精美英文欣赏:新年前夕（在线收听）

New Year's Eve

新年前夕

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.

对很多英国人来说，12月31日是一年中最盛大的聚会。

It's a time to get together with friends or family and welcome in the coming year.

很多人在这个时候都会和朋友及家人一起迎接新的一年。

New Year's parties can take place at a number of different venues.

人们举行新年聚会的地方各有不同。

Some people hold a house party;others attend street parties,while some just go to their local for a few drinks with their mates.

有的人在家里举行新年聚会；有的人参加户外聚会；还有的人选择去酒吧和自己的同伴喝上几杯。

Big cities, like London,have large and spectacular fireworks displays.

在像伦敦这样的大城市里，每年都会举行大型而壮观的烟火展。

There's one thing that all New Year's Eve parties have in common:the countdown to midnight.

所有的新年聚会都有一个共同点，那就是人们都会进行新年倒计时。

When the clock strikes twelve, revellers give a loud cheer,pop champagne corks and give each other a kiss.

当新年钟声响起的时候，参加聚会的人都大声欢呼，打开香槟酒互相庆祝，并互相亲吻以示问候。

They then link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang's Syne,by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns.

然后，人们手挽手一起唱苏格兰诗人罗伯特·伯恩斯填词的《友谊地久天长》。

Not many people can remember all the lyrics,but the tune is well known, so lots of people just hum along.

虽然并不是所有的人都记得歌词，但是人们对这首歌的旋律已是耳熟能详，所以很多人只是跟着哼唱。

The parties then continue into the early hours of the morning with lots of dancing and drinking.

人们在新年聚会上载歌载舞，狂欢会一直持续到凌晨。

Because of this, for a lot of people New Year's Day starts with a hangover.

因此，很多人都是以醉醺醺的状态迎接新年的第一天。

Other people might spend the day visiting relatives or friends they haven't managed to catch up with for a while.

而有些人则会在新年第一天去走访久未见面的亲朋好友。

Whatever happens, New Year's Day tends to be very relaxed.

但是无论做什么，新年第一天都是很轻松的一天。

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.

在英国，人们都会在新年到来之际承诺自己在新的一年里要做些什么或者不做什么。

This is called a New Year's resolution.

这就是所谓的新年决心。

Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and joining a gym to get fit.

典型的新年决心包括戒烟和到健身房健身。

However, the promise is often broken quite quickly and people are back into their bad habits within weeks or days.

但是，人们往往在做出承诺的几刑期甚至几天内就恢复了原来的坏习惯。

New Year's Day is the last bank holiday of the festive season,which means most people have to go to work the next day:

新年是节日季节里最后一个公共假日，很多人在新年的第二天就要去上班。

bright and fresh and ready for the new year ahead!

人们将以崭新的面貌迎接新年的到来。