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Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

Date: Feb 19 2002

Intro

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

Last week I decided to take part in “Fat Tuesday.” This is a famous day that marks the beginning of Mardi Gras. There are parties all over the world and I wanted to see what it was all about.
Below is the conversation I had with Tanis about my night on the town. I had lots of fun, and hopefully you will too when you read it!

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.

John

John

Tanis

Tanis

John:  Did you go out this Tuesday?

Tanis:  Oh, you mean for Mardi Gras?

John:  Yeah, for Fat Tuesday?

Tanis:  No, I’m so disappointed. I just was really tired so I didn’t go out.

John:  It’s the first time I checked it out and it was a huge party. There were beads and everything – just like New Orleans.

Tanis:  Uh oh, that sounds pretty crazy!

John:  Yeah, and you know, I had heard what people do for beads. You know how they take their clothes off to get them. And I never really believed it, but it actually happens. I was really surprised.

Tanis:  It sounds pretty crazy. Glad you made it home.

John:  Now, you know what the celebration is all about, right?

Tanis:  Well, I think now it’s more just a wild party, but it started out as, uh, a religious holiday.

John:  Yeah, doesn’t it mark the beginning of Lent?

Tanis:  Actually, uh, Mardi Gras is the, the day before Lent starts, on, uh, Ash Wednesday. So it’s the last chance to party and sin and get all that out of your system before, um, you have to be good for forty days.

John:  So that’s why everyone was so crazy.

Tanis:  I think that’s the history.

 

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Discussion

It’s hard to explain everything about Mardi Gras in one short conversation. There is much more than just beads being exchanged between people at parties. However, many people celebrate and don’t quite understand why. :)
Would anyone like to share more about their Mardi Gras experiences? We would also like to hear more about the history behind this tradition. If you have some comments or thoughts, please share them with us at the Life Goes On message board!
Thanks!
Your American Friend,
John

 

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