New Year’s Eve

For lots of people in Britain, the 31st of December, or New Year’s Eve as we call it, is the biggest party of the year. It’s a time to get together with friends or family and welcome in the coming year.

New Year’s parties can take place at a number of different venues. Some people hold a house party; others attend street parties, while some just go to their local for a few drinks with their mates. Big cities, like London, have large and spectacular fireworks displays.

There’s one thing that all New Year’s Eve parties have in common: the countdown to midnight. When the clock strikes twelve, revellers give a loud cheer, pop champagne corks and give each other a kiss.

They then link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang’s Syne, by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns. Not many people can remember all the lyrics, but the tune is well known, so lots of people just hum along.

The parties then continue into the early hours of the morning with lots of dancing and drinking. Because of this, for a lot of people New Year’s Day starts with a hangover. Other people might spend the day visiting relatives or friends they haven’t managed to catch up with for a while. Whatever happens, New Year’s Day tends to be very relaxed.

In Britain, it’s popular to make a promise to yourself about something you are going to do, or want to stop doing, in the New Year. This is called a New Year’s resolution. Typical resolutions include giving up smoking and joining a gym to get fit. However, the promise is often broken quite quickly and people are back into their bad habits within weeks or days.

New Year’s Day is the last bank holiday of the festive season, which means most people have to go to work the next day: bright and fresh and ready for the new year ahead!

GLOSSARY 词汇表

New Year’s Eve 元旦前夜	welcome in 迎接
venues 地点	attend 参加
local 当地的	mates 伙伴；好朋友
fireworks displays 烟花展	countdown 倒计时
revellers 欢庆聚会者	pop （香槟酒）瓶塞弹跳而出
Auld Lang’s Syne 友谊地久天长	lyrics 歌词
hum 哼哼（小调）	New Year’s Day 元旦日
hangover 喝醉酒后隔天早上醒来头痛	New Year’s resolution 新年决心
get fit 健身	bad habits 恶习
bank holiday 公共假日	festive season 节日气氛浓厚的季节

(ZT)