Spring Festival in Pingxiang 我在萍乡过春节 Fawn Li

“我”第一次在萍乡过春节时，因为习俗和方言不同而感到格格不入。后来，“我”主动学习萍乡的方言，适应当地的风俗和食物的口味，“我”爱上了萍乡的春节！

1 I used to celebrate the Lunar New Year with my family in Huaibei， but last year I spent my first Spring Festival in Pingxiang with my new husbands family， which is about a thousand kilometers away from my own family home.

2 During the big New Years Eve dinner， I sat quietly in the corner and just listened to others. I felt very out of place there. On top of that， the local language in Pingxiang is very different from that of my home province. My new relatives tried their best to communicate with me in Putonghua， but it made us all a bit uncomfortable.

3 The following days were so long and dreary that I distanced myself from my new relatives all the more. I lost interest in everything but the games and movies that I had on my phone. My husband and his parents began to worry about me. When I realized how hard they tried to make a change and how much they cared， I decided to study the Pingxiang dialect （方言） to meet them halfway.

4 When my baby was born seven months later， my mother?in?law came to live with us， and she has been with us ever since. I have gradually become accustomed to the spicy（辛辣的） food she cooks， and we understand each other most of the time even though we use different dialects. This year I was eager to return to Pingxiang for the Spring Festival. When we arrived， my husbands relatives and friends were pleasantly surprised that I understood their conversation. And my mother?in?law was very proud of me. She， together with me， prepared several traditional Huaibei dishes that I remembered from my childhood. Everyone liked them very much and wanted to learn how to make them. Afterwards， we chatted with each other in the evening. I love my new family.

[Reading][Check]

Ⅰ. Choose the best answers according to the text

Genre    1. What is the type of this text？

A. A letter.   B. A report.

C. A narration.   D. A description.

Vocabulary   2. What does the underlined word “dreary” probably mean in paragraph 3？

A. Different.      B. Boring.

C. Difficult.          D. Complicated.

Detail  3. What can we learn about the authors Spring Festival in Pingxiang according to paragraph 2 and paragraph 3？

A. She was always alone.

B. She tried to fit in with the family.

C. She felt like a stranger.

D. She began to hate the Pingxiang dialect.

Detail 4. What made the authors mother?in?law feel proud of her according to the last paragraph？

A. The author came to eat spicy food.

B. The author became familiar with the Pingxiang dialect.

C. They both liked traditional Huaibei dishes.

D. They began to chat with each other.

Ⅱ. Discussion

How does your family celebrate the Spring Festival？ Please share your experience during the Spring Festival.

[Language][Study]

Complete the following phrases according to the text

1. 不适当 of place

2. 与……非常不同 be veryfrom

3. 与……交流with

4. 对……失去兴趣 losein

5. 渴望    beto

6. 相互交谈 each other