St. Patrick's Day

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• obviously
• focus
• pinch
• patron saint

• supposed to
• wonder
• excuse
• origins

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Though St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday celebrating Saint Patrick (386-493), the patron saint of Ireland, some of the biggest celebrations happen in the U.S.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City is the largest Patty’s Day celebration in the world. All around New York, and all around the country, people get dressed up in green outfits and spend the day partying, singing Irish folk music, and drinking green beer.

Listen to Taylor and I talk about St. Patrick’s Day.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Dave

Taylor

Dave:  St. Patrick’s Day!

Taylor:  The day we’re supposed to wear green.

Dave:  And drink green beer.

Taylor:  No, thanks.

Dave:  You’re not a beer drinker, are you?

Taylor:  No, I’m not. It’s a pretty unimportant holiday, to me. And, ah, I often just wonder why people need an extra excuse to go to bars that are really crowded and drink.

Dave:  Well, and that’s all it is in the U.S., right, just an excuse to go get drunk.

Taylor:  What are the origins of St. Patrick’s Day?

Dave:  It started in Ireland, obviously.

Taylor:  Right.

Dave:  But they say, now, the celebrations are bigger in the U.S. than anywhere in the world. It’s, um, it’s taken a new meaning for me in the past three years. I was at a bar on St. Patrick’s Day in Boston about three years ago, and I got a phone call, my sister had just given birth.

Taylor:  Wow.

Dave:  So now, I focus less on the beer and drinking, of course, and more on celebrating my niece’s birthday.

Taylor:  Oh, that’s awesome.

 

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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