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CHRISTMAS IS COMING
 1. Christmas fun in the office
Noel and Mary are talking about plans for the Christmas office party. Complete the dialogue using the words in the boxes.
Noel: So, have we organized everything?
Mary: Let’s go through the last points again. The (a) _______________ from St Mary’s will sing Christmas (b) _______________ before the dinner. They’ll be arriving at 6 p.m.
Noel: Great. On the tables, there’ll be one Christmas (c) _______________ for each employee. One of them will have the weekend winter (d) _______________ inside. It’s a trip for two people to Rome.
Mary: Very romantic. What about the Christmas decorations?
Noel: Well, we’ll have a tree, of course, which will have fairy (e) _______________, not real (f) _______________, because of what happened last year. Do you remember the fire?
Mary: How could I forget?
Noel: I’ve also ordered some new eco-friendly (g) _______________ to hang on the tree, which I hope is as pretty as the old material.
Mary: As long as it’s gold.
Noel: It is. One thing that will be missing from this year’s party is that awful traditional drink made of milk or cream and sugar.
Mary: You mean (h) _______________! Yeah, we’ll just have mulled (i) _______________ and normal drinks.
Noel: There’s one thing we haven’t decided on yet. What (j) ________________ will we be donating to this year? I think we should give all the money to the school in Africa again.
Mary: Sounds good to me. We’ll announce it at the end of the Christmas party.
E V E RYDAY LANGUAGE
2. Christmas traditions
Choose the correct option.
a) Which greeting do many Americans now use at Christmas? Do you know why?
1. Happy Holidays! 2. Happy Hogmanay! 3. Happy Boxing Day!
b) In some British companies, people who work together put their names in a hat and each person picks out one name. They have to keep the name a secret from everyone else and buy a small gift for that person. This is called:
1. Secret Santa 2. Santa’s Lottery 3. Rudolf’s Raffle
c) When do people sing the Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne”, which means “times gone by”?
1. On Christmas Eve 2. On Christmas Day 3. On New Year’s Eve
d) What do people in Britain pour brandy over and set alight (anzunden) on Christmas Day?
1. Turkeys 2. Christmas puddings 3. Mince pies
e) Some British companies organize a trip to a pantomime for their employees’ children. What’s so special about this type of show?
1. An older woman character is played by a man dressed up like a transvestite.
2. The children are expected to stay quiet during the whole performance.
3. The shows are simple versions of a Shakespeare play.
f) In the UK and the US, what do you have to do if you stand under a green plant with white berries at Christmas?
1. Eat some Christmas cake.
2. Buy everyone a drink.
3. Kiss someone.
g) In the UK, companies often send out a basket of luxury items, usually of expensive food, vintage wine and small gifts, to their best clients. What’s this called?
1. A Christmas stocking.
2. A Christmas hamper.
3. A Christmas do.
Source: Magazine “Business Spotlight plus” 6/2007
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