I s the atmosphere of Chinese Spring Festival fading?

西安外國語大學(xué) 楊艷鑫

Jutroduction

春節(jié)是中國人一年當(dāng)中最隆重、熱鬧的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日，也是與親朋好友團(tuán)聚的重要時(shí)刻。隨著社會(huì)發(fā)展與時(shí)代進(jìn)步，大家對(duì)春節(jié)的向往似乎不及以前，人們過年的習(xí)俗也發(fā)生了巨大變化。但是春節(jié)的意義對(duì)于每一個(gè)中國人來說都是不曾改變的。

The Chinese Spring Festival is coming soon.The Spring Festival,commonly known as Chinese Lunar New Year,is the most important festival for Chinese people.

The Chinese people always spend several days preparing abundant food for family reunion dinner and buying sweets and fruits toentertainguests.During the holiday,they will visit relatives and friends with gifts.The festival will last till the 15th of the first lunar month.

With the development of economy and technology,the Spring Festival has undergone manychanges.But many people complain that the festive atmosphere is fading.

Some say the attraction of Lunar New Year's Eve dinner is not as strong as before because of improved living standards.In particular,people who live in Chinese coastal areas and urban cities become richer that they can enjoy big meals at ordinary times.They prefer to eat out instead of cooking at home on New Year's Eve.

Some of the Spring Festival customs have changed.In the past,the Chinese people used to wear their new clothes in the holiday.Elders gave younger generations “red envelope”—a gift with a sum of money in red packets,delivering their best wishes.

But now,it is possible todistributevirtual（ 虛 擬 的 ）red envelopes of money by smart phones.It's more convenient and funny,but at the same time,there islack ofthe milk of human kindness（人情味）.

In the past,most of Chinese people preferred to gather together at home,watching the CCTV(China Central Television)Spring Festival Gala on Lunar New Year's Eve.Today,people have plenty of choices.Many youngsters in China are transfixed（使動(dòng)彈不得）by the light of mobile phone screens and other electronic products.They are addicted to computer games and disdain（不屑）to look up at the television programs.

No matter how the Spring Festival customs change,the significance of the Spring Festival for the Chinese people remains unchanged.Their wishes for family reunion and happy life are also unchanged.

Reading Check

1.Do you think the atmosphere of Chinese Spring Festival is fading?

2.What does the Spring Festival mean to you?Does it change as you grow up?

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.entertain v.款待；招待

2.distribute v.分發(fā)

3.undergo changes 發(fā)生變化

4.prefer to 更喜歡

5.lack of 缺乏

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.Compared with the life in countryside________I live in city.

2.With the development of technology,society began to________.

3.Barbecues are a favourite way of______friends.

4.The organizations food to the earthquake victims.

5.Despite his________experience,he got the job finally.

主題應(yīng)用·語庫構(gòu)建

Ⅰ.話題表達(dá)分類整理

春節(jié)活動(dòng)類

【常用詞塊】

1.family reunions 家庭團(tuán)聚

2.achallengingdumpling-making competition一項(xiàng)具有挑戰(zhàn)性的包餃子比賽

3.set off fireworks 放煙火

4.holiday decorating 節(jié)日裝飾

5.be decorated with red paper banners 用紅紙橫幅裝飾

6.paste paper cut-outs onto the window 把剪紙貼在窗戶上

7.hang up couplets 掛對(duì)聯(lián)

8.bow to their relatives 向他們的親戚鞠躬

9.make New Year house calls 新年拜訪

10.temple fairs 廟會(huì)

11.traditional Chinese drumming 中國傳統(tǒng)鼓樂

12.shadow play 皮影戲

13.lucky card collection 集?？?/p>

14.honor your ancestors 祭祖

15.sweep the tombs 掃墓

16.sweep away the bad luck 掃走壞運(yùn)氣

17.drive away evil 驅(qū)除惡鬼

18.pay a New Year's call/extend New Year greetings 拜年

19.pay an early New Year's call 拜早年

20.Chinese knot 中國結(jié)

