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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.
- Word Pretest
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. The word “deride” derives from Latin.
A. sounds like B. comes from C. changes into
2. Do they observe Christmas Day in that country?
A. watch B. find C. celebrate
3. This is the best wedding banquet I have ever seen.
A. bank B. dinner C. speech
4. He threw another log on the fire.
A. a piece of metal B. a piece of plastic C. a piece of wood
5. In the forest, people are forbidden to kindle a fire.
A. start B. handle C. put out
6. She is our best player, and is integral to our team.
A. essential B. useful C. dependent
7. John’s father was a jolly, easy-going man.
A. sad B. cheerful C. handsome
8. The new military government banned strikes.
A. allowed B. didn’t allow C. called for
Key
Text
Cultural Contrast:
Chinese Festivals:
Boasting rich cultural meaning and a long history, traditional Chinese festivals compose an important and brilliant part of Chinese culture. Most traditional festivals took shape during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). In the most prosperous Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), traditional festivals liberated themselves from primitive sacrifice, taboo and mystery and became more entertaining. From then on, festive occasions turned more brisk and exciting and more and more folk customs were developed.
Spring Festival; Lantern Festival; Qingming Festival; Dragon Boat Festival; Double Seventh Festival; Mid-Autumn Festival; Double Ninth Festival; Winter Solstice Festival
Christmas
Christmas is a Christian festival celebrated in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. The name derives from the Old English Chrites Moesse, or Christ’s Mass, and the present spelling probably came into use about the 16th century.
Nearly all Christian churches observe the birth of Christ on December 25. This date was not set in the West until about the middle of the 4th century and in the East until about a century later.
Almost from the first, most Christians have regarded Christmas as both a holy day and a holiday. For Christ’s birth brought a new spirit of joy into the world, and from the first story about the birth of Jesus Christ, man has added endless variations — not only in words, but in art, song, dance, and drama — and has even created special symbolic holiday foods. Customs of all lands have been added through the centuries, making Christmas today the greatest folk festival in the world.
The English adapted many older folk festivals to their Christmas. In the Middle Ages, English Christmases were times of great fun and good cheer and big and vast banquets.
Burning the Yule log was adapted to English custom from the ancient Scandinavian practice of kindling huge bonfires in honor of the winter solstice — the shortest day in the year. The idea of using evergreens at Christmas time also came to England from pre-Christian northern European beliefs. Celtic and Teutonic tribes honored these plant at their winter solstice festivals as they regarded them as symbols of eternal life. The evergreen holly was worshipped as a promise of the sun’s return, and some say that Christ’s crown of thorns was made of holly. Legend tells that the berries were once white, but when the crown was pressed upon Jesus’ brow, the drops of blood turned the berries bright red. The Christmas wreath is thought to have originated from this legend.
Other well-known Christmas customs originated in various lands. While there are many ideas about the origin of the Christmas tree, it is widely believed that Martin Luther began the custom in Germany, The sight of an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve, with stars twinkling above, is said to have made a great impression on him, and he put a similar tree, decorated with lighted candles, in his home. Some scholars hold that the evergreen tree, a symbol of life to the non-Christian people, became a symbol of the Savior and thus an integral part of the celebration of his birth.
The beloved image of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly, bearded old man derives from St. Nicholas, a fourth century Christian bishop of Asia Minor, who was noted for his good works. The idea of gift-giving associated with this saint spread from Asia Minor to Europe and was brought to the United States by early Dutch Settlers. The American writer Washington Irving presented St. Nicholas as a laughing holiday figure. But the image of Santa in fur-trimmed dress that ultimately captured the imagination was drawn in the United States by the cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1863.
Christmas has not always been remembered with happiness and good cheer. When the Puritans came to power in England under Oliver Cromwell in 1642, Christmas celebrations were banned as evidences of anti-religious. Those who celebrated Christmas would be sent to prison and be punished. The Puritan tradition was brought to New England, where Christmas did not become a legal holiday until 1856. Nevertheless, in other areas of the United States, Christmas was celebrated with joy by immigrants who brought their holiday traditions from their homelands. It is this tradition of “joy to the world” that today marks the spirit of Christmas nearly everywhere in the world.
