UNIT 5.

OUR CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

A. VOCABULARY
Part of
No. Word Pronunciation Meaning
speech
1 Acrobatics n /ˌækrəˈbætɪks/ Xiếc, các động tác nhào lộn
2 Admire v /ədˈmaɪər/ Ngưỡng mộ, khâm phục
3 Atmosphere n /ˈætməsfɪər/ Bầu không khí
4 Bad spirit n / bæd 'spɪrɪt/ Điều xấu xa, tà ma
5 Bamboo pole n /bæm'bu: pəʊl/ Cây nêu
6 Carp n /kɑːrp/ Cá chép
7 Ceremony n /ˈserəmənɪ/ Nghi thức, nghi lễ
8 Coastal adj /ˈkəʊstl/ Thuộc vùng duyên hải, ven biển
9 Communal house n /kəˈmjuːnl haʊs/ Nhà rông, đình
10 Contestant n /kənˈtestənt/ Thí sinh
11 Decorative adj /ˈdekərətɪv/ Có tính trang trí, để trang trí
12 Family bonding n /’fæmɪlɪ ˈbɒndɪŋ/ Sự gắn kết tình cảm gia đình
13 Cuộc họp mặt, sum họp gia
Family reunion n /’fæmɪlɪ ˌriːˈjuːnjən//
đình
14 Festival goer n /ˈfestɪvl ˈɡəʊər/ Người đi xem lễ hội
15 Kitchen gods n /ˈkɪtʃɪn gɒdz/ Táo quân i
16 Lantern n /ˈlæntərn/ Đèn lồng Ị
17 Longevity n /lɒnˈdʒevəti/ Tuổi thọ, sự sống lâu ’
18 Maintain v /meɪnˈteɪn/ Duy trì :
19 Martial arts n /ˈmɑːrʃl ɑːrt/ Võ thuật
20 Monk n /mʌŋk/ Nhà sư
21 Offering n /ˈɒfərɪŋ/ Đồ thờ cúng
22 Ornamental tree n /ˌɔːnəˈmentl tri:/ Cây cảnh
23 Pray v /preɪ/ Cầu nguyện, lễ bái
24 Release v /rɪ'li:s/ Giải phóng, thả
25 Riverside n /'rɪvəsaɪd/ Bờ sông
 26 Steamed adj /sti:md/ Được hấp
27 Table manners n /'teɪbl ˈmænərz/ Phép tắc ăn uống
28 Unicorn n /ˈjuːnɪkɔːrn/ Con kỳ lân
29 Valuable adj /ˈvæljuəbl/ Có giá trị lớn
30 Value n /ˈvæljuː/ Giá trị
31 Worship v /ˈwɜːrʃɪp/ Tôn thờ, thờ phụng
32 Young rice n /jʌŋ raɪs/ Cốm, lúa non
Useful structures
1. It’s the custom for sb to V Đó là phong tục để ai đó làm gì
2. There’s a tradition that + Ss + V. Có một truyền thống rằng ...
3. According to tradition, S + V Theo truyền thống, ...
4. Follow the tradition of V-ing Ai đó theo truyền thống làm gì
5. Break with tradition by V-ing Phá vỡ truyền thống bằng cách ...
6. Have the custom of V-ing Ai đó có phong tục làm gì
7. There’s a custom of V-ing Có một phong tục làm gì

