欧美人文风情第270篇:中国新年的传说(在线收听

 A long, long time ago in China, there was a big, scary, nasty 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 growl. 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 wilderness, 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 sneak 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 dreaded 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。
 
  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/omrwfq/465986.html