Every April, there is a special day in China. It is Qingming Festival, also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. On that day, people 1 and honour (纪念) their ancestors (祖先) . Qingming is a (n) 2 Chinese festival. It has a long history. It began over 2, 000 years ago. A famous poem 3 the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu describes the day∶"Rain falls heavily as Qingming comes, and passers-by (行人) with lowered spirits go. "
Tomb-Sweeping Day has been a public 4 on the Chinese mainland (中国大陆) since 2008. On this day,5 bring flowers, food and wine to their ancestors' tombs (墓) . They put food like cakes and fruit in front of the tombs. After that, they 6 the dirt off the tombs and remember their dead family members.
7 do Chinese people do this? That's because people think that visiting tombs is to 8 respect (尊重) to their dead family members.
However, Tomb-Sweeping Day is not only about this. During that time, the weather is becoming 9. People are able to garden (从事园艺) and enjoy outdoor activities. Families often 10 for outings (远足) or to fly kites at this time.
It was just three degrees above zero. "That's cold, " thought Jane as she got ready to deliver (送) her morning papers. Jane had 50 customers (顾客) , and on cold mornings when she couldn't ride her bicycle, it took her more than an hour to make her rounds.
As she collected her papers and put them into a big bag, Jane regretted (后悔) that she hadn't finished her maths homework the night before. There was still time. She would hurry with the papers and finish the maths homework before breakfast.
Less than an hour later Jane nearly finished. She had only five customers to go. She could then go home to finish her maths homework while her mum was cooking breakfast. As she rounded the corner, she saw a car in the middle of the street. It was Mr Zimmerman, the elderly man who walked with a walking stick. His car was out of gas (汽油) .
"I'd like to help Mr Zimmerman, " thought Jane, "but if I do, I won't have time to do my homework. "She hated to think what Mr Robert would say if she didn't finish her homework.
"It's his own fault (错误) for running out of gas, "Jane talked to herself. "The station is only a half mile down the street. Surely Mr Zimmerman can walk that far, even on a cold morning like this. . . can't he?" As she walked down the street, Jane still wondered what to do.
Cinyee Chiu, an artist from Taiwan, is always happy to try something new. Her amazing works won lots of prizes. Among them, "24 Solar Terms (节气) " is the most popular.
Ancient Chinese divided a year into 24 parts according to the changes of the weather. It's the 24 solar terms. But not everyone knows them well. Cinyee Chiu put the 24 solar terms in pictures to help people understand them better.
Cinyee turned each solar term into an animal. But these animals are not just animals. You can also find seasonal fruits, vegetables or beautiful flowers on them.
When spring comes, water gets warm and fish start to swim around. So Cinyee chose fish as a symbol of Start of Spring. Also, she drew spring vegetables, Chinese chives on the back of the fish.
White Dew falls on about Sept. 8. It shows the beginning of the cool autumn. There are colourful leaves and cooler nights at this time of year. As the temperature falls, white dew (露珠) is often sen on the grass and trees at night. For White Dew, Cinyee chose a raccoon—a small animal with thick hair. She drew white spots (小圆点) on the raccoon to show dew. And she used the dragon fruit to show the rich colours in autumn.
The young artist really gave the ancient Chinese culture a new look
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In early spring, the changing temperature usually makes a number of Chinese people uncomfortable. Cold air, bringing rain or even s , easily tears up (破坏) the warmth of the spring within a night.
However, with the c of Guyu—the Grain Rain, the blue sky and gentle winds would finally stay. Falling usually on or around April 20 every year, Guyu is the sixth of the 24 solar terms. It means the b of a lively summer and people get busy from now on.
Sow grains
This is an important period of the growth of grains. The ancient Chinese a knew that as Guyu comes, the weather will become warm e for sowing. The farmers usually catch the chance to plant rice, corn and beans.
Hope for safety and harvest
For those living near the sea, they will hold some ceremonies (仪式) on Guyu, hoping for safety as well as h during the coming fishing season.
Watch the peony
It's also a great time to see the peony, which is known as "the Queen of All Flowers"in Chinese culture. As a result, watching peonies becomes one of the most enjoyable a for many people. The flower is said to be the favourite of Empress (女皇) Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, who was the only woman ruler in Chinese h.
Pick tea leaves
Tea leaves picked b Guyu are among the best tea leaves. People believe that the tea leaves picked on the day of Guyu can make eyes clear and drive away bad l. So the habit of drinking tea at this time of a year has become a tradition in some places of China.
I was telling my boy Sonny the story of the hare and the tortoise (乌龟) . In the end I said, "Son, remember: Be slow and calm, and then you will win the race. Don't you think there's something to learn from the tortoise?"
Sonny opened his eyes wide, "Do you mean next time when I'm entering for the 60-metre race, I should wish that Billy, Tony and Sandy would all fall asleep halfway?"
I was surprised, "But the tortoise didn't wish that the hare would fall asleep!"
"He must have wished that, "Sonny said. "Otherwise how could he be so foolish to race with the hare? He knew very well that the hare ran a hundred times faster than he himself did. "
"He didn't have such a wish, "I insisted (坚持) . "He won the race by perseverance (毅力) , by pushing on steadily. "
Sonny thought for a while. "That's a lie, " he said. "He won it because he was lucky. If the hare hadn't happened to (碰巧) fall asleep, the tortoise would never have won the race. He could be as steady as you like, or a hundred times steadier, but he'd never have won the race. That's for sure. "
I gave up. Today's children are not like what we used to be. They're just hopeless,
