Task 1:

Listen to this audio and fill in the blanks. Then, use all the words and phrasal verbs in a sentence of your own.

New Year's Day is the day when people celebrate the beginning of a new year. On New Year's Eve, family and friends often get together for dinner or have a party to welcome in the New Year. People often countdown the hours, minutes, and seconds before the new year arrives, and they sometimes set fireworks or play loud music. New Year's Day is a time of new beginnings, so people often make New Year's resolutions promises or goals they hope to accomplish during the coming year. Such resolutions often include losing weight, getting in shape, or eating a healthy diet. Other resolutions might deal with improving one's relationship with a family member or friend. Sometimes, these resolutions are short lived, that is, people don't follow through on their plans. However, the New Year gives people opportunities to change and improve their lives.

Celebrate: New Year we are always celebrating in home with our family and friends.

Countdown: We are always counting down the seconds before the New Year arrives.

Set fireworks: We set fireworks on our wedding parties. 

Resolution: We made so many resolutions this year.

Accomplish: I always accomplish my houseworks on time.

Follow through: We always have to follow through on our plans.

Task 2:

Making New Year's resolutions is a common practice for many people around the world.

Write a paragraph about your promises to yourself for the New Year. The best resolutions are those that you can be pretty sure of keeping. Choose three resolutions– one about personal improvement, one about family and friends, and one about work/career. Then list the factors that contribute to your ability to achieve your new plans.

New Year is a one of the biggest and lovely holidays for my family. We are always celebrating together in our home. Usually I am making a lot of national food and cakes. We prepare presents for each other.This year my sons got a lot of interesting games and other presents, Me and my husband gave each other our lovely perfumes and clothes. When New Year started we were together with my family, but after that our friends came and we continued celebrating together. It was very fun and everyone was happy. We eat a lot of my prepared delicious dishes and drunk Armenian brandy and danced a lot. They liked everything, and really enjoyed.