B. PRONUNCIATION
Phụ âm /n/ n (no), kn (know), pn (pneuna), nn (stunning), gn (gnat)
Phụ âm /ŋ/ ng (sting), nk (pink)

C. GRAMMAR
Article
- Trong tiếng Anh, mạo từ (article) được chia làm 2 loại: Mạo từ xác định (definite article) “the” và Mạo
từ không xác định (indefinite article) gồm “a, an”.
Types Use Example
INDEFINITE ARTICLES Chỉ dùng với danh từ số ít She has a doll and a kite.
A/AN Lần đầu được nhắc đến I have a car.
(Mạo từ Miêu tả nghề nghiệp She is a doctor.
không xác định) Miêu tả đặc điểm This is a big house.
 DEFINITE ARTICLE Được nhắc đến từ lần thứ 2 trở đi I have a bike. The bike is white.
THE Đối tượng cụ thể The children are in the garden.
(Mạo từ xác định) Vật duy nhất The Sun is shining.
Địa danh chung I go to the park after school.
So sánh nhất She is the best student.
Nhạc cụ She is playing the guitar.
The + tính từ để chỉ 1 nhóm đối The poor, the rich
tượng
ZERO Danh từ không đếm được, danh từ I don’t like carrots.
ARTICLE trừu tượng hoặc được sử dụng với Money can buy happiness.
(Không dùng nghĩa chung
mạo từ) Bữa ăn I had rice and chicken for lunch.
Năm, tháng She was born in 2000.
Trước tên quốc gia, châu lục, tên He’s from Canada.
núi, hồ, đường phố She lives in the UK.
(Ngoại trừ những nước theo chế độ
Liên bang - gồm nhiều bang (state)
TV I like watching TV.
Ngôn ngữ, môn học I 'm good at English.
Phương tiện giao thông I go to school by bike.
Next, last We went to the zoo last week.

D. PRACTICE
PART I. PHONETICS
Exercise 1. Find the word which has a different sound in the underlined part.
1. A. cousin B. interesting C. link D. fond
2. A. lantern B. important C. money D. thank
3. A. many B. take C. place D. wake
4. A. carp B. article C. party D. tradition
5. A. connect B. cook C. dance D. control
Exercise 2. Find the word which has different stress from the others.
1. A. festival B. contestant C. atmosphere D. family
2. A. village B. bamboo C. away D. obey
3. A. custom B. worship C. maintain D. midnight
4. A. holiday B. decorate C. offering D. addition
5. A. laughter B. prepare C. chopstick D. heaven

PART 2. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR

I. VOCABULARY
Exercise 1. Look at the pictures and fill in the blanks.
Unicorn dance Bamboo pole Decorative items Lanterns Peach blossoms
Food offerings Family reunion Acrobats Ornamental trees Kitchen Gods

1. _________________________________ 2. _________________________________

3. _________________________________ 4. _________________________________
 5. _________________________________ 6. _________________________________

