中国春节风俗习惯 第9期:春节故事(1)

 　　Another year of good fortune is beginning in China.

　　在中国，新的好运年又开始了。

　　Fireworks pop high in the sky, dragons dance in the streets, and the cities close down to celebrate Chinese New Year and Chinese culture.

　　烟花窜上了天空，龙舞跳跃在街上，城市为庆祝新年而歇业。

　　It's the most important time of the year, rules and traditions and customs passed down through the ages.

　　这是一年中最重要的时刻，传统习俗代代相传。

　　The celebration lasts for 15 magical days full of family togetherness, delicious food and good fortune.

　　庆典持续15天，每天都是美妙的家人聚会，美食吃不完，好运享不尽。

　　Today Chinese New Year is filled with happiness. But according to legend it didn't start out that way.

　　现在的春节充满了欢乐。但是传说开始时并非这样。A long long time ago in China, there was a big scary nasty¹ beast named Nian, whose name means year.

　　很久很久以前，在中国有一种野兽叫“年”，它体型巨大，长相凶猛，及其危险。

　　He had razor-sharp teeth, gaint claws, and really mean growl².

　　它有着利齿和巨爪，吼声吓人。

　　Most of the time he lived in the wilderness³, but in the darkest night of the year, when the new moon was in the sky, he would sneak⁴ into the village and scare everyone inside, even the animals.

　　大部分时间它住在荒野，但在一年中最黑暗的夜里，天上挂着一弯新月时，它会潜入村庄，吓走村里的每个人，连动物也不放过。

　　People dreaded⁵ the new moon for many many years until a wise man taught them the three things Nian was afraid of, loud noises, fire and the color of red.

　　人们很多很多年来都害怕新月的那天晚上，直到一个聪明人告诉他们，“年”害怕三样东西，巨大的声响，火和红色。

　　The next time Nian came, the villagers fought back, they hit their drums as loud as they could, lit every firecracker they had and wore the color red from head to toe.

　　下一次“年”来的时候，村民们反击了，他们用力地敲鼓发出最大的声音，点燃所有的鞭炮，从头到脚都穿上红色。

　　Nian went far away and never came back.

　　“年”跑得老远并且再也没有回来过。

1 nasty   

adj.令人讨厌的，困难的，恶劣的，下流的

参考例句：

• She got a nasty knock on the head when she fell.她跌倒时头部受到严重碰撞。
• When this material burns，it flings off a nasty smell.这种物质燃烧时发出一股难闻的气味。

2 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

5 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》