双重乐趣

安徽 王涛涛

南方小年和北方小年，不一样的习俗，一样的乐趣。

?文章词数321难度★★★建议用时6 分钟

1I have made many new friends in the five years when I have been in Shanghai.During the four years of my undergraduate studies, I spent most of my time with friends who were from northern China, as I am. In graduate school this year, however, my friends are from all over the country. Because of that, I got an unexpected surprise when the Little New Year came around. It seems that this holiday falls on different days in different parts of China. I didn't know that.

2The Little New Year is the day for offering sacrifices to the Stove God, believed by the ancients to be the ruler of diet and health. That day traditionally indicates the start of the Spring Festival,the biggest holiday of the year in all of China. It's the day we pray to have good food and clothing for the coming year.

3The Little New Year in North China is always on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, so that's when I sent out all of my greetings on WeChat. My friends from the north all thanked me and sent greetings of their own. One by one, however, my new friends from the south expressed confusion. They said things like, “Thanks, but don't you know that the Little New Year is not until tomorrow?”

4When I searched the Internet, I learned that the Little New Year in South China is on the 24th day, not the 23rd, of the twelfth lunar month. The reason for the difference, I found, is that northerners in the past were heavily influenced by the Qing imperial family and followed the Qing lunar calendar, while southerners followed an older Chinese dynasty, the Jin Dynasty.

5Now, things are a little more complicated for me. I have to keep track of which of my friends are from the north and which are from the south. On the other hand, I now have two Little New Years to celebrate!

Reading Check

Ⅰ. Choose the best answers according to the text

Ⅱ. Discussion

When does your family celebrate the Little New Year? Please share your local traditional customs for the Little New Year celebration.

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Language Study

I. Discover the useful structure in the text

It seems that+主语从句，表示“这似乎是……”。

It seems that this holiday falls on different days in different parts of China. 在中国的不同地区，这个节日似乎在不同的日子。

Ⅱ. Complete the following phrases according to the text

1. 全国各地all________the country

2. 小年the________New Year

3. 到来come________

4. 拜祭offer________

5. 春节

6. 了解……的动态keep________of

7. 另一方面on the________hand