Festive times

Read and fill in the gaps. Two words are extra. 1. It's great fun when wegifs. 2. Masha is making afor dinner tonight. 3. He gives his motheron her birthday. 4. The room looks lovely with all theon the wall. 5. Can I make acall?

Read and fill in the gaps. 1. Just a minute, I have toa quick phone call before we go. 2. I want tomy homework before the film starts. 3. My parentsthe shopping every Saturday. 4. I have tomy bed in the mornings. 5. My mothera lot of different dishes when we have a dinner party. 6. My brother and I help our parentsthe cleaning at the weekend. 7. A lot of people love tocostumes at carnivals. 8. Children like toparty horns at their parties. They make a lot of noise. 9. People usuallydrums at parades. 10. My grandparents alwayscakes when they visit us.

Put the verbs in brackets in the Present Continuous Tense. This is Alice and her family. They are at home. Look! Everyone (get)ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. Alice (make)the decorations. Her mother (make)a New Year pudding. Her father (do)the last minute shopping. Their sisters (do)the dusting. Her brothers (decorate)the room.

This is an article from a travel magazine about Chinese New Year. Match the paragraphs to what they are about. A Name/time/place/reason for celebration B Traditions/activities C Comments D Preparations 1 Gung Hay Choy! This is the Chinese greeting for the New Year. The Chinese also call this holiday the Spring Festival. Chinese people all over the world welcome the New Year sometime between winter and spring. The Spring Festival lasts for several weeks and celebrates the earth waking up after the cold winter. 2 Before the New Year, families clean their houses and decorate the doors with texts on red paper. These decorations keep out bad luck. Girls and boys get their hair cut and buy new clothes. 3 On New Year's Eve, families have big traditional meals. In Southern China, they usually eat sweet rice pudding and honey. They stay up until midnight to watch firework displays. On New Year's Day, they usually visit friends and family and of course eat lots of delicious food. In the middle of the holiday season, people walk through the streets carrying beautiful lanterns. They follow a parade that includes big dragons, lion dancers in colourful costumes and people playing drums.

Read the dialogue and mark the statements as T (true), F (false) or NS (not stated). 1. Frank is American but he lives in China at the moment. 2. Americans don't celebrate only one holiday at the end of the year. 3. Frank wants to celebrate winter holidays like Chinese people do. 4. Children write letters to Santa Clause to ask for Christmas presents. 5. The New Year parade in New York is called the Lion Dance. Frank: Look, Fei! I have a Christmas card from my sister in the USA. Fei: It's very beautiful. Why are the words "Happy Holidays" written on the card? Christmas is the only holiday. Shouldn't it be "Happy Holiday", without the "s"? Frank: We don't just celebrate Christmas during this season. We also celebrate the coming of the New Year. Fei: I haven't known about that before. There's more than one holiday at the end of the year. Frank: Now that I'm in China, I want to celebrate the holidays Chinese-style. What do you and your family do for Christmas? Fei: Actually, we don't do much at Christmas. It's not really a big family holiday. Young people in China usually spend Christmas Eve with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Frank: Don't people give gifts to each other like they do in the USA? Fei: Many parents give gifts to their kids. And boyfriends give wonderful, special, romantic gifts to their girlfriends. Frank: I see. How about the New Year in China? Is it a bigger holiday than Christmas? Fei: Not really. We don't celebrate it because the Spring Festival is much more important to us here in China. Frank: The Spring Festival is known around the world as "Chinese New Year". Fei: That's right. The Spring Festival is the biggest family holiday in China. How about in New York? Do people celebrate New Year's Eve or New Year's Day more? Frank: There are two kinds of people who celebrate quite differently. Single people or couples without children often go out late on New Year's Eve. But there are families who don't do anything special on New Year's Eve. Instead, they celebrate with their families on New Year's Day. Fei: What do they do on New Year's Day? Frank: They have a big meal to celebrate and often watch parades in the big cities. Fei: It sounds a little bit like our traditional Lion Dance. Frank: Yes, it's a lot like the Lion Dance, except there are no lions!

Read the text and choose the right answers. 1. The word like in "Frank: Don't people give gifts to each other like they do in the USA?". 2.The word like in "Fei" It sounds a little bit like our traditional Lion Dance". Frank: Look, Fei! I have a Christmas card from my sister in the USA. Fei: It's very beautiful. Why are the words "Happy Holidays" written on the card? Christmas is the only holiday. Shouldn't it be "Happy Holiday", without the "s"? Frank: We don't just celebrate Christmas during this season. We also celebrate the coming of the New Year. Fei: I haven't known about that before. There's more than one holiday at the end of the year. Frank: Now that I'm in China, I want to celebrate the holidays Chinese-style. What do you and your family do for Christmas? Fei: Actually, we don't do much at Christmas. It's not really a big family holiday. Young people in China usually spend Christmas Eve with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Frank: Don't people give gifts to each other like they do in the USA? Fei: Many parents give gifts to their kids. And boyfriends give wonderful, special, romantic gifts to their girlfriends. Frank: I see. How about the New Year in China? Is it a bigger holiday than Christmas? Fei: Not really. We don't celebrate it because the Spring Festival is much more important to us here in China. Frank: The Spring Festival is known around the world as "Chinese New Year". Fei: That's right. The Spring Festival is the biggest family holiday in China. How about in New York? Do people celebrate New Year's Eve or New Year's Day more? Frank: There are two kinds of people who celebrate quite differently. Single people or couples without children often go out late on New Year's Eve. But there are families who don't do anything special on New Year's Eve. Instead, they celebrate with their families on New Year's Day. Fei: What do they do on New Year's Day? Frank: They have a big meal to celebrate and often watch parades in the big cities. Fei: It sounds a little bit like our traditional Lion Dance. Frank: Yes, it's a lot like the Lion Dance, except there are no lions!