UNIT 32 HOLIDAYS ANDFESTIVALS ( Ⅱ ) Lesson 63 PartⅠ

UNIT 32 HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS (Ⅱ)

Lesson  63

PartⅠWarming-up Exercises

Dates: American Holidays

Training Focus:

Identifying dates

Directions: Here are some U. S. holidays. The ones marked with stars are designated by the government as legal holidays. Banks are not open on legal holidays and mail is not delivered. Listen carefully. Write the date. Do NOT abbreviate. Be sure to write the complete phrase.

Key:

1 . * New Year's Day is January 1 st.

2. *Lincoln's Birthday is February 12th.

3. *Washington's Birthday is February 22nd.

4. St. Patrick's Day is March 17th.

5. Easter is in March or in April. It's called a movable holiday.

6. Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May.

7. *Memorial Day is May 30th.

8. Flag Day is June 14th.

9. Father's Day is the third Sunday in Fune.

10. *Independence Day is July 4th.

11. *Labor Day is the first Monday in September.

12. *Columbus Day is October 12th.

13 . Veterans Day is November 11th.

14. *Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November.

15. *And last, Christmas is December 25th.

Lesson 63 PartⅡ

Lesson  63

Ex.Ⅰ

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words you hear on the tape.

Key: (see tapescript)

Ex.Ⅱ

Directions: Choose a, b, or c to complete each statement.

Key:  1.b                                2.b

3.a                               4.a

5.b                               6.b

Ex. Ⅲ

Directions: Listen to the second presentation of the same dialogue. Then choose a, b, or c to complete each statementin Ex.Ⅱagain and see if there is any difference in your choice this time.

Key:                                         1. a 2. a

3. b                               4.c

5. a                                6. a

Tapescript

Short Dialogues  (23″)

(for practice in drawing inferences)

(“Crash”)

Boy: No, I didn't break the window. It must have been somebody else. I was over there in the park. I wasn't even near your store.

Druggist: Sure, kid. I believe you.

Lesson 63 Part Ⅲ

Lesson 63

Ex.Ⅰ

Directions: Answer the questions.

Key: 1. Teacher and student.  2. Serious.

Because of the relationship   between the two speakers(teacher and student), the setting of the conversation(classroom), and the topic concerned (national holidays).

Ex.Ⅱ

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the information you hear

on the tape.

Key: (see tapescript)

Tapescript:

Principal American Holidays  (1′31″)

Teacher: William, will you please tell us, next, the names of the other principal holidays celebrated in the United States ?

William: The other principal holidays are Christmas Day, New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Decoration Day.

Teacher: Christmas is celebrated everywhere throughout the Christian world. New Year's Day is also celebrated almost universally as a national holiday. Helen, what is Labor Day and why do we celebrate it ?

Helen: Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September. It is a day set aside to honor the working people of the United States and to give them an official day of rest.

Teacher: That's right. Labor Day was first celebrated in 1882 by a group known as the Knights of Labor and was proclaimed a legal holiday in 1894. Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July ?

Helen: The Fourth of July is Independence Day. It was on July 4, 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was signed, proclaiming the independence from England of the thirteen original colonies which later became the United States of America. The day has been celebrated ever since that time as perhaps our most important holiday. Years ago it was the custom everywhere to celebrate the day with fireworks and similar displays, but now the day is celebrated more quietly. Occasionally there are parades; people go on picnics or take trips to the country, and so forth.