15 SHANGHAI STUDENTS' POST 高中基础版 Before you read Do you know the traditional Chinese customs of celebrating a child's first birthday? A Birthday Party That Foretells the Future 语篇类型.记叙文 词数: 470 难度:6级 主题语境(内容要求): 人与社会(不同民族文化习俗与传统节日) #1 Unit 4 Customs and Traditions In Beijing, Zhang Yongqiang and his family are preparing for his daughter Yuanchi's first birthday party. It will be one of the most important milestones of her early life. For centuries, a Chinese baby's first year was passed with bated breath (). The high infant mortality rate (*) of the past meant that if a baby made it to its first birthday, it was much more likely to survive. Therefore, reaching this milestone was much more important than any other birthday. The first birthday calls for a celebration feast, and the Zhang family doesn't hesitate to load the table with delicious fare. Yet, after these dishes are finished, the most important dish for the feast makes an appearance - a piping hot bowl of noodle soup. "Chang shou mian," as these noodles are called, represent longevity. The round decorative egg topping symbolizes the wish that the child have a healthy and full life. In order to ensure the long life of the birthday girl, these noodles must be slurped whole. One accidental bite of noodle might metaphorically () cut short Yuanchi's life. After feasting and noodle-slurping, the birthday grab, or zhua zhou, begins. A set of items are placed before Yuanchi so that she can pick whatever she fancies. Whatever item the child picks and successfully gives to her parents may be an indication of her future career. Some of the symbolic items are easy to understand: a stethoscope () for a medical career, or a calculator for a career in the sciences. However, other items require knowledge of the Chinese language and culture to comprehend. If the little girl picks a stalk of celery (**), she will be hard-working. Similarly, an orange stands for fortune, and green onions represent intelligence. Yuanchi's uncle places the objects carefully on the ground, making sure that no item is unfairly attractive to her. After many adjustments, the baby is finally allowed to check out the objects. She touches the stethoscope, and her hand skims over the celery. The brightly colored orange draws her attention, but she soon loses interest in it as well. Finally, her little hand grabs the highlighter, which she examines thoroughly. Satisfied with the weight and shape of the object, she crawls back to her mother's arms, pen in hand. Everyone in the room lets out a sigh of relief and begins to clap for Yuanchi's choice. "The pen means that she will have a career in the literary arts! She will be a girl of talent!" exclaims Mr. Zhang. This choice means that little Yuanchi may become a writer, a scholar or even a journalist. As the most critical part of the celebration is over, Yuanchi's uncle brings out her birthday cake, a Western practice that has taken firm root in China. Amid the sounds of a Chinese- language version of "Happy Birthday," the little birthday girl passes another hurdle in her life's journey. ABC NEWS-SSP Word bank ★考纲词汇,拓展释义 ▲ 超纲常用词汇 1. milestone /'mailsteun/ n. an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life 里程碑;重大事件 2. fare* /fee/ n. the type of food that is served in a restaurant ()* 3. longevity/lon'dzevəti/n. living for a long time K 4. slurp /sl3: p/ v. to eat or drink (something) noisily 5. fancy* /'fænsı/ v. to want to have or do something; 6. comprehend /,kompri'hend/ v. to understand something completely ª#;IH 7. hurdle /h3:dl/ n. a problem that you have to deal with before you can make progress; Quiz I. Translate the following expressions from English to Chinese. 1. prepare for sth. 2. load the table with delicious fare 3. make an appearance 4. draw one's attention 5. lose interest in sth. 6. let out a sigh of relief 7. clap for sth. 8. take root II. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the given words. Each word is used only once. practice accidental require attractive symbolize 1. Furniture can also be custom-made to suit your own 2. Spending twelve hours on a plane isn't a very prospect. 3. Information must be stored so that it is secure from deletion. 4. The course teaches you the theory but there's no substitute for experience. 5. People threw flowers into the river between the two countries as a(n) brotherhood. act of III. Choose the best answer. 1. Paragraph 2 mainly talks about A. the difficulty of bringing up a baby in China B. how to raise a baby under one year old in China C. why a baby's first party is so important in China D. the high infant mortality rate in China in the past 2. According to the article, the "chang shou mian" A. must not be bitten halfway through B. is a dish composed entirely of noodles C. can ensure that the baby will live a healthy and full life D. is the first dish presented during a Chinese baby's first birthday party 3. Which of the following statements about the ritual of "zhua zhou" is true? A. It can successfully predict what the baby will do in the future. B. The baby chooses the symbolic items with the help of its parents. C. The ritual is the family's way of expressing their good wishes for the future of the baby. D. The custom has largely been abandoned in favor of the conventional birthday celebrations of the West. 4. We can learn from the article that, when Yuanchi picked the highlighter, the family felt A. surprised B. angry C. nervous D. satisfied IV. Translate the following sentences into English using the words or phrases given in the brackets. 1. 对父母来说,孩子一岁生日是件需要特别庆祝 的大事。(call) 2.有时,孩子可能会哭或喊,故意吸引他人的注 . (draw) 3. 抓周仪式深植于中国文化,被视为儿童一岁生 日最重要的习俗之一。(root n.)
来自
新课标分类话题英语阅读训练（合集）