Take Away English-New Year Celebrations 新年庆典

It's midnight - let's start kissing!

The New Year is a time for celebrations for almost everyone around the world. In Britain, people go to pubs and nightclubs to dance the old year away, and to welcome in the new one at midnight. Everyone wants to kiss someone special (boyfriend, girlfriend or even a complete stranger!) as the bells ring out at midnight.

In recent years, street parties have become more popular. Hundreds, or even thousands of people gather in squares, main streets or on the river banks to listen to bands playing and to see fabulous¹ fireworks displays.

For people who stay at home, most watch special, live New Year shows on TV and countdown, along with the presenters², from 10 to 1 as the last seconds of the old year tick away and the bells of the New Year are rung.

In Scotland New Year's Eve is called "Hogmanay". At midnight, people visit their neighbours and drink, dance and generally have a good time or have in Scottish what's called "a celeidhi" (pronounced "kay-lay").

If you're invited to a Scottish home on Hogmanay it’s important to know what to bring with you: a lump of coal, some shortbread and some whisky.

But what do these gifts mean? Well, the coal signifies³ warmth so you're wishing that the people you visit will have enough heat in the coming year. The shortbread, represents food, so you're hoping that the people will have enough to eat in the New Year. And the whisky? Well, that's easy. Some Scots call whisky "the water of life", so when you hand over your bottle to your hosts, it means you want them to have enough to drink over the next 12 months.

And you might think your duties as a guest end there. But there's one more key task you still have to perform if you can. The first person to knock on a neighbour's door (or "first foot" them as they say in Scotland), is supposed to be a tall, dark, handsome man. If you are, you'll bring good luck to the household. But what if that's not you? Well, don't ring the bell just yet. To make sure you don't bring bad luck to your friends, wait a while and the right person is bound to turn up soon!

GLOSSARY 词汇表
celebrations 庆祝 bells ring out at midnight 钟声在午夜敲响 river banks 河边 presenters 主持人 New Year's Eve 新年除夕 shortbread 苏格兰式饼干 signifies 代表 the water of life 生命之水 hosts 主人 key task 主要任务	to dance the old year away 用舞步送走旧的一年 squares 广场 count down 倒计时 tick away 使(分秒)在滴答声中溜走 a lump of coal 一大块煤炭 whisky 威士忌酒 the coming year 来年 hand over 递交 duties 职责 bound to turn up 肯定会出现

 

1 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

2 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

3 signifies   

表示…的意思，意味( signify的第三人称单数 )； 具有重要性，要紧

参考例句：

• The term inflation signifies a decline in the value of money. 通货膨胀一词意味着货币贬值。
• To the patient and to the physician, pain signifies an unnatural state. 无论对患者或对医师，疼痛标志着一种反常状态。