【正文】 ve – 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 Godess of H eaven vi si ted 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 ul ang and they fel i n l ove. ( “ Just l i ke m e and H u Ji n,” thought Li Fang. ) They got m ari ed secretl y, and they were very happy. ( “We coul d be l i ke that, “ thought Li Fang. ) When the Goddess of H eaven knew that her granddaughter was m arri ed to a hum an, she becam e very angry and made the weavi ng gi rl return to H eaven. N iul ang tri ed to fol ow her, but the ri ver of stars, the Mi l ky Way, stopped hi m. Fi ndi ng that Zhi nu was heartbroken, her grandm other fi nal ly deci ded to l et the coupl e cross the Mil ky Way to m eet once a year. Magi pies m ake a bri dge of thei r wi ngs so the coupl e can cros the ri ver to m eet on the seventh day of the senveth l unar month. Peopl e i n Chian hope that the weather wi l be fine on that day, because i f it i s rai ni ng, i t m eans that zhi nu is 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 qi ao Festi val. When forei gners hear about the story they cal l 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 gues H u Ji n doesn’t l ove m e. I’ just throw these fl owers and chocol ates away. I don’t want them to remi nd m e 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 i ng hi m. There was H uji n wavi ng at him and cal i ng, “Why are you so l ate? I’ ve been wai ting for you for a l ong tim e! An I have a gi ft for you!” What would he do? H e had thrown away her Val enti ne fi ges! She woul d never forgi ve him . 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 sitti ng i n a cafe in ol d Quevec, dri nki ng hor coffee to try to warm up. The tem perature i s 32 degrees bel ow freezi ng. The wi ndows are cobered with steam from the heat i nsi de. O utsi de, snow covers the streets and i s pil ed up al ong the sidewal ks. The m usi c and l i ghts of the Carni val conti nue, but after a whol e day of watchi ng parades, ri di ng in horse carriages and l isteni ng to the m usi c, thei r feet are freezing and thei r noses are red. Every year, hundreds of thousands of peopl e e to Quebec to take part in the weel long wi nter festi val , the bi gest i n the worl d. Everyone who es m ust be prepared to keep m ovi ng. As it 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 petiti ons on the hil l overl ooki ng the river. Com peti tors speed down the track and through the ai r as though they coul d fly. The m ore brave of heart m ay try the canoe races. Fi ve or si x m en paddl e each canoe across the partlyfrozen St Lawrence River. The ri ver i s ful of bi g pi eces of ice, and i f you were to fal i n, you woul d freeze i n l ess than two mi nutes. On of the favouri te events i s the dogsl ed race, i n whi ch team s of about si x husky dogs pl l ong 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 m ake an exci ti ng N othern experi ence. The dogs are beauti ful strong anim al s, with l ong, thi ck fur and m any with bl ue eyes. Whi le adm iri ng the ice scul ptures ecerywhere i n the ci ty, m uch li ke those i n H arbin i n Chi na, you can stop with other tourists i n an i gl oo for hot tea or coffee. It i s am azi ng how warm these i ce howses can be! Late in the eveni ng, you can go to the snow pal ace, where Bonhomm e the snowman i s ki ng, and joi n the crowd. You can dance outsi de to the m usi c of a band, who are al dressed i n heavy cl othes – even som e thei r i nstrum ents are dresed up for winter. Fi nal y, you wil probabl y want to si t down i n a cafe wo warm up an to plan tom orrow. You mi ght joi n the snowm obi l e races – or maybe you shoul d just sl eep i n! Uni t 2 COME AND EAT H ERE (1) Wang Peng sat i n hi s em pty restaurant feel i ng very frustrated. It had been a very strange m orni ng. Usual y he got up earl y and prepared hi s menu of barbecued m uton kebabs, roast pork, sti rfri ed vegetabl es and fri ed ri ce. Then by l unchtim e they woul d al be sol d. By now hi s restaurant ought to be ful of peopl e. But not today! Why was that? What coul d have happened? H e thought of his m utton, beef and bacon cooked i n the hottest, finest oil . H i s col a was sugary and col d, and hi s i ce cream was m ade of mi l k, cream and del i ci ous frui t. “Nothing coul d be better,” he thought. Suddenl y he saw his friend Li Chang hurrying by. “H el o, Lao Li,” he cal l ed, “Your usual ?” But Li Chang seem ed not to hear. What was the m atter? Som ething terribl e m ust have hapened i f Li Chang was not i ng to eat i n hi s restaurant as he al ways di d. Wang Peng fol l owed Li Chang i nto a new sm al restaurant. He saw a si gn in the window. Ti red of al that fat? Want to l ose wei ght? Com e i nsi de Yong H ui’s sl im mi ng restaurant. O nl y sli mmi ng foods served here. Make yoursel f thi n agai n. Curi osi ty drove Wang Peng i nsi de. It was ful of peopl e. The hostess, a very thin l ady came forward. “Wel e, ” she said. “My nam e is Yong H ui. I’l l hel p you l ose weight and be fit in two weeks if you eat here every day. ” Then she gave a m enu to Wang Peng. There were few choices of food and drink on it: just rice, raw vegetabl es served i n vi negar, frui t and water. Wang Peng was am azed at thi s and especi al y at the pri ces. It cost more than a good m eal in hi s restaurant! H e coul d not beli eve his eyes. He threw down the m enu and hurri ed outsi de. O n hi s way hom e he thought about his own m enu. Di d i