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New Year's Traditions

Date: Jan 08 2002

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

There are several traditions for New Year’s Eve. The holiday isn’t religious for Americans. Instead, it is a time to celebrate a new year and hope for good things to happen.
New Year’s traditions begin the night of Dec. 31st and continue into the next few days. In the conversation below, Chad and John talk about what they did this year.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Chad

John

Chad: John, what did you do for New Year’s Eve?

John: I had a pretty good time this year. I hung out with some friends, had a nice dinner… you know, watched the ball drop.

Chad: Yeah, I’m not too much into watching the ball drop, but I did catch some, uh, good football games and ate some good meat.

John: Did you have any New Year’s resolutions?

Chad: Well, one that’s pretty common is to slim down. I’m, uh, a pretty thin guy so that wasn’t one. I’d say just to, uh, have a very productive year in my work.

John: I think mine is to stop eating so many sweets. I think I’m getting some cavities.

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Discussion

Did you catch all the traditions in the conversation? Here are some of them:
1. Watching the ball drop: Every year in New York City’s Times Square, a ball drops down a pole and when it reaches the bottom, the new year begins.
2. Nice dinner: Americans usually like to have a nice dinner for New Year’s Eve.
3. College Football: The last part of December and the beginning of January is when all the college football championship games are played.
4. New Year’s Resolution: A resolution is a promise to do something good. For example, some people have a resolution to lose weight. Some say they will work harder. It’s a good way to set a goal for yourself.
Did you have any New Year’s Resolutions this year? If not, it’s not too late! Come tell us yours at the Life Goes On message Board!
Talk to you soon,
John

Comments

abu_shehab

Israel

oh sure i have New Year’s Resolutions this year which is to stop smoking

modmmah

Malaysia

hi aneyon I relly to spak english can aneyone hlep me

hyllhymm

China

haha

spit_fire910

Australia

in the philippines we wear something red and with polka dots . they are believed to bring good luck and mulah. we light fireworks and firecrackers to ward off evil. a tradition we got from our chinese ancestors. it's also a time where families gather together and feast on lots of foods like the roastd pig;lechon.