练习材料：

Lesson96 The dead return

A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. All night long, people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world. This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.

ə ˈfɛstəvəl fɔː ðə dɛd ɪz hɛld wʌns ə jɪər ɪn ʤəˈpæn. ðɪs ˈfɛstəvəl ɪz ə ˈʧɪəfʊl əˈkeɪʒən, fɔːr ɒn ðɪs deɪ, ðə dɛd ɑː sɛd tuː rɪˈtɜːn tuː ðeə həʊmz ænd ðeɪ ɑː ˈwɛlkəmd baɪ ðə ˈlɪvɪŋ. æz ðeɪ ɑːr ɪksˈpɛktɪd tuː biː ˈhʌŋgri ˈɑːftə ðeə lɒŋ ˈʤɜːni, fuːd ɪz leɪd aʊt fɔː ðɛm. ˈspɛʃəli-meɪd ˈlæntənz ɑː hʌŋ ˌaʊtˈsaɪd iːʧ haʊs tuː hɛlp ðə dɛd tuː faɪnd ðeə weɪ. ɔːl naɪt lɒŋ, ˈpiːpl dɑːns ænd sɪŋ. ɪn ði ˈɜːli ˈmɔːnɪŋ, ðə fuːd ðæt hæd biːn leɪd aʊt fɔː ðə dɛd ɪz θrəʊn ˈɪntuː ə ˈrɪvər ɔːr ˈɪntuː ðə siː æz ɪt ɪz kənˈsɪdəd ʌnˈlʌki fɔːr ˈɛnɪwʌn ˈlɪvɪŋ tuː iːt ɪt. ɪn taʊnz ðæt ɑː nɪə ðə siː, ðə ˈtaɪni ˈlæntənz wɪʧ hæd biːn hʌŋ ɪn ðə striːts ðə naɪt bɪˈfɔː, ɑː pleɪst ˈɪntuː ðə ˈwɔːtə wɛn ðə ˈfɛstəvəl ɪz ˈəʊvə. ˈθaʊzəndz ɒv ˈlæntənz ˈsləʊli drɪft aʊt tuː siː ˈgaɪdɪŋ ðə dɛd ɒn ðeə rɪˈtɜːn ˈʤɜːni tuː ði ˈʌðə wɜːld. ðɪs ɪz ə ˈmuːvɪŋ ˈspɛktəkl, fɔː kraʊdz ɒv ˈpiːpl stænd ɒn ðə ʃɔː ˈwɒʧɪŋ ðə ˈlæntənz ˈdrɪftɪŋ əˈweɪ ənˈtɪl ðeɪ kæn biː siːn nəʊ mɔː.

任务配置：

L0＋L4

知识笔记：

新词：expect 期望，预料；spectacle 壮观，奇观；

词组：be laid out 被摆出；drift out 漂走，蔓延；

练习感悟：

新概念二不知道是怎么想的，这最后一篇文章出奇的简单……可能是为了给学生们留一个美好而温暖的结尾了哈哈哈哈。

可以纪念一下这个日子，考完下午的最后一门科目，就放寒假啦。虽然还有几天的课要上。所幸没压力，可以专心致志迎接新三的到来。