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Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Date: May 23 2008

Themes: Holidays, Party, Work

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

With some holidays, like New Year’s or Valentine’s Day or even Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s obvious what the point of the holiday is. But others can be confusing. Are we supposed to labor on Labor Day? Who knows. What exactly are we remembering on Memorial Day? It’s easy to forget when you’re planning what you’re going to with that extra day off from work.

Memorial Day is this Monday and Devan plans to use the long weekend to leave town and, since we all know Devan likes to party, get drunk. But Amanda doesn’t think that’s what Memorial Day is all about. Listen to them sort it out.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Devan

Amanda

Amanda

Devan:  What are you doing for the three-day weekend? I’m gonna go party. I have crazy plans. We’re gonna get a couple of kegs, go out to the coast…

Amanda:  Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you talking about Memorial Day weekend?

Devan:  Yeah, Memorial Day weekend, aka party weekend.

Amanda:  You don’t really celebrate Memorial Day weekend. I mean, do you even know what it’s for? You should actually be heading up to your local funeral home or cemetery.

Devan:  Funeral home? That’d be a bummer. Who wants to spend a three day weekend at a funeral home?

Amanda:  Well, you don’t have spend all three days there, but you are supposed to honor the fallen soldiers from our past wars. Did you know that? So I’m going to go visit my grandfather.

Devan:  So it’s like…You mean, it’s like…a holiday to celebrate fallen soldiers?

Amanda:  Yes.

Devan:  Oh.

Amanda:  But you’re going to make it a party weekend with kegs?

Devan:  Well, I don’t know. Three day weekend! You know? I thought it was a good excuse to get out of town. I didn’t realize it was something all significant and meaningful.

Amanda:  Well, you know what I heard is that families that usually pack up and go on a road trip can’t even afford to do so right now because gas is going to cost them about $150,000. Do you want to talk about that? Do you not want to go there? Do you want to get back to your kegger?

Devan:  Oh…man…You just kind of bummed me out, Amanda.

Amanda:  Was that a buzz kill? Well, we’ve got an extra spot in our van if you want to head up to the cemetery with us.

Devan:  I think I should. I didn’t realize that it was such a meaningful holiday. Now I feel bad.

Amanda:  Well, we can tap the keg up there.

Devan:  OK, that sounds good.

Amanda:  Compromise.

Devan:  Deal.

 

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Discussion

Amanda is a little shocked when Devan enthusiastically says she’s going to get some kegs to celebrate Memorial Day. That doesn’t seem to be a very appropriate way to spend a day set aside to honor people who died in wars.

Of course, many families take the opportunity to leave town, whether to visit a grave or an amusement park. Either way, fewer people will travel this year because gas is more expensive than usual.

All of this makes Devan feel bad. She feels guilty for wanting to party and agrees to go with Amanda to the cemetery on Memorial Day…and then drink beer afterward.

What are some lesser-known holidays in your country?

 

Comments

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spacedragon

Brazil

zumbi's day for example….

01:30 PM Dec 05 2010 |

aprillou

China

Memorial Day is meaningful for us to honor the dead people who were dedicated their life to the country, so the goverment should encourage this holiday,

03:45 PM May 31 2010 |

Hashem55

Hashem55

Saudi Arabia

Devan, very funy.

She always need someone help her.

Because she don't have any adea.

I like it.

07:33 PM May 29 2008 |

reemy

reemy

United Arab Emirates

08:17 AM May 28 2008 |

fjoan

fjoan

China

In china,Tomb-Sweeping day is an important memorial day.Usually we'd go to cemetery to hold a memory for our dead kinfolks~~

 

12:55 PM May 27 2008 |

aynaz

aynaz

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

hi zeus

thnx.i helped from turkish tvs(turk dizilere seyr ettim),besides my mother is irainian turk,i really like turkish language.yeah i went to efesus,it was great,really beautiful.i advice anyone to go and see .also anamaryam,that was a really holly place.u take care too.gule gule

09:59 AM May 27 2008 |

zeus2006

zeus2006Super Member!

Turkey

Hi Aynaz,

You learnt Turkish by yourself? Ooooo you must be very cleaver, it is so hard to learn a language by yourself without any helping!!! Yes I live in Turkey (Istanbul).I hope you got enjoy when you were in Turkey, Kusadası is very beautiful place, hope you went Selcuk-Efes antique city?Take care.BYE

09:46 AM May 27 2008 |

Kadirou24

Algeria

hello it was a very good lesson , i pick a lot of new vocabulary up. I want having new japanees friend because i'll mybe travel to japan next year.  

08:01 AM May 27 2008 |

aynaz

aynaz

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

hi zeus

oh thanx yes my turkish is not bad,i learnt it by myself.are u living in turkey?i was in turkey last summer as a tour guider.in kusadasi.

take care

05:57 AM May 27 2008 |

DaMnWoRlD

DaMnWoRlD

Taiwan

I'm sad…

I give this lesson 5stars originally, but it turns out to be onlt 2stars, that's really weird!!!

Yell

05:50 AM May 27 2008 |

DaMnWoRlD

DaMnWoRlD

Taiwan

We sometime get confused with the real meaning behind some memorial holidays, and we just think of that’s another “day off”, great!

05:38 AM May 27 2008 |

amy9087

China

ohho

02:53 AM May 27 2008 |

longman

longman

China

I like it, a lot of fun!

02:53 AM May 27 2008 |

longman

longman

China

I like it, a lot of fun!

02:53 AM May 27 2008 |

zeus2006

zeus2006Super Member!

Turkey

Hi Aynaz,

I guess your Turkish must be quite well…Congratulations.Thanks for that nice Turkish sentence.Take care. 

06:36 PM May 26 2008 |

Kitzehil

Panama

really I dont understand what she wants to do when Amanda said: we can tap the keg up there, is she thinking to drink after cemetery visiting?

12:42 PM May 26 2008 |

Ernani

Bulgaria

I think that it is prefferable one soldier alive than one million dead.  There is only life in nature.  What happens is transformation.  All nature is life.  All is made of atoms.   Protons and neutrons are life.  Death does not exist.  Every day we must commemorate life.  The reality.   We continue living.   We are spirits.  The body is like a car: it has a driver.  The spirit is the intelligence, the mind that drives our machine.  When I shall have left my body I shall continue living because I am spirit.  Men invent things but we must not be tied to all things that men invent.  We must evolve.  Evolution has to be our aim.  Humanity must think in this and the world will be better.

11:25 AM May 26 2008 |

aynaz

aynaz

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

i want to write a little turkish cause i know your language,bizim de bayramimiz var,biz de bazi zamanlar bayram diyoruz.hehe

09:31 AM May 26 2008 |

zeus2006

zeus2006Super Member!

Turkey

I guess, each country has a lesser-known holiday.Some of them lost their meaning in the course of time and they canceled in my country.

09:23 AM May 26 2008 |

zeus2006

zeus2006Super Member!

Turkey

This is also a big problem for us. In the past just we used to think of  ancestors but these days espacially new generetion know, those days as a holiday and just they think where they will go on holiday!!! This is valid for our religious Bayrams!!! I don't know their behaving is correct or not, they may find true way in future and maybe I did like that when I was young :(

09:17 AM May 26 2008 |

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