I.

Các collocations ghép với Culture

1. National culture legacy: Di sản văn hoá quốc gia

2. Culture shock: Sốc văn hoá
3. Indigenous culture: Văn hoá bản địa
4. Exotic culture: Văn hoá nước ngoài xâm nhập vào, văn hoá ngoại lai
5. Time-honoured culture/ Long-standing culture: Nền văn hoá lâu đời
6. Deep-rooted culture: Văn hoá bám sâu vào cội nguồn
7. Contemporary culture / modern culture: Văn hoá đương đại
8. Folk culture: Văn hoá dân gian
9. Local culture: Văn hoá địa phương
10. A diversified culture: Nền văn hoá đa dạng
11. Social culture: Văn hoá xã hội

II. Collocations ghép với Cultural

1. Cultural specificity: Nét đặc trưng văn hoá

2. Cultural exchange: Trao đổi văn hoá
3. Cultural uniqueness: Nét văn hoá đặc sắc
4. Cultural assimilation: Sự đồng hoá văn hoá
5. Cultural integration: Sự hội nhập văn hoá
6. Cultural globalization: Toàn cầu hoá văn hoá
7. Cultural degradation: Sự xói mòn về mặt văn hoá
8. Cultural richness/ Cultural diversity: Sự đa dạng văn hoá
9. Cultural festival: Lễ hội văn hoá
10. Intangible cultural heritage of humanity: Di sản văn hóa phi vật thể của nhân loại
11. The total loss of cultural identity: Sự đánh mất bản sắc văn hoá

III. Những từ liên quan khác

1. National identity: Bản sắc dân tộc+

2. Racism: Chủ nghĩa phân biệt chủng tộc
3. Race conflict: Xung đột sắc tộc
4. Historic site: Di tích lịch sử
5. Melting-pot society / Multicultural society: Xã hội đa văn hoá, đa sắc tộc
6. Acculturation: Sự tiếp nhận và biến đổi văn hóa
7. Ritual: Lễ nghi
8. Civilization: Nền văn minh
9. Civilize something: khai sáng thứ gì đó
10. To be imbued with national identity: Đậm đà bản sắc dân tộc
11. Show prejudice (against sb/st): Thể hiện thành kiến với ai/cái gì
12. Indigenous culture: văn hóa bản địa
13. Acculturation: Sự tiếp nhận và biến đổi văn hóa
14. Cultural norms: chuẩn mực văn hóa
15. Culture diffusion: Truyền bá văn hóa
PART 1

1. What is the most important festival in your country?

The most important, in my opinion, is the Tet Holiday, which is similar to Christmas in Western
countries. It occurs on January 1st, according to the lunar calendar, it holds significant
meaning as it’s the moment when the old year is over and the new year is celebrated. We also
have about ten days off during this festival.

· To occur (v): diễn ra

· The lunar calendar (n): âm lịch
· Significant (adj): đặc trưng
· Moment (n): khoảnh khắc
· Day off (n): ngày nghỉ
2. Do you think this festival will still be as important in the future?

Yes, I believe that despite how our lives are changing, Tet will continue to be an essential traditional
festival in my country because it is more like a time for reunions, to reflect on what has happened and
prepare for new beginnings, and most importantly, an occasion to enjoy ourselves, recharge our
batteries and cherish the most valuable things in life.

· Essential (adj): quan trọng

· Reunion (n): tụ hội, đoàn tụ
· To reflect (v): chiếu lại, nghĩ lại
· Beginning (n): sự bắt đầu
· To recharge one’s battery (v): “sạc” lại năng lượng
· To cherish (v): quý mến, trân trọng

3. Do you think that there should be more holidays in your country?

Since people now lead a fast-paced and stressful lifestyle, I suppose more national days off from work
would be required. However, I am still unable to come up with another legitimate Vietnamese official
holiday.

· Fast-paced (adj): nhanh

· To come up with (v): nghĩ ra
· Legitimate (adj): chính đáng, hợp lý
4. What holiday or festival has become more popular in Vietnam recently?

In recent years, due to the emergence of exotic culture, holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day
have grown in popularity. However, I would argue that these holidays and festivals are more
commercialized because businesspeople put a lot of work into gaining more clients well in advance of
these holidays. Anyway, regardless of religion or anything else, Vietnamese people always want to take
advantage of this chance to unwind and have fun.

· Emergence (n): sự xuất hiện

· Exotic culture (n): văn hóa ngoại lai
· To be commercialized (v): được thương mại hóa
· Businesspeople (n): doanh nhân
· Regardless: mặc cho, mặc dù, kể cả
· Religion (n): tôn giáo
· To unwind (v): nghỉ ngơi thư giãn

PART 2

TOPIC 1

Describe a foreign culture that you are interested in.

