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Auld Lang Syne據说是由十八世纪苏格兰诗人罗伯特·彭斯（Robert Burns）根据当地居民口传记录下来的。这首诗后来被谱成了乐曲，除了原文版本外，还被许多国家译成了当地语言，成了一首脍炙人口的世界经典名曲。
New Year celebrations are taking place around the world， with the likes of Samoa and New Zealand already welcoming in 2021， as the UK prepares to do the same at midnight tonight. And no doubt once Big Ben strikes and the fireworks go off， there will be a fair bit of singing of Auld Lang Syne to get the new year underway. The song’s become a New Year ritual， of course， but who wrote it—and why do we sing it at New Year？
While the New Year is generally greeted with much singing of Auld Lang Syne， a lot of us struggle to remember the words from one year to the next. There are five verses in total although it’s normally only the first verse and chorus which are sung. It usually goes like this， “Should old acquaintance be forgot， and never brought to mind？ Should old acquaintance be forgot， and auld lang syne？ ...” This version of lyrics are plain but affectionate， which makes it easy to touch the listeners.
The song is actually part of a much longer work by Scottish poet Robert Burns—although even he admitted it was based on an old folk song. And Auld Lang Syne means“old long since” or “old times”—hence the phrase “for auld lang syne” means “for old time’s sake”.
Auld Lang Syne is an appropriate song for New Year given that it reflects on old times， which a lot of people do at New Year—as they also begin to look ahead to times to come.
But while it’s always been popular in Scotland—with Scottish immigrants taking the song across the pond when they emigrated to the US in the 19th century—it became more of an international favourite back in 1929 when Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo and his band performed the song at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel on New Year’s Eve.
The performance was being broadcast on radio across the US—and listeners took it to their hearts， with Lombardo’s New Year concerts and the playing of Auld Lang Syne， which quickly became a US tradition. As well as being popular at New Year， the song is also sung at funerals， graduations and by the Scouts to end a large organized event where many people go or on a busy， noisy occasion or period.
Reading check
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text？
A. By giving examples.
B. By raising questions.
C. By making a comparison.
D. By narrating the history.
2. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about？ A. The lyrics.
New Year celebrations are taking place around the world， with the likes of Samoa and New Zealand already welcoming in 2021， as the UK prepares to do the same at midnight tonight. And no doubt once Big Ben strikes and the fireworks go off， there will be a fair bit of singing of Auld Lang Syne to get the new year underway. The song’s become a New Year ritual， of course， but who wrote it—and why do we sing it at New Year？
While the New Year is generally greeted with much singing of Auld Lang Syne， a lot of us struggle to remember the words from one year to the next. There are five verses in total although it’s normally only the first verse and chorus which are sung. It usually goes like this， “Should old acquaintance be forgot， and never brought to mind？ Should old acquaintance be forgot， and auld lang syne？ ...” This version of lyrics are plain but affectionate， which makes it easy to touch the listeners.
The song is actually part of a much longer work by Scottish poet Robert Burns—although even he admitted it was based on an old folk song. And Auld Lang Syne means“old long since” or “old times”—hence the phrase “for auld lang syne” means “for old time’s sake”.
Auld Lang Syne is an appropriate song for New Year given that it reflects on old times， which a lot of people do at New Year—as they also begin to look ahead to times to come.
But while it’s always been popular in Scotland—with Scottish immigrants taking the song across the pond when they emigrated to the US in the 19th century—it became more of an international favourite back in 1929 when Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo and his band performed the song at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel on New Year’s Eve.
The performance was being broadcast on radio across the US—and listeners took it to their hearts， with Lombardo’s New Year concerts and the playing of Auld Lang Syne， which quickly became a US tradition. As well as being popular at New Year， the song is also sung at funerals， graduations and by the Scouts to end a large organized event where many people go or on a busy， noisy occasion or period.
Reading check
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text？
A. By giving examples.
B. By raising questions.
C. By making a comparison.
D. By narrating the history.
2. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about？ A. The lyrics.