VOA标准英语2014--California Event Brings Lunar New Year Festivities to Chinese Diaspora

 

California Event Brings Lunar New Year Festivities to Chinese Diaspora

POMONA, CALIFORNIA — Many Asians around the world are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year.  This year, the year of the horse, begins on the last day of January.  Many Asian Americans say celebrating the Lunar New Year in the United States is very different from what it’s like in Asia.  One tradition in the Los Angeles, California area is going to the Asian American Expo.  

From the music, to traditional foods from throughout Asia, to the sea of Asian faces, this event could be anywhere in Asia.  But the Asian American Expo is fewer than 50 kilometers east of Los Angeles.  It is a place where tens of thousands of people, mainly from the Chinese Diaspora, come as a part of their Lunar New Year Celebration.  

“It made our New Year feel so much better,” said Julien Tan¹ who is from Malaysia.

Lily He feels the same way.  She said attending the event feels more like a New Year celebration in China, although it is not as good as the celebrations back home.

He remembers Lunar New Year celebrations in China where everyone would be on vacation for weeks.  But in the United States she has to work, so the most she can do is go to her mother’s home for a holiday meal.

Originally from Taiwan, Alex Hong said in the United States, he celebrates the western New Year, not the Lunar New Year.

The Asian American Expo is trying to change that by scheduling the annual event around the Lunar New Year and by bringing a more festive² feel to the Chinese Diaspora, according to event Operations Director, Gorden Kao.

“Overseas, New Year is a really big event, they bring out the firecrackers - everything - family, food and everything.  In the local market, even though there are lot of Chinese immigrants³, they do not really do much to celebrate.  That is why we are putting on an event where we pretty much bring everything together to get all this done,” Kao said. 

The Asian American Expo originally started 33 years ago to bring local businesses together.  But it has evolved⁴ into an event where consumers can come and see new products from China and Taiwan.

“These are all products that you probably would not find even around here, in the United States,” added Kao.

But many people come for a taste of the old favorites from back home, like a lion dance and some stinky tofu.  They are also here to share old cultural traditions in a new land with the next generation.

1 tan   

n.鞣制革，黄褐色；adj.黄褐色的，鞣皮的；vt.晒黑，鞣(革)，鞭打；vi.晒成棕褐色

参考例句：

• She had gotten a good tan after the holiday at the sea.在海边度假之后，她的皮肤晒得黑黑的。
• His arms and legs had a dark tan.他的手臂和腿晒得黑黑的。

2 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

3 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 evolved   

动词evolve的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The idea evolved from a drawing I discovered in the attic. 这种想法是从我在阁楼里发现的一幅画得到启发的。
• Man was evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal. 人大概是从住在树上的祖先进化而来的。