The value and art of ice冰的价值与艺术

江丽

1 These days， ice is easy to get. You can walk to your ice maker and have ice fall intoyour glass. Hundreds or thousands of years ago， ice wasn't this easy to make or to get. Inthe past， it involved harvesting ice from frozen bodies of water.

2 People throughout history have known the value of ice. People in ancient Chinawould wait till the winter to make ice blocks from frozen rivers and then they woulduse ice blocks to keep food cool through warmer months. In ancient cultures， ice was aluxury. Royalty would ship ice and then use it for juice drinks and other treats. In an agewhen there were no ice makers， ice was truly short and it was a sign of power.

3 Sometimes its translucence （半透明） madeit perfect for decorative purposes. Centuries ago，some Chinese villagers would freeze buckets andwater， cut a hole in the top and pour out the unfro?zen water. Then they'd put a candle into the cen?ter. And that are what we call ice lanterns now.And there are now a lot of big events aroundthe world， some of which result in entire multi?storey buildings made from ice， with coloredlights that make them look like a frozen fairy tale land.

4 In 1990， Alaska became the host of the annual World Ice Art Championships， whichis now a month?long event that attracts dozens of teams and tens of thousands of visitors.Canada is home to several large ice?based events， including the Ice Magic Festival nearLake Louise and the Deep Freeze Festival in Edmonton.

5 But the biggest and most mind?blowing event is the Harbin International Ice andSnow Festival， in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， China. When complete， the grounds turninto a real ice world， full of huge buildings and beautiful art with the best visual effects. Thevillage includes many features like the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian pyramids， allquite at home in this city that has a lower temperature in January.

Reading Check

1. What did people in ancient China use ice blocks for according to the text？

A. Cooling their houses.

B. Preserving food.

C. Creating sculptures.

D. Transporting goods.

2. What made ice a symbol of wealth and power in ancient times？

A. Its translucent nature.

B. Its use in everyday beverages.

C. Its necessity for survival.

D. Its transportation and use by royalty.

3. What are ice lanterns？

A. They're decorative candles surrounded by ice.

B. They're frozen buildings lit up by colored lights.

C. They're buckets of water frozen with a candle inside.

D. They're ice sculptures used in ancient Chinese rituals.

4. What do the last two paragraphs mainly talk about？

A. The tourist attractions in Alaska.

B. Some festivals and events relating to ice.

C. Decorative purposes of ice.

D. The value of ice.

語篇解码

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了冰在过去的重要价值以及如今关于冰的一些节日活动。

语言学习

Ⅰ. 语料荟萃

Ⅱ. 语句分析

1. People in ancient China would wait till the winter to make ice blocks from frozenrivers and then they would use ice blocks to keep food cool through warmer months. 在中国古代，人们会等到冬天从结冰的河流中制取冰块，然后再用冰块在温暖的月份里冷却食物。

【点石成金】该句中，to make ice blocks from frozen rivers 和to keep food coolthrough warmer months都为不定式作目的状语。

2. And there are now a lot of big events around the world， some of which result inentire multi?storey buildings made from ice， with colored lights that make them look like afrozen fairy tale land. 现在世界上有很多重大活动，其中一些活动需要的整个多层建筑都是由冰建造的，彩色的灯光使这些多层建筑看起来像一个冰冻的童话世界。

【点石成金】该句中，which引导非限制性定语从句，events为先行词，在这个非限制性定语从句中还包含一个由that引导的限制性定语从句，lights为先行词。

语言运用

Ⅰ. 例句仿写

1. 我们生火的目的是取暖。

We made a fire ______________________________________________________ .

2. 为了更好地了解这种文化，她在这个国家生活了一年。

______________________________________________________， she lived in the country for a year.

3. 这是一场她完全没有防备的危机。

It was a crisis ______________________________________________________（. 介词+which）

4. 我的英语老师，约翰逊女士，下个月将要退休。

Ms Johnson， ______________________________________________________， is going to retire next month.

Ⅱ. 写作实践

假定你是李华，你的外国朋友Peter给你发来邮件询问你印象最深的一次节日体验，请你给他回一封邮件，内容包括：

1. 节日介绍；

2. 你的感受。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Peter，

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours，

Li Hua