7. _________________________________ 8. _________________________________

9. _________________________________ 10. _________________________________

Exercise 2. Circle the odd one out.
1. A. pray B. worship C. reunion D. wish
2. A. tradition B. custom C. habit D. practise
3. A. lantern B. bells C. bloom D. envelop
4. A. decorative B. blossoms C. trees D. flowers
5. A. pagoda B. temple C. luck D. church
6. A. some B. a C. an D. the
7. A. ceremony B. important C. festival D. anniversary
8. A. meat B. soup C. meal D. rice
9. A. drum B. flute C. gong D. dance
10. A. pole B. chase C. bring D. admire
Exercise 3. Reorder the letters to make correct words, then match them with their meanings.
A B
1. H-R-O-W-S-I-P A. to add something to an object or place, especially in order
→ ______________________ to make it more attractive
2. F-O-R-E-F-I-G-N-S B. a formal event held on special occasions
→ ______________________
3. U-R-N-I-O-N-S C. to make something continue at the same level or standard
→ ______________________
4. T-D-C-O-E-A-R-E D. to honor or respect (someone or something) as a god
→ ______________________
5. M-C-T-O-U-S E. a belief, principle, or way of acting that people in a particular
→ ______________________ society or group have continued to follow for a long time
6. Y-C-N-E-R-M-O-E F. to hope for something very much
→ ______________________
7. N-T-O-D-I-R-A-I-T G. something that a person gives, often during a religious
→ ______________________ ceremony
8. N-M-T-A-I-N-I-A H. to live for a long time
→ ______________________
9. G-E-V-T-L-O-N-Y-I I. a party attended by members of the same family, school, or
→ ______________________ other group who have not seen each other for a long time
10. Y-P-A-R J. a way of behaving or a belief that has been established for a
→ ______________________ long time
Your answer:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Exercise 4. Complete the sentences with the words in the box.
preserve bonds offerings culture ornamental
chase communal tradition worshipped values
1. The Vietnamese often prepare __________________ to worship their ancestors during Tet holiday.
2. This year, we are going to break with the __________________ and spend the first two weeks of the
new year in Singapore.
3. Tet is a great time to show the good Vietnamese __________________ through traditional activities
such as decorating houses with kumquat trees and peach blossoms.
4. Some people usually put up tall bamboo poles to __________________ away bad luck.
5. Teaching children to cook is a good way to __________________ family recipes.
6. Village festivals help us strengthen our family __________________.
7. Ancient Egyptians __________________ the Sun.
8. We can see many flowers and __________________ trees everywhere before Tet holiday.
9. In the Central Highlands, the biggest and tallest house in the village is the __________________
house.
10. Language, religion, food and art are just some features of the various aspects of
__________________.
II. GRAMMAR
Exercise 1. Circle the correct answers.
1. In many cultures, knocking on wood is a/an way to chase away bad spirits.
2. American people often watch a/an ball drop at midnight in Times Square.
3. There is at least a/an ornamental tree in my house every Tet holiday.
4. I have to go. I’m in a/an hurry.
5. Mr. Lu goes hunting in the forests twice a/an month.
6. Do you have a/an milk jug?
7. The Prime Minister will give a/an speech this afternoon.
8. There is a/an custom of doing morning exercises in my family.
9. I haven’t been to a/an open-air theatre before.
10. Here is a/an thousand pounds I borrowed from you last month.
Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks with “a / an / x”.
1. “Li xi” is _________ essential part of Vietnam’s customs of the Tet Festival.
2. Storytelling is _________ way to keep the local tradition alive.
3. There’ll always be _________ conflict between the old and the young.
4. Are you going away _________ next week?
5. There was _________ collision at the comer.
6. My mother thinks that this is _________ expensive shop.
7. Like many women, she loves _________ parties and _________ gifts.
8. She works seven days _________ week.
9. We were at _________ Sa Dec Flower Village yesterday.
10. We use plants and flowers for _________ decorations and _________ offerings.
Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with “a / an / the”.
1. _________ Vietnamese are known to be polite, hospitable and sensitive.
2. In _________ countryside, parents often arrange their children’s marriages.
3. “Ao dai” is one of _________ most traditional costumes in Viet Nam.
4. My aunt made some spring rolls for _________ longevity party.
5. _________ Ok Om Bok Festival takes place in October.
6. _________ tradition of worshipping whales is popular in Vietnamese coastal villages.
7. It’s _________ tradition for shops to have _________ lion dance performance at their opening
ceremony.
8. Holding _________ party to wish our grandparents longevity is one of _________ customs we
practice at Tet.
9. People place _________ bamboo pole in _________ yard of _________ communal house.
10. It’s _________ custom in my family to have dinner at home on Saturdays.
Exercise 4. Underline “the” or “x” to complete the sentences.
1. What’s the/x matter? Are you all right?
2. Kate has bought a new car since the/x yesterday.
3. Some people think that the/x Moon is man-made.
4. I’m collecting money for the/x poor.
5. The/x Brian hasn’t found a job yet.
6. Can you play the/x guitar?
