Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend 

Memorial Day weekend is the perfect opportunity to kick back and relax as you prepare for the frenetic summer months. This day is a time for family, food, fun, and a free day off from work. Most cities in the U.S. celebrates this day of leisure with patriotic parades, fireworks, and of course, Memorial Day sales for shoppers. If your not sure how you want to spend Memorial Day weekend, here are 4 ideas of making your Memorial Day weekend joyful:

1. Watch a Parade: Memorial Day Parades are held all across the U.S. About 10,000 people join to celebrate this memorable day. These parades are about honoring the men and women who have died while serving in our armed forces. So go out and honor our veteran soldiers; make sure to get the details about Memorial Day parades in your area from the government's website. 
   
2. Take in the Fireworks: No matter what you do during the day, make sure your Memorial Day evening includes some fireworks! Watch as the music fills the air and the sky is covered with colorful bursts of brilliance. This impressive display will certainly give you something to celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend. 
   
3. Host a Barbecue: This is the perfect way to relax with friends and family while enjoying your much-deserved day off. Grill up some hamburgers and hotdogs and ask everyone to bring a side dish, and fill a cooler with ice-cold beverages. 
   
4. Head to the Park: For those who don’t have a lot of outdoor space near their apartment, the park is the perfect alternative. Many parks have picnic areas with grills, so book a space and host your Memorial Day get-together there! This is also a great option for people who have children, as the kids can be easily entertained by the nearby playground and enjoy their Memorial Day weekend off from school. 
   

Vocabulary

1. Frenetic (adj.) having extreme enthusiasm or energy

2. Patriotic (adj.) feeling a lot of love, respect, and duty towards your country 

3. Parade (n.) a public celebration in which a large group of people move through an area, often  with decorated vehicles and bands playing music

4. Fireworks (n.) an object that explodes when you light it and produces colored lights and loud noises

5. Barbecue (n.) a meal at which meat and other food is cooked and eaten outside, often a meal that you invite friends to

Vocabulary Review

Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word.

1. After the concert, the ____________ crowd surged through the exit doors and began to dance in the street.   

2. The celebrations culminated in a spectacular ___________ display. 

3. I hope you would join us in the _________ and march along the street.

4. The recent attacks on the country by terrorists has increased __________ sentiments 

considerably. 

5. The dog sniffed in the air, it could smell salmon cooking on a _________ not too far away. 

Grammar Point: Verbs are words that can describe actions. Some of the verbs in this passage are past tense, for example, entertained, covered, and deserved. The past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb. 

Grammar Activity: Write five sentences using these three verbs and three other regular verbs in the past tense.