1. Do you enjoy your birthdays?

2. Do you usually celebrate your birthday?

3. What did you do on your last birthday?

4. Can you remember a birthday you enjoyed as a child?

5. What did you usually do on your birthday when you were a

child?

6. How do do you normally celebrate your birthday now?

7. Is your birthday now still as important to you as when you

were a child?

8. Do most people celebrate their birthdays with a party in your

country?

9. Which birthdays are considered important in your country?

10. Do you think it’s important to give someone a card when it’s
their birthday?

11. Do you think the price of a gift/present is important?

12. How do children celebrate birthdays in your country?

13. What kind of birthday gifts do you like to receive?

1. What do you usually do on your birthdays?

- Well, I would say it usually depends on who I celebrate my birthday with.

I mean, when it comes to friends, especially my squad, we would usually
throw parties or even paint the town red. And pull an all-nighter, that’s
for sure. But for my family, I would prefer something more intimate like a
close meal, a nice dinner at a restaurant where we can just sit, share a
moment and spend quality time together.

 pull an all-nighter: thức thâu đêm

 share a moment: chia sẻ khoảnh khắc

- No matter how busy I am, I’ll spend the whole day doing what I really
feel like doing and put off my work to the next day. I’d find a cafe
with a nice ambience and stay there for the whole afternoon reading my
favourite book. I’d certainly invite a bunch of my closest friends to dinner
on my birthday and take a lot of photos with them.

2. Do you enjoy birthdays?

- When I was younger, parties were more enjoyable. However, the more I
grow up, the less enthusiastic about birthdays I become. The reason is
mostly due to the fact that I’m drowning in overwhelming loads of work
and don’t have much time to spend on celebrations like birthdays. That’s
actually quite sad.
Vocabulary:

– enjoyable (tính từ) thú vị

– enthusiastic about something (tính từ) hứng thú với
– drown in (động từ) chìm ngập (quá tải)
– overwhelming (tính từ) vượt trội, quá mức

- I do enjoy birthdays. Birthdays bring along with them so much positivity

and a feeling of freshness. It seems as if it is another chance to be
someone else, someone better. You meet friends, enjoy with them, laugh
at the silly things done and plan for the great future ahead.

3. How do you like to celebrate your birthday?

First of all, I want to stress that I don’t like throwing parties, not even for
my birthdays. For that reason, I like something casual, like a small
gathering with good food. Secondly, and more importantly, in my opinion,
the one to receive all the attention should not be me, but my mother, as
she gave birth to me. So, on my birthday, I tend to do all the cleaning and
cooking to express my gratitude.

Vocabulary:

– throw a party (động từ) tổ chức tiệc

– casual (tính từ) bình thường
– gathering (danh từ) buổi tụ họp
– give birth (động từ) sinh ra
– gratitude (danh từ) lòng biết ơn

4. What did you do on your last birthday?

As I mentioned above, I have been rather busy for the last few years, so I
didn’t do much on my last birthday. To be more specific, I woke up earlier
than usual and prepared a meal for my mother, whom I always consider to
be the star on my birthday. Next, I met up with my close friends for a drink
and then hung out with them to the movies or something like that. Quite
simple, but very pleasurable to me.

Vocabulary

– meet up with (động từ) gặp gỡ

– hang out (động từ) đi chơi
– pleasurable (tính từ) thư giãn, thích thú

5. What did you do on your last birthday?

I am quite absent-minded so let me try to recall. Last year, on my 20th

birthday, I was so snowed under with my part-time job that I totally forgot
about my birthday. Thus, I just came back home from work as usual and
surprisingly, my roommates  waited for me, gave me a beautiful birthday
cake and a dress as a gift. Without them, I would have had such a special
birthday celebration. 

6. With whom do you like to celebrate your birthday, family,

friends or alone?

I prefer to celebrate my birthday with my family. I am a family guy, so I

love to enjoy this precious time with my parents. After all, I can hang out
with my friends all the time, but a birthday is a once-a-year thing.

