Unit1

WhyDoWeCelebrateFestivals?LeadinWhatfestivalorcelebrationisit??Place:inChina?Origin:celebrateharvest,timeforreunion?Time:takesplaceonthe15thdayofAugustintheChineselunarcalendar.?Celebrations:

admirethemoon,enjoymooncakes.TheMid-autumnFestivalLeadinWhatfestivalorcelebrationisit??Place:inwesterncountries?Origin:celebratesthebirthofJesusChrist?Time:fallsonDecember25.?Celebrations:

decorateChristmastrees,exchangepresents,singChristmassongs,gotoparties.ChristmasLeadinWhatfestivalorcelebrationisit?TheDragonBoatFestival?Place:inChina?Origin:inmemoryofapatrioticpoetwhowasadmiredandlovedbythepeople.?Time:heldonthefifthdayofthefifthlunarmonth?Celebrations:eatZongzi;dragon-boatracesLeadinWhatfestivalorcelebrationisit?TheNationalDay?Place:inChina?Celebrations:militaryparade,doves,balloons,firework,7daysholiday?Time:

fallsonthefirstdayofOctober?Origin:marksthebeginningofPRCLeadinWhatfestivalorcelebrationisit?Whatfestivalsdoyoucelebratewithyourfamilyeachyear?Whydoyouthinkpeoplecelebratedifferentfestivals?Pre-readingPeopleallovertheworldcelebratedifferentfestivalsbecausetheywouldliketo____________________.festivals____________________________.Unit1

WhyDoWeCelebrateFestivals?ScanningWhydopeoplecelebrateharvestfestival?Doyouthinkcustomsandtraditionsarealsothereasonsforcelebratingfestivals?Howiscommercializationoffestivalsinfluencingpeople’swayofcelebratingfestivals?Whataresomeotherreasonsforcelebratingfestivals?WhyDoWeCelebrateFestivals?Readeachpara,underlinethetopicsentence,andsummarizethemainidea.WhyDoWeCelebrateFestivals?Skimming1.Whatdosentence2andsentence3tellus?2.Whatisthefunctionoftherestsentences?3.Whatisthemainideaofthispara? Ofallthetraditionalfestivals,theharvestfestivalcanbefoundinalmosteveryculture.Thisimportantagriculturalfestivaltakesplaceafterallthecropshavebeengatheredin.Peoplecelebratetoshowthattheyaregratefulfortheyear’ssupplyoffood.InancientEgypt,theharvestfestivalwascelebratedduringthespringtime—theEgyptianharvestseason.Itfeaturedaparadeandagreatfeastwithmusic,dancing,andsports.Today,insomeEuropeancountries,peopledecoratechurchesandtownhallswithflowersandfruit,andgettogethertocelebrateoverameal.DuringtheMid-AutumnFestivalinChina,familiesgathertoadmiretheshiningmoonandenjoydeliciousmooncakes.Skimming-Para2

Ofallthetraditionalfestivals,theharvestfestivalcanbefoundinalmosteveryculture.Thisimportantagriculturalfestivaltakesplaceafterallthecropshavebeengatheredin.Peoplecelebratetoshowthattheyaregratefulfortheyear’ssupplyoffood.InancientEgypt,theharvestfestivalwascelebratedduringthespringtime—theEgyptianharvestseason.Itfeaturedaparadeandagreatfeastwithmusic,dancing,andsports.Today,insomeEuropeancountries,peopledecoratechurchesandtownhallswithflowersandfruit,andgettogethertocelebrateoverameal.DuringtheMid-AutumnFestivalinChina,familiesgathertoadmiretheshiningmoonandenjoydeliciousmooncakes.timereasonexamplesTheharvestfestivaliscelebratedinmanycultureafterharvestwiththepurposeofshowinggratitude.1.Whydocustomschangeovertime?2.Whatisthefunctionoftherestsentences?3.Whatisthemainideaofthispara?Skimming-Para3Thecustomsofcelebratingfestivalsareimportantbuttheycanchangewithsocialdevelopmentandnewideas. Customsplayasignificantroleinfestivals,butsometimestheycanchangeovertime.Withthedevelopmentofmodernsocietyandthespreadofnewideas,sometraditionsmayfadeawayandothersmaybeestablished.OneexampleisthetypicalChineseSpringFestivalcustomoflightingfirecrackerstodriveawaytheevilspiritsandcelebratethenewyear.Nowadays,manybigcitieshavegivenupthiscustominordertoavoidairpollution.AnotherexampleisHalloween,whichslowlybecameanexcitingfestivalforchildren,inspiteofitsreligiousorigins.

