I s the atmosphere of Chinese Spring Festival fading?

西安外国语大学 杨艳鑫

Jutroduction

春节是中国人一年当中最隆重、热闹的传统节日，也是与亲朋好友团聚的重要时刻。随着社会发展与时代进步，大家对春节的向往似乎不及以前，人们过年的习俗也发生了巨大变化。但是春节的意义对于每一个中国人来说都是不曾改变的。

The Chinese Spring Festival is coming soon.The Spring Festival,commonly known as Chinese Lunar New Year,is the most important festival for Chinese people.

The Chinese people always spend several days preparing abundant food for family reunion dinner and buying sweets and fruits toentertainguests.During the holiday,they will visit relatives and friends with gifts.The festival will last till the 15th of the first lunar month.

With the development of economy and technology,the Spring Festival has undergone manychanges.But many people complain that the festive atmosphere is fading.

Some say the attraction of Lunar New Year's Eve dinner is not as strong as before because of improved living standards.In particular,people who live in Chinese coastal areas and urban cities become richer that they can enjoy big meals at ordinary times.They prefer to eat out instead of cooking at home on New Year's Eve.

Some of the Spring Festival customs have changed.In the past,the Chinese people used to wear their new clothes in the holiday.Elders gave younger generations “red envelope”—a gift with a sum of money in red packets,delivering their best wishes.

But now,it is possible todistributevirtual（ 虚 拟 的 ）red envelopes of money by smart phones.It's more convenient and funny,but at the same time,there islack ofthe milk of human kindness（人情味）.

In the past,most of Chinese people preferred to gather together at home,watching the CCTV(China Central Television)Spring Festival Gala on Lunar New Year's Eve.Today,people have plenty of choices.Many youngsters in China are transfixed（使动弹不得）by the light of mobile phone screens and other electronic products.They are addicted to computer games and disdain（不屑）to look up at the television programs.

No matter how the Spring Festival customs change,the significance of the Spring Festival for the Chinese people remains unchanged.Their wishes for family reunion and happy life are also unchanged.

Reading Check

1.Do you think the atmosphere of Chinese Spring Festival is fading?

2.What does the Spring Festival mean to you?Does it change as you grow up?

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.entertain v.款待；招待

2.distribute v.分发

3.undergo changes 发生变化

4.prefer to 更喜欢

5.lack of 缺乏

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.Compared with the life in countryside________I live in city.

2.With the development of technology,society began to________.

3.Barbecues are a favourite way of______friends.

4.The organizations food to the earthquake victims.

5.Despite his________experience,he got the job finally.

主题应用·语库构建

Ⅰ.话题表达分类整理

春节活动类

【常用词块】

1.family reunions 家庭团聚

2.achallengingdumpling-making competition一项具有挑战性的包饺子比赛

3.set off fireworks 放烟火

4.holiday decorating 节日装饰

5.be decorated with red paper banners 用红纸横幅装饰

6.paste paper cut-outs onto the window 把剪纸贴在窗户上

7.hang up couplets 挂对联

8.bow to their relatives 向他们的亲戚鞠躬

9.make New Year house calls 新年拜访

10.temple fairs 庙会

11.traditional Chinese drumming 中国传统鼓乐

12.shadow play 皮影戏

13.lucky card collection 集福卡

14.honor your ancestors 祭祖

15.sweep the tombs 扫墓

16.sweep away the bad luck 扫走坏运气

17.drive away evil 驱除恶鬼

18.pay a New Year's call/extend New Year greetings 拜年

19.pay an early New Year's call 拜早年

20.Chinese knot 中国结

21.red packets/envelopes 红包

22.lucky money 压岁钱

23.sticky rice cake 年糕

24.the New Year's Eve dinner 年夜饭

【精彩美句】

1.Digital red packetshavegone viralin recent years,and “grabbing red packets”has become an extremely popular game on WeChat.这几年电子红包越发火爆，“抢红包”俨然已成了微信上非常流行的游戏。

2.It's a tradition across China tohold a lavish feastto celebrate the New Year.Chinese try very hard to make this family event,oftentraveling long distances.除夕准备一顿丰盛的年夜饭是中国人过年的传统。为了这顿年夜饭，人们常常跋涉千里与家人团聚。

3.Paper cut-outsare colored lucky red,with beautiful and exaggerated patterns.Theyexpress hopes ofa merry and prosperous life,in line withthe Spring Festival theme.这些剪纸都是幸运的中国红，图案夸张绚丽，表达了人们对快乐富足生活的向往，正合了春节的喜庆气氛。

4.Long strings offirecrackersare set offthroughout the holiday,and there are manydisplays of fireworks lighting upthe evening skies.整个节日期间都燃放着长长的鞭炮，还有许多烟火表演点亮了夜空。

5.These elaborate cut-outs usuallydepict scenes from rural lifeorChinese mythology,andaretraditionallyput up onsouth and north facing windows.这些精致的剪纸通常描绘乡村生活或中国神话的场景，按传统是贴在朝南和朝北的窗户上。

6.Chinese celebratorshead totemples topray forgood luck during the New Year celebration period.在春节期间，中国的庆祝者前往寺庙祈求好运。

7.The 15th day of Zheng Yuemarks the official end ofthe Spring Festival and is a festivalin its own right—the Lantern Festival.正月十五标志着春节的正式结束，它本身就是一个节日——元宵节。

常用春节祝福语

1.Wish you prosperity and wealth.恭喜发财！

2.Wish your family happiness.阖家欢乐！

3.Wish you good health.身体健康！

4.Hope everything goes your way.万事如意！

5.Hope you make progress in your studies.学业进步！

6.Hope everything goes well with your work.工作顺利！

7.May all your wishes come true.心想事成！

8.Lots of luck for the Year of the Pig.猪年大吉！

关于“春晚”的表达

1.China's annual Spring Festival Gala 中国一年一度的春节联欢晚会

2.China Central Television 中央电视台

3.be drawn to the event 被这个盛会吸引

4.domestic and overseas artists 国内外艺术家

5.deliver classic performances 呈上经典的表演

6.crosstalk comedy 相声喜剧

7.short sketch 小品；短剧

8.leave a lasting impression on the audience

给观众留下了深刻的印象

9.China's annual Spring Festival Gala has beenone of the most important TV eventsfor local viewers since it debutedover three decades ago.中国一年一度的春节联欢晚会自三十多年前开播以来，一直是当地观众最重要的电视节目之一。

10.Throughout its history,the Gala hasevolved from a relatively simple song and dance show toa rich and colorful stage where artists of all kindsbring joy and happiness to peoplearound the world.纵观历史，春晚从一个相对简单的歌舞节目发展到一个丰富多彩的舞台，各种各样的艺术家为世界各地的人们带来欢乐和幸福。

Ⅱ.读后创写

假定你是李华，收到美国高中生Smith的来信，他在信中表达了想了解中国过年风俗习惯的愿望。请你写封回信，简要介绍并邀请他来中国过年。内容包括：

1.过年时间；

2.过年风俗；

3.禁忌和注意事项。注意：

1.词数100左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Smith，

Yours,

Li Hua