【正文】 Day of the Dead i n early N ovemver. On this i mportant feast day, peopl e eat food i n the shape of skul ls and cakes wi th “bones” on them. They offer fod, fl owers and gifts to the dead. The Western holi day Hal oween also had its ori gi n i n old beli efs about the return of the spi rits of dead peopl e. It is now a chi ldren’s festival, when they can dress up an go to their nei ghbours’ homes to ask for sweets. If the neighbours do not gi ve any sweers, the children might pl ay a trick on them. Feti vals to Honour People Festivals can al so be hel d to honour famous people. The Dragon Boat Festi val i n Chi na honours the famous anci ent poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Col umbus Day i s i n memory of the arri val of Christopher Col umbus i n the N ew Worl d. Indi a has a nati onal festival on October 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi , the leader who helped gai n India’s independece from Britain. H arvest Festival s Harvest and Thanksgi ving festival can be very happy events. People are grateful because their fod is gathered for the wi nter and the agricultural work is over. In European countries, people wi l l usual y decorate churches and town hal ls with fl owers and frui t, and wil l get together to have meals. Some peopl e mi ght win awards for thei r farm produce, li ke the biggest watermelon or the most handsome rooster. Chi na and Japan have mi dautumn festivals, when peopl e admi re the moon and in Chi na, enjoy m oncakes. Spri ng Festivals The most energetic and im portant festi val s are te ones that l ook forward to the end of winter and to the ing of spring. At the Spring Festival in China, peopl e eat dumpi ngs ifsh and meat and may give chi ldren l ucky money in red paper. There are dragon dances and carni vals , and fami li es celebrate the Lunar New Year together. Some Western countries have very exci ting carnicals, whi ch take place forty days before Easter, usual ly in February. These carni val s mi ght incl ude parades, danci ng i n the strets day and night, loud m usi c and col ourful clothing of al kinds. Easter is an important rel igi ous and social festi val for Chi ristians around the world. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spring and new li fe. Japan’s Chery Bl ossom Festical happens a li ttl e l ater. The country, covered wi th chery tree fl owers, l ooks as though it i s covered with pink snow. Peopl e l ove to get together to eat, drink and have fun wi th each other. Festivals let us enjoy l ife, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li tl e whi le. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Valetine’s Day and Hu Ji n had said she would meet hi m at the cofee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be wi th her fri ends ri ght now l aughi ng at hi m . She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. H e had l ooked forward to m eeti ng her al l day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocol ates, l i ke a fool . Wel l , he ws not goi ng to hol d hi s breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d al l of them were ki led, some were taken to Bri tai n to i mprove the environment of the beautiful park whi ch belonged to the Duke of li ked them so much that he took them al l the way from China to Bri tai Mi lu deer li ked the cool,wet weather in Engl and and their num ber increased year by a resul t, when i n 1985 the government of Chi na wanted to reintroduce the Milu deer, the Duke of Bedford was happy to help. The first deer came back to Chi na to the Nanhaizi Mil u Park 20 ki lom eters south of Bei ji ng and the centre i n Dafeng, Jingsu Province. The deer centai nly seem happy to be back in Chi na because thei r numbers have grown rapidl are now so many of them that a new park has been opened for them i n Hebei the moment the Mil u deer l ive i n centres where they are being wel protected and care for . It i s hoped that one day there wi l be enough ani mals to let them li ve in the wil d agai n. So Bri tain helped Chi na by bri ngi ng back an ani mal that had disappeared from its hom s is a good exampl e of friendship and understanding between these two countries. Unit 5 The band that wasn’t H ave you ever wanted to be part of a band as a famous si nger or musici ans? Have you ever dream ed of pl ayi ng i n front of thousands of people at a concert, at whi ch everyone is cl appi ng and appreciating your m usi c? Do you si ng Karaoke and pretend you are a famous si nger like Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a l ot of people attach great im portance to bei ng rich and fam ous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usi cians meet and form a band because they l ike to write and pl ay their own music. They may start as a group of hi ghschool students, for whom practising thei r music in som eone’s house is the first step to fame. Sometimes they may pl ay to passersby in the street or subway so that they can earn som e extra m oney for them sel ves or to pay for their instrum ents. Later they may give performances in pubs or clubs, for which they are paid in cash. Of course they hope to m ake records i n a studi o and sel m il ions of copi es to bee m il li onai res! However, there was one band that started in a different way. It was cal ed the Monkees and began as a TV show. The musici ans were to pl ay jokes on each other as wel as pl ay music, most of which was based loosely on the Beatles. The TV ani zer had planned to fi nd four musi ci ans who could act as wel l as sing. They put an adverti sement in a newspaper looking for rock musicians, but they could onl y find one who was god enough. They had to use actors for the other three m embers of theband. As some of these actors coul d not si ng wel enough, they had to rely on other musici ans to help them. So during the broadcasts they just pretended to sing. Anyhow their performances were hum orous enough to be copi