Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-62023-6 — Interchange Level 2 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
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8 Time to celebrate!
Discuss holidays and special occasions
Describe celebrations, annual events, and customs

1 SNAPSHOTHOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
Day of the Dead

Thanksgiving

November 2nd

November

Mexicans makeplayful skeleton
sculptures and bakepan de muerto –bread of the dead.

In the United States,
families get together,have a traditional
meal, and give thanks
for life and health.
Chinese New YearSaint Patrick’s Day
March 17thJanuary or February

People of Irish
background wear green
to celebrate their culture
with parades, dancing,parties, and special foods.

Chinese peoplecelebrate the lunar newyear with fireworks anddragon dances.

Do you celebrate these or similar holidays in your country?
What other special days do you have?
What’s your favorite holiday or festival?

2 WORD POWER Ways to celebrate
A Which word or phrase is not usually paired with each verb?
Put a line through it. Then compare with a partner.
1. eat
2. give3. go to
4. have a
5. play
6. send
7. visit
8. watch
9. wearcandy
presents
decorations
picnicgames
cards
relativesa birthday
costumes

sweetsa celebration
a weddingbeachcandles
lowersfooda parade
invitations

a maskmoney
a partymeal
music
a barbecue
close friends
ireworks
traditional clothes

B PAIR WORK Do you do any of the things in part A as part of a cultural or familycelebration? When? Tell your partner.

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Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
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3 PERSPECTIVES Favorite celebrations
A Listen to these comments about special days of the year. Match them to the correct pictures.
1. “My favoritecelebration is Mother’s Day.
It’s a day when my husband
and my kids make pancakes
for me – just like I used tomake for my mom – and I getto have breakfast in bed.”

2. “February 14th is theday when people give cards
and presents to the ones theylove. I’m really looking forward
to Valentine’s Day! I alreadyhave a gift for my boyfriend.”

3. “New Year’s Eve is anight when I have fun with myfriends. We usually have a bigparty. We stay up all night andthen go out for breakfast in themorning.”

abc

B PAIR WORK What do you like about each celebration in part A?

4 GRAMMAR FOCUS
Relative clauses of time
Mother’s Day is a day

when my kids make pancakes for me.

February 14th is the day

when people give cards to the ones they love.

New Year’s Eve is a night

when I have fun with my friends.
GRAMMAR PLUS see page 139

A How much do you know about these times? Complete the sentences in column Awith information from column B. Then compare with a partner.
A
1. Mother’s Day is a day when
2. New Year’s Eve is a night when
3. April Fools’ Day is a day when
4. Valentine’s Day is a day when
5. Labor Day is a day when
6. Summer is a time whenBa. people sometimes play tricks on friends.
b. people celebrate their mothers.
c. many people like to go to the beach.
d. people in many countries honor workers.
e. people express their love to someone.
f. people have parties with family and friends.

B Complete these sentences with your own information. Then compare with a partner.
Winter is the season . . .
Birthdays are days . . .
Spring is the time of year . . .

Children’s Day is a day . . .
July and August are the months . . .
A wedding anniversary is a time . . .

Time to celebrate!

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978-1-316-62023-6 — Interchange Level 2 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
ExcerptMore Information

5 LISTENING Time for Carnival!
A Listen to Vanessa talk about her trip to Carnival
in Brazil. Write three facts about Carnival that shementions.

B Listen again and answer these questions about
Vanessa’s experience.
Why did she have to book her hotel six months early?
What happened when Vanessa got lost?
What was her favorite thing about Carnival? Why?

C PAIR WORK Think of another famous celebration thatCarnival in Brazil

is similar to Carnival. Describe it to the class. They will
try to guess the celebration.

6 SPEAKING Favorite holidays
A PAIR WORK Choose your three favorite holidays. Tell yourpartner why you like each one.
A: I really like Independence Day.
B: What do you like about it?
A: It’s a day when we watch parades and ireworks.
B: Do you do anything special?
A: We usually have a barbecue. My father makes burgers,
and my mother makes her special potato salad.

B CLASS ACTIVITY Take a class vote. What are the mostpopular holidays in your class?

7 WRITING An online entry
A Write an entry for a travel website about a festival orcelebration where you live. When is it? How do peoplecelebrate it? What should a visitor see and do?

Obon is an annual event when Japanesepeople commemorate their ancestors.
They visit and clean the graves of theirdead relatives. People put candles inlanterns and loat them on rivers. There
are neighborhood dances at parks,gardens, and . . .
read moreB PAIR WORK Read your partner’s entry. What do you likeabout it? Can you suggest anything to improve it?

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978-1-316-62023-6 — Interchange Level 2 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
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8 CONVERSATION A traditional wedding
A Listen and practice.
JULIA

Is this a picture from your wedding, Anusha?

ANUSHA Yes. We had the ceremony in India.
JULIA

And was this your wedding dress?

ANUSHA Yes. It’s a sari, actually. In India, when women getmarried, they usually wear a brightly colored sari,
not a white dress.
JULIA

It’s beautiful! So, what are weddings like in India?

ANUSHA Well, in some traditions, after the groom arrives,
the bride and groom exchange garlands ofﬂowers. We did that. But we didn’t do someother traditional things.
JULIA

Oh? Like what?