Customsplayasignificantroleinfestivals,butsometimestheycanchangeovertime.Withthedevelopmentofmodernsocietyandthespreadofnewideas,sometraditionsmayfadeawayandothersmaybeestablished.OneexampleisthetypicalChineseSpringFestivalcustomoflightingfirecrackerstodriveawaytheevilspiritsandcelebratethenewyear.Nowadays,manybigcitieshavegivenupthiscustominordertoavoidairpollution.AnotherexampleisHalloween,whichslowlybecameanexcitingfestivalforchildren,inspiteofitsreligiousorigins.reasonexamples1.Whyarefestivalsbecomingmoreandmorecommercial?2.Whatisthefunctionoftherestsentences?3.Whatisthemainideaofthispara? Festivalsarebecomingmoreandmorecommercial,withbusinesstakingadvantageofthecelebrations.Onlineshoppingwebsitesandsocialmediaappshavemadeitmucheasierforthepublictospendmoreongiftsfortheirlovedones.Althoughsomebelievefestivalsshouldnotbecommercialized,othersbelievetheincreaseinspendingisgoodfortheeconomyandpublichappiness.Skimming-Para4Thesedays,festivalsarebecomingincreasinglycommercialduetothedevelopmentofinternet.

Festivalsarebecomingmoreandmorecommercial,withbusinesstakingadvantageofthecelebrations.Onlineshoppingwebsitesandsocialmediaappshavemadeitmucheasierforthepublictospendmoreongiftsfortheirlovedones.Althoughsomebelievefestivalsshouldnotbecommercialized,othersbelievetheincreaseinspendingisgoodfortheeconomyandpublichappiness.reasonattitudes1.Whyarethefestivalssoimportant?2.Whatisthemainideaofthispara? Festivalsareanimportantpartofsociety.Theyreflectpeople’swishes,beliefs,faiths,andattitudestowardslife.Theyareoccasionsthatallowustorelaxandenjoylife,andforgetaboutourworkforalittlewhile.Theyhelpusunderstandwherewecamefrom,whoweare,andwhattoappreciate.Andifyoustudyfestivalscarefully,youmaybesurprisedtofindthatdifferentculturesactuallyhavealotincommonafterall.Festivalsaresignificanttosocietyastheysharecommonvalueinspiteofdifferentcultures.Skimming-Para5

Festivalsareanimportantpartofsociety.Theyreflectpeople’swishes,beliefs,faiths,andattitudestowardslife.Theyareoccasionsthatallowustorelaxandenjoylife,andforgetaboutourworkforalittlewhile.Theyhelpusunderstandwherewecamefrom,whoweare,andwhattoappreciate.Andifyoustudyfestivalscarefully,youmaybesurprisedtofindthatdifferentculturesactuallyhavealotincommonafterall.reason1.Whatisthepurposeofthefirstsentence?Tointroducethetopicofcelebratingthefestivals.2.Whatisthefunctionof“However”here?Toshowtransitionandtostresstheoppositeinformation.3.Whatisthemainideaofthispara? Festivalsarecelebratedallaroundtheworld.Theyhaveawiderangeoforigins,suchastheseasonsoftheyear,religions,famousfigures,andimportantevents.Everyfestivalhasitsdifferentcustomsanduniquecharms.However,nomatterhowdifferenttheymayseem,allovertheworld,thespiritofsharingjoy,gratitude,love,orpeaceiscommoninallfestivals.Althoughtheoriginsoffestivalsmaybedifferentglobally,theirspiritremainsthesame.Skimming-Para1

Festivalsarecelebratedallaroundtheworld.Theyhaveawiderangeoforigins,suchastheseasonsoftheyear,religions,famousfigures,andimportantevents.Everyfestivalhasitsdifferentcustomsanduniquecharms.However,nomatterhowdifferenttheymayseem,allovertheworld,thespiritofsharingjoy,gratitude,love,orpeaceiscommoninallfestivals.Doyouknowhowtoidentifythemainideaofeachparagraph?Wherecanyouusuallyfindthe“topicsentence”?WhyDoWeCelebrateFestivals?SkimmingIdentifyingthemainideaofparagraphsisnecessarywhenanalyzingatext.Mostparagraphswillhavea“topicsentence”thattellsyoutheparagraph’smainidea.Itisoftenthefirstsentence,butsometimesitisfoundelsewhereintheparagraph.locationfunctionFurtherthinkingWhatdomostfestivalsseemtohaveincommon?Canyougivesomeexamplestoillustrateyouropinion?Whydoyouthinkpeoplearoundtheworldfindthesethingsimportant?Dotheyhavesomethingtodowithhumanhistory/sociallife/people’sspiritualneeds?FurtherthinkingFurtherthinkingWhatfestivalcustomshavealreadyfadedaway?Howdoyoufeelaboutthem?Peoplein…usedto…during…,butnow…Nowadays,peoplenolonger…Ithinkitisbecause…Peoplehavegivenupthecustomof…inorderto…Asforthecustomof…,I…Iwouldloveto…FurtherthinkingFurtherthinkingWhatisthewriter’sattitudetowardsthecommercializationoffestivals?Why?Canyougivesomeexamplesaboutthecommercializat