As you know, we don't have any paper version of any textbooks for the second semester. Here is the e-version of one of the sources which is going to be used at our lessons. Also, any suggestions on the kinds of work you would find helpful in the short period of time which is left until the end of the academic year are welcome here in the comments.
Home Assignment for Friday, 23.01:
For those personalities who were absent on Monday or who happened to leave their copy in an unknown place, here is your home assignment. It can be done in your exercise-books or sent to my email.
Home Assignment for Tuesday, 20.01:
Write 20 questions of
different types to the text “Chinese New Year - the History”
Home Assignment for Friday, 23.01:
You have decided to
enter a competition announced by the editor of a popular youth magazine. The
title is “The Most Important Celebration of the Year”. Write about 150-250
words. (Don’t forget to go through the
rules of writing an article
before you start)
Chinese New Year - the History
The Chinese New Year has a great history. In other
traditions, by this time in the year, most resolutions - made on December 31 -
have been subtly forgotten and placed in a cupboard marked "maybe next
year." However, all hope is not lost, as there's a second chance to start
afresh with the celebration of Chinese New Year on February 18th.
The Chinese New Year is very similar to the Western
one, swathed in traditions and rituals. The origin of the Chinese New Year is
itself centuries old - in fact, too old to actually be traced. It is popularly
recognised as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days.
Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of
the Chinese New Year (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying
presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean-up gets
underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to
bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are
given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then
decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth
and longevity printed on them.
The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting
part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are
very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually
a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. Delicacies
include prawns, for liveliness and happiness, dried oysters (or ho xi), for all
things good, raw fish salad or yu sheng to bring good luck and prosperity,
Fai-hai (Angel Hair), an edible hair-like seaweed to bring prosperity, and
dumplings boiled in water (Jiaozi) signifying a long-lost good wish for a
family. It's usual to wear something red as this colour is meant to ward off
evil spirits - but black and white are out, as these are associated with
mourning. After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board
games or watching TV programmes dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky
is lit up by fireworks.
On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao,
meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children
and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to say
greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their
neighbours. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at
Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside.
The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of
Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows. Although
celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the underlying message is one of
peace and happiness for family members and friends.
