READING. The most important holiday in China is the Lunar New Year

CHINESE NEW YEAR

The most important holiday in China is the Lunar New Year. Since it is based on

the lunar calendar, it comes about a month later than the Western New Year. The

Chinese New Year season traditionally lasts about a month; however, so that

working life will not be interrupted for too long, the period has now been reduced to a

week or less. There are some parallels with the Western New Year: houses are

cleaned thoroughly, for instance, and families all get together for the festivities. All

debts must be paid off so that the new year can start with a fresh beginning. Feasts

are enjoyed with family and friends, and there are lively dragon and lion dances in

the streets. Everywhere there is the sound of firecracker explosions. Children

receive gifts of little red envelopes with money inside them. Many superstitions are

related to the celebration of the Chinese New Year. No sweeping should be done in

case the family's good fortune is swept out of the door with the trash. One should be

especially careful not to break any dishes, for such an accident is believed to bring

about serious problems between members of the family throughout the coming year.

EXERCISE 1: Find words or phrases in the passage which mean the same as:

COLUMN A COLUMN B

a) concerning the moon

b) system of dividing time into years, months, and

days

c) large, special meal

d) large imaginary animal in legends (usually a

winged reptile)

e) small explosive device which makes a noise

and is used for entertainment purposes

f) belief in cause and effects with no scientific

links

g) cleaning the floor with a brush or broom

h) rubbish

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EXERCISE 2: Choose the correct answer according to the passage.

1. The aim in shortening the Chinese New Year season was

A) to bring it closer to the Western New Year traditions

B) to lower the cost of celebration

C) to reduce the number of feasts held

D) to prevent the streets from becoming too congested with dragon and lion dances

E) to minimize disruption of work

2. The Chinese and Western New Years

A) share certain similarities

B) are both celebrated in January

C) have absolutely nothing in common

D) both last for about a month

E) are both based on the lunar calendar

3. At Chinese New Year

A) children are the most important people

B) debts are traditionally cancelled

C) the Chinese observe a lot of superstitions

D) nobody eats from dishes

E) disagreements in the family are settled

EXERCISE 3: Complete the sentences by selecting words from Column B in EXERCISE 1.

1. If you do the I'll clean the windows.

2. According to English if a black cat crosses your path, you'll have good

luck, while in the United States, the same event signals bad luck.

3. It takes the moon twenty-nine-and-a-half days to go round the earth, so this is known as a

month.

4. There is so much on the beach that it is too dirty to sit on.

5. Although different religions and peoples around the world have their own methods for

counting years, the used internationally is the one introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th century.