【正文】 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, people wil usual y decorate churches and town hal ls with fl owers and frui t, and wil l get together to have m eal s. Som e peopl e m i ght win awards for thei r farm produce, l ike the bi ggest waterm el on or the m ost handsom e rooster. Chi na and Japan have m i dautum n festi val s, when peopl e admi re the m oon and i n Chi na, 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 Spri ng Festi val i n Chi na, peopl e eat dum pi ngs i fsh and m eat and m ay gi ve chi l dren l ucky money i n red paper. There are dragon dances and carnivals , 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 carnival s m i ght i nclude parades, danci ng in the streets day and ni ght, l oud m usi c and colourful cl othi ng of al ki nds. Easter i s an im portant reli gious and soci al festi val for Chi ri sti ans 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 l ater. The country, covered wi th cherry tre fl owers, l ooks as though it i s covered wi th pink snow. Peopl e l ove to get together to eat, dri nk and have fun wi th each other. Festivals l et us enjoy li fe, be proud of our custom s and fet ou work for a l i ttl e whil e. A Sad Love Story Li Fang was heartbroken. It was Val eti ne’s Day and H u Ji n had sai d she woul d m et him at the coffee shop after work. But she di dn’t turn up. She coul d be with her fri ends right now l aughi ng at hi m. She sai d she woul d be there at seven o’ cl ock, and he thought she woul d keep her word. H e had l oked forward to m eeti ng her al day, and now he was al on with hi s roses and chocol ates, l i ke a fool . Wel l, he ws not goi ng to hol d hi s breath for her to apol ogi ze. H e woul d drown hi s sadness i n coffee. It was obvi ous that the manager 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 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 Ni ul ang and they fel l i n love. ( “ Just li ke m e and H u Jin, ” 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 m ade the weavi ng girl return to H eaven. Ni ul ang tri ed to fol ow her, but the ri ver of stars, the Mi lky Way, stoped hi m. Fi ndi ng that Zhi nu was heartbroken, her grandm other fi nal y deci ded to l et the coupl e cross the Mi l ky Way to meet once a year. Magi pi es m ake a bri dge of thei r wi ngs so the coupl e can cross the ri ver to meet on the seventh day of the senveth l unar m onth. Peopl e in Chi an hope that the weather wi l be fi ne on that day, because if i t i s raini ng, i t m eans that zhi nu i s 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 Festival. When foreigners hear about the story they cal l it a Chi nese Val enti ne’s story. It’s a fine 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 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 rem i 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 li ng him. There was H uji n wavi ng at him and cal li ng, “Why are you so late? I’ve been waiti 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 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 i n 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 wi th steam from the heat i nsi de. O utsi de, snow covers the streets and is pi l ed up al ong the si dewalks. The m usi c and l ights 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 weel l ong wi nter festival, the biggest in the world. Everyone who es m ust be prepared to kep moving. As i t i s too cold to stand and watch for long. Early i n the m orni ng, you can watch the snowboardi ng peti tions on the hil overlooking the river. Com peti tors speed down the track and through the air as though they could fly. The m ore brave of heart may try the canoe races. Fi ve or si x men paddl e each canoe to return, and went back to the l ake. 必修三 Unit 1 Festi val s and cel ebrati ons Festi val s and cel ebrati ons of al l kinds have been hel d everywhere since anci ent tim es. Most ancient festi vals woul d cel ebrate the end of col d weather, pl anti ng i n spri ng and harvest i n autumn. Som etim es celebrati ons woul d be hel d after hunters had caught anim al s. At that tim e people woul d starve i f food was di ffi cul t to fi nd, especial y duri ng the col d winter m onths. Today’s festi val s have m any ori gi ns, som e reli gi ous, som e seasonal, and som e for speci al peopl e or events. Festival s of the Dead Som e festi val s are he