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1、Unit9HolidaysandSpecialDaysA Merry ChristmasMore Stuffing?by Patrick Brendan 1 Merry, as you may know, has two meanings: happy and drunk. If youre like a large number of British people, then your Christmas will be an alcoholic, rather than a religious, occasion. Throughout the whole Christmas season
2、 which stretches from early December to the end of the first week of January, you will spend hours drinking with friends, relatives and colleagues. Whether you are surrounded by the noisy friendliness of a pub or whether you are seated in the peaceful comfort of someones home, you will be sipping aw
3、ay on a drink. 2 If you walk down Piccadilly or Oxford Street just before Christmas, you will see an incredible amount of money being spent on electronic games, bottles of spirits, expensive clothes, CDs, cassettes, cameras, and a large number of luxury items. If you walk down the main street of sev
4、eral towns in the East end of London just before Christmas, you wont see a large amount of money being spent on presents. If you have the money or if you are prepared to go into debt, you will participate in the conspicuous consumption that Christmas has come to represent. If you are poor, you will
5、feel sad and disappointed because you cannot give the gifts you would like to give to your loved ones. 3 Christmas is supposed to be a time to express our love and goodwill towards others. It is supposed to be a time when we perform acts of kindness for people less fortunate than ourselves. But do w
6、e think of other people when we sit down to our Christmas dinner? Of course notwere too busy eating those delicious foods associated with Christmas. We are too busy wondering whether the presents we gave were as nice or better than the ones we received. We forget to think of the sick and the homeles
7、s. The whole idea of Christmas now is largely unchristianIm sure that Christ would be distressed if he could see what sort of celebrations are being carried out in his name. 4 So Im against ChristmasI agree with Scrooge: Its all humbug. If were going to continue with this wasteful, thoughtless cerem
8、ony, then lets be truthful about it, and call it Stomach Weekbut lets get rid of the hypocritical pretence that Christmas is the season of goodwill. Lets face it, Christmas is a holiday that has lost its meaning. Not Only for Children?Lynne Knight 5 Recently, a rather sophisticated woman told me shy
9、ly that she saves up all her presents until Christmas morning and then sits up in bed and opens them, just like a child. She thought I would laugh at her and say how silly she was. But in fact I was absolutely delighted to meet someone who treats Christmas as I do. 6 Many people today have a very di
10、fferent attitude toward Christmas. They think its just a time when shopkeepers make a lot of money and everyone rushes round buying presents they dont want to give and food they dont want to eat. But have they grown so far away from their own childhood that they cant remember all the good things? 7
11、First of all, Christmas takes you out of the ordinary routine of life. For children, the fun begins weeks before when the decorations are put up, and excitement gradually increases as December the 25th approaches. 8 Everyone seems much friendlier to each other than usual at Christmastime. You can le
12、an out of a car window when youre stopped at the traffic lights and say Merry Christmas, and people will smile and respond. You probably wouldnt think of doing that at any other time of the year. Perhaps its because most people are on holiday or because everyone knows that they are sharing a similar
13、 experience. Giving presents can be very satisfying, too, if you plan far enough in advance and really think of the right present for the right person. 9 Indeed, whatever shopkeepers gain out of Christmas, it is still a holy day, the words from which holiday is derived and it gives people time to pa
14、use and concentrate for a moment on non-commercial values. 快乐的圣诞节 还吃吗？1 你可能知道“MERRY”有两层意思：快乐和醉酒。如果你像许多英国人那样，那么你的圣诞节将会 是一个喝酒的而不是宗教的节日。从十二月初直到一月份的第一周结束整个圣诞节期间，你会花很长时 间与朋友、亲戚和同事喝酒。无论身处酒馆喧闹友好的气氛中，还是置身于安宁舒适的他人家里，你都会一小口一小口地喝个不停。 2 如果圣诞节前夕在皮卡迪利或牛津大街上走，你就会看到大把大把的钱花在电子游戏、瓶装烈性酒、昂贵的服装、激光唱片、磁带、照相机以及大量的奢侈品上，花费之多
15、令人难以置信。 如果圣诞节前夕，到伦敦东区几个镇的主要街道上走一走，你就看不到(有人)大把大把地花钱买礼品。 假如你有钱或者你不怕负债，你就会加入到圣诞节所体现的炫耀性消费的行列中去。如果你没钱，你会 感到伤心失望，因为你不能给心爱的人你想给的礼物。 3 圣诞节应该是对他人表示爱心和良好的祝愿的时候。 它应该是为那些没有我们那么幸运的人做善事 的时候。然而，当我们坐下来吃圣诞大餐的时候我们想过别人吗？当然没有。我们正忙于品尝圣诞节的 美味佳肴。我们正忙着想知道我们送给别人的礼物是与别人送给我们的一样好，还是比他们送的更好。 我们忘了顾及那些生病的和无家可归的人。整个圣诞节基本上丧失了基督精神这
16、一概念我相信如果基 督看到在以他的名义进行这样的庆祝活动一定会很痛苦。 4 因此，我反对过圣诞节我同意斯克鲁奇的看法： “这全是挂羊头卖狗肉。如果我们还要继续以这 种铺张浪费、愚昧无知的方式庆祝的话，那么让我们诚实一点，就把它叫做“吃喝周”让我们剥掉虚 伪的假装，去说什么圣诞节是“表达良好祝愿的时节” 。让我们正视它吧，圣诞节是一个失去了原来意义 的节日。 不仅仅为小孩？ 不仅仅为小孩？ 5 最近，一个涉世颇深的妇女羞怯地告诉我，她把所有的礼物一直存到圣诞节的早上，然后坐在床上 打开礼物，就像个孩子一样。她原认为我会笑话她，说她傻。但事实上，我非常高兴能碰见一个与我一 样对待圣诞节的人。 6 如今许多人对待圣诞节的态度不同了。 他们认为这只是店主们赚大钱的时候， 也是每个人到处奔波，买他们不愿意送的礼物和不想吃的食物的时候。但他们难道已经与自己的童年如此疏远，以至
