Part of the ielts speaking Test Yourself 13 Reading Your Family 14

2. Do these festivals have special meanings?
(You should have answered this in question1!)
Yes, naturally. Each festival is meaningful. They are all based on Chinese history, and
they remind us of the past which forms an important part of our identity. For example, we
always get the first week of October off, because it’s the anniversary of the foundation of
the People’s Republic of China. We watch the military parade in Beijing, and we go home
to spend time with our relatives. My favorite festival takes place on Dragon Boat Day, and
my family and I go to the local river in my hometown to enjoy the boat races．Each boat is
carved, and we cheer for the men who paddle hard. A long time ago, a famous poet threw
himself in a river because he had an argument with the king．He drowned there, but the
villagers got on dragon boats and threw food into the river because they didn’t want the fish to eat
the poet’s corpse. That’s the legend behind the Dragon Boat Festival.
3. What special things do people do during festivals?
Well, it really depends on which festival we are celebrating．But usually people go
home, I mean to their hometown, since many people in China work in the city but were
born in small towns. So everyone goes home for a big meal. Food is a significant aspect of
Chinese culture and no festival is complete without culinary specialties made or bought by
our relatives．For example, for Mid-Autumn Festival, we eat moon cakes. On Dragon Boat
Day, we cook zongzi, which is a kind of sticky rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf. In addition,
we always set off firecrackers to express our happiness and share our joy.
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4. Which is your favorite festival?
I really enjoy Spring Festival because it brings my family closer together. We get to
spend time with each other and catch up over some great food. We eat a lot of snacks, and set off
fireworks…In addition, we exchange gifts and red envelopes filled with money
to wish each other prosperity for the new year. On top of this, I love the red decorations,
especially the paper-cuts we stick on the windows…