姓名：

P10—2d

Clara: Guess what? I'm going to Chiang Mai in two weeks.

Ben: Wow, sounds like fun! But I believe that April is the hottest month of the year there.

Clara: Yes, that's true. But there is a water festival there from April 13th to 15th.

Ben: I wonder if it's similar to the Water Festival of the Dai people in Yunnan Province.

Clara: Yes, I think so. This is the time of the Thai New Year. People go ton the streets to throw water at each other.

Ben: Cool! But why do they do that?

Clara: Because the new year is a time for cleaning and washing bad things. Then you'll have good luck in the new year.

克拉拉：你猜怎么着？ 两周后我打算去清迈。

本：哇，听起来很有趣！但是我相信四月份是那里一年中最热的月份。

克拉拉：是的，的确如此。但是在那里，从四月十三号到十五号有个泼水节。

本：我想知道它是否和云南省傣族的泼水节相似。

克拉拉：是的，我认为是这样的。这个时候是泰国的新年。人们到街头去互相泼水。

本：太酷了！但是他们为什么那么做呢？

克拉拉：因为新年是一个用来清扫和洗去不好东西的时间。然后在新的一年里你将拥有好运。

P11—3a

Full Moon, Full Feelings

Chinese people have been celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying mooncakes for centuries. Mooncakes have the shape of a full moon on mid-autumn night. They carry people’s wishes to the families they love and miss.

There are many traditional folk stories about this festival. However, most people think that the story of Chang’e is the most touching. Chang’e was Hou Yi’s beautiful wife. After Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, a goddess gave him a magic medicine to thank him. Whoever drank this could live forever, and Hou Yi planned to drink it with Chang’e. However, a bad man, Feng Meng, tried to steal the medicine when Hou Yi was not home. Chang’e refused to give it to him and drank it all. She became very light and flew up to the moon. Hou Yi was so sad that he called out her name to the moon every night. One night, he found that the moon was so bright and round that he could see his wife there. He quickly laid out her favorite fruits and desserts in the garden. How he wished that Chang’e could come back!

After this, people started the tradition of admiring the moon and sharing mooncakes with their families.

月满，情浓

数世纪以来，中国人一直在庆中秋，吃月饼。月饼是中秋之夜满月的形状。月饼寄托着人们对他们所爱与四年的家人的祝福。

关于这个节日有很多传统的民间故事。然而，大多数人认为嫦娥的故事是最动人的。嫦娥是后羿美丽的妻子。在后羿射下九个太阳之后，一位女神送给他仙药作为酬谢。后已打算和嫦娥一起服用。然而，一个坏人，蓬蒙试图趁后羿不在家时偷仙药。嫦娥拒绝给他，自己吞下全部仙药。她身体变得很轻，飞上了月宫。后羿伤心不已，每晚对月呼喊她的名字。一天夜里，他发现月亮如此亮而圆以至于能看到他的妻子就在那里。他飞快地在花园里摆出她最喜欢的水果和甜点。他是多么希望嫦娥能回来啊！

此后，人们便开始了同家人一起赏月、品月饼的传统。

P14—2b

The Spirit of Christmas

Many would agree that when we think of Christmas, we probably think of gifts, Christmas trees and Santa Claus. But behind all these things lies the true meaning of Christmas: the importance of sharing and giving love and joy to people around us. The story in A Christmas Carol is perhaps the best example of this.

A Christmas Carol is a famous novel written by Charles Dickens. It is about an old man named Scrooge who never laughs or smiles. He is mean and only thinks about himself, and doesn’t treat others nicely. He just cares about whether he can make more money. And he hates Christmas. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge sees the ghost of Jacob Marley, his dead business partner. Marley used to be just like Scrooge, so he was punished after he died. He warns Scrooge to change his ways if he doesn’t want to end up like him. He also tells Scrooge to expect three spirits to visit him.

That night, three ghosts visit Scrooge. First, the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him back to his childhood and reminds Scrooge of his happier days as a child. Then the second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes him to see how others are spending Christmas this year. Everyone is happy, even poor people. The last one, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, takes him to the future. He sees that he is dead but nobody cares. Scrooge is so scared that he wakes up in his bed and finds out it is already the next morning on Christmas Day!

He decides to change his life and promises to be a better person. He happily celebrates Christmas with his relatives. He also gives gifts to people in need. He now treats everyone with kindness and warmth, spreading love and joy everywhere he goes. And that is the true spirit of Christmas!

圣诞精神

很多人同意这一点：当我们想到圣诞节时，我们或许会想到礼物、圣诞树和圣诞老人，但是在这背后存在着圣诞节的真谛：分享和给于我们周围的人爱与欢乐的重要性。《圣诞颂歌》的故事或许是这一点最好的例子。

《圣诞颂歌》是查尔斯狄更斯著名的短篇小说。它讲述的是一个叫斯克鲁奇的从来不笑的老人。他吝啬，只考虑自己。从不善待他人。他只关心如何能挣到更多的钱，他厌恶圣诞节。一个圣诞前夜，斯克鲁奇看到了他死去的合伙人雅各布马力的灵魂。玛利过去就像斯克鲁奇一样，所以在死后受到了惩罚。他告诫斯克鲁奇，如果他不想走上自己的老路，就要改变生活方式。他还告诫斯克鲁奇将有三个幽灵来拜访他。

那天晚上，三个鬼魂拜访了斯克鲁奇。首先，圣诞节“过去之灵”带他回到了他的童年，使他回想起他的童年欢乐时光。然后，第二个幽灵， 圣诞节“现在之灵” 带他去看其他人如何过今年的圣诞节。每个人，甚至穷人都很幸福。最后一个，圣诞节“未来之灵”带他去了未来。斯克鲁奇看到他死了，可是没人在乎。他惊恐万分地从自己的床上醒来，发现已经是第二天早上------圣诞节了。

他决定改变自己的生活，发誓做个好人。他开心地同亲戚们一起庆祝圣诞节，他还送给困难中的人礼物。他现在对每个人都善良和热情，把爱和欢乐传播到所到之处。那就是真正的圣诞精神！