Unit 4 Holidays and Special days Teaching aims: In this unit students are required to 1)get to know some useful information concerning the topic of the reading passages in this unit and to know more about english culture 2)do some preparation activities such as discussion, group work, etc to practice their spoken skill and communicative skills 3)grasp some new words and try to use these words which help them to enrich their vocabulary 4 read the in-class reading passage in a limited time and grasp some expressions and grammatical points in the in-class reading passage to improve their read ing comprehension, 5)do some post-read ing exercises and some after-class reading to practice what they have got to know in class to improve their English comprehensive skills 6)translate some typical sentences into Chinese or English by using some expressions learned in the read ing passages to acquire some translating skills and better their translating abilities L. Useful Information Holiday are special times of respite(暂停,小歇) from work and other routines(常 #EEJ). In some cases, they are legal holidays when stores, businesses and government offices are officially closed. In other cases, they are celebrated (itti) without taking time off from work. Holidays are often times for celebration, revelry (EX), eating, drinking, travel, and family gatherings, but they may also be times of rest and reflection (K1). The current trend is away from rest and reflection. Even Mardi gras(大斋首日的前一天,直译为“油腻的星期二”), the day before the trad itionally reflective period of Lent (X i), has turned into an entire week of parties, parades (游行) and merry- making for those who make the annual pilgrimage(每年的朝圣)to New Orleans. for In most cultures the scheduling (Bfia) of holidays originally was related to the seasons, the lunar cycle(太阳周期), and religion. Christmas( December25) celebrates the birth of Jesus, but it is not actually known whether Jesus was born in the wintertime. The first Roman emperor to espouse(Ht)Christianity decided to have Christmas when the days are shortest to bring a spirit of optimism to the long winter months. It also helped bring Christianity to the pagans(非基督徒), who were accustomed to having festivals at the winter solstice (2), encouraging warmth and sunshine to return. Over the years Christmas has come to symbolize(iE goodwill and generosity for both Christians and non-Christians through the personification(frl A) of Santa Claus, originally a Christian saint, known as St. Nicholas. NowadaysUnit 4 Holidays and Special Days Teaching Aims: In this unit students are required to : 1) get to know some useful information concerning the topic of the reading passages in this unit and to know more about English culture; 2) do some preparation activities such as discussion, group work, etc. to practice their spoken skill and communicative skills; 3) grasp some new words and try to use these words which help them to enrich their vocabulary; 4)read the in-class reading passage in a limited time and grasp some expressions and grammatical points in the in-class reading passage to improve their reading comprehension; 5) do some post-reading exercises and some after-class reading to practice what they have got to know in class to improve their English comprehensive skills.; 6) translate some typical sentences into Chinese or English by using some expressions learned in the reading passages to acquire some translating skills and better their translating abilities. I. Useful Information Holiday are special times of respite（暂停，小歇）from work and other routines（常 规活动）. In some cases, they are legal holidays when stores, businesses and government offices are officially closed. In other cases, they are celebrated（过节） without taking time off from work. Holidays are often times for celebration, revelry （狂欢）, eating, drinking, travel, and family gatherings, but they may also be times of rest and reflection（反省）. The current trend is away from rest and reflection. Even Mardi Gras(大斋首日的前一天，直译为 “油腻的星期二”), the day before the traditionally reflective period of Lent（大斋期）, has turned into an entire week of parties, parades （游行）and merry-making for those who make the annual pilgrimage（每年的朝圣）to New Orleans, for example. In most cultures the scheduling（时间）of holidays originally was related to the seasons, the lunar cycle（太阳周期）, and religion. Christmas (December 25) celebrates the birth of Jesus, but it is not actually known whether Jesus was born in the wintertime. The first Roman emperor to espouse（拥护）Christianity decided to have Christmas when the days are shortest to bring a spirit of optimism to the long winter months. It also helped bring Christianity to the pagans（非基督徒）, who were accustomed to having festivals at the winter solstice(冬至), encouraging warmth and sunshine to return. Over the years Christmas has come to symbolize（象征）goodwill and generosity for both Christians and non-Christians through the personification（拟 人）of Santa Claus, originally a Christian saint, known as St. Nicholas. Nowadays