新编大学英语综合教程1unit9.docx

1、新编大学英语综合教程1unit9Unit 9 Holidays and Special DaysIn-Class Reading A Merry Christmas参考译文快乐的圣诞节还吃吗？帕特里克布伦顿1 你可能知道merry 有两层意思：快乐和醉酒。如果你像许多英国人那样，那么你的圣诞节将会是一个 喝酒的而不是宗教的节日。从12 月初直到1 月份的第一周结束，整个圣诞节期间，你会花很长时间与朋友、 亲戚和同事喝酒。无论身处酒馆喧闹友好的气氛中，还是置身于他人安宁舒适的家里，你都会一小口一小 口地喝个不停。 2 如果圣诞节前夕在皮卡迪利或牛津大街上行走，你就会看到大把大把的钱花在电子游戏、

2、瓶装烈性酒、 昂贵的服装、激光唱片、磁带、照相机以及大量的奢侈品上。如果圣诞节前夕，到伦敦东区几个镇的主要街 道上走一走，你就看不到（有人）大把大把地花钱买礼品。假如你有钱或者你不怕负债，你就会加入到圣诞 节所体现的炫耀性消费的行列中去。如果你没钱，你会感到伤心失望，因为不能给心爱的人你想给的礼物。 3 圣诞节应该是对他人表示爱心和良好祝愿的时候。它应该是为那些没有我们那么幸运的人做善事的时 候。然而，当我们坐下来吃圣诞大餐的时候我们想到过别人吗？当然没有。我们只顾忙于品尝圣诞节的美 味佳肴。我们只顾忙着想知道我们送给别人的礼物是同别人送给我们的一样好，还是比他们送的更好。我 们忘了顾及那些生

3、病的和无家可归的人。整个圣诞节基本上丧失了基督精神这一概念我相信如果基督 看到在以他的名义进行这样的庆祝活动，他一定会很痛苦。 4 因此，我反对过圣诞节我同意斯克鲁奇的看法：“这全是挂羊头卖狗肉。”如果我们还要继续以这 种铺张浪费、愚昧无知的方式庆祝的话，那么让我们诚实一点，就把它叫做“吃喝周”让我们剥掉伪 装，别去说什么圣诞节是“表达良好祝愿的时节”。让我们正视它吧，圣诞节是一个失去了原来意义的节日。 不仅仅为小孩？林恩奈特5 最近，一位涉世颇深的妇女羞怯地告诉我，她把所有的礼物一直存到圣诞节的早上，然后坐在床上打 开礼物，就像个孩子一样。她原以为我会笑话她，说她傻。但事实上，我非常高兴能碰

4、见一个与我一样对 待圣诞节的人。 6 如今许多人对待圣诞节的态度不同了。他们认为这只是店主们赚大钱的时候，也是人们到处奔波， 买他们不愿意送的礼物和不想吃的食物的时候。难道他们已经与自己的童年如此疏远，以至于忘了那些所有美好的事情？ 7 首先，圣诞节使你摆脱日常生活的轨道。对孩子们来说，在装饰品挂起来的前几周，乐趣已经开始 了，随着12 月25 日的临近，激动的气氛越来越浓。 8 在圣诞节期间，对大家来说，人与人之间似乎都要比平时友好得多。当你在交通灯前停下来的时候， 你会把头伸出车窗外说：“圣诞快乐。”人们会微笑着给予回应。在平时，大概你是很难想到会这样做的。 这或许是因为大部分人在度假，或

5、者因为每个人都知道他们正在分享同一种经历。 如果你早早就作准备， 而且真的想好把适当的礼物送给适当的人，送礼也是一件非常令人心满意足的快事。 9 说实在的，不管店主从圣诞节中得到什么盈利，圣诞节还是一个“神圣的日子(holy day)”。“节日 (holiday)”这个词就是从“神圣的日子”来的，它使人们有时间停下来，花一点儿工夫认真地想一想其非 商业的价值。After-Class Reading College-a New Beginning参考译文我为什么喜欢感恩节1 这些年来，我有机会把国内所有的州几乎都游了个遍，我一直惊叹我们国家丰富的人文景观。我可以 走出地铁就进入纽约市，也可以漫步

