【导读】　《织工马南》主要描述了一个名叫塞拉斯·马南的纺织工一生的坎坷经历的故事。阅读下面有关新年舞会的节选，对比中外文化中庆祝新年方式的异同。

　　The New Year's Eve dance

　　On December 31st it was snowing and very cold.All day there were ladies and gentlemen arriving at the Red House.

　　Godfrey Cass was waiting at the door for the only guest he cared about，Nancy Lammeter.Finally she arrived，sitting behind her father on his horse，looking more beautiful than ever.Her lovely face blushed as she saw Godfrey come forward to lift her down from the horse."Why is he waiting for me？" she thought."I thought I made it clear to him that I'll never marry him.People say he leads a bad life，and I can't marry a man like that."

　　But the Squire appeared just then，to welcome his guests，and in the excitement nobody noticed Nancy's pink face as Godfrey's strong arms lifted her down.She hurried into the house with the other ladies to change her clothes.

　　The house was full of servants running here and there.Mrs. Kimble，who always helped the Squire arrange these parties，was giving orders in a loud voice.Cooks were preparing food in the kitchens，and there was already a wonderful smell of baking in the air.

　　Upstairs，the ladies were excitedly putting on their best dresses，while talking to each other all the time.Nancy met her aunt，Mrs. Osgood，who introduced her to some visitors of hers.The Misses Gunn were two young ladies who were not beautiful，but dressed very fashionably.

Just then Nancy's older sister Priscilla arrived.She was a large，cheerful girl，with a round face and a nose pink with cold.As they were changing their clothes，Priscilla said to Mrs. Osgood，"Look at our dresses，aunt! Of course Nancy looks beautiful in hers，but this colour makes me look yellow! Nancy says we must wear the same