普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语必修3 Unit 1 Festivals around

Li Fang¹ was heart-broken. It was Valentine's Day and Hu Jin had said she would meet him at the coffee shop after work. But she didn't turn up. She could be with her friends right now laughing at him. She said she would be there at seven o'clock, and he thought she would keep her word. He had looked forward to meeting her all day, and now he was alone with his roses and chocolates, like a fool. Well, he was not going to hold his breath² for her to apologize. He would drown his sadness in coffee.

          It was obvious that the manager of the coffee shop was waiting for Li Fang to leave - he wiped the tables, then sat down and turned on the TV -just what Li Fang needed! A sad Chinese story about lost love.

          The granddaughter of the Goddess of Heaven visited the earth. Her name was Zhinü, the weaving³ girl. While she was on earth she met the herd⁴ boy Niulang and they fell in love. ("Just like me and Hu Jin," thought Li Fang.) They got married secretly, and they were very happy. ("We could be like that," thought Li Fang.) When the Goddess of Heaven knew that her granddaughter was married to a human, she became very angry and made the weaving girl return to Heaven. Niulang tried to follow her, but the river of stars, the Milky⁵ Way, stopped him. Finding⁶ that Zhinii was heart-broken, her grandmother finally decided⁷ to let the couple cross the Milky Way to meet once a year. Magpies⁸ make a bridge of their wings so the couple can cross the river to meet on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. People in China hope that the weather will be fine on that day, because if it is raining, it means⁹ that Zhinü is weeping¹⁰ and the couple won't be able to meet.

           The announcer¹¹ said, "This is the story of Qiqiao Festival. When foreigners hear about the story, they call it a Chinese Valentine's story. It's a fine day today, so I hope you can all meet the one you love."

           As Li Fang set off for home, he thought, "I guess Hu Jin doesn't love me. I'll just throw these flowers and chocolates away. I don't want them to remind me of her." So he did.

          As he sadly passed the tea shop on the corner on his way home, he heard a voice calling him. There was Hu Jin waving at him and calling, "Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you for a long time! And I have a gift for you!"

           What would he do? He had thrown away her Valentine gifts! She would never forgive him. This would not be a happy Valentine's Day!

1 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• 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。

2 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。

3 weaving   

v.编，织，织成( weave的现在分词 )；编排；杜撰；（把…）编成

参考例句：

• Weaving and knitting are traditional cottage industries. 编织和针织是传统的家庭手工业。
• traditional crafts like basket-weaving 像编篮子之类的传统工艺

4 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

5 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• 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 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 magpies   

喜鹊（magpie的复数形式）

参考例句：

• 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。

9 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

10 weeping   

adj. 哭泣的，<古>下雨的，垂枝的 动词weep的现在分词

参考例句：

• It's no use weeping over what can't be helped. 对于无能为力的事哭也没用。
• Is she still weeping away? She's been crying all day! 她还在哭吗？她已经哭了一整天了！

11 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。