Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world. It is also called the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year. The exact date of the Spring Festival on the Western calendar changes from year to year. However, Chinese New Year takes place between January 1 and February 19.
On the Chinese calendar every year has an animal's name. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named after the rat, the winner. The other eleven years were named according to the order in which the animals arrived in the race. The clever rat jumped onto the ox's back, and then at the end jumped over the ox's head to arrive first!
The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of that animal.
lunar 月(亮)的 exact 确切的 calendar 日历 rat 鼠 ox 公 牛 rabbit 兔子 ram 公羊 rooster 公鸡 legend 传说 name after 按....命名 particular 特殊的 characteristic 特征
春 节
对于全世界的华人来说，中国的新年是最重要的节日。人们也称它为春节或农历新年。 公历春节的确切日期每年都在变化。但是春节一般都在 1 月 1 日 到 2 月 19 日 之间。 在农历中，每年都有一个生肖。这些生肖是鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗和猪。据传说，这十二个动物举行了一次赛跑，第一年就以获胜者鼠命名，其他十一年就根据动物们到达终点的顺序命名。聪明的鼠跳在牛背上，在最后时刻跳过牛的头顶第一个到达终点！ 中国人相信在某一年出生的人具有这一年生肖的一些特征。
2 A Teenager's Joke: Guidelines for Doing Schoolwork
My school had a policy about homework. Students should not spend more than ninety minutes per night doing homework. This is how I use the time for my work.
Fifteen minutes looking for assignment; Eleven minutes calling a friend for the assignment; Twenty three minutes explaining why the teacher is mean and does not like teenagers; Eight minutes in the bathroom; Ten minutes getting a snack; Seven minutes checking the TV Guide;
Six minutes telling my parents that the teacher never explained the assignment;
Ten minutes sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Mom or Dad to do the assignment.
guideline 指导方针 policy 政策 per 每
assignment 作业 mean 低劣的 snack 小吃 TV guide 电视指南
有关青少年的一则笑话——做作业的指导方针
我的学校有一项针对作业的政策。学生每天晚上做作业的时间不应该超过九十分钟。 以下就是我如何为完成作业而使用这九十分钟的。 花十五分钟找作业；花十一分钟打电话向同学问作业；
花二十三分 钟抱怨 老师为什么总是那么讨厌，为什么不喜欢我们这些十几岁的孩子； 花八分钟在洗手间里；花十分钟找小吃；
花七分钟查看电视节目预告；花六分钟告诉父母，老师从没解释过所布置的作业； 花十分钟坐在餐桌旁等妈妈或者爸爸来做作业。
3 The Toad and the Frog
A toad saw a frog near the road. He was a fat old frog. He sat and moaned and groaned.
The toad said, “Do not moan and groan, Mr. Frog. Hop like me. Hop down the road.”
So the frog and the toad went down the road to a big oak tree. “I am home,” said the toad. “Come in and I will make tea.”
But Mr. Frog said, in a deep croak, “I must not roam far from home. I will be off to my home near the pond.”
toad 蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆 moan 呻吟 hop 跳跃 oak 橡树 croak 一种低而嘶哑的声音
癞蛤蟆和青蛙
一只癞蛤蟆在路边看到一只青蛙。那是只又胖又老的青蛙。他坐在那里呻吟叹息着。 癞蛤蟆说：“青蛙先生，不要呻吟叹息了。像我一样跳吧。沿着这条路跳。” 所以青蛙和癞蛤蟆一起沿着小路跳到一棵大橡树下。 “我到家了，”癞蛤蟆说，“进来吧，我来泡茶。”
但青蛙用低沉的声音说：“我不能在离家远的地方闲逛，我要回我在池塘边上的家。” 4.
