【正文】 ng, “Why are you so l ate? I’ ve been wai ti ng for you for a long tim e! An I have a gi ft for you!” What woul d he do? H e had thrown away her Val entine figes! She woul d never fi ve him. This woul d not be a happy Bal enti ne’s Day! Wi nter Carnival i n Quebec A group of very cold tourists are sitti ng i n a cafe i n ol d Quevec, drinki ng hor cofee to try to warm up. The tem perature i s 32 degrees below frezing. The windows are cobered wi th steam from the heat insi de. Outsi de, snow covers the streets and is pil 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 di ng i n horse carri ages and listeni ng to the music, their feet are freezing and thei r noses are red. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people e to Quebec to take part in the weellong winter festival, the biggest i n the worl d. Everyone who es must be prepared to keep movi ng. As it is too col d to stand and watch for l ong. Early i n the morni ng, you can watch the snowboarding petitions on the hil overlooki ng the river. Competi tors speed down the track and through the air as though they could fly. The more brave of heart may try the canoe races. Fi ve or six men padl e each canoe to return, and went back to the l ake. 必修三 Unit 1 Festi vals and cel ebrati ons Festi vals and cel ebrati ons of al l ki nds have been hel d everywhere si nce anci ent tim es. Most ancient festi vals woul d cel ebrate the end of cold weather, pl anting i n spri ng and harvest i n autum n. Som etim es celebrati ons would be held after hunters had caught animals. At that tim e people woul d starve i f food was di ffi cul t to find, especi al y duri ng the col d wi nter months. Today’s festi vals have m any ori gi ns, some reli gi ous, som e seasonal , and som e for speci al people or events. Festi val s of the Dead Som e festival s are hel d to honour the dead or sati sfy the ancestors, who mi ght return ei ther to hel p or to do harm. For the Japanese festival O bon, peopl e shoul d go to cl ean graves and li ght i ncense i n m em ory of their ancestors. They al so l ight lam ps and play musi c because they thi nk that this wil l ead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexi co, peopl e cel ebrate the Day of the Dead i n early N ovem ver. On this im portant feast day, peopl e eat food i n the shape of skul s and cakes wi th “bones” on them. They offer food, fl owers and gi fts to the dead. The Western holi day Hal oween al so had i ts ori gi n i n ol d beli efs about the return of the spirits of dead people. It i s now a chil dren’s festi val, when they can dres up an go to thei r nei ghbours’ hom es to ask for sweets. If the neighbours do not gi ve any sweers, the chil dren mi ght play a tri ck on them. Feti vals to Honour People Festi val s can al so be hel d to honour fam ous peopl e. The Dragon Boat Festi val i n Chi na honours the fam ous anci ent poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Columbus Day i s in mem ory of the arri val of Chri stopher Col umbus in the N ew Worl d. Indi a has a nati onal festi val on O ctober 2 to honour Mohandas Gandhi, the l eader who hel ped gai n Indi a’s i ndependece from Bri tai n. H arvest Festi val s H arvest and Thanksgiving festi val can be very happy events. Peopl e are grateful because thei r food is gathered for the wi nter and the agricul tural work i s over. In European countri es, people wil l usual ly decorate churches and town hal ls wi th fl owers and fruit, and wil l get together to have meal s. Som e people mi ght wi n awards for their farm produce, l ike the bi ggest watermelon or the most handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have mi dautum n festi val s, when peopl e admi re the m oon and in China, enjoy mooncakes. Spring Festival s The most energeti c and im portant festi val s are te ones that l ok forward to the end of winter and to the i ng of spri ng. At the Spring Festival i n Chi na, people eat dumpings ifsh and meat and may gi ve chil dren lucky m oney i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnival s , and fam il es cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Som e Western countries have very exci ti ng carni cal s, whi ch take pl ace forty days before Easter, usual y i n February. These carni vals mi ght i ncl ude parades, danci ng in the streets day and ni ght, loud m usi c and col ourful clothi ng of al ki nds. Easter i s an important rel igious and soci al festival for Chi ri stians around the worl d. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spri ng and new li fe. Japan’s Cherry Bl ossom Festi cal happens a li ttl e later. The country, covered with cherry tree fl owers, l ooks as though i t i s covered wi th pi nk snow. People l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festi vals l et us enjoy li fe, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li tle whil e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Ji n had said she woul d m eet him at the cofee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be with her friends ri ght now laughing at him . She said she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. He had looked forward to m eti ng her al day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocolates, l i ke a fool . 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 sadnes i n coffe. It was obvi ous that the m anager 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 neded! A sad Chi nese story about l ost l ove. The randaughter of the Goddes of H eaven vi si ted the earth. Her name was Zhinu, the weaving fi rl . Whil e she was on earth she met the herd boy N i ul ang and they fel i n l ove. ( “ Just li ke m e and H u Ji n,” thought Li Fang.) They got marri ed secretl y, and they were very happy. (“We co