Everyday English

Giving and responding to compliments

Listen and complete the conversation with the expressions in the box. Then practise it in pairs (Nghe và hoàn thành cuộc hội thoại với các biểu thức trong hộp. Sau đó thực hành nó theo cặp)

Bài nghe:

Culture

Read the text and complete the table below (Đọc văn bản và hoàn thành bảng dưới đây)

In ASEAN, besides welcoming the New Year on January 1, there are several cultures that. celebrate New Year's Day later in the year. For example, Viet Nam, Singapore, Indonesia and parts of Malaysia follow the lunar calendar so their New Year festivities often take place in January or February. Lunar New Year is a time for them to honour ancestors, get together with family and friends, have a big family meal, and wish one another prosperity for the year to come. The streets and houses are decorated, and fireworks are lit to scare away bad luck. There are also parades, street parties, and art performances in the new year celebrations.

People in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar celebrate the arrival of the New Year according to the Buddhist calendar. Their New Year's celebrations are in April. People in these countries follow traditions such as offering rice to Buddhist monks to show their respect and receiving wishes for good luck and health from them. They decorate their homes, cook traditional dishes, and splash each other with water. There are also art performances, folk games, and dancing.

In these cultures, it is believed that water will wash away bad luck and ill health from the old year and allow people to start the new year fresh.

Work in pairs. Discuss the similarities and differences between the New Year Festivals in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries (Thảo luận về những điểm tương đồng và khác biệt giữa Tết Nguyên Đán ở Việt Nam và các nước ASEAN khác)

Gợi ý:

The New Year Festivals in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries have some similarities and differences, which are outlined below.

Similarities:

- Both Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries celebrate their New Year Festivals to honour their ancestors and wish for good luck, prosperity, and health for the year to come.

- The New Year Festivals in both Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries involve family gathering, big family meals, decorations, and art performances.

Differences:

- The time of the New Year Festivals in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries is different. Viet Nam, Singapore, Indonesia, and parts of Malaysia celebrate their New Year Festivals in January or February according to the lunar calendar, while Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar celebrate theirs in April according to the Buddhist calendar.

- The way of offering respect to ancestors and receiving wishes for good luck and health is different between Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries. In Viet Nam, people burn incense and offer food and drinks to their ancestors at home altars or temples, while in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, people offer rice to Buddhist monks and receive wishes from them.

The New Year Festivals in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries have different traditional dishes. For example, in Viet Nam, people usually eat sticky rice cakes and boiled chicken, while in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, people eat various traditional dishes such as papaya salad, fish soup, or sticky rice balls.

In summary, while there are some similarities between the New Year Festivals in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries, the differences in timing, customs, and traditional dishes reflect the unique cultural identities of each country.