A was an apple pie A是一个苹果(APPLE)派 N nodded at it N对苹果派点头(NODDED) B bit it B咬了(BIT)它一口 O opened it O打开了(OPENED)它 C cut it C切开(CUT)它 P peeped in it P觊觎(PEEPED)它 D dealt with it D来分发(DEALT)它 Q quartered it Q把个苹果派分成了四份 E ate it E吃了(EAT)它 (QUARTERED) F fought for it F为了它而与人打斗(FOUGHT) R ran for it R为了它跑 (RAN) G got it G得到了(GOT)它 S stole it S偷了它(STOLE) H had it H拥有了(HAD)它 T took it T拿走了(TOOK)苹果派 I inspected it I来检查(INSPECTED)它 U upset it U打翻了(UPSET)它 J jumped for it J为得到了苹果派而欢蹦乱跳 V viewed it V审视着(VIEWED)它
W wanted it W想得到(WANTED)它 (JUMPED)
K kept it K保存(KEPT)起了苹果派 X，Y，Z and ampersand all wished for a piece L longed for it L渴望(LONGED)得到苹果派 in hand. M mourned for it M因没得到苹果派而伤心落泪 XYZ和&都希望手上能有一块苹果派。 (MOURNED)
bit bite 咬的过去时 dealt with deal with 处理的过去时 inspect 检查 long for 渴望 mourn 哀悼 nod 点头 peep 窥视 quarter 分成四份 upset upset 弄翻的过去时 view 观察 ampersand 记号名称
5 Homestay in the US
My name is Jenny and I did a homestay in America. When I first met my host mother, Mary, she gave me a big hug. I was really shocked because
I had never been hugged before, and I wasn sure how to respond. By the time I left America, though, I came to enjoy hugging and being hugged. Shaking hands was also a challenge. My homestay father, Peter, looked at me straight in the eye and squeezed my hand firmly.
Both Mary and Peter wanted me to call them by their first names because they, as Americans, like informality. By using first names only, we felt friendlier towards each other.
homestay 家庭寄宿 host 东道主 hug 拥抱 shock 震惊 respond 回应 challenge 挑战 straight 直接地 squeeze 挤压 firmly 紧紧地 informality 随意
在美国家庭寄宿
我叫珍妮，我在美国家庭寄宿。当我第一次见到我要寄宿那家的母亲玛丽时，她热情地拥抱了我。我确实感到非常震惊因为我从来没有被拥抱过，我不知道该如何回应。然而到我要离开美国时，我已经非常喜欢拥抱别人和被别人拥抱了。
握手也是个挑战。我寄宿那家的父亲彼特，直视着我的眼睛，紧紧地握我的手。
玛丽和彼特都希望我对他们直呼其名，因为美国人一般比较随意。通过直呼其名，我们互相之间感到更加亲切友好。
6 Brothers and Sisters
My sister is a year older than me and we've been sharing a room since I was 3 years old. We are very close, but we also fight all the time. Our fights are never serious. I can't remember the cause of our fights
now, but they were always over small things. Sometimes it was just over a particular word I used or maybe just because my sister gave my teddy bear a hug and I was unhappy about it. We don't take our fights very seriously as if all the fights are a game. I think it's perfectly okay for kids to fight with their brothers or sisters. Now I'm a teenager, and I even think that they're sweet memories!
share 分享 serious 认真的 cause 原因 fight 打架 particular 特别的，特殊的
teddy bear 玩具熊 teenage 青少年 perfectly 完全 兄 弟 姐 妹
我的姐姐比我大一岁，从我三岁起我们就一直合用一个房间。我们非常亲密，但是我们也时常打架。我们打架从来不是认真的。我现在都记不起我们打架的原因，但肯定是因为一些小事。有时候，仅仅是因为我用的某个词，或者是因为姐姐抱了我的玩具熊，而我对此感到生气。我们从来不把打架当真，就好像这只是场游戏。我觉得小孩子和兄弟姐妹们打打闹闹没有什么。现在我已经十几岁了，但我觉得那都是我美好的回忆！
7 Thirty Days Hath September （Nursery Rhyme）
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November; All the rest have thirty-one, Except for February alone,
It has twenty-eight days clear, And twenty-nine on each Leap Year.
hath （古英语）=has leap year 闰年
三十天的是九月（童谣一首）
三十天的是九月，四月，六月和十一月；其余的月份都是三十一天， 除了二月，二月只有二十八天， 每个闰年二月有二十九天。
8 Two Dumplings
A young man had a small business. He worked very hard, and he made a lot of money. One day, he had dinner with a businessman. He wanted the man to
become his business partner. When they finished the dinner, there were two dumplings left.
The young man told the waitress: \"Please pack them in a doggy bag and I'd like to take them home.Soon the businessman decided to work together with the young man. He said, \"The young man is great. He has lots of money but he won't waste it.
dumpling 饺子 partner 伙伴 waitress 女服务员 pack 包 doggy bag （饭店里客人将吃剩食物打包带走时用的）纸包
两个饺子
一个年轻人做了点小生意。他工作很努力，所以他赚到了许多钱。一天，他和一个商人吃饭。他希望那个人成为他的生意伙伴。当他们吃完饭后，还剩下两个饺子。
年轻人告诉服务员小姐：“请把这两个饺子打包，我要带回家去。”很快，这个商人就决定和这个年轻人一起做生意了。他说：“这个年轻人很好。他有很多钱但他不浪费。”
9 A Visit to the City Centre
On their first day in the capital, Diana and Peter visited the Old Tower which stood on a hill near the city centre. There were stairs leading to the top, but Diana and Peter decided to take the lift. At the top there was a caf?and a balcony where visitors could stand and enjoy the view. It was magnificent — you could see the whole city, the river and the hills beyond. On their way back from the Tower, Diana and Peter went past the main square in the city centre. They stopped at a stall to have some orange juice, and sat and watched the traffic for a while. The square was very busy, with cars, buses, bicycles and pedestrians going in all directions. In the centre of the square there was a policeman controlling the traffic.
