【正文】 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 home, 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 ti 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 fi ve him. Thi s woul d not be a happy Bal entine’s Day! Wi nter Carni val in Quebec A group of very col d touri sts are si tti ng i n a cafe i n old 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 pi l ed up al ong the si dewal ks. The m usi c and l i ghts of the Carni val conti nue, but after a whole day of watchi ng parades, ri di ng i n horse carri ages and li steni ng to the m usi c, thei r feet are freezi ng and their 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 must 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 hil overl ooki ng the river. Com peti tors sped 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 paddl e each canoe across the partl yfrozen St Lawrence Ri ver. The river i s ful of bi g pi eces of i ce, and i f you were to fal i n, you woul d freeze i n l ess than two mi nutes. O n of the favourite 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 along a snowy track. One person runs behind the sl ed, shouti ng to the dogs to encoutage them. The sound of the dogs barking, 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 wi th 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 H arbi n i n Chi na, you can stop wi th other tourists i n an i gl oo for hot tea or cofee. It i s am azing how warm these i ce howses can be! Late i n the eveni ng, you can go to the snow pal ace, where Bonhomm e the snowm an 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 clothes – even som e thei r i nstrum ents are dressed up for wi nter. Fi nal y, you wil l probabl y want to si t down i n a cafe wo warm up an to pl an tom orrow. You m ight joi n the snowm obil e races – or m aybe 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 feeli ng very frustrated. It had been a very strange m orni ng. Usual l y he got up earl y and prepared hi s m enu of barbecued m utton kebabs, roast pork, stirfri ed vegetabl es and fri ed ri ce. Then by l unchtim e they woul d al l be sol d. By now his restaurant ought to be ful l of peopl e. But not today! Why was that? What coul d have hapened? H e thought of hi s m uton, beef and bacon cooked i n the hottest, fi nest oil. H is col a was sugary and col d, and hi s i ce cream was m ade of mil k, cream and delicious fruit. “Nothing coul d be better, ” he thought. Suddenl y he saw his friend Li Chang hurying by. “H el o, Lao Li, ” he cal ed, “Your usual ?” But Li Chang seem ed not to hear. What was the m atter? Som ething terribl e m ust have happened 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 lose wei ght? Com e i nsi de Yong H ui ’s sl imm i ng restaurant. O nl y slim mi ng foods served here. Make yourself thi n again. Curi osity drove Wang Peng i nsi de. It was ful l of peopl e. The hostess, a very thi n l ady cam e 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 l y at the pri ces. It cost m ore than a good m eal i n hi s restaurant! H e coul d not bel i eve hi s eyes. H e threw down the m enu and hurri ed outsi de. O n hi s way hom e he thought about hi s own m enu. Di d i t m ake peopl e fat? Perhaps he shoul d go O n thi s im portant feast day, peopl e eat food i n the shape of skul l s and cakes wi th “bones” on them . They offer food, fl owers and gi fts to the dead. The Western holi day H al loween al so had i ts ori gi n i n ol d beli efs about the return of the spiri ts of dead peopl e. It i s now a chi l dren’s festival, when they can dress up an go to thei r neighbours’ hom es to ask for sweets. If the nei ghbours do not gi ve any sweers, the chil dren m i ght pl ay a tri ck on them . Feti vals to H onour Peopl e 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, Col um bus Day is i n m em ory of the arrival of Chri stopher Colum bus i n the N ew Worl d. Indi a has a national 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 Thanksgivi ng festi val can be very hapy events. Peopl e are grateful because thei r food i s gathered for the wi nter and the agri cul tural work i s over. In European countri es, peopl e wil l usual y decorate churches and town hal ls wi th fl owers and frui t, and wil get together to have m eal s. Som e pe