7. Don’t forget to turn off the/x television.
8. There’s a knife in the/x second drawer.
9. The/x art museum is in the/x city center.
10. Many Asians go to the/x Buddhist temples to pray for good luck.
Exercise 5. Fill in the blanks with “a / an / the / x”.
1. We are looking for _________ place to spend _________ night.
2. Please turn off _________ lights when you leave _________ room.
3. We are looking for people with _________ lot of experience.
4. Would you pass me _________ salt, please?
5. Can you show me _________ way to _________ station?
6. She has read _________ interesting book.
7. You’ll get _________ shock if you touch _________ live wire with that screwdriver.
8. Mr. Smith is old customer and honest man.
9. _________ youngest boy has just started going to _________ school.
10. Did you go to _________ prison to visit him?
Exercise 9. Circle the best answers.
1. Five-coloured sticky rice is ___________ important traditional dish.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
2. ___________ Thai have ___________ population of about 1.500.000 people.
A. A – a B. The – an C. The – a D. x – a
3. ___________ Thai women wear short blouses, long skirts, scarves and ornaments.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
4. Which group has ___________ smallest population?
A. a B. an C. the D. x
5. There was ___________ exhibition of Ethnic Minorities Opens on April 18th at Ly Thai To Flower
Garden.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
6. I have ___________ shawl. ___________ shawl is unique and strong.
A. a - A B. an - A C. a - x D. a – The
7. We can find terraced fields in ___________ northern mountainous regions.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
8. Look! ___________ flowers my mother bought from ___________ market yesterday are blooming.
A. A-a B. The-the C. A-x D. The-x
9. Is Lien ___________ shop assistant?
A. a B. an C. the D. x
10. My mother does ___________ shopping in my family.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
11. How many people were there at the family ___________ last weekend?
A. unit B. united C. union D. reunion
12. We should ___________ children’s awareness of our customs and traditions.
A. rise B. raise C. boost D. improve
13. Joe broke with ___________ when he went to an art college.
A. culture B. habit C. tradition D. custom
14. We ___________ the Spring Festival on the 15th of January in the lunar calendar.
A. happen B. occur C. hold D. take place
15. Tourists ___________ wear shorts and tank tops when attending the worshipping ceremony.
A. need B. must C. mustn’t D. should
16. Festivals are important because they keep some village traditions ___________.
A. alive B. live C. living D. lively
17. It’s the ___________ in that country for women to get married in white.
A. hobby B. habit C. custom D. costume
18. Many young people don’t ___________ the tradition of living with their parents when they are
eighteen.
A. try B. follow C. obey D. take
19. ___________ to the tradition, we have a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve.
A. In addition B. According C. Owing D. Thanks
20. A: “Thank you for the enjoyable party tonight!” - B: “___________”
A. It’s my pleasure. B. I’m sorry. C. I don’t mind. D. That’s a great idea!
Exercise 10. Find and correct the mistakes.
1. They go to the school five days a week. ___________
2. Viet Nam is the country of many religions and beliefs. ___________
3. My son started to play the baseball when he was ten. ___________
4. How often is festival celebrated? - Every year. ___________
5. There is a LG television in my room. ___________
6. Emily comes from the France. ___________
7. Today, we are going to discuss necessity of traditions. ___________
8. Woman of the house looks after her parents, husband and children. ___________
9. You don’t should litter the temple ground. ___________
10. We should show respect for the monks and the elders. ___________
III. READING
Exercise 1. Read the passage and choose the best answers.
The Tet holiday is celebrated (1) ___________ the first day of the Lunar New Year in Viet Nam.
Several weeks before the New Year, the Vietnamese clean their houses and paint the walls. New clothes
are bought for the occasion. One or two days before the festival, people make Banh Chung, (2)
___________ is the traditional cake, and kinds of jam. On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gets
together for a (3) ___________ dinner. Every member of the family should be present during the dinner
in which many different kinds of dishes are served. On New Year morning, the young members of the
family pay their respects (4) ___________ the elders. And the children receive lucky money wrapped in
red tiny envelopes. Then people go (5) ___________ their neighbours, friends and relatives.
Adapted from: https://www.sachmem.vn/
1. A. by B. in C. on D. at
2. A. which B. what C. where D. why
3. A. reunited B. union C. reunite D. reunion
4. A. at B. to C. about D. in
5. A. visited B. visiting C. to visit D. visit
Exercise 2. Read then decide whether the following sentences are True (T) or False (F).
Worshipping “Ong Cong, Ong Tao’’ (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) is a long-standing custom of
great significance as it symbolises the farewell to all bad things of the old year to help people relaxedly
enter a new year of peace and happiness. As the legend goes, “Ong Cong” (Land Genie) is the one in
charge of land while “Ong Tao” (Kitchen Gods), consisting of two males and one female, are those who
