【正文】 e shoul d go to cl ean graves and l i ght i ncense i n m emory of thei r ancestors. They al so li ght l am ps and pl ay m usi c because they think that thi s wil l lead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexi co, peopl e cel ebrate the Day of the Dead i n early N ovem ver. O n thi s im portant feast day, peopl e eat food i n the shape of skul s and cakes wi th “bones” on them. They ofer food, fl owers and gi fts to the dead. The Western holi day H al oween al so had i ts ori gi n i n ol d beli efs about the return of the spi ri ts of dead peopl e. It i s now a chil dren’s festi val , when they can dress up an go to thei r 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 em ory of the ari val of Chri stopher Col um bus i n the N ew Worl d. Indi a has a nati onal festival on O ctober 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi , the l eader who hel ped gai n Indi a’s i ndependece from Bri tai n. Harvest Festi val s H arvest and Thanksgivi ng festi val can be very happy events. People are grateful because their fod i s gathered for the wi nter and the agri cul tural work i s over. In European countri es, people wi l usual y decorate churches and town hal s wi th fl owers and frui t, and wi l get together to have meal s. Som e peopl e mi ght wi n awards for thei r farm produce, l i ke the bi gest waterm elon or the m ost handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have m idautum n festi val s, 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 ing of spri ng. At the Spring Festi val i n China, peopl e eat dum pi ngs ifsh and m eat and may gi ve chil dren lucky m oney i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnival s , and fam il ies cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Som e Western countri es have very exci ti ng carni cals, whi ch take pl ace forty days before Easter, usual y i n February. These carni vals m i ght i ncl ude parades, danci ng i n the streets day and ni ght, l oud m usi c and col ourful clothi ng of al l ki nds. Easter i s an i mportant rel igi ous and soci al festival for Chiri sti ans around the worl d. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spri ng and new li fe. Japan’s Chery Bl ossom Festi cal happens a l i tl 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 ife, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li ttl e whi le. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Valetine’s Day and H u Ji n had said she would meet hi m at the cofee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She could be wi th her friends ri ght now l aughi ng at hi m. She said she would be there at seven o’ clock, and he thought she would keep her word. He had looked forward to m eti ng her al day, and now he was al on with his roses and chocolates, like a fool. Wel , he ws not goi ng to hold his breath for her to apol ogize. He 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 m uch that he took them al the way from Chi na to Britai n. The Mil u deer li ked the col, wet weather i n England and thei r num ber i ncreased year by year. As a resul t, when in 1985 the governm ent 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 kil om eters south of Bei ji ng and the centre i n Dafeng, Ji ngsu Provi nce. The deer centai nl y seem happy to be back in 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 Mil u deer l ive i n centres where they are bei ng wel protected and care for . It i s hoped that one day there wi 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 eland. Thi s i s a good exam pl e of fri endshi p and understanding 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 singer or m usi ci ans? Have you ever dream ed of pl aying i n front of thousands of peopl e at a concert, at whi ch everyone is cl appi ng and apreci ating your m usi c? Do you si ng Karaoke and pretend you are a famous si nger l i ke Song Zuying or Li u H uan? To be honest, a l ot of peopl e attach great i mportance to bei ng ri ch and fam ous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usici ans m eet and form a band because they l i ke to write 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 thei r musi c in som eone’s house i s the fi rst step to fam e. Som eti m es they m ay 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 thei r instrum ents. Later they m ay gi ve perform ances i n pubs or clubs, for whi ch they are pai d i n cash. O f course they hope to m ake records i n a studi o and sel l m il li ons of copi es to be e mil li onai res! 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 ci ans were to pl ay jokes on each other as wel as pl ay m usic, m ost of whi ch was based l oosel y on the Beatl es. The TV ani zer had pl anned to fi nd four m usi ci ans who coul d ac