【正文】 and pl ay m usi c because they thi nk that thi s wil l ead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexico, peopl e cel ebrate the Day of the Dead i n earl y N ovem ver. O n this im portant feast day, peopl e eat food in the shape of skul ls and cakes with “bones” on them . They offer fod, fl owers and gifts to the dead. The Western holi day Hal oween al so had i ts ori gin i n ol d bel iefs about the return of the spi ri ts of dead peopl e. It is now a chi l dren’s festi val, when they can dres up an go to thei r nei ghbours’ hom es to ask for sweets. If the nei ghbours do not give any sweers, the chi ldren mi ght pl ay a tri ck on them . Fetival s to H onour People Festi val s can also be hel d to honour fam ous people. The Dragon Boat Festi val in Chi na honours the fam ous ancient poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Colum bus Day i s i n mem ory of the arri val of Chri stopher Col um bus in the N ew Worl d. India has a national festival on October 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi , the l eader who hel ped gai n Indi a’s i ndependece from Britai n. Harvest Festival s Harvest and Thanksgi vi ng festi val can be very happy events. Peopl e are grateful because thei r food is gathered for the wi nter and the agricultural work is over. In European countries, people wi l usualy decorate churches and town hal s wi th fl owers and frui t, and wil get together to have meals. Some peopl e might win awards for thei r farm produce, li ke the biggest watermel on or the most handsome rooster. China and Japan have midautumn festivals, when people admire the m on and in China, enjoy mooncakes. Spring Festival s The most energeti c and i mportant festi vals are te ones that look forward to the end of winter and to the ing of spring. At the Spring Festival i n Chi na, people eat dumpings ifsh and meat and may give chi ldren l ucky money i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnival s , and fami li es celebrate the Lunar New Year together. Some Western countri es have very exciting carnicals, whi ch take pl ace forty days before Easter, usual ly i n February. These carnivals mi ght include parades, danci ng i n the streets day and ni ght, loud music and col ourful clothing of al kinds. Eas ter i s an important reli gi ous and social festi val for Chiristians around the world. It celebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the ing of spring and new l ife. Japan’s Chery Blosom Festical happens a li tle l ater. The country, covered with cherry tree fl owers, looks as though it i s covered with pink snow. People l ove to get together to eat, drink and have fun wi th each other. Festivals let us enjoy life, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li tle whil e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val etine’s Day and Hu Ji n had said she woul d met him at the coffee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be with her friends right now laughing at him. She said she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she would keep her word. He had looked forward to meting her al day, and now he was alon with his roses and chocolates, li ke a fool. Wel, he ws not going to hol d his breath for her to apol ogi ze. He woul d al of them were ki l 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 m uch that he took them al the way from Chi na to Bri tai n. The Mil u der li ked the col, wet weather in Engl and and thei r number i ncreased year by year. As a result, when in 1985 the governm ent of Chi na wanted to rei ntroduce the Mi lu deer, the Duke of Bedford was happy to help. The first der came back to Chi na to the N anhai zi Mi lu Park 20 kil om eters south of Beijng and the centre i n Dafeng, Ji ngsu Province. The deer centainl y seem hapy to be back i n Chi na because their 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 Hebei Province. At the mom ent the Mil u deer l ive in centres where they are bei ng wel protected and care for .It is hoped that one day there wi l be enough anim al s to l et them li ve i n the wi l d agai n. So Bri tai n hel ped China by bri ngi ng back an animal that had di sappeared from its homel and. Thi s is a good example of fri endshi p and understandi ng between these two countri es. Unit 5 The band that wasn’t H ave you ever wanted to be part of a band as a fam ous si nger or musicians? H ave you ever dream ed of playing in front of thousands of peopl e at a concert, at whi ch everyone i s clappi ng and appreci ating your musi c? Do you sing Karaoke and pretend you are a fam ous singer l ike Song Zuying or Li u H uan? To be honest, a l ot of people attach great im portance to bei ng ri ch and fam ous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usi ci ans meet and form a band because they li ke to wri te and pl ay thei r own m usic. They m ay start as a group of hi ghschool students, for whom practising thei r m usi c i n someone’s house i s the fi rst step to fam e. Sometim es they m ay pl ay to pasersby i n the stret or subway so that they can earn som e extra m oney for themselves or to pay for thei r i nstruments. Later they m ay gi ve perform ances i n pubs or cl ubs, for which they are pai d in cash. O f course they hope to m ake records i n a studio and sel mi li ons of copi es to be e mil li onaires! H owever, there was one band that started in a di ferent way. It was cal led the Monkees and began as a TV show. The m usicians were to pl ay jokes on each other as wel as pl ay m usic, m ost of whi ch was based l oosely on the Beatl es. The TV ani zer had pl aned to fi nd four m usi ci ans who could act as wel as si ng. They put an advertisem ent i n a newspaper l ooki ng for rock m usi ci ans, but they coul d onl y fi nd one who was god enough. The