【正文】 ns, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.Before the New Year es, the people pletely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils. Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners39。s more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red papercuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively ji, yu and doufu, mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think jiaozi in sound means bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new. Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means higher and higher, one year after another. The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was pletely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then es to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.Useful words and expressionsfamily 家庭 spouse 配偶single單身 life span 壽命 marriage life 婚姻生活 bachelor 單身漢spinster 老處女courtship 求愛 lad 少年, 少女 female friend 女性朋友 play house 過家家 play hideandseek 捉迷藏 puppy love初戀friendship 友誼 engagement 訂婚 fianc233。e 未婚妻 wedding ceremony 婚禮honeymoon 蜜月 newlyweds 新婚夫婦 husband 丈夫 wife 妻子 happiness 幸福motherinlaw 婆婆 dowry 嫁妝 mama`s boy 沒有男子氣概的男人 uxorious 疼愛妻子的 twin 雙胞胎 daughter 女兒 son 兒子 maternal 母親的 paternal 父親的 children 子女 parental 父母親的 filial 子女的 divorce 離婚consolation money 撫慰金 alimony 撫養(yǎng)費(fèi) single parent 單親 fall in love 戀愛 fight for divorce 提請離婚訴訟widow 寡婦 widower 鰥夫 separation 分居 bridesmaid 女儐相 best man 男儐相monogamy 一夫一妻制 in laws 姻親 family tree 家譜 ancestors 祖先 descendant 后代 1. 跟別人要錢 mooch off someone 我最討厭跟別人要錢的人了。誰也沒料到他會(huì)發(fā)這么大的財(cái)。沒本錢又怎能掙大錢那？ Money begets money. Without money in hand, how can you make bundles? 5. 沒錢be broke 我手頭沒錢了，咱們別到外面去吃了 I don’t want to eat out today. I’m broke. 6. 錢來之不易money doesn’t grow on trees 你不應(yīng)該如此揮霍。 Since China opened to the outside world, some farmers have bee entrepreneurs and many are wellfixed, living a much more fortable life. 9. 吃了上頓沒下頓not know where the next meal es 雖然很多人都已經(jīng)富裕起來了，可是人有些人吃了上頓沒下頓 In spite the fact that many have now bee wellfixed, some people still remain in a state that they do not know where the next meal es. 10. 發(fā)財(cái)rake it in 它在海南掙了很多錢，真沒想到他會(huì)發(fā)財(cái) He made bundles in Hai Nan. He was unexpectedly raking it in. 11. 太宰人了cost an arm and a leg 這個(gè)飯館太宰人了，一個(gè)白菜豆腐湯也得要上幾十元。 The judge is said to have an illicit love affair with a film star. 15. 婚外戀a double life 我們這兒的人都感覺到他有婚外戀 People around here all feel that he’s leading a double life. 16. 深深愛上be head over heels in love with 聽說小麗愛上一個(gè)比她大三十歲的老頭子。 I hear Xiao Li is head over heels in love with an old man who is 30 years older than her. Love is really a mystery. 17. 與門第比自己低的人結(jié)婚marry with the left hand 皇太子放棄了王位，與比自己門第低的人結(jié)了婚并到國外度蜜月去了 The son of the Emperor gave up his stewardship as King and married with the left hand. He’s now on their honeymoon abroad. 18. 嫁妝marriage portion 離婚時(shí)，她要求男方把她結(jié)婚時(shí)的全部嫁妝還給她。 The guys ganged up on him and they took him to the cleaners. a pass at someone 當(dāng)一個(gè)陌生男子開始向我調(diào)情時(shí)，我瞪了他一眼就離開了。 She says she is having a heavy date tonight, so she won’t e. ……求婚pop the question to 他向我求婚時(shí)說一輩子只愛我一個(gè)人。 When he popped the question to me he said that I was the only one he would love but now, the story is quite different. ……給甩了give somebody the air 最后她還是把他給甩了。 I’ve seen your car and now you can make a price. a good price 他的那部車在這次拍賣會(huì)上一定能賣個(gè)好價(jià)錢。 She’s a respectable girl. I don’t think she could have done this. somebody’s time with someone 據(jù)說他經(jīng)常勾引別人的女朋友 It is said that he often beats other people’s time with their girlfriends. money 我不贊同給孩子們很多零花錢 I d