Have a try to give a literary translation of the poem
Unit 4. PARTY
Vocabulary
Look up the translation of the following words and word combinations in the dictionary:
1) candelabra (n pl) In the 18th century craftsmen used candelabrato light up their workshops.
2) cardboard (n) Nowadays the life-like statues are made of cardboard.
3) change one’s mind (phr) “Where’s Suzy?” “Oh, she changed her mindat the last minute.”
4) craftsman (n) Craftsmenare people who make beautiful or practical objects using their hands.
5) Do you fancy ...? (phr) “Do you fancycoming to the cinema?” “Yes, good idea.”
6) dumplings (n pl) Dumplingsare small pieces of cooked food made from flour and water.
7) get down to sth (phr v) At night people get down tosome serious celebrating.
8) get over sth (phr v) It will take me weeks to get overLas Fallas but I’ve had the time of my life.
9) high heels (n pl) Paul dressed up as Marilyn Monroe and wore lipstick and high heels!
10) life-like (adj) Life-likestatues were dressed up to look like well-known local characters.
11) light up (phr v) In the 18th century craftsmen used candelabra to light uptheir workshops.
12) lipstick (n) Lipstickis a coloured substance that women put on their lips.
13) the locals (n pl) “The locals” are the people who actually live in a city or area.
14) workshop (n) In the 18th century craftsmen used candelabra to light up their workshops.4
15) be worth (adj) Some of the statues are worth $200,000.
Collocations with make & do
1) do some decorating They’re doing some decoratingin the new house.
2) do a degree She did a degreein French and Spanish.
3) do some exercise You should domore exercise.
4) do your homework I do my homeworkevery evening after school.
5) do the ironing I hate doing the ironing!
6) do a job What sort of jobdoes he do?
7) do some research At the moment she’s doing some researchat the university.
8) do some skiing We thought we’d do some skiingover Christmas.
9) make arrangements They’re making arrangementsfor a party.
10) make a comment Could I just make aquick comment?
11) make a decision Come on! It’s time to make a decision.
12) make an excuse She made an excuseabout why she couldn’t come.
13) make a mistake Everyone makes mistakesfrom time to time.
14) make money It’s important to some people to makea lot of money.
15) make a noise Stop making a noise!
16) make a profit The company made agood profitthis year.
17) make progress The children are all makinggood progress.
18) make something clear Make it clearthat you want your guests to dress up.
19) make a suggestion Could I make a suggestion, please?
20) make sure Make surethat there’s enough space for people to dance.
Festivals
1) bonfire (n) To celebrate the end of winter, they burnt candelabra on bonfires.
2) brass band (n) A brass bandwakes everyone up in the mornings!
3) burn down (phr v) When the last statue burns downthe party is over.
4) buzzing (adj) The city is alive and buzzingall week.
5) celebrate (v) How do you celebrateNew Year?
6) celebrations (n pl) Chinese New Year celebrationsgo on for about three days.
7) the Chinese New Year (n) The Chinese New Yearusually takes place in early February.
8) decorate (v) Children decoratethe statue of the Virgin Mary with flowers.
9) decorations (n pl) Chinese people put red paper decorationson the walls.
10) a display of fireworks (n) There is a display of fireworksin the park at midnight.
11) dress (sth) up (phr v) The statues were dressed upto look like unpopular local characters.
12) the early hours of the morning (phr) People carry on eating and drinking until the early hours of the morning.
13) a family dinner (n) On New Year’s Eve we have abig family dinner.
14) fill up (phr v) The bars fill upat night and people carry on eating and drinking.
15) firecrackers (n pl) Firecrackersare fireworks that make a lot of loud noises.
16) fireworks (n pl) Fireworksare things that explode and produce coloured lights and noises at parties or festivals.
17) flower parade (n) For many people the highlight of the festival is the flower parade.
18) frighten away bad luck (phr) Red is the colour that frightens away bad luck.
19) go off (phr v) Firecrackers go offevery second or two.
20) go on for a day/week etc (phr) Las Fallas, Valencia’s famous festival, goes on for a week.
21) go up in flames All the statues go up in flamesbefore the end of the festival.
22) highlight (n) For many people the highlightof the festival is the flower parade.
23) join in (phr v) Everybody joins inthe preparations for the festival.
24) keep up with sb (phr v) A fter only an hour’s sleep it’s difficult for guests to keep up withtheValencians.
25) look forward to (phr v) Valencians really look forward toLas Fallas, which takes place in March.
26) make New Year’s Resolutions (phr) He made a New Year’s Resolutionto stop smoking.
27) New Year’s Eve (n) The 31st December is New Year’s Eve.
28) organise (v) It takes a year to organiseLas Fallas.
29) outfit (n) I usually try on several outfitsbefore I go to a party.
30) prepare (for sth) (v) Everybody spends the month before the Chinese New Year preparing forit.
31) procession (n) A processionof 200,000 children march into the city centre.
32) public holiday (n) A public holidayis a day when people do not work.
33) put on a party (phr) The Valencians really know how to put on a party.