stair 楼梯 take the lift 乘电梯 balcony 阳台 magnificent 壮观的 stall 摊点 pedestrian 行人 control 控制
游览市中心
戴安娜和彼特第一天游览了首都市容，去了市中心附近小山上的古塔。古塔有楼梯直通塔顶，但戴安娜和彼特决定乘坐电梯。塔顶有一个咖啡厅和观光平台，游客可以俯瞰市容。这儿的景色很美丽——整座城市尽收眼底，还有远处的河流和群山。
在从古塔回来的路上，戴安娜和彼特游览了市中心广场。他们在一个小摊贩前停下喝果汁，坐下小歇一会，观赏街上的车水马龙，广场上小汽车、公共汽车、自行车和行人络绎不绝，广场中心一位警察在指挥交通。
10 Rain, Rain, Go Away（Nursery Rhyme）
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day. Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again. Rain, rain, pour down,
But not a drop on our town. Rain on the green grass, And rain on the tree,
And rain on the housetop, But not on me.
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again on washing day. Rain, rain, go to Germany,
And remain there permanently. Rain, rain, go away,
Come on Martha's wedding day.
remain 保持，逗留 permanently 永远地
雨，雨，走开吧（童谣一首）
雨，雨，走开吧，改天再来吧，雨，雨，去西班牙吧，不要再出现了。 雨，雨，尽情地下吧，但是一滴也不要下到我们镇上来。
雨下在碧绿的草地上，雨下在树上，雨下在房顶上，但不要下在我身上。 雨，雨，走开吧，洗衣服的那天再来吧。 雨，雨，去德国吧，永远待在那里吧 11 An Embarrassing Show
The day of the school science fair had finally arrived, and Lisa was both nervous and excited. She couldn't wait to show off her volcano model at the fair. She might even win the first prize!
As Lisa was setting up her volcano, she noticed her friend Alex's project on the table next to hers. Weeks ago, Alex had asked her for help in creating a model of the solar system, and Lisa was glad to help. He never told her he as going to enter it in the Science Fair! His model was painted beautifully in different colours. Finally Alex got the first place and Lisa felt very embarrassed.
fair 展览会 nervous 神经紧张的，不安的 excited 兴奋的 show off 炫耀 volcano 火山 project 设计，计划
create 创作，创造 solar system 太阳系 embarrassed 觉得难堪的
一次令人难堪的展览
学校的科学展览日终于到来了，丽莎既紧张又兴奋。她等不及要在展览会上炫耀她的火山模型。她甚至有可能赢得第一名！ 正当丽莎组装她的火山时，她注意到旁边桌子上她朋友亚历克斯的设计。几星期前，亚历克斯曾请她帮助他创作一个太阳系的模型，丽莎很乐意地帮助了他。可他从没告诉过她他打算拿它参加科学展览！他的模型色彩鲜艳。最终亚历克斯获得了第一名，丽莎觉得很难堪！
12 Humour — Things Your Mother Wouldn’t Say
\"Be good and I'll buy you a motorcycle for your birthday! \"How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?\" \"Don's bother wearing a jacket — it's quite warm out.
\"Let me smell that shirt — yeah, it's good for another week. \"I think a cluttered bedroom is a sign of creativity.?
\"Yeah, I used to skip school, too.?
\"Just leave all the lights on...it makes the house more cheery. \"Could you turn the music up louder so I can enjoy it, too?
humour 幽默 motorcycle 摩托车 on earth 究竟 smell 闻 cluttered 混乱的
sign 预兆，表现 creativity 创造力 skip 跳 cheery 愉快的
幽默——母亲不会说的话
“你表现好，我就给你买辆摩托车作为生日礼物！” “你怎么能够坐得这么远看电视呢？”
“不用麻烦再穿夹克衫了——外面很暖和。”
“让我闻闻这件衬衫——好，还可以再穿一个星期。” “我觉得乱七八糟的卧室也是创造力的表现。” “好，我以前也逃过课。”
“就让所有的灯都开着吧……这样的房间更令人愉快。” “你可以把音乐开得再响一点吗？这样我也可以欣赏它。”
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