【正文】 d have fun wi th each other. Festivals 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 Valeti ne’s Day and H u Jin had sai d she would m et him at the coffe shop after work. But she didn’t turn up. She coul d be wi th her fri ends right now l aughi ng at him. She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ clock, and he thought she would keep her word. H e had looked forward to m eti ng her al day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocolates, l ike a fool. Wel l, he ws not goi ng to hold his breath for her to apologi ze. He woul d drown hi s sadness in cofee. It was obvi ous that the manager of the coffee shop was waiti 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 Chinese story about l ost love. The randdaughter of the Goddess of H eaven visited the earth. H er nam e was Zhi nu, the weavi ng fi rl. Whi le she was on earth she m et the herd boy N iulang 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 coul d be li ke that, “thought Li Fang. ) When the Goddess of H eaven knew that her granddaughter was m ari ed to a hum an, she became very angry and m ade the weaving girl return to H eaven. N i ul ang tri ed to fol low her, but the river of stars, the Mil ky Way, stopped him . Fi ndi ng that Zhi nu was heartbroken, her grandmother fi nal ly decided to l et the coupl e cros the Mil ky Way to m et once a year. Magi pi es m ake a bri dge of thei r wings so the coupl e can cros 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 wil l be fi ne on that day, because i f it i s rai ni ng, it means that zhinu i s wepi ng and the coupl e won’t be abl e to m et. The anouncer sai d, “ Thi s is the story of Qi qi ao Festi val. When forei gners hear about the story they cal i t a Chi nese Val entine’s story. It’s a fi ne day today, so I hope you can al m et the one you l ove.” As Li Fang set off for hom e, he thought , “ I guess H u Ji n doesn’t l ove me. I’ just throw these fl owers and chocol ates away. I don’t want them to rem ind me of her.” So he di d. As he sadly passed the tea shop on the corner on hi s wasy hom e, he heard a voice cal ing him. There was H uji n waving at him and cal ing, “Why are you so late? I’ ve been wai ti ng for you for a l ong tim e! An I have a gi ft for you!” What woul d he do? H e had thrown away her Val enti ne figes! She woul d never fi ve him. Thi s would not be a happy Bal entine’s Day! Wi nter Carni val i n Quebec A group of very col d touri sts are sitti ng in a cafe i n old Quevec, dri nking hor coffe to try to warm up. The tem perature is 32 degrees bel ow freezi ng. The wi ndows are cobered wi th steam from the heat i nside. O utsi de, snow covers the strets and i s pil ed up al ong the si dewalks. The musi c and l ights of the Carni val continue, but after a whole day of watchi ng parades, riding i n horse carri ages and li steni ng to the musi c, thei r fet are freezing and their noses are red. Every year, hundreds of thousands of peopl e e to Quebec to take part i n the weel l ong wi nter festi val, the bi ggest i n the world. Everyone who es must be prepared to kep movi ng. As i t i s to cold to stand and watch for long. Earl y in the morni ng, you can watch the snowboarding peti ti ons on the hil l overl ooki ng the ri ver. Com peti tors speed down the track and through the ai r as though they coul d fl y. The more brave of heart may try the canoe races. Fi ve or si x m en paddl e each canoe acros the partl yfrozen St Lawrence River. The ri ver i s ful of bi g pieces of i ce, and i f you were to fal l i n, you woul d freeze i n less 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 sleds at great speeds al ong a snowy track. O ne person runs behi nd the sled, shouting to the dogs to encoutage them. The sound of the dogs barking, the cal s of the drivers and the shouts of crowd m ake an exci ti ng N othern experi ence. The dogs are beauti ful strong animals, wi th long, thi ck fur and m any with blue eyes. Whil e adm i ri ng the ice sculptures ecerywhere i n the ci ty, m uch li ke those i n Harbi n i n Chi na, you can stop wi th other touri sts in an i gl o for hot tea or coffee. It i s amazing how warm these i ce howses can be! Late i n the evening, you can go to the snow pal ace, where Bonhomm e the snowman is ki ng, and joi n the crowd. You can dance outsi de to the musi c of a band, who are al l dresed in heavy cl othes – even som e thei r i nstruments are dressed up for wi nter. Fin al l y, you wil l probabl y want to si t down i n a cafe wo warm up an to pl an tom orow. You m i ght joi n the snowmobi l e races – or m aybe you shoul d just sleep in! Unit 2 COME AND EAT HERE (1) Wang Peng sat i n hi s em pty restaurant feeli ng very frustrated. It had ben a very strange morni ng. Usual y he got up early and prepared his menu of barbecued m utton kebabs, roast pork, stirfried vegetabl es and fri ed ri ce. Then by lunchtime they would al be sol d. By now his restaurant ought to be ful of people. But not today! Why was that? What coul d have happened? H e thought of hi s muton, beef and bacon cooked in the hottest, finest oil . Hi s col a was sugary and cold, and his i ce cream was m ade of m il k, cream and deli ci ous frui t. “Nothing coul d be better,” he thought. Suddenl y he saw his friend Li Chang hurying by. “H el o, Lao Li,” he cal led, “Your usual ?” But Li Chang seemed not to hear. What was the m ater? Som ethi ng teribl e m ust have hapened i f Li Chang was not ing to eat i n hi s restaurant as he al ways di d. Wang Peng fol owed Li Chang i nto a new sm al l e saw a si gn i n the wi ndow.