34) reach its climax (phr) The festival reaches its climaxon 19th March when the statues are burnt.
35) smb’s wishes come true(phr) If your wishes come true, the things you hope for actually come true.
36) serious celebrating (phr) The bars fill up and people get down to some serious celebrating.
37) a shower of explosions (n) Fireworks go off and midnight passes in a shower of explosions.
38) spectacular (adj) The fireworks display is absolutely spectacular!
39) sweep away the bad luck (phr) Chinese people clean their houses to sweep away the bad luck.
40) have the time of your life (phr) I really enjoyed the festival – in fact, I had the time of my life!
41) try on (phr v) I usually try onseveral outfits before I go to a party.
42) turn (the music) down (phr v) The music’s too loud. Could you turn it down?
Parties
1) atmosphere (n) It’s important to create a good atmospherefor a party.
2) balloon (n) Balloonsand candles add to the party atmosphere.
3) candle (n) Balloons and candlesadd to the party atmosphere.
4) clear up (the mess) (phr v) I hate clearing up the messafter a party.
5) delegate (v) Delegatejobs – you can’t do everything yourself!
6) fairy lights (n pl) Fairy lightsare small lights used to decorate something.
7) fancy dress (n) Paul dressed up in fancy dressas Marilyn Monroe.
8) fancy dress party (n) A fancy dress partyis one where everyone has to dress up.
9) farewell/leaving party(n) A farewell/leaving partyis one that takes place to say goodbye to someone.
10) get people in the mood (phr)Soft lighting helps to get people in the moodfor a party.
11) golden rule (n) What are the three golden rulesfor organising a party?
12) host (n) The hostis the person who organises a party.
13) housewarming party (n) A housewarming partyis one that people have when they have just moved into a new house.
14) ice-breaker (n) An ice-breakeris something that encourages people to be friendly to each other.
15) light-bulbs (n pl) Before the party, push back the furniture and change a few light bulbs.
16) the mess (n) I hate clearing up the messafter a party.
17) meet and greet (phr) It’s important to have someone to meet and greetthe new guests.
18) mingle (with) (v) If you mingle withother people, you go and talk to them.
19) mix (v) She was happy that everyone mixedso well at her party.
20) mixer (n) Invite some good mixerswho’ll mingle with the other guests.
21) party animal (n) Invite some party animalswho’ll get the dancing started.
22) party clothes (n pl) Nobody wants to be dressed as a gorilla when everyone else is in glamorous party clothes.
23) push back(v) Push backthe furniture to make space for the dancing.
24) run out of smth (phr v) Make sure you don’t run out offood and drink.
25) send invitations (phr) If you want your guests to dress up, make it clear when you send invitations.
26) soft lighting (n) Soft lightinghelps to create a party atmosphere.
27) stock up (on) (phr v) Stock up onchopped carrots for the vegetarians!
28) theme (n) The themeof the party was that everyone dressed up as something beginning with the letter “M”.
29) throw a party (phr) What are the golden rules for throwing a party?
30) a warm welcome(n) A warm welcomemakes your guests feel special.
Supplementary Reading
1. Think over your answers to the questions below before reading the text:
- How do you and your friends celebrate birthdays?
2. Do you think it is important to celebrate birthdays? Why/why not?
3. Why do you think that today only the very young and very old have birthday celebrations?
2. Read and translate the text:
A Birthday Party
It was Julie’s eighteenth birthday and her parents were holding a formal party to celebrate this red-letter day in their daughter’s life. In fact, the day after the party was also going to be a red-letter day, not only for Julie, but also for many of her friends who would be at the party. That was the day the results of the final school exams were due to be announced, the moment of the truth when some careers would be begun and others abandoned.
Perhaps it was not the best time to hold a party, but Julie had wanted to celebrate her birthday on the actual day, rather than to postpone it until after the results were announced. Most of Julie’s student friends were glad to have something pleasant to do while they waited the announcement, which, as their English teacher said, would separate the sheep from the goats. Besides, after the results were known, not everyone would have something to celebrate.
Tonight, everyone was determined to forget about the results, let their hair down and have a good time, no matter what news the following day brought. As Tom said, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!” The students had been studying very hard for weeks before the exams, and there had not been much time for a social whirl. Tonight they planned to make up for lost time. Julie’s parents were quite well off and could afford to host a good party. There was to be a lavish buffet, champagne and a band to dance to. No expense had been spared.
It was not long until the start of the party and several of the girls had gathered at Julie’s house so that they could enjoy the fun of getting ready together. They were all planning to get dressed up to the nines and so getting ready together took a considerable time. Just as they had all finally finished, the doorbell rang and Mike, Julie’s escort for the evening, appeared. ‘Your chariot awaits!’ he cried before telling Julie how beautiful she looked and that she would certainly be the belle of the ball.
The other girls’ escorts soon joined Mike and everyone went off in taxis to the party, but not before Julie’s father had a cautionary word for them. ‘Have a wonderful time, but don’t forget that big brother will be watching you.’ no one was quite sure whether he was joking or not.