The tale of Nian 年的故事

孟洁

贴春联，挂灯笼，放爆竹……这些独特而古老的新年习俗被炎黄子孙代代相传。而关于这些习俗的起源的传说，更为中国新年增添了几分神奇的色彩。

There are many tales that are parts of the Chinese culture. Many of them illustrate （说明） moral lessons， not so different from Aesop（伊索） and its fables. One tale in particular is about Chinese New Year.

Long ago in the mountains， there lived a horrible beast named Nian. Every year， on the first day of the year， the beast would awaken and descend upon the village. He would eat all the grains and livestock（家畜）. And if there were any unfortunate children stuck outside， they would disappear. The villagers lived in fear of this beast and boarded up their houses on this night to protect their families.

One year， right before this event was to occur， an old man visited the village. He turned to the villagers and asked， “Why do you fear this beast？ You are many and he is but one. Surely he could not swallow all of you.” But the villagers remained skeptical （怀疑的） and locked themselves up anyway. That night， Nian did not come. The old man himself had ridden it until dawn and the beast went back to its cave hungry. This went on for several nights until the old man revealed （透露）， “I cannot protect you forever.” He turned out to be a god and had to return to his duties elsewhere. The villagers were terrified that once the old man left， they would once again see Nian appear. So the old man informed them， “The beast is easily scared. He does not like red. He fears loud noises and strange creatures. So tonight， you can spread red across the village， hang red signs on every door， and make loud noises with drums， music， or fireworks. In order to protect your children， you should give them face masks and lanterns.” The villagers did as the old man instructed and Nian never returned again.

In Chinese， the expression for welcome the New Year is Guo Nian. According to the above tale， it literally means “passing over Nian” or “overcoming Nian”. That is exactly what the villagers did， which has become a tradition of Chinese New Year.

1.What should villagers do to frighten away the beast Nian？ （no more than 15 words）

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2.What does Guo Nian mean in the last paragraph？（no more than 6 words）

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Ⅰ.Important phrases in the text

1.descend upon 突然襲击;突然大批来访

2.in fear of 为……提心吊胆;害怕……

3.board up 用木板围住……

4.go on 持续

5.turn out to be 原来是……;结果是……

6.spread across 传遍;扩散到……

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

1.If we teach children about life lessons on purpose， they will __________ adults with confidence and maturity.

2.If you __________ like this， everyone will leave you one day.

3.Two trucks loaded with cotton crashed into each other on the road. Now the smoke begins to ____________ the freeway like fog.

4.Trees along the road were destroyed because the snowstorm __________the place.

5.The villagers lived ____________ this beast and _________ their houses on this night to protect their families.