keep a watch over kitchen affairs of a family. They take note of a family’s issues in a year and will ride
carps back to Heaven on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to report all the good and bad things of
that family to the God of Heaven.
Rituals and offerings vary according to region. Typically, apart from lamps, incense, votive papers,
fresh flowers, and a five-fruit tray, there is also a tray of traditional dishes such as steamed sticky rice,
chicken, pork pie, fried spring rolls, and bamboo shoot soup. However, depending on each family’s
conditions, people can also prepare vegetarian dishes as offerings.
 The offerings also include a set of votive paper clothes and, especially, golden carps - the “vehicle”
for the gods to return to Heaven. People often prepare two or three alive carps and then release them
into a river or a lake after the worshipping ritual with the belief that the fish will carry the gods to
Heaven. Nowadays, live carps can also be replaced with paper ones, which will be burned together with
other paper offerings after the ritual.
The worshipping ceremony is conventionally held at any time from the noon of the 22 nd day of the
12th lunar month to the noon of the next day because people believe the gods will leave for the Heaven
after midday and thus, if the ritual were conducted after that, they would be unable to receive offerings.
With the appropriate practice of the Land Genie and Kitchen Gods worship, people can help uphold and
pass down traditional cultural values in modem life.
(Adapted from https://en.vietnamplus.vn )
Statements True (T) False (F)
1. Land Genie and Kitchen Gods ride carps back to Heaven on the
23rd day of the 12th lunar month.
2. Rituals and offerings are the same throughout the country.
3. Golden carps are the “vehicle” for the gods to return to
Heaven.
4. If the ritual were conducted after the noon of the 23rd day, the
gods would still be able to receive offerings.
5. People can help uphold and pass down traditional cultural
values in modem life.
Exercise 3. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions.
The practise of ancestor worship is relatively straightforward. Nearly every house, office, and
business in Viet Nam has a small altar used to commune with ancestors. Incense sticks are burned
frequently. Offerings are often fruit, sweets, and gifts. The latter items arc such as votive papers, such
as motorbikes, cars, houses, etC. After worshipping, people burn the paper gifts called votive papers so
that the spirits of the gifts can ascend to heaven for the ancestors to use.
In the past, the income from a plot of land was used to maintain the altar and arrange the rituals,
but this tradition has now faded away. However, the custom that the eldest son will arrange the
ceremonial and inherit the family house upon the death of his parents is still generally observed.
Another traditional clement is placing wooden tablets on the altar for each of the ancestors over
recent generations. It is less rigorously observed today, and photographs often replace tablets. Some
pagodas house commemorative tablets for ancestors on behalf of regular worshippers.
Adapted from: https://vietnamdiscovery.com
1. Mow Vietnamese people commune with their ancestors nowadays?
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. What are two items frequently burned?
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Are offerings often fruit, sweets, and gifts?
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why do people burn votive papers?
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. Will the eldest son arrange the ceremonial and inherit the family house upon the death of his
parents?
___________________________________________________________________________________
VI. WRITING
Exercise 1. Reorder the words to make correct sentences.
1. fork / table / at / manners / to / to / According / dinner. / and / knife / use / in / the / have / we / a /
England,
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. shouldn’t / you / Australia, / a / In / accent. / person's / criticize
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Viet Nam, / as / don’t / have / you / a / Japan. / bow / do / deep / to / in / you / take / In
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. be/ great / Elderly / respect. / should / with / people / treated
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. Vietnamese / at / tradition / It’s / with / reunite / to / Tet. / families
___________________________________________________________________________________
6. time./ as / in / Custom / is / and / from / tradition / some / aspects / such / scale / different
___________________________________________________________________________________
7. the / traditions / have / Do / follow / you / to / strictly?
___________________________________________________________________________________
8. regularly / of / particular / place / the / as / Worshipping / days, / the / death / festivals / on / and /
day / such / takes / ancestor.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
9. Traditionally, / until / marriage. / children / live / parents / with / their / Vietnamese
___________________________________________________________________________________
10. or / Eve / tradition, / New / the / good / luck / enter / to / person / brings / house / luck. / the / first
/ Year’s / either / bad / to / According / on
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
__