Vocabulary
Watch out!
The words ‘custom’ and ‘tradition’can be countable or uncountable.
1. Match the first halves of the sentences (A) with the second halves (B).
| A | B |
| 1. Although they are not Christian, | a. the first person to step into your house in the new year should be a man. |
| 2. It's the custom | b. making sponge cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival instead of mooncakes. |
| 3. According to tradition, | c. the tradition of living with their parents. |
| 4. There is a tradition in our school that | d. in that country for women to get married in white. |
| 5. They broke with tradition by | e. the family has the custom of giving presents at Christmas. |
| 6. Many young people do not follow | f. morning exercise at 5 a.m. |
| 7. In my family there is a custom of doing | g. girls should wear ao dai on the first day of school. |
2. Read the full sentences in 1 again and complete the expressions below.
1. it's the __________ for somebody to do something
2. there's a __________ that + clause
3. __________ to tradition, + clause
4. follow the __________ of doing something
5. break __________ tradition by doing something
6. have the custom __________ doing something
7. there is a custom of __________ something
3. Read the following customs and traditions. Make sentences to say if you have these in your province or area, using any of the expressions in 2. Remember to change the verb tense if necessary.
According to tradition, we have fireworks on New Year's Eve.
My area broke with tradition by not having firecrackers on New Year's Eve.
There's a tradition in our province of having fireworks on New Year's Eve.
1. having fireworks on New Year's Eve
2. waiting until the guests finish eating before leaving the dinner table
3. touching children's heads
4. decorating the house on special occasions
5. women shaking strangers' hands
4. Now complete the following sentences with your own ideas.
1. It's the custom in my country that __________.
2. We broke with tradition by __________.
3. There's a tradition in my family that __________.
4. We have the custom of __________.
5. According to tradition, __________.
Pronunciation
Clusters: /spr/ and /str/
5. Complete the words under the pictures with spr or str. Then listen and repeat.
6. Listen and double underline the words with /spr/ and single underline the words with /str/. Then say the sentences.
1. In my family, all the traditions of our ancestors are strictly followed.
2. The custom of saying hello to strangers has spread through our community.
3. In our district, it's the custom for residents to sweep the streets on Saturday mornings.
4. That filmstrip really highlighted our customs and traditions.
5. Parents usually want their offspring to follow the family traditions.