7. Can you remember a birthday you had as a child?

Yes, the most memorable birthday I have ever had was when my mum and
dad rented out a huge bouncing castle in secret and invited all my friends
and family without telling me. I came home from school to find everyone
waiting for me in my back garden. It was such a surprise!

8. What did you do on your birthday when you were young?

What I remember most is eating the birthday cake with my family and
friends. I was never a fan of cakes, but I always thought it’s important to
have a beautiful birthday cake on one’s birthday. When the candles were lit
and the light in the room was turned off, I’d say my prayers. It was a
sacred moment. Besides, my mom would take me to somewhere I
always wanted to go, like the amusement park or shopping mall.

9. How do children celebrate birthdays in your country?

To be honest, what children do on their birthdays varies according to

where they live. If they live in big cities, they tend to organize birthday
parties at restaurants with the participation of teachers and classmates.
Meanwhile, in the countryside, the majority of children celebrate their
birthday through home-cooked meals which are bigger than usual.

10. Do you think it is important for you to celebrate your

birthday?

A lot of people attach great importance to their birthdays, including

myself. It marks the beginning of a new year or even a new stage in
my life and offers a great chance for me to reflect on what I’ve achieved
so far and what I’m planning to accomplish in the near future. It’s also a
time when I could meet my loved ones all at the same place and let them
know how grateful I am to have them in my life.

11. Do you receive lots of gifts on your birthday?

Definitely. All of my family and friends know that I am a big fan of

cologne. So they all buy me colognes as birthday gifts when my birthday
comes.

12. What kinds of birthday gifts do you like to receive?

On any other day, I can be sort of a nit-picky guy. But not on my

birthday. You know the pure fact that people remember the day I was born
and actually care about picking something for me is what I appreciate the
most. So sometimes, the gifts that I get might not be my cup of tea, they
might not be what I personally enjoy. But that’s okay. It is
the affection and thoughtfulness that touch me the most.
  appreciate (v): trân trọng
 nit-picky (adj): xét nét
 my cup of tea: thứ mà bản thân yêu thích
 affection: tình cảm
 thoughtfulness: sự chu đáo

13. What is a popular gift in your country?

To be honest, it is quite hard to come up with a specific option because

gifts vary among occasions, purposes, and preferences. In my viewpoint,
flowers may be one of the most prevalent presents in Vietnam. Each type
of flower symbolizes a different meaning so flowers can fit a lot of
occasions such as weddings, birthdays, graduation parties, and so on.

14. What do people in your country do to celebrate birthdays?

In Vietnam, there are several things people can do for birthday celebration.
The most common activity is organizing a party with the presence of family
members and friends. In addition, the celebrated individual will receive a
birthday cake, cards with best wishes and gifts from the celebrants. Still,
nothing I just mentioned is obligatory.

Vocabulary:

– presence (danh từ) sự hiện hữu

– celebrant (danh từ) người đến dự tiệc
– obligatory (tính từ) bắt buộc
15. Which birthdays are considered important in your country?

I’m not quite sure if there are any really special or essential birthdays in
Vietnam. The only thing that crosses my mind is the 18th birthday because
the age of 18 is quite special. An individual of that age is legally considered
to be an adult, who must be responsible for his or her actions. Also, after
their 18th birthday, people can drink alcohol and obtain a driving license.

Vocabulary:

– cross one’s mind (động từ) chợt xuất hiện trong đầu, chợt nghĩ đến
– legally (trạng từ) về mặt pháp lí

16. Whose birthday do you think is the most important to

celebrate in Vietnam?

I think the birthdays of people who have made the greatest

contributions to our society and our nation are worth celebrating, for
example, the most accomplished statesmen, the veterans who have
defended the country, the doctors who have saved the lives of people
and the most distinguished scientists who have made incredible
scientific breakthroughs and so on.