【正文】 peopl e shoul d go to cl ean graves and l i ght i ncense in m em ory of their ancestors. They al so li ght l am ps and play m usi c because they thi nk that this wil l ead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexi co, peopl e celebrate the Day of the Dead i n earl y N ovem ver. On thi s im portant feast day, peopl e eat food i n the shape of skul l s and cakes with “bones” on them . They offer food, fl owers and gifts to the dead. The Western hol i day H al oween also had i ts ori gi n i n ol d bel i efs about the return of the spi ri ts of dead peopl e. It i s now a chi l dren’s festival, when they can dress up an go to their nei ghbours’ hom es to ask for sweets. If the nei ghbours do not gi ve any sweers, the chi l dren m i ght pl ay a trick on them. Feti val s to H onour Peopl e Festi vals can al so be hel d to honour fam ous peopl e. The Dragon Boat Festi val i n Chi na honours the fam ous anci ent poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Col um bus Day i s i n m emory of the arri val of Chri stopher Colum bus i n the N ew Worl d. India has a nati onal festi val on October 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi, the l eader who hel ped gain Indi a’s i ndependece from Bri tai n. H arvest Festi val s H arvest and Thanksgi ving festival can be very happy events. Peopl e are grateful because thei r food i s gathered for the winter and the agricul tural work is over. In European countri es, peopl e wi l usual l y decorate churches and town hal s wi th fl owers and fruit, and wil l get together to have m eal s. Som e peopl e m i ght win awards for thei r farm produce, li ke the bi ggest waterm el on or the m ost handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have mi dautum n festivals, when peopl e admi re the m oon and i n Chi na, enjoy m ooncakes. Spri ng Festi vals The m ost energeti c and i m portant festi val s are te ones that l ok forward to the end of wi nter and to the i ng of spri ng. At the Spri ng Festival i n Chi na, peopl e eat dumpi ngs i fsh and m eat and m ay gi ve chi l dren l ucky m oney i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carni vals , and fami li es cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Som e Western countries have very exci ti ng carni cal s, which take pl ace forty days before Easter, usual y i n February. These carni val s mi ght i ncl ude parades, danci ng i n the streets day and ni ght, l oud m usi c and col ourful cl othi ng of al ki nds. Easter i s an im portant reli gi ous and soci al festi val for Chi ristians around the worl d. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the ing of spri ng and new l ife. Japan’s Cherry Bl ossom Festi cal happens a li ttl e l ater. The country, covered wi th cherry 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 i fe, be proud of our custom s and fet ou work for a l i ttl e whi l e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Ji n had sai d she woul d m eet hi m at the coffee 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 kil ed, som e were taken to Bri tai n to im prove the envi ronm ent of the beauti ful park whi ch bel onged to the Duke of e li ked them so much that he took them al the way from Chi na to Britai n. The Mi l u deer li ked the cool, wet weather i n Engl and and thei r num ber i ncreased year by year. As a resul t, when i n 1985 the government of Chi na wanted to rei ntroduce the Mil u deer, the Duke of Bedford was happy to hel p. The fi rst deer cam e back to Chi na to the N anhai zi Mil u Park 20 ki l om eters south of Bei ji ng and the centre i n Dafeng, Ji ngsu Province. The deer centai nl y sem happy to be back i n Chi na because thei r num bers have grown rapi dl y. There are now so m any of them that a new park has been opened for them i n H ebei Provi nce. At the m om ent the Mi l u deer li ve i n centres where they are bei ng wel l protected and care for . It i s hoped that one day there wil l be enough anim als to let them li ve i n the wil d agai n. So Bri tai n hel ped Chi na by bri ngi ng back an anim al that had di sappeared from i ts hom el and. Thi s i s a good exam pl e of fri endshi p and understandi ng between these two countri es. Unit 5 The band that wasn’t Have you ever wanted to be part of a band as a fam ous si nger or m usi ci ans? H ave you ever dream ed of pl ayi ng i n front of thousands of peopl e at a concert, at whi ch everyone i s cl appi ng and appreci ati ng your m usi c? Do you si ng Karaoke and pretend you are a fam ous singer li ke Song Zuyi ng or Li u H uan? To be honest, a l ot of peopl e attach great im portance to bei ng rich and fam ous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usi ci ans m eet and form a band because they li ke to wri te and pl ay thei r own m usi c. They m ay start as a group of hi ghschool students, for whom practi si ng their m usi c i n som eone’s house i s the first step to fame. Som eti m es they m ay pl ay to passersby i n the street or subway so that they can earn som e extra m oney for them selves or to pay for thei r i nstrum ents. Later they m ay gi ve perform ances i n pubs or cl ubs, for whi ch they are pai d i n cash. O f course they hope to make records i n a studi o and sel l m il li ons of copi es to be e mi li onaires! H owever, there was one band that started i n a di fferent way. It was cal ed the Monkees and began as a TV show. The m usi cians were to pl ay jokes on each other as wel l as play m usi c, m ost of whi ch was based l oosel y on the Beatl es. The T