6、在密歇根州的某个蓝莓农场，或者在缅因州某个人迹罕至的海滩上挖 蛤蚌。这些地方迥然不同，但都代表了我所热爱的祖国大地。 2 我发现我们美国人有一个最大的共同点，那就是对待节日的方式。我们都热爱节日。节日使我们有理由 忘掉日常的惯例，去庆祝、去做值得回忆的事情。在所有节日中还有哪个能比感恩节更让我们有机会这么做的呢？对我们大多数人来说，感恩节这个周末是一年当中最长、最不受干扰的周末；是亲朋好友再相聚的最 佳时节，也是所有节日当中最具美国特征的节日，因为它是庆祝350多年前早期移民来这儿定居的节日。 3 对我来说，感恩节让我想起了人生中最让我感动、让我充满感激之情的所有事情。有来自土地和收获 季节的

7、淳朴之美，有从耕作中获得的满足感，还有感恩节本身的传统习俗回到马里兰州和弗吉尼亚州 绿色山峦间的老家，品尝美味的食物，分享过节的仪式。 4 我记得，我的祖父母在马里兰州的弗里兰附近有一个农场。尽管我现在不常去那儿，但那里曾经一度 是我生活的中心。第一次在那个农场过感恩节时，我才五岁。我还记得那顿饭：硕大的烤火鸡，鲜红的越 桔酱，现做的美味土豆泥，还有我们家最喜欢的南瓜馅饼和苹果馅饼，散发着调料的香味。那天晚上，我 们围坐在客厅里，尽情歌唱。我们称之为“为晚餐而唱”。直到今天，每逢感恩节，在我们斯科特家还为晚 餐而歌唱。我们总喜欢唱那首“我们欢聚一堂”。 5 在我们斯科特家，感恩节的传统从未削弱

8、过，只是稍稍有了些改变。尽管我现在住在纽约市，但我年 年都在农场过感恩节。只不过不是在我祖父母的农场，而是在弗吉尼亚州我自己的农场。我妻子和我都喜 欢烹调，我们尽量在节日里另外做一些特别的食物。除了我们传统的家庭美食，我们还增加了用模子制成 的西红柿色拉，内容丰富的红薯沙锅，还有美味无比的椰子柑橘色拉。但是，不管我们的菜谱有多大的改 变，不管我们现在是用烤鹅还是烤火鸡，还是用南方的山胡桃馅饼代替了苹果馅饼，我们那份感恩节的情 愫依然不变。其实，感恩节的宗旨就是提升生活，增进友谊、亲密关系和增进家庭团结。每个和我们分享 感恩节晚餐的人都成了我们的朋友，而每个朋友又都成了我们家的荣誉成员。 6 我

9、真的相信自己能够清楚地记得（感恩节晚餐的）种种滋味，缕缕香气，我们快乐地歌唱时每一个 稍稍走调的音符，记住所有这一切的一切，就是没必要记住所有那些感恩节都去了哪里。随着年龄的增长， 感恩节的这些庆祝活动似乎都融进了我最美好的一组回忆。我将永远记得，感恩节是我们享受美食、唱老 歌、与家人朋友分享爱的时刻。愿你们也拥有同样的快乐！ 课内阅读练习答案 Part One Preparation1 Holiday WordsThe message is: Seasons greetings to first year students.2 Getting to Know About Western Ho

10、lidays1D 2A 3H 4B 5C 6G 7E 8FMore InformationThe following are also important holidays in the United States.Labor DayIt is celebrated on the first Monday in September, and it is an occasion for parades to honor workers. The story of Labor Day began in the 19th century with the dream of a carpenter n

11、amed Peter J. McGuire, who grew up eventually to become the president of a national union of carpenters. McGuire was well-acquainted with both the satisfaction and the suffering that accompanies hard work. He wanted to establish a holiday “to honor the industrial spirit, the great vital force of thi

12、s nation”. At his suggestion, the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City in 1882. In 1894, Labor Day became a federal holiday in the United States.Because the holiday also marks the end of the summer vacation period for many people, it is often the time for an outing to the beach, a picnic

13、 in the park, or a barbecue in the backyard. Since this holiday provides a three-day weekend for most workers and students, many people use it to enjoy a few last summer days relaxing outdoors.HalloweenEvery year on October 31, Halloween is celebrated throughout the United States. American children

14、love to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating. If an adult refuses to supply a treat candy, cookies, fruit, or moneythe children may play a trick. Typical Halloween pranks (恶作剧) are soaping windows, writing on doors with crayons, overturning garbage cans, sticking pins into doorbells to keep

15、 them ringing, and spraying shaving cream on cars and friends. Masquerading (化 装), begging, and many other Halloween customs are mainly for the amusement of children.The name Halloween is a short way of saying All Hallows Eve, which means the night before the Roman Catholic holy day of All Saints Da

