中国的情人节
英语课
The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is known as Qi Xi Jie or 七夕节, a traditional holiday that has been recently called China's Valentine's Day.
The 2,000-plus-year-old holiday marks the star-crossed love between a cow herder Niulang and Zhinu, a weaver 1 of clouds and the daughter of the Jade 2 Emperor who is the Daoist ruler of heaven.
The story goes that the two fell in love and got married, but their bond was met with disapproval 3 by Wangmu, Zhinu's mother and the queen of heaven. Niulang is viewed as the star Altair and Zhinu as the star Vega. With a swift move of her hairpin 4, she separated the two with a river in the sky, known today as the Milky 5 Way.
But the queen took pity on them and gave them one night of the year to spend together. On Qi Xi Jie, the queen is said to send magpies 7 to bridge the celestial 8 gap between the two star lovers.
Rooted in Astronomy:
The tale seems to be an interpretation 9 of the prominence 10 of the two stars Altair and Vega, which together with Deneb, make up the Western constellation 11, The Summer Triangle, which is highly visible in the summer in the northern hemisphere.
In an interview with Xinhua, Beijing Normal University folklore 12 professor Xiao Fang 13 said that the rejuvenation 14 of the holiday in China is due to two phenomenons.
"First, it is a natural response to the challenges of Western festivals, such as the Valentine's Day and Christmas. Secondly 15, people need special occasions to channel their affections so they want such a festival to socialize," Fang told Xinhua.
Modern Interpretations 16:
Many Chinese view it as another chance to buy gifts for their sweethearts, and the holiday is repeated again on February 14, where Valentine's culture appears to have permeated 17 the earth.
The lovers were once immortalized by Song Dynasty poet Qin Guan. Thanks to Dr. Kylie Hsu from Cal State Los Angeles, here is a translation of that poem Fairy of the Magpie 6 BridgeA great line from Hsu's translation: "A night of rendezvous 18, across the autumn sky. Surpasses joy on earth."Watch a youtube video of last one Qi Xi Jie celebration here.
Comments: when more and more young people are celebrating x'mas at the end of year, many westerners also show great interest in the traditional Chinese festivals, such as Spring Festival and Qi Xi. It is a good thing when Chinese culture has been widespread around the world and will become a dominant 19 role in the globalized context.
1 weaver
n.织布工；编织者
- She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
- The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
2 jade
n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠
- The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
- He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。
3 disapproval
n.反对，不赞成
- The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
- They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。
4 hairpin
n.簪,束发夹，夹发针
- She stuck a small flower onto the front of her hairpin.她在发簪的前端粘了一朵小花。
- She has no hairpin because her hair is short.因为她头发短，所以没有束发夹。
5 milky
adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的
- Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
- I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。
6 magpie
n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者
- Now and then a magpie would call.不时有喜鹊的叫声。
- This young man is really a magpie.这个年轻人真是饶舌。
7 magpies
喜鹊（magpie的复数形式）
- They set forth chattering like magpies. 他们叽叽喳喳地出发了。
- James: besides, we can take some pied magpies home, for BBQ. 此外，我们还可以打些喜鹊回家，用来烧烤。
8 celestial
adj.天体的；天上的
- The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
- Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
9 interpretation
n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理
- His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
- Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。
10 prominence
n.突出；显著；杰出；重要
- He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
- This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。
11 constellation
n.星座n.灿烂的一群
- A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
- The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。
12 folklore
n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗
- Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
- In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。
13 fang
n.尖牙，犬牙
- Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
- The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。
14 rejuvenation
n. 复原，再生, 更新, 嫩化, 恢复
- Prolonged starvation and aging might lead to rejuvenation of embryogenic potential. 长期的饥饿和衰老可以导致胚胎发生能力的复壮。
- All this signs rejuvenation of agriculture. 所有这些都预示着农业将复苏。
15 secondly
adv.第二，其次
- Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
- Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。
16 interpretations
n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解
- This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 permeated
弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透
- The smell of leather permeated the room. 屋子里弥漫着皮革的气味。
- His public speeches were permeated with hatred of injustice. 在他对民众的演说里，充满了对不公正的愤慨。
18 rendezvous
n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇
- She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
- I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。
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情人节