【正文】 wi nter and the agri cul tural work i s over. In European countri es, people wil usual y decorate churches and town hal l s with fl owers and frui t, and wil l get together to have m eal s. Som e peopl e mi ght wi n awards for thei r farm produce, l i ke the bi gest waterm elon or the m ost handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have m i dautum n festi vals, when peopl e adm ire the m oon and i n Chi na, enjoy mooncakes. Spri ng Festi val s The most energeti c and im portant festi vals are te ones that l ook forward to the end of wi nter and to the ing of spri ng. At the Spring Festi val i n Chi na, peopl e eat dum pi ngs i fsh and m eat and m ay gi ve chil dren l ucky m oney i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carni val s , and fami li es cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Som e Western countri es have very exci ti ng carni cals, whi ch take pl ace forty days before Easter, usual y i n February. These carni val s m i ght i ncl ude parades, danci ng i n the streets day and ni ght, l oud m usi c and col ourful cl othi ng of al l kinds. Easter i s an im portant reli gi ous and soci al festival for Chi ri sti ans around the worl d. It celebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spri ng and new l ife. Japan’s Cherry Bl osom Festi cal happens a l ittl e l ater. The country, covered wi th cherry tree fl owers, l ooks as though i t is covered wi th pi nk snow. People l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festival s let us enjoy li fe, be proud of our custom s and fet ou work for a li ttl e whil e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Ji n had sai d she woul d m et him at the coffe shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be wi th her friends ri ght now l aughi ng at him. She said she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. H e had l ooked forward to m eeting her al l day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocol ates, li ke a fol. Wel l, he ws not going to hol d hi s breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d drown hi s sadness i n coffee. It was obvi ous that the manager of the coffee shop was wai ti ng for Li Fang to l eave – he wi ped the tabl es, then sat down and turned on the TV – just what Li Fang needed! A sad Chi nese story about l ost l ove. The randdaughter of the Goddess of H eaven vi sited the earth. H er nam e was Zhi nu, the weavi ng fi rl. Whil e she was on earth she m et the herd boy Ni ulang and they fel l i n l ove. ( “ Just li ke m e and Hu Ji n,” thought Li Fang. ) They got m arri ed secretl y, and they were very happy. ( “We coul d be l i ke that, “ thought Li Fang. ) When the Godess of H eaven knew that her granddaughter was m arri ed to a hum an, she becam e very angry and m ade the weaving gi rl return to H eaven. N i ul ang tri ed to fol low her, but the ri ver of stars, the Mil ky Way, stopped him . Findi ng that Zhinu was heartbroken, her grandm other fi nal y deci ded to l et the coupl e cross the Mi lky Way to m eet once a year. Magi pi es m ake a bri dge of thei r wi ngs so the couple can cross the ri ver to m eet on the seventh day of the senveth l unar m onth. Peopl e i n Chi an hope that the weather wi l be fine on that day, because if i t i s rai ni ng, i t m eans that zhinu i s weepi ng and the coupl e won’t be abl e to m eet. The announcer sai d, “ Thi s i s the story of Qi qiao Festi val. When foreigners hear about the story they cal i t a Chi nese Val enti ne’s story. It’s a fi ne day today, so I hope you can al m eet the one you l ove.” As Li Fang set off for hom e, he thought , “ I guess Hu Ji n doesn’t l ove me. I’ just throw these fl owers and chocol ates away. I don’t want them to rem i nd me of her. ” So he di d. As he sadl y passed the tea shop on the corner on hi s wasy hom e, he heard a voi ce cal ing him . There was H uji n wavi ng at hi m and cal li ng, “Why are you so late? I’ve been waiti ng for you for a l ong tim e! An I have a gi ft for you!” What woul d he do? He had thrown away her Val enti ne fi ges! She woul d never five hi m. Thi s woul d not be a happy Bal enti ne’s Day! Wi nter Carni val i n Quebec A group of very col d touri sts are si tti ng i n a cafe i n ol d Quevec, dri nki ng hor coffee to try to warm up. The tem perature is 32 degrees bel ow freezing. The wi ndows are cobered wi th steam from the heat i nsi de. O utsi de, snow covers the streets and is pi l ed up along the si dewal ks. The m usi c and li ghts of the Carni val conti nue, but after a whol e day of watching parades, ri ding i n horse carri ages and li steni ng to the m usi c, thei r feet are freezi ng and thei r noses are red. Every year, hundreds of thousands of peopl e e to Quebec to take part i n the weell ong winter festi val , the bi ggest i n the worl d. Everyone who es m ust be prepared to keep m ovi ng. As i t i s too col d to stand and watch for l ong. Earl y in the m orni ng, you can watch the snowboardi ng peti ti ons on the hi l overl ooking the ri ver. Com peti tors speed down the track and through the ai r as though they coul d fl y. The m ore brave of heart m ay try the canoe races. Fi ve or si x m en paddle each canoe across the partl yfrozen St Lawrence Ri ver. The ri ver i s ful l of bi g pieces of i ce, and if you were to fal l i n, you woul d freeze i n less than two m inutes. O n of the favouri te events is the dogsl ed race, i n whi ch team s of about si x husky dogs pl l long sl eds at great speeds al ong a snowy track. O ne person runs behi nd the sl ed, shouti ng to the dogs to encoutage them . The sound of the dogs barki ng, the cal s of the dri vers and the shouts of crowd make an exci ti ng N othern experi ence. The dogs are beautiful strong anim al s, wi th long, thi ck fur and m any with bl ue eyes. Whi l e adm iri ng the i ce scul ptures ecerywhere in the ci ty, m uch li ke those i n Harbin i n