16、y. Although Halloween got its name from a Christian festival, its customs are mostly of pagan origin. They come mainly from two different sources: an ancient Celtic festival in honor of the lord of death and a Roman festival in honor of the goddess of gardens and orchards. The Halloween colors, blac

17、k and orange, suggest both ideas: death and harvest.Thanksgiving DayIn the United States, the fourth Thursday in November is called Thanksgiving Day. On this day, Americans give thanks for the blessings they have enjoyed during the year. Thanksgiving is usually a family day, celebrated with big dinn

18、ers and happy reunions. The first American Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Many of the traditions of the modern American Thanksgiving come from that first Thanksgiving celebration. Todays Thanksgiving turkey is much like the ones that were hunted in the forest around Plymou

19、th. Squash and corn, which were also harvested by the early Pilgrims, appear on the Thanksgiving table. Pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving dessert.Mothers DayMothers Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. On this occasion, Mother usually receives greeting cards and gifts from her husb

20、and and children. The best gift for an American Mom is a day of leisure. The modern employed homemaker enjoys the traditional Mothers Day custom of breakfast (or brunch) cooked by her family and served to her on a tray in bed. Later in the day, its also traditional for the extended family group to g

21、et together for dinner, either in a restaurant or in one of their homes.Flowers are an important part of Mothers Day. Mothers are often given a corsage or a plant for the occasion, particularly if they are elderly. If the Mother is no longer living, the children often place flowers on her grave.Fath

22、ers DayFathers Day is celebrated throughout the United States and Canada on the third Sunday in June. The holiday customs are similar to Mothers Day. Dad also receives greeting cards and gifts from his family and enjoys a day of leisure.EasterEaster, one of the most important Christian holidays, got

23、 its name and many of its customs and symbols from a pagan festival. This ancient holiday honored Eostre, the goddess of springtime and sunrise. Her name came from the word “east”, where the sun rises. Every spring, northern European people celebrated the festival of Eostre to honor the awakening of

24、 new life in nature. Later, Christians related the rising of the sun to the Resurrection of Christ and to their own spiritual rebirth. (According to the New Testament, on Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ, who had died on the cross and been placed in his tomb, came to life again.)Many modern Easter symbol

25、s came from pagan times. The egg, for example, was exchanged by the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Chinese at their spring festivals. In Christian times, the egg took on a new meaning, symbolizing the tomb from which Christ rose. The ancient custom of dyeing eggs at Easter time is still very popular

26、with children in Europe and North America.The Easter bunny also came from pre-Christian times. The rabbit, a very fertile animal, was a natural symbol of new life. Today, children enjoy eating chocolate bunnies and listening to stories about the Easter bunny, who brings Easter eggs in a fancy basket

27、. In some families, the parents hide candy eggs for the children to find.Traditionally, the meats associated with Easter are lamb and ham. Both these meats have had symbolic meaning since ancient times. In the Old Testament, Abraham used the lamb as a sacrifice after God ordered him not to kill his

28、son Isaac. For Christians, the lamb symbolizes the sacrifice of Christ. For thousands of years, the pig has been a symbol of good luck. On Easter Sunday, smoked or cooked ham is the traditional main course in both Europe and the United States.Easter is a happy time. The continual rebirth of physical

29、 life on earth symbolizes the eternity of spiritual life. But the deeper meaning of Easter is a profound paradox. The story of Christ implies that for all Christians the beginning of eternal life is physical death.STEP TWOSampleIm a freshman at Zhejiang University with a major in economics. I have b

30、een on campus for about two months. Im living in a dorm and have three nice roommates. I enjoy reading to widen my horizons, so I spend a lot of time in the university library. So far I have been enjoying my new life except that sometimes I worry about the coming mid-term and final exams. Our profes

31、sors stress in class that students top priority here is to acquire as much knowledge as possible. We should attend classes regularly and take good notes. We should hand in our assignments on time; and the results of quizzes will account for part of our final grades. Usually we are very busy during t

32、he week. But on weekends we can spend some time on our hobbies. The spare time thing I like to do most is to surf the Internet. Some students make use of their spare time to do some part-time jobs, for example, serving as a tutor. They say they have to earn at least part of their tuition. I think Id prefer to work hard to win a scholarship to support myself.American Holiday GuideHolidayDateCustomsGift SuggestionsCardsWatch parades, football games,New Years DayJan. 1dinner at home wi