]the saying of Mass is suspended. [17:32.32]In the year 2003,it is on the 18th of April. [17:38.56]People in Hong Kong and Malaysia take this day off. [17:44.12]6.All Souls Day,observed in the west on 2nd November, [17:52.46]is the day on which Christians commemorate the souls of the faithful departed. [17:59.43]Although officially abolished in Protestant countries at the REFORMATION, [18:06.48]its tradition has been very widely maintained,and since the 19th century, [18:14.32]its observance has CHURCH OF ENGLAND and the ANGLICAN COMMUNLON generally. [18:24.67]7.Hallowe'en is the evening of 31 October, [18:31.20]immediately poreceding the Christian feast of Hallowmas or All Saints'Day. [18:38.56]Customs associated with Hallowe'en in the USA and the UK [18:44.81]include children wearing masks and costumes, [18:50.08]and"trick or treat"-going from house to house collecting sweets,fruit,or money. [18:57.84]Hallowe'en is associated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, [19:04.69]which marked the end of the year and the beginning of winter. [19:09.83]It was believed that on the evening of Samhain supernatural creatures were abroad [19:16.89]and souls of the dead were allowed to revisit their former homes. [19:22.95]8.Veterans'Day is a day to commemorate the retired soldiers. [19:30.81]The name was adopted in 1954 for Armistice Day, [19:38.07]and from 1971 it is observed by most States on Nov.11. [19:45.65]The equivalent in the UK and Canada is Remembrance Sunday. [19:52.31]9.The Dragonboat Festival is also called Duanwu Festival. [19:59.57]It is observed on the 5th day of the fifth month by the lunar calendar [20:05.92]for commemorating the ancient great poet Quyuan in the Chu kingdom. [20:12.68]Being slandered,he committed suicide. [20:17.86]To protect his body from the fish, [20:22.11]people throw zongzi-a kind of food in a package of rice, [20:28.36]covered by two or three bamboo leaves. [20:33.03]People hold dragonboat race and adopt drums to keep pace. [20:38.99]10.Independence Day is a public holiday in the USA, [20:45.75]to commemorate the adoption of the"Declaration of Independence" [20:51.71]on fourth of July 1776. [20:57.67]Years ago,people celebrated the day with fireworks. [21:04.12]But now it is celebrated more quietly. [21:09.19]Occasionally there are parades;people go on picnics or take trips to the country. [21:16.84]Supplementary Reading [21:20.71]Some Christian Festivals [21:24.83]Christmas Day(December 25) [21:29.48]Christmas Day,which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, [21:35.13]is the biggest and the best-loved holiday in the United States. [21:40.87]It is a time of warmth and love,hospitality and good will. [21:47.64]Generally speaking, [21:51.40]the Christmas season and excitement last from right after Thanksgiving Day [21:57.43]to New Year's Day on January 1 st. [22:02.08]As soon as the season comes,the American Christmas"madness"begins. [22:08.85]In many areas,the Friday after Thanksgiving [22:14.20]is the biggest shopping day of the year-the first day of Christmas gift shopping. [22:21.18]Big markets,department stores and shops [22:26.33]make various advertisements to attract customers. [22:31.68]The shopping is on all day long. [22:36.36]Street lights and store windows [22:40.48]are decorated with the traditional Christmas colours of red and green. [22:46.34]Families also decorate their homes inside and outside [22:52.29]after they have a spring cleaning. [22:56.44]Most people exchange presents and send Christmas cards to their friends, [23:02.69]relatives and business associates. [23:06.95]They open their presents either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. [23:13.42]Often they leave the brightly wrapped packages under Christmas trees [23:19.98]and children have fun for guessing what special surprises are in store for them. [23:26.43]As the colorful cards arrive,Americans enjoy hanging them on the Christmas trees. [23:33.80]Many families go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. [23:39.73]Then they come home to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner. [23:45.58]Their favorite courses are turkey,ham,plum,pudding and mince pie. [23:54.65]There are a lot of sweets as well. [23:59.01]Before going to bed,children hang their stockings by the fireplace, [24:05.38]hoping some sweets and toys will be given by Santa Claus. [24:10.74]Easter Sunday(A Sunday in March or April) [24:17.08]Easter Sunday,which comes from the ancient Norwegian festival of Spring sun, [24:24.84]is the second of the two most important religious holidays for christians. [24:31.92]It is on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21, [24:40.28]and it is for celebrating the rising of Jesus Christ from his tomb, [24:46.34]where he had lain for three days following his death. [24:51.31]Before he died he had promised to rise again as proof of eternal life. [24:58.57]Americans like this holiday. [25:02.93]On the Easter morning,millions of people gather on hilltops, [25:09.77]parks,churches,and open spaces to salute another Easter dawn, [25:17.43]for there is a rising of hope and joy as the earth reawakens to another spring. [25:24.59]New life comes out,and days are getting longer. [25:30.93]Birds are singing everywhere. [25:35.09]There are several symbols for Easter. [25:39.76]Of all the symbols,the egg and the hare, [25:44.91]which are considered to represent fertility and new life, [25:50.68]are those most frequently assciated with Easter. [25:56.14]American children are told that the Easter bunny brings the baskets, [26:02.70]so they carry small baskets to look for colored eggs [26:08.26]that have been hidden in the grass,the bushes,or even in the branches fo trees. [26:15.52]Egg rolling,the original Easter tradition by the colonists, [26:21.87]is held on Easter Monday morning every year on the White House Lawn. [26:29.11]The Easter Parade is very popular in the United States. [26:34.86]The most famous one is along the Fifth Avenue in New York City. [26:40.92]University students usually have a week-long"Spring Break" [26:47.58]to return home to spend the holiday with their parents. [26:53.04]The family members often have an Easter dinner,consisting of young lamb,ham, [27:01.40]Spring peas,small potatoes,and eggs in various forms.

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