新西兰英语 375 Christmas is coming
Christmas is just over two weeks away. New Zealand is a busy place at this time of year. School is nearly finished for the year. Most senior 1 high school students have already finished their NCEA exams. Other high school students finish today or tomorrow, primary schools finish next Thursday or Friday. Then students have the long summer holidays before returning to school in the first week of February. In the last few weeks of school, there are picnics, sports days, concerts, socials, prize giving and so on.
Adults also have their end of year celebrations 2. There are office parties. Most clubs – sports clubs, Bridge or Chess clubs, walking groups, Art clubs – have a Christmas lunch or dinner. Friends get together for parties before Christmas.
At this time of year, adults usually send Christmas cards to old friends, giving them news of their families. People also shop for Christmas presents and when it gets close to Christmas day, they shop for special food for Christmas. This is a very busy time.
The week before Christmas is a good time to buy a Christmas tree. Usually, you can buy a big branch from a pine tree. The children enjoy decorating the tree.
The local council 3 puts up decorations in the street too. There are coloured lights, stars, and angels 4, and many cities have a tall tree in the centre of the city decorated with lights.
It is true that Christmas is meant to be a Christian 5 religious 6 festival. Some people enjoy carol 7 singing and go to church. However, most people simply enjoy Christmas as a time of year when friends and families get together.
Questions
Do you celebrate Christmas in your country? If so, what are your traditions? If not, what celebrations do you have?
- My brother is senior to me by two years.我哥哥比我年长两岁。
- They are senior students.他们是高年级学生。
- The mayor was there to dignify the celebrations. 市长的光临为庆祝活动增辉。
- Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations 维多利亚女王登基50周年庆典
- The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
- The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。
- Angels are usually shown in pictures dressed in white. 图画中的天使通常身穿白衣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Angels are celestial beings. 天使是天上的神灵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
- She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
- It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。