Take Away English-New Year’s Eve 元旦前夜

New Year celebrations in London

For lots of people in Britain, the 31st of December, or New Year’s Eve as we call it, is the biggest party of the year. It’s a time to get together with friends or family and welcome in the coming year.

New Year’s parties can take place at a number of different venues¹. Some people hold a house party; others attend street parties, while some just go to their local for a few drinks with their mates. Big cities, like London, have large and spectacular² fireworks displays.

There’s one thing that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common: the countdown to midnight. When the clock strikes twelve, revellers give a loud cheer, pop champagne³ corks⁴ and give each other a kiss.

They then link arms and sing a song called Auld⁵ Lang’s Syne⁶, by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns. Not many people can remember all the lyrics⁷, but the tune⁸ is well known, so lots of people just hum along.

The parties then continue into the early hours of the morning with lots of dancing and drinking. Because of this, for a lot of people New Year’s Day starts with a hangover. Other people might spend the day visiting relatives or friends they haven’t managed to catch up with for a while. Whatever happens, New Year’s Day tends to be very relaxed.

In Britain, it’s popular to make a promise to yourself about something you are going to do, or want to stop doing, in the New Year. This is called a New Year’s resolution. Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and joining a gym to get fit. However, the promise is often broken quite quickly and people are back into their bad habits within weeks or days.

New Year’s Day is the last bank holiday of the festive⁹ season, which means most people have to go to work the next day: bright and fresh and ready for the new year ahead!

GLOSSARY 词汇表

New Year’s Eve 元旦前夜 venues 地点 local 当地的 fireworks displays 烟花展 revellers 欢庆聚会者 Auld Lang’s Syne 友谊地久天长 hum 哼哼（小调） hangover 喝醉酒后隔天早上醒来头痛 get fit 健身 bank holiday 公共假日

welcome in 迎接 attend 参加 mates 伙伴；好朋友 countdown 倒计时 pop （香槟酒）瓶塞弹跳而出 lyrics 歌词 New Year’s Day 元旦日 New Year’s resolution 新年决心 bad habits 恶习 festive season 节日气氛浓厚的季节

 

1 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

2 spectacular   

adj.引人注目的，出色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• This is a spectacular film.这是一部场面壮观的电影。
• This is the most spectacular financial crash of the decade.这是10年里最引人注目的金融破产事件。

3 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

4 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

5 auld   

adj.老的，旧的

参考例句：

• Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?怎能忘记旧日朋友，心中能不怀念？
• The party ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Sync.宴会以《友谊地久天长》的歌声而告终。

6 syne   

adv.自彼时至此时，曾经

参考例句：

• The meeting ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.大会以唱《友谊地久天长》结束。
• We will take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.让我们为了过去的好时光干一杯友谊的酒。

7 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

8 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

9 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。