21.red packets/envelopes 紅包

22.lucky money 壓歲錢

23.sticky rice cake 年糕

24.the New Year's Eve dinner 年夜飯

【精彩美句】

1.Digital red packetshavegone viralin recent years,and “grabbing red packets”has become an extremely popular game on WeChat.這幾年電子紅包越發(fā)火爆，“搶紅包”儼然已成了微信上非常流行的游戲。

2.It's a tradition across China tohold a lavish feastto celebrate the New Year.Chinese try very hard to make this family event,oftentraveling long distances.除夕準(zhǔn)備一頓豐盛的年夜飯是中國人過年的傳統(tǒng)。為了這頓年夜飯，人們常常跋涉千里與家人團(tuán)聚。

3.Paper cut-outsare colored lucky red,with beautiful and exaggerated patterns.Theyexpress hopes ofa merry and prosperous life,in line withthe Spring Festival theme.這些剪紙都是幸運(yùn)的中國紅，圖案夸張絢麗，表達(dá)了人們對(duì)快樂富足生活的向往，正合了春節(jié)的喜慶氣氛。

4.Long strings offirecrackersare set offthroughout the holiday,and there are manydisplays of fireworks lighting upthe evening skies.整個(gè)節(jié)日期間都燃放著長長的鞭炮，還有許多煙火表演點(diǎn)亮了夜空。

5.These elaborate cut-outs usuallydepict scenes from rural lifeorChinese mythology,andaretraditionallyput up onsouth and north facing windows.這些精致的剪紙通常描繪鄉(xiāng)村生活或中國神話的場景，按傳統(tǒng)是貼在朝南和朝北的窗戶上。

6.Chinese celebratorshead totemples topray forgood luck during the New Year celebration period.在春節(jié)期間，中國的慶祝者前往寺廟祈求好運(yùn)。

7.The 15th day of Zheng Yuemarks the official end ofthe Spring Festival and is a festivalin its own right—the Lantern Festival.正月十五標(biāo)志著春節(jié)的正式結(jié)束，它本身就是一個(gè)節(jié)日——元宵節(jié)。

常用春節(jié)祝福語

1.Wish you prosperity and wealth.恭喜發(fā)財(cái)！

2.Wish your family happiness.闔家歡樂！

3.Wish you good health.身體健康！

4.Hope everything goes your way.萬事如意！

5.Hope you make progress in your studies.學(xué)業(yè)進(jìn)步！

6.Hope everything goes well with your work.工作順利！

7.May all your wishes come true.心想事成！

8.Lots of luck for the Year of the Pig.豬年大吉！

關(guān)于“春晚”的表達(dá)

1.China's annual Spring Festival Gala 中國一年一度的春節(jié)聯(lián)歡晚會(huì)

2.China Central Television 中央電視臺(tái)

3.be drawn to the event 被這個(gè)盛會(huì)吸引

4.domestic and overseas artists 國內(nèi)外藝術(shù)家

5.deliver classic performances 呈上經(jīng)典的表演

6.crosstalk comedy 相聲喜劇

7.short sketch 小品；短劇

8.leave a lasting impression on the audience

給觀眾留下了深刻的印象

9.China's annual Spring Festival Gala has beenone of the most important TV eventsfor local viewers since it debutedover three decades ago.中國一年一度的春節(jié)聯(lián)歡晚會(huì)自三十多年前開播以來，一直是當(dāng)?shù)赜^眾最重要的電視節(jié)目之一。

10.Throughout its history,the Gala hasevolved from a relatively simple song and dance show toa rich and colorful stage where artists of all kindsbring joy and happiness to peoplearound the world.縱觀歷史，春晚從一個(gè)相對(duì)簡單的歌舞節(jié)目發(fā)展到一個(gè)豐富多彩的舞臺(tái)，各種各樣的藝術(shù)家為世界各地的人們帶來歡樂和幸福。

Ⅱ.讀后創(chuàng)寫

假定你是李華，收到美國高中生Smith的來信，他在信中表達(dá)了想了解中國過年風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣的愿望。請(qǐng)你寫封回信，簡要介紹并邀請(qǐng)他來中國過年。內(nèi)容包括：

1.過年時(shí)間；

2.過年風(fēng)俗；

3.禁忌和注意事項(xiàng)。注意：

1.詞數(shù)100左右；

2.可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

Dear Smith，

Yours,

Li Hua