【正文】 al s can al so be hel d to honour fam ous peopl e. The Dragon Boat Festival i n Chi na honours the fam ous anci ent poet, Qu Yuan. In the USA, Colum bus Day i s i n m em ory of the arrival of Christopher Colum bus i n the N ew Worl d. India 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 Festival s Harvest and Thanksgi vi ng festival can be very happy events. Peopl e are grateful because their fod 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 l y decorate churches and town hal s wi th flowers and frui t, and wi l get together to have m eal s. Som e peopl e mi ght wi n awards for thei r farm produce, li ke the bi ggest waterm el on or the most handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have m i dautum n festi val s, when people admi re the m oon and i n China, enjoy m ooncakes. Spri ng Festival s The m ost energetic and im portant festi val s are te ones that l ook forward to the end of wi nter and to the i ng of spri ng. At the Spring Festi val i n China, peopl e eat dum pi ngs ifsh and m eat and may gi ve chil dren lucky m oney i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnival s , and fam il ies cel ebrate the Lunar N ew Year together. Some Western countri es 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 m ight i ncl ude parades, dancing i n the streets day and ni ght, l oud musi c and col ourful cl othing of al l kinds. Easter i s an i m portant rel i gi ous and soci al festi val for Chi ri sti ans around the world. It cel ebrates the return of Jesus from the dead and the i ng of spri ng and new l i fe. Japan’s Cherry Bl ossom Festi cal happens a l i tl e l ater. The country, covered with cherry tree fl owers, l oks as though i t i s covered wi th pi nk snow. Peopl e l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festi val s l et us enjoy l i fe, be proud of our customs and fet ou work for a li ttl e whi l e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Jin had sai d she woul d m eet him at the coffee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be with her fri ends ri ght now l aughi ng at him . She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ clock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. H e had l oked forward to meeti ng her al day, and now he was al on wi th hi s roses and chocol ates, li ke a fool. Wel , he ws not goi ng to hol d his breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d drown hi s sadnes i n coffee. It was obvi ous that the m anager of the coffee shop was wai ting for Li Fang to l eave – he wiped the tabl es, then sat down and turned on the TV – just what Li Fang needed! A sad Chinese story about lost l ove. The randdaughter of the Goddess of H eaven vi si ted the earth. H er nam e was Zhi nu, the weavi ng fi rl . Whi l e she was on earth she m et the herd boy N iul ang and they fel l i n love. ( “ Just li ke m e and H u 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 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 Heaven. Ni ul ang tri ed to fol ow her, but the ri ver of stars, the Mi l ky Way, stopped him. Fi nding that Zhi nu was heartbroken, her grandm other fi nal l y deci ded to l et the couple cross the Mil ky Way to m eet once a year. Magi pi es m ake a bri dge of their wi ngs so the coupl e can cros the ri ver to m eet on the seventh day of the senveth lunar m onth. Peopl e i n Chi an hope that the weather wil l be fi ne on that day, because i f i t is rai ni ng, i t m eans that zhi nu i s weeping and the coupl e won’t be abl e to meet. The announcer sai d, “ This i s the story of Qiqi ao Festi val . When forei gners hear about the story they cal i t a Chi nese Valentine’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 Jin doesn’t l ove m e. 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 l i ng hi m . There was H uji n wavi ng at hi m and cal l i ng, “Why are you so l ate? I’ve been wai ti ng for you for a l ong ti m e! An I have a gi ft for you!” What woul d he do? H e had thrown away her Val enti ne fi ges! She woul d never fi ve hi m . Thi s woul d not be a happy Bal enti ne’s Day! Wi nter Carni val back an anim al that had di sappeared from i ts hom el and. This i s a good exam pl e of fri endshi p and understandi ng between these two countri es. Uni t 5 The band that wasn’t H ave you ever wanted to be part of a band as a fam ous si nger or m usi ci ans? Have you ever dreamed of pl ayi ng i n front of thousands of peopl e at a concert, at whi ch everyone i s clappi ng and appreci ati ng your m usic? Do you si ng Karaoke and pretend you are a fam ous si nger li ke Song Zuyi ng or Li u H uan? To be honest, a l ot of peopl e attach great im portance to bei ng ri ch and fam ous. But just now do peopl e form a band? Many m usici ans m eet and form a band because they li ke to wri te and play thei r own m usi c. They m ay start as a group of hi ghschool students, for whom practi si ng their m usi c i n som eone’s house i s the fi rst step to fam e. Som etim es they may pl ay to passersby i n the street or subway so that they can earn some extra m oney for them sel ves or to pay for thei r i nstrum ents. Later they m ay gi ve perform ances i n pubs or clubs, for whi ch they are pai d i n cash. O f course they hope to m ake records i n a studi o and sel l m il li ons of copies to be e m il li onai res! H