高中英语真题-高中英语Unit2TheUnitedKingdomChristmasInBRITISH12030.pdf

《高中英语真题-高中英语Unit2TheUnitedKingdomChristmasInBRITISH12030.pdf》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《高中英语真题-高中英语Unit2TheUnitedKingdomChristmasInBRITISH12030.pdf（7页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、 高中英语真题:高中英语Unit2TheUnitedKingdomChristmasInBRITISHISLES 素材新人教版必修 5 Many of our current American ideals about the way Christmas ought to be derive from the English Victorian Christmas,such as that described in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.The caroling,the gifts,the feast,and the wishing of good

2、 cheer to all-these ingredients came together to create that special Christmas atmosphere.The custom of gift-giving on Christmas dates only to Victorian times.Before then it was more common to exchange gifts on New Years Day or Twelfth Night.Santa Claus is known by British children as Father Christm

3、as.Father Christmas,these days,is quite similar to the American Santa,but his direct ancestor is a certain pagan spirit who regularly appeared in medieval mummers plays.The old-fashioned Father Christmas was depicted wearing long robes with sprigs of holly in his long white hair.Children write lette

4、rs to Father Christmas detailing their requests,but instead of dropping them in the mailbox,the letters are tossed into the fireplace.The draft carries the letters up the chimney,and theoretically,Father Christmas reads the smoke.Gifts are opened Christmas afternoon.From the English we get a story t

5、o explain the custom of hanging stockings from the mantelpiece.Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney.The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadnt landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry.Since that time children have co

6、ntinued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts.The custom of singing carols at Christmas is also of English origin.During the middle ages,groups of serenades called waits would travel around from house to house singing ancient carols and spreading the holiday spirit.The wor

7、d carol means song of joy.Most of the popular old carols we sing today were written in the nineteenth century.The hanging of greens,such as holly and ivy,is a British winter tradition with origins far before the Christian era.Greenery was probably used to lift sagging winter spirits and remind the p

8、eople that spring was not far away.The custom of kissing under the mistletoe is descended from ancient Druid rites.The decorating of Christmas trees,though primarily a German custom,has been widely popular in England since 1841 when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree set up in for his wife Queen Vic

9、toria,and their children.The word wassail is derived from the Anglo-Saxon phrase waes hael,which means good health.Originally,wassail was a beverage made of mulled ale,curdled cream,roasted apples,nuts,eggs,and spices.It was served for the purpose of enhancing the general merriment of the season.Lik

10、e many of the ancient customs,wassailing has a legend to explain its origin.It seems that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words Waes hael.Over the centuries a great deal of ceremony had developed around the custom of dri

11、nking wassail.The bowl is carried into a room with great fanfare,a traditional carol about the drink is sung,and finally,the steaming hot beverage is served.For many years in England,a roasted boars head has been associated with Holiday feasting.The custom probably goes back to the Norse practice of

12、 sacrificing a boar at Yuletide in honour of the god Fryer.One story tells of a student at Oxfords who was attacked on Christmas Day by a wild boar.All he had in his hand to use as a weapon was his copy of Aristotle,so he shoved the book down the boars throat.Wanting to retrieve his book,the student

13、 cut off the animals head and brought it back to the college where it was served for Christmas dinner with much pomp and ceremony.The celebration of Boxing Day,which takes place on December 26-the feast of St.Stephen,is a part of the holiday season unique to.Traditionally,it is on this day that the

14、alms box at every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor.Also,this is the day that servants traditionally got the day off to celebrate with their families.It became traditional for working people to break open their tip boxes on this day.Boxing Day began in the mid-nin

15、eteenth century when the custom of tipping by rich persons to persons in service positions had apparently gotten out of hand.Children and others pretended to be in the trades and solicited tips.The custom was expanded to giving to anyone and everyone who had less money than you did,and soon the stre

16、ets at Christmastime were full of aggressive soliciting of tips.To contain the nuisance Boxing Day was designated as the one day for giving to the less fortunate.高中英语Unit2TheUnitedKingdomChristmasInBRITISHISLES 素材新人教版必修 5 Many of our current American ideals about the way Christmas ought to be derive

17、 from the English Victorian Christmas,such as that described in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.The caroling,the gifts,the feast,and the wishing of good cheer to all-these ingredients came together to create that special Christmas atmosphere.The custom of gift-giving on Christmas dates only to Vic

18、torian times.Before then it was more common to exchange gifts on New Years Day or Twelfth Night.Santa Claus is known by British children as Father Christmas.Father Christmas,these days,is quite similar to the American Santa,but his direct ancestor is a certain pagan spirit who regularly appeared in

19、medieval mummers plays.The old-fashioned Father Christmas was depicted wearing long robes with sprigs of holly in his long white hair.Children write letters to Father Christmas detailing their requests,but instead of dropping them in the mailbox,the letters are tossed into the fireplace.The draft ca

20、rries the letters up the chimney,and theoretically,Father Christmas reads the smoke.Gifts are opened Christmas afternoon.From the English we get a story to explain the custom of hanging stockings from the mantelpiece.Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney.The coi

21、ns would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadnt landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry.Since that time children have continued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts.The custom of singing carols at Christmas is also of English origin.Durin

22、g the middle ages,groups of serenades called waits would travel around from house to house singing ancient carols and spreading the holiday spirit.The word carol means song of joy.Most of the popular old carols we sing today were written in the nineteenth century.The hanging of greens,such as holly

23、and ivy,is a British winter tradition with origins far before the Christian era.Greenery was probably used to lift sagging winter spirits and remind the people that spring was not far away.The custom of kissing under the mistletoe is descended from ancient Druid rites.The decorating of Christmas tre

24、es,though primarily a German custom,has been widely popular in England since 1841 when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree set up in for his wife Queen Victoria,and their children.The word wassail is derived from the Anglo-Saxon phrase waes hael,which means good health.Originally,wassail was a bevera

25、ge made of mulled ale,curdled cream,roasted apples,nuts,eggs,and spices.It was served for the purpose of enhancing the general merriment of the season.Like many of the ancient customs,wassailing has a legend to explain its origin.It seems that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince V

26、ortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words Waes hael.Over the centuries a great deal of ceremony had developed around the custom of drinking wassail.The bowl is carried into a room with great fanfare,a traditional carol about the drink is sung,and finally,the steaming hot beverage

27、 is served.For many years in England,a roasted boars head has been associated with Holiday feasting.The custom probably goes back to the Norse practice of sacrificing a boar at Yuletide in honour of the god Fryer.One story tells of a student at Oxfords who was attacked on Christmas Day by a wild boa

28、r.All he had in his hand to use as a weapon was his copy of Aristotle,so he shoved the book down the boars throat.Wanting to retrieve his book,the student cut off the animals head and brought it back to the college where it was served for Christmas dinner with much pomp and ceremony.The celebration

29、of Boxing Day,which takes place on December 26-the feast of St.Stephen,is a part of the holiday season unique to.Traditionally,it is on this day that the alms box at every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor.Also,this is the day that servants traditionally got the d

30、ay off to celebrate with their families.It became traditional for working people to break open their tip boxes on this day.Boxing Day began in the mid-nineteenth century when the custom of tipping by rich persons to persons in service positions had apparently gotten out of hand.Children and others p

31、retended to be in the trades and solicited tips.The custom was expanded to giving to anyone and everyone who had less money than you did,and soon the streets at Christmastime were full of aggressive soliciting of tips.To contain the nuisance Boxing Day was designated as the one day for giving to the less fortunate.