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By Charlie Morgan

李薇 注

There are a lot of immigrants from Ireland in Canada and the USA. So, many people celebrate their national day on March 17th. New York City has a big parade[2]. People wear green (Ireland’s national color). And lots of adults go to a bar. It has gradually become more of a secular[3] celebration of Ireland’s culture.

A: Hey, are you doing anything special for Saint Patrick’s Day?

B: What’s St. Patrick’s Day?

A: It’s Ireland’s national holiday.

B: Is it popular to celebrate this day here?

A: Yes, there are many people of Irish extraction in Canada and the US.

B: Yes, but I’m not of Irish descent[4]. Are you?

A: I’m part-Irish on my mother’s side. So, my roots are Irish. But, you don’t need to be Irish to celebrate. Anyone can be Irish on March 17th.

B: How do people celebrate this day?

A: First of all, you need to wear something green. It’s traditional. Green is Ireland’s national color. If you have a shamrock[5], wear that, too.

B: What’s a shamrock?

A: It’s a clover[6]. It’s a symbol of Ireland.

B: I just have green socks. Is that okay?

A: It’s better than green underwear. It’s also the custom to go out to eat Irish food or drink Irish beer. Some bars put green food coloring in all their beer. The bars are hopping on St Patrick’s Day!

B: I’m not old enough to go to a bar. What can I do?

A: Well, if you’re barred from a bar, you can still get green cake or a green milkshake[7] in some restaurants. And, you can watch the parade.

B: I like parades. Are you going?

A: Yes, it’s this weekend. I can draw a picture of the parade route for you.

B: The 17 falls on a Wednesday this year. Why is the parade on the weekend?

A: It’s because people have to work on Wednesday. St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a statutory holiday here.

B: If I say I’m Irish, can I get a day off?

Vocabulary

1. St. Patrick’s Day: 圣帕特里克節，每年的3月17日，這一節日5世紀末起源于愛爾蘭，為了紀念愛爾蘭守護神圣帕特里克，如今已成為愛爾蘭的國慶節。

2. parade: （慶祝）游行。

3. secular: 世俗的。

4. descent: 血統，世系。

5. shamrock: 三葉草，愛爾蘭的國花。

6. clover: 三葉草，苜蓿。

7. milkshake: 奶昔，即泡沫牛奶，是一種將牛奶和冰淇淋等混合后攪打至起泡的飲料。

Exercise

1. national holiday a. old-style for many years

2. celebrate b. a habit for these people, very old and traditional

3. extraction c. a day when you do not have to work

4. root d. I’m not allowed to enter there anymore

5. traditional e. a substance used to give a particular color to food

6. custom f. to be from a French, Russian etc. family even though
you were not born in that country

7. food coloring g. your connection with a place because you were born
there, or your family used to live there

8. hopping h. by law, all have no work on this day

9. bar (vt.) i. a bar or restaurant etc. is so busy and exciting

10. route j. do something for a special day

11. statutory holiday k. the roads you choose to take

12. day off l. a country’s special holiday

Answers: 1–l, 2–j, 3–f, 4–g, 5–a, 6–b, 7–e, 8–i, 9–d, 10–k, 11–h, 12–c

Usage Tips

1. 說到symbol，也就是象征，往往指的是代表某種特定含義的一幅畫或一個物體，如加拿大的象征是楓葉，美國的象征則是自由女神像，等等。

2.“傳統”的對應英文說法是tradition，指的是代代相傳的倫理、行為規范和生活方式，特指因長久奉行而幾乎具有法律效力的習慣或習俗，側重歷史意義，“傳統”并不一定得以流傳下來。每一種文化都有自己特有的傳統服飾、音樂和美食（traditional clothes, music and food）。

3. custom是“習俗、風俗”的意思，跟tradition比較相近，不同的國家有不同的風俗和傳統。但它與tradition的區別在于，tradition是指代代相傳并且不能被輕易改變的思維方式或行為習慣等，而custom則相對個例化一些，而且較容易改變，可新可舊。比如，去見客戶時要跟對方握手；為表現紳士風度，男士為女士開門等等這些禮貌的風俗習慣，都屬于custom。

（來源：英語學習雜志）