The New Year is here.

We leave 2021 behind, a year that has been very intense, and we’re
entering 2022, a year that we look forward to with happiness and great enthusiasm after a
quite complicated season due to the new coronavirus variant. We all want this new year to be
full of good things and, above all, full of humour, because humour makes our lives easier.
So, if you want to congratulate your friends and family on the new year with the best memes,
we recommend you to take good notes!
Cases of coronavirus are increasing due to the Omicron variant. As a
result, many families have preferred to stay at home and not to spend
this special day with their loved ones. However, others have decided
to get together to welcome the new year, but not before taking antigen
tests, which are disappearing everywhere. Even so, no situation is safe
enough… and that’s why this is one of the most viral memes now.
Eating is one of the best parts of the Christmas period. Our tables get
filled with tasty food: cheese, ham, lamb, turkey, seafood, desserts of
all types… and we all end up with some extra kilograms.
Then, there’s the ritual of the twelve
lucky grapes. Every year, we face
this difficult moment with a very
positive attitude and with all our good wishes in mind, but
when the time comes, truth is that we just concentrate on
not choking while eating the grapes. Good wishes often
come together with resolutions for the new year, but what
about the resolutions of 2021? Oops, I see…
As said before, the confinements and restrictions are being the protagonists of this
Christmas, and there’re many people who plan to spend New Year’s Eve at home. The
outfits to receive the new year are the best we’ve seen in recent times, and pyjamas have
become the star item of clothing. But that isn’t all. Many
young people have been forced to sell their party tickets due to
the spread of the Omicron variant and, obviously, the networks
have thrown their humour once again.
Finally, the New Year’s Eve
dinners with the family are
always full of ‘memeable’
situations. For example, you mustn’t talk about politics, to avoid arguing with your brother-
in-law. In addition, your uncle’s phrases can’t be absent in
these meetings. And last but not least, seeing how your
cousins and nephews have grown is another very typical
thing about Christmas.
READING EXERCISE: say if the following sentences are T(rue) or F(alse), according to the information in
the text. Provide some evidence from the text to support your answers.

1. In general, people are pessimistic and don’t expect too much about the new year.

2. People who want to get/buy an antigen test may find it difficult.

3. Gaining weight during Christmas is a common thing.

4. Most youngsters will go to parties to celebrate the new year.

5. Chatting about politics with your family during the New Year’s Eve dinner isn’t a good idea.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE: find synonyms in the text that match the following expressions.

❖ (to) felicitate (lines 1-6) [VERB] →

❖ secure (lines 7-12) [ADJ.] →

❖ shellfish (lines 13-20) [NOUN] →

❖ limitations (lines 24-30) [NOUN] →

❖ not present (lines 31-38) [ADJ.] →