王玉峰

Helper：

amorous多情的，熱情的fancy（構(gòu)思者）奇特的，【美國俚語】真棒riddle謎語have a bearing on關(guān)系到……，影響到……，有關(guān)Buddhism佛教convention會(huì)議，慣例，習(xí)俗，規(guī)矩monk和尚，修道士Buddhist relics舍利Buddha佛，佛陀，佛像civilian平民，百姓dim sum點(diǎn)心（中國食品）sesame<植>芝麻，脂麻stuffing填充物，餡stilt高蹺undergo經(jīng)歷，遭受，承受

Chinese Brief Introduction

每年農(nóng)歷的正月十五，春節(jié)剛過，迎來的就是中國傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日之一——元宵節(jié)，又稱“上元節(jié)”。正月是農(nóng)歷的元月，古人稱夜為“宵”，所以稱正月十五為元宵節(jié)。其中吃元宵、賞花燈、猜燈謎等是元宵節(jié)幾項(xiàng)重要的民間習(xí)俗。元宵賞燈始于東漢明帝時(shí)期，明帝提倡佛教，聽說佛教有正月十五僧人觀佛舍利、點(diǎn)燈敬佛的做法，就命令這一天夜晚在皇宮和寺廟里點(diǎn)燈敬佛，令土族庶民都掛燈，以后這種佛教禮儀節(jié)日逐漸形成民間盛大的節(jié)日。該節(jié)日經(jīng)歷了由宮廷到民間，由中原到全國的發(fā)展過程。元宵節(jié)賞花燈是一個(gè)交誼的機(jī)會(huì)，未婚男女借著賞花燈也可以順便為自己物色對象，所以元宵節(jié)可以說是地道的中國情人節(jié)。

Exercise：

Ⅰ.Questions

1. According to the folk custom of China， what will people do on the night of the Lantern Festival？

2. How did the custom of appreciating lanterns on the Lantern Festival come into being？

3. Please explain to your foreign friends： Why we Chinese eat yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival？

4. What kind of celebrating activities will be held in celebration the Lantern Festival？

Ⅱ.Riddles

1. What has a mouth and a fork but never eats？

2. What has a hand but can't scratch itself？

3. What has no skin or bones， yet has four fingers and a thumb？

4. What part of a watch was used before by someone else？

5. Why is an empty purse always the same？

6. Where can you always find money when you look for it？

7. What is something that never asks any questions but demands a great many answers？

Ⅲ.Written work

元宵節(jié)你要帶你的美國朋友Tom去街上看活動(dòng)，并給他介紹該節(jié)日的一些相關(guān)知識(shí)。你可以根據(jù)以下要點(diǎn)進(jìn)行介紹：

元宵節(jié)是中國的傳統(tǒng)（traditional）節(jié)日，每年正月十五人們都要舉辦許多活動(dòng)，比如吃湯圓、賞花燈、猜燈謎、踩高蹺、舞獅子等。

注意：（1）參考詞匯：猜燈謎guess riddles；踩高蹺walk on stilts；舞獅子do lion dancing；元宵節(jié)the Lantern Festival

（2）可適當(dāng)發(fā)揮；詞數(shù)：100左右。

Blessings：

1.元宵節(jié)之際，祝你心中有首快樂的歌，新年快樂！

Wishing you a merry song in your heart at Lantern Festival and blessings all year long！

2.在元宵節(jié)來臨之際，祝你平安、快樂、幸福、萬事圓！

Wishing you peace， joy and happiness and everything all the best through Lantern Festival！

3.致以熱烈的祝賀和良好的祝福，元宵節(jié)快樂！

Warm greetings and best wishes for Lantern Festival！

4.快樂的元宵節(jié)之際，謹(jǐn)致我的想念與祝福。

Think of you and wish you a Happy Lantern Festival.

5.元宵節(jié)轉(zhuǎn)眼又到，快樂也到！我們向你及你的親人們致以最美好的圣誕祝福，愿你在接下來的日子里事業(yè)興旺，幸福美滿！

It seems that Lantern Festival is here once again， and it is time again to bring in happiness.We wish the merriest of Lantern Festival to you and your loved ones， and we wish you happiness and prosperity in the days ahead！

6.愿你元宵節(jié)幸福無盡。

May Lantern Festival be filled with happiness for you.

Suggested answers：

Ⅰ.Questions：

1. According to the folk custom of China， what will people do on the night of the Lantern Festival？

Key： People on that night will lighten up fancy lanterns and go out to appreciate the moon， set off fireworks， guess riddles written on lanterns， and eat rice glue balls to celebrate the festival.

2. How did the custom of appreciating lanterns on the Lantern Festival come into being？

Key： It originates from the Eastern Han Dynasty， when Buddhism was introduced into China.It is a Buddhist convention that the monks would visit Buddhist relics and lighten up lanterns to show respect to Buddha on Jan. 15. Therefore， Emperors of that dynasty， determined to promote Buddhism， ordered people to lighten up lanterns in both palaces and temples on that night to show respect to Buddha. So it was the civilians.

3. Please explain to your foreign friends why we Chinese eat yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival？

Key： Eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour is important part of the Lantern Festival. We call these balls “yuanxiao” or “tangyuan”. Obviously， they get the name from the festival itself. Made of sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing and round in shape， it symbolizes family unity， completeness and happiness.

4. What kind of celebrating activities will be held in celebration the Lantern Festival？

Key： People go to streets with a variety of lanterns under the full moon， watching Lion or Dragon Dance， playing Chinese riddles and games， stilting， striking land boat， doing the Yangko， striking Peace Drum， enjoying yuanxiao and setting off firecrackers and so on.

Ⅱ.Riddles

1.A river.（河流有河口及分叉處）

2.A clock.

3.A glove.

4.The second hand.（此處的second指的是時(shí)鐘的秒針，英文中的秒針與二手貨正巧是同一個(gè)字。）

5.Because there is never any CHANGE in it（因?yàn)榭盏钠A中絕對不會(huì)有零錢/改變。零錢與改變是同一個(gè)單詞“change”。）

6.In the dictionary.

7.A phone.（因?yàn)榻与娫捠莂nswer the phoneo）

Ⅲ.Written work

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It falls on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar year. Whenever the festival draws near， Chinese people make some preparations and take part in all kinds of activities， like singing and dancing. As every Chinese person knows， families get together on the day of the festival and eat tangyuan. In the evening， people go out to look at the bright and colorful lanterns， which is relaxing and pleasant. In some parts of China， people take part in activities， such as guessing riddles， walking on stilts and doing lion dancing. On the whole， the Lantern Festival is an important festival in China， just like the Spring Festival.