欧美人文风情第270篇:中国新年的传说

 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，有一只又大又吓人又坏的怪兽叫「年」，他的名字是「一年」的意思。

He had razor-sharp teeth, giant claws, and a really mean growl². 他有很锐利的牙齿、巨大的爪子，还有十分可怕的低吼声。

Most of the time he lived in the wilderness³, but on the darkest night of the year, 他大多时候住在荒野中，但在一年中最黑暗的夜里，

when the new moon was in the sky, he would sneak⁴ into the village and scare everyone inside, even the animals. 新月高挂空中之际，年兽就会溜进村庄吓村里的每个人，就连动物也不例外。

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 red. 人们许多年来都惧怕新月，直到一位智者教他们年兽害怕的三件事物：巨大的噪音、火，以及红色。

The next time Nian came, the villagers fought back. 年兽下一次来时，村民们反击回去。

They hit their drums as loud as they could, lit every firecracker they had, and wore the color red from head to toe. 他们使尽全力让鼓声大作、点燃他们拥有的每支鞭炮，并且从头到脚都穿着大红色。

Nian ran far away and never came back. 年兽逃得远远地，而且再也没回来过。

After that, the people started celebrating the new moon instead of fearing it. 在那之后，人们开始庆祝新月而非害怕新月。

That celebration became a 15-day festival of family, food, and good fortune called Chinese New Year. 那庆典变成一个名为中国新年，关于家人、美食和福气且为期十五天的节日。

 

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》