You should say

·what this culture is

·how you learned about this culture
· what you know about this culture
and explain why you feel this culture is interesting.

When mentioning a culture that I find interesting, I would like to talk about the culture of France, or Paris
particularly. The western culture of this hexagonal country’s capital has had a profound influence on
modern Vietnamese culture, due to more than 100 years of colonization. However, I only experienced the
“real” French culture when I had a trip to Paris last year.

The food, especially the bread, is the first thing that springs to mind when I think about Paris. I
appreciate how most Parisians buy fresh baguettes every morning, usually from little local bakeries or
“patisseries”. It makes a nice break from the loaves of sliced bread from the supermarket, this is quite
similar in Vietnam, however, we usually don’t eat bread, or “banh mi” every day. Moreover, Parisians
don’t appear to form friendships with their coworkers to the same degree as we Vietnamese do here,
which is one slightly unfavourable difference I observed there.

One last thing to notice is the café culture in Paris. You can always find an interesting place to sit down,
enjoy a cup of coffee, catch up with friends, or just watch life as it happens. In fact, I developed the
habit of ordering a croissant or a cake at every beautiful café I came across. I appreciate this culture
because, if you look closely enough, you can detect similarities between modern Vietnamese and
contemporary Parisian culture.

· Hexagonal country (n): đất nước hình lục giác (chỉ nước Pháp)
· A profound influence (n): ảnh hưởng sâu sắc
 · Colonization (n): thuộc địa
· Baguette (n): bánh mì Pháp
· To make a nice break from: khác hẳn với
· To the same degree as: giống như
· An unfavourable difference (n): một sự khác biệt bất lợi
· To catch up with friends (v): trò chuyện với bạn bè
· To develop the habit (v): hình thành thói quen
· To look closely (v): nhìn kỹ, để ý kỹ
· To detect (v): nhận ra, tìm ra
· Similarity (n): sự giống nhau
· Contemporary (adj): đương thời

TOPIC 2

Describe a wedding that you have been to

You should say:

· when you went to this wedding

· who the new couple was

· what people did at this wedding/ the clothes that they wore

· and explain why you want to talk about this wedding.

Well, the wedding ceremony I want to share with you was my best friend Minh’s. It was the first
time I had been a groomsman.

Minh and I have been close friends since childhood. We have known each other for more than
two decades. When he invited me to be his best man, I agreed without any hesitation.

We had a memorable and busy day back then, which was last October. The ceremony procedure
was quite conventional, just like others: the bride and groom said vows, bowed down to parents,
proposed toasts, took photos with guests, and so on.

Since we met a lot of friends, we turned the wedding into a big reunion party; everyone had a
good time. That was a beautiful memory. At the very beginning, I was quite nervous since I had
never been a best man before, and it seemed like I was going to have a big day. Before the
ceremony, we had laboriously decorated and planned everything. During the ceremony, the
couple recalled their love journey, they were bonding together after experiencing all sorts of ups
and downs, and I was deeply touched and moved. As their best friend, I wanted to express my
overwhelming love and best wishes to them. Eventually, we all got drunk, and it was one of the
most unforgettable moments of my life.

That’s the wedding ceremony I’m happy to tell you about.

 · back then (idiom): khi ấy, lúc đó
ENG: at a particular time in the past that you are talking about

· bow down to sb (idiom): bày tỏ sự kính trọng (cúi đầu)

ENG: to show respect to someone and agree that they are more powerful than you

· laborious (a): khó nhọc, lao lực, tốn công sức

ENG: needing a lot of time and effort

· ups and downs (idiom): thăng trầm

ENG: If someone or something experiences ups and downs, a mixture of good and
bad things happens to him, her, or it

· touched (a): xúc động

ENG: grateful for something kind that someone has done

Từ vựng liên quan đến lễ cưới

· bridegroom /groom (n): chú rể

· exchange rings (v): trao nhẫn

· bridesmaid (n): phù dâu

· honeymoon (n): tuần trăng mật

· wedding dress/gown (n): đầm cưới

· groomsmen: phù rể

· live band (n): ban nhạc sống

· wedding march (n): nghi thức tiến hành hôn lễ

· bride (n): cô dâu

· feast (n): bữa tiệc

· vow (n): lời thề

Một số việc diễn ra trong lễ cưới

· making marriage vows: đọc lời thề kết nghĩa phu thê

· bowing down to parents: cúi chào cha mẹ

· giving and receiving rings: trao và nhận nhẫn

· having a feast: ăn tiệc

· proposing a toast: nâng cốc chúc mừng

· teasing the new couple: trêu chọc đôi vợ chồng mới cưới