Total words: 620
Total reading time: minutes seconds
The text is based on “Christmas” in Encyclopedia Americana. Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1980.
Reading Skill: Context Clues to Word Meaning
Read each of the following sentences. Write the core parts in the space provided and underling the main clause.
1. While there are many ideas about the origin of the Christmas tree, it is widely believed that Martin Luther began the custom in Germany.
2. The beloved image of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly, bearded old man derives from St. Nicholas, a fourth century Christian bishop of Asia Minor, who was noted for his good works.
3. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
4. Likewise, eggs, colored like the rays of the returning sun or the northern lights, symbolize the return of spring.
5. it is a feast day observed on the fourth Thursday in November, about the time most crops are harvested in North America.
Reading Comprehension
Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false.
1. Christian churches started to celebrate Christmas in the first century.
2. To most Christians, Christmas is at once a holy day and a holiday.
3. The custom of burning the Yule log at Christmas developed from the old English practice of kindling huge bonfires in honor of the winter solstice.
4. It is widely believed that Martin Luther began the custom of decorating the Christmas tree at Christmas time.
5. Washington Irving presented St. Nicholas as a serious holiday figure.
6. The image of Santa Claus was created by the famous English cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1863.
7. Before 1856, people in all areas of the United States were allowed to celebrate Christmas.
8. “Joy to the world” is the spirit of Christmas.
Vocabulary Building
① Word Match
Match the following words with their definitions within each group of five words.
immigrant allowed by law
origin connected with God and religion
legal starting point
holy established by custom
customary someone coming to settle in a country from abroad
bonfire stop from happening
costume a large fire built in the open air as a celebration
porch revolt
cancel clothes typical of a certain period, country or profession
rebellion roofed entrance
hollow out strong request
endow remove the inside part of something
unalienable kill as a punishment
appeal provide
execute which cannot be taken away
Complete the sentences by using the words above. Change the forms if necessary.
1. It is to wear formal clothes on these occasions.
2. She was of all who knew her.
3. The performances were because the leading man was ill.
4. They are all dressed in national .
5. She was for murder.
6. His for forgiveness went unanswered.
②Suffix
The suffix –en can be used after nouns to form adjectives and after adjectives to form verbs. Study the examples, and then list some words that end in this suffix in the space provided. Add more if you can.
suffix example
-en (adj.) golden, wooden
-en (v.) blacken, sadden
-en (a.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
-en (v.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Decide which of the following –en suffixes make verbs and which make adjectives. Write V after a verb and A after an adjective.
deaden wooden soften ashen
widen loosen earthen worsen
Fill in each blank with a word in its proper form.
quicken straighten leaden shorten
deepen deafen brighten tighten
1. Mary’s dress is too long. She decides to it.
2. I cannot bear that noise any more.
3. We must our pace, otherwise we cannot catch the 8 o’clock train.
4. I’m sure the sky will after the storm.
5. With a heart she reluctantly opened her school report.
6. In order to solve the traffic problems, the city government decided to
those bends in the streets.
7. This well has to be . otherwise no water comes out of it.
8. The ropes of the tent needed to be up.
③Glossary
Special Days in China
Spring Festival Lantern Festival Dragon-Boat Festival
The Moon Festival New Year’s Day National Day
Special Days in Western countries
Father’s Day Mother’s Day Fool’s Day
Boxing Day Labor Day Independence Day
Cloze
Fill in each of the following blanks with a word given below.
neighborhood practical expect door congratulated
carve candle traditions celebrated practice
Halloween is a festival of Scottish-Irish origin held on All Hallows Eve, the night of October 31.
Halloween were taken by the Scots and Irish to America. In the late nineteenth century the Irish belief that the “little people” or fairies played joyful and mischievous tricks on Halloween led young children to carry out jokes on that night.
Today Halloween is in many ways. Most people buy pumpkins, hollow them out and frightening faces in them. On October31, when it gets dark they put a (or flashlight) inside the pumpkin and set it in a window or on their porch. Children usually come trick-or-treating between 5 and 7:30. They will be dressed in costumes and will a treat (generally small bags of candy, which can be bought at any supermarket). Most Americans keep a bowl of treats by their so that when children come knocking at their door, they can give them a treat. If you live in a where there are small children, you will probably get some trick-or-treaters on October 31.
Key
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