ANUSHA Well, before the wedding, the bride’s female
relatives usually have a party to celebrate. But
I’m an only child, and I don’t have any female
cousins, so we skipped that.
JULIA

That makes sense. You know, I have heard about
this one tradition . . . When the groom takes off
his shoes, the bride’s sisters steal them! I guess
you didn’t do that, either?

ANUSHA Oh, no, we did that part. My mom stole them!

B Listen to the rest of the conversation.
What does Anusha say about her wedding reception?

9 PRONUNCIATION Stress and rhythm
A Listen and practice. Notice how stressed words and syllables occur with a regular rhythm.
When women get married, they usually wear a brightly colored sari.

B Listen to the stress and rhythm in these sentences. Then practice them.
1. After the groom arrives, the bride and groom exchange garlands of lowers.
2. Before the wedding, the bride’s female relatives usually have a party to celebrate.
3. When the groom takes off his shoes, the bride’s sisters steal them.

Time to celebrate!

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978-1-316-62023-6 — Interchange Level 2 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
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10 GRAMMAR FOCUS
Adverbial clauses of time
When women get married,they usually wear a brightly colored sari.

After the groom arrives,

the bride and groom exchange garlands of lowers.

Before the wedding,the bride’s female relatives usually have a party to celebrate.
GRAMMAR PLUS see page 139

A What do you know about wedding customs in North America?
Complete these sentences with the information below.
1. Before a man and woman get married, they usually
2. When a couple gets engaged, the man often
3. Right after a couple gets engaged, they usually
4. When a woman gets married, she usually5. When guests go to a wedding, they almost always
6. Right after a couple gets married, they usuallya. wears a long white dress and a veil.
b. go on a short trip called a “honeymoon.”c. give the bride and groom gifts or some money.

d. gives the woman an engagement ring.
e. begin to plan the wedding.
f. date each other for a year or more.

B PAIR WORK What happens when people get married in your country?
Tell your partner by completing the statements in part A with your own
information. Pay attention to stress and rhythm.

11 INTERCHANGE 8 It’s worth celebrating.
How do your classmates celebrate special occasions? Go to Interchange 8 on page 122.

12 SPEAKING My personal traditions
A GROUP WORK How do you usually celebrate the dates below? Share your personal traditions withyour classmates.
your birthday

New Year’s Eve

your country’s national day

your favorite holiday

A: On my birthday, I always wear new
clothes, and I often have a party.
What about you?
B: I usually celebrate my birthday with myfamily. We have a special meal andsome relatives come over.
C: I used to celebrate my birthday at home,
but now I usually go out with friends.

B CLASS ACTIVITY Tell the class the mostinteresting traditions you talked about inyour group. Do you share any common
traditions? Did you use to celebrate those
dates the same way when you were younger?

54

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Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-62023-6 — Interchange Level 2 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , With Jonathan Hull , Susan Proctor
ExcerptMore Information

13 READINGA Skim the article. Which of these phrases could be a title for this article?
The best New Year’s resolutions
How to host a New Year’s Eve party

New Year’s traditions around the world

Out with theOld, In withTHE NEW
It’s midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Clocks are striking twelve as
people welcome in the coming
year and say goodbye to the old.
It’s a time when people wish forgood luck in the future and forget
bad things in the past. Aroundthe world, people do different
things to help their wishescome true. Some of them mightsurprise you.
Food is often central to New
Year’s customs. In Ireland, they
hit the walls and doors of theirhouses with loaves of bread.
They hope this will make goodluck enter the house and badluck leave it. The Spanish andthe Mexicans eat twelve grapes
in twelve seconds – one for luckin each of the coming months.
Eating grapes so fast isn’t easy,
but it’s fun and often messy!
Colors are important, too.
Brazilians, for example, choose
their clothes very carefully – forpeace they wear white, yellow
might bring success, and redmeans love is in the air! The
Chinese believe red brings goodluck, so they like to dress in thiscolor, too. They also paint thefront door of theirhouses red and give
family members
and friends redenvelopes containing money.

want to forget the past. In Ecuador
and Colombia, people make adummy and ill it with sawdust,
newspaper, or old clothes. They
dress it, put a mask on it, andname it after someone famous or afriend or family member. Then theyburn it.
And some customs have no reason
at all; they just develop over time.
On New Year’s Eve in Germany,
several TV stations show a short
black-and-white movie called
Dinner for One. It’s a comedy in
English, starring English actors.
Nobody knows why they do this,not even the Germans!

Some people destroy things on
New Year’s Eve because they

B Read the article. Check (✓) True or False for each statement about New Year’s customs.
Then correct each false statement.
TrueFalse

1. In Ireland, people eat loaves of bread forgood luck.
2. They eat apples for good luck in Spain.
3. In China, people change the color of
their doors.
4. In Colombia, they burn a doll with oldthings inside.
5. In Germany, people watch Dinner for One
because it’s about New Year’s Eve.

C What do the underlined words in the article refer to? Write the correct word.
1. them
2. this3. one4. They

5. they

D What do people in your country do for the New Year? What is your favorite New Year’s tradition?
Time to celebrate!

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