National Celebration- topic khá phổ biến trong kì thi Speaking quý 1 năm 2019 . Ở Việt Nam chúng ta có khá nhiều National Celebration vậy liệu bạn đã tự tin chinh phục Part 3 của topic này chưa. Nếu chưa hãy cùng BEC tham khảo ngay Sample mẫu dưới đây nhé!

What kinds of national celebration do you have in your country?

There are quite a lot of (or: There are an abundance of…) national celebrations in Vietnam so I hardly know where to begin. We have Reunification day, which celebrates the fall of Saigon in 1975, National Day, to mark the country’s declaration of independence in 1945, and of course the most important national holiday, Tet. During this time Vietnamese people return to their hometowns and spend several days chilling out, feasting on traditional delicacies, visiting relatives and generally making merry. 

Who tends to enjoy national celebrations more: young people or old people? Why?

I honestly think both young and old people enjoy national celebrations equally, but for very different reasons. For older generations, it is all about the chance to spend time with family that perhaps they don’t get to see for much of the year. They also enjoy reminiscing about past celebrations and wistfully recalling the “good old days”. Youngsters, on the other hand enjoy national celebrations because they’re basically a fun excuse to escape from their regular routine, hang out with their friends, and live it up for a day or two. 

Why do you think some people think national celebrations are a waste of government money? Would you agree or disagree with this view? Why?  

I guess some people have this opinion because they think that public money could be used in better ways than simply for a party. People like to think that their taxes will go towards worthwhile resources such as healthcare, schools or transportation, instead of simply giving workers a holiday. I can sympathise with this view but ultimately I disagree. I think that most people, if they are honest about it, would admit they enjoy national celebrations, even though (or: despite of the fact that…) it may seem overly extravagant and frivolous. National celebrations also attract tourism and draw attention to our country on the worldwide stage, so they’re probably not as wasteful as they may appear. 

Vocabulary highlights:

1. Abundance noun /əˈbʌn.dəns/: the situation in which there is more than enough of something: sự phong phú

Example: There was an abundance of food at the wedding.

2. Reunification noun /ˌriː.juː.nɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/: an occasion when a country that was temporarily divided into smaller countries is joined together again as one country: sự thống nhất

Example: the reunification of Germany

3. Declaration noun /ˌdek.ləˈreɪ.ʃən/: an announcement, often one that is written and official: tuyên bố

Example: Members of Congress have to make a declaration of their business interests. (Các thành viên của Quốc hội phải tuyên bố về lợi ích kinh doanh của họ)

4. Chill out phrasal verb /tʃɪl/: to relax completely, or not allow things to upset you:

Example: Chill out, Dad. The train doesn't leave for another hour!

5. Feast on sth phrasal verb /fiːst/: to eat a lot of good food and enjoy it very much: thưởng thức

Example: We feasted on smoked salmon and champagne. (Chúng tôi thưởng thức cá hồi hun khói và rượu sâm banh.)

6. Delicacy noun /ˈdel.ɪ.kə.si/: something especially rare or expensive that is good to eat: cao lương mỹ vị (đặc sản)

Example: In some parts of the world, sheep's eyes are considered a great delicacy.

7. Reminisce verb /ˌrem.ɪˈnɪs/: to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure: hồi tưởng

Example: My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.

8. Wistfully adverb /ˈwɪst.fəl.i/: in a way that is sad and shows someone is thinking about something that is impossible or in the past: đăm chiêu

Example: ”I would love to go back to Venice," he said wistfully. Tôi rất muốn quay trở lại Venice, "anh nói một cách đăm chiêu.

9. The good old days - If you talk about the good old days, you mean a time in the past when you believe life was better: những ngày tươi đẹp hồi xưa

Example: I wish my grandma would stop going on about the good old days.

10. Live it up - to have an exciting and very enjoyable time with parties, good food and drink, etc.

Example: He’s alive and well and living it up in the Bahamas.

11. Worthwhile adjective /ˌwɜːθˈwaɪl/: useful, important, or good enough to be a suitable reward for the money or time spent or the effort made: đáng giá

Example: The time and expense involved in keeping up to date with all the changes has been worthwhile. (Thời gian và chi phí liên quan đến việc cập nhật tất cả các thay đổi là đáng giá.)

12. Sympathise verb /ˈsɪm.pə.θaɪz/: to understand and care about someone's problems: thông cảm

Example: I know what it's like to have migraines, so I really sympathize (with you). (Tôi biết những gì nó muốn có chứng đau nửa đầu, vì vậy tôi thực sự thông cảm (với bạn).)

13. Extravagant adjective /ɪkˈstræv.ə.ɡənt/: spending too much money, or using too much of something: hoang phí

Example: It was very extravagant of you to buy strawberries out of season. (Bạn rất hoang phí khi mua dâu trái vụ.)

14. Frivolous adjective /ˈfrɪv.əl.əs/: A frivolous activity or object is silly or not important rather than useful or serious: phù phiếm

Example: I feel like doing something completely frivolous today. (Tôi cảm thấy như làm một cái gì đó hoàn toàn phù phiếm ngày hôm nay.)

15. Wasteful adjective /ˈweɪst.fəl/: using something in a careless way and causing some of it to be wasted: lãng phí

Example: It’s wasteful the way you throw so much food away!

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