鹭鹭的宝贝妞
A Chinese holiday is gaining worldwide popularity 一个逐渐受到全球欢迎的中国节日Some holidays are so much fun that they catch on outside of their culture. The most obvious example is probably Christmas, which is celebrated around the world by people who aren’t even Christian. Similarly, in recent years, the Dragon Boat Festival has moved beyond China to become an international holiday celebrated by people who may know little about the holiday’s origins.有些节日实在是很有趣，所以在本土文化以外的地方也很受欢迎。最明显的例子可能就是圣诞节，世界各地的人都会庆祝圣诞节，即使是非基督徒。同样，最近几年端午节已经不局限于中国，成为国际性节日，而庆祝的人可能对节日的由来并不太了解。The Dragon Boat Festival is one of three major Chinese holidays, along with the Spring and Moon Festivals. Of the three, it is possibly the oldest, dating back to the Warring States Period in 227 B.C. The festival commemorates Qu Yuan, a minister in the service of the Chu Emperor. Despairing over corruption at court, Qu threw himself into a river. Townspeople jumped into their boats and tried in vain to save him. Then, hoping to distract hungry fish from his body, the people scattered rice on the water.
十十十月
Chinese New Year (中国农历新年)The Chinese New Year has a great history. In other traditions, by this time in the year, most resolutions - made on December 31 - have been subtly forgotten and placed in a cupboard marked "maybe next year." However, all hope is not lost, as there's a second chance to start afresh with the celebration of Chinese New Year on February 12th.The Chinese New Year is very similar to the Western one, swathed in traditions and rituals.The origin of the Chinese New Year is itself centuries old - in fact, too old to actually be traced. It is popularly recognised as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days. Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean-up gets underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them.The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. Delicacies include prawns, for liveliness and happiness, dried oysters (or ho xi), for all things good, raw fish salad or yu sheng to bring good luck and prosperity, Fai-hai (Angel Hair), an edible hair-like seaweed to bring prosperity, and dumplings boiled in water (Jiaozi) signifying a long-lost good wish for a family. It's usual to wear something red as this colour is meant to ward off evil spirits - but black and white are out, as these are associated with mourning. After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board games or watching TV programmes dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks.On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbours. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside.The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows. Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.(chinese.new-year.co.uk)-----------------------------------Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节)The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week ofOctober.This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival , it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates , melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon.(chinavoc.com)
7爷爱美食
中国传统故事英文如下：
The Tortoise and the Hare龟兔赛跑。
兔子向动物们吹嘘自己的奔跑速度，动物们有的为它喝彩，有的感到十分无聊。这时，乌龟却说，自己能在跑步上打败兔子，并邀请兔子与之一战。比赛开始了，兔子跑得很快，一会儿乌龟就落在了后面，兔子便在一棵树下打起盹来。乌龟爬啊爬，它能战胜兔子吗？
Welcome to ALO7’s Power to Learn. Today’s story is The Tortoise and the Hare, retold by Jenny Lam and Sheila Higginson, and narrated by Judy Luxton.
HOP! HOP! HOP! Rabbit jumped very fast.
HIPPITY! HOPPITY! HOP! HOP! Rabbit jumped even faster.
“Look at me,” bragged Rabbit. “I am the fastest!”
His animal friends watched. Some cheered. Some were bored. They had seen Rabbit run many times before.
“Here he goes again,” said Cat. “Rabbit is always running.”
“And he is always bragging about being the fastest runner,” said Owl.
“He does run fast,” said Monkey.
Tortoise walked up slowly to the other animals.
Tortoise spoke slowly. “Is Rabbit bragging about being the fastest runner again?” he asked.
The animals nodded their heads yes.
“I will challenge Rabbit to a race. I can beat him,” said Tortoise calmly.
All the animals got excited. “A race!” they cried.
Rabbit laughed. “All right. Let’s race. I will win anyway.”
Tortoise and Rabbit went to the starting line.
“On your mark. Get set. Go!” cried Owl. He flapped his wings! Rabbit and Tortoise crossed the starting line. The race began!
Rabbit ran fast. He hopped, and he ran. He hopped again. He ran even faster.
Rabbit was far ahead of Tortoise. He kept running. He kept hopping.
He stopped by a tree. He looked behind him. Where was Tortoise?
Tortoise walked slowly. He was far behind.
Rabbit yelled, “Hey, how do you expect to beat me? You are walking so slowly! You will never beat me. You will never win!”
Rabbit sat down under the tree.
“I will take a rest,” said Rabbit. “Tortoise is slow. He will never catch up. I have plenty of time to relax.”
Rabbit rested under the tree. He got comfortable. Then he stretched out.
Soon he was lying flat on the ground. He fell asleep. He snored loudly.
Tortoise walked slowly. He kept walking. And walking. And walking.
He walked to the tree where Rabbit was sleeping. He did not stop. He kept walking and walking and walking.
Tortoise never stopped. He didn’t take a rest. He just walked.
He kept walking until he got to the finish line.
All the animals cheered. They were amazed that Tortoise won. He never gave up. He just kept walking and walking and walking.
The cheering was very loud. It woke Rabbit. He jumped up from his sleep!
“What happened? What’s that noise?” asked Rabbit. He began to run.
He ran faster and faster and faster. But he was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line. Tortoise won the race.
