The Dragon Boat Festival

主题语境：节日起源 篇幅：360词 建议用时：7分钟

1The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. In 2023, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 22. China will have three days of public holiday. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four top traditional Chinese festivals, along with the Spring Festival,Tomb Sweeping Day,and the Mid Autumn Festival.

2It is called the Dragon Boat Festival because of its close association with dragon boats. Chinese people attach great cultural significance to dragons. The two main activities during the festival are eating zongzi(rice dumplings)and boat races,and both are related to dragons. Zongzi has long been thrown into rivers as offerings and sacrifices to the Dragon God,while dragon boats are used in races traditionally held on this day.

3There are many legends about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.The most popular one is in honor of Qu Yuan.Qu Yuan was a patriotic(爱国的)poet and exiled(流放)official during the Warring States Period of ancient China. He drowned himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when his beloved Chu State fell to the Qin State. In order to honor Qu Yuan, every fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people beat drums and paddle out in boats on the river as they once did to keep fish and evil spirits away from his body.

4However, it is obvious that the Dragon Boat Festival actually came before the death of Qu Yuan. Its earliest origin is related to the fifth lunar month which was known to the ancients as the“month of poison”. During the early hot days of summer, people would easily fall ill and epidemics spread. This made the month seem evil, so people in ancient times regarded it as an important time to prevent diseases and keep evil spirits away.

5Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival was originally regarded as a traditional medical and health festival. It is traditionally a festival for people to fight against diseases and poisonous insects.

Reading Check

1.What do the Spring Festival and the Mid Autumn Festival have in common?

A.They have the same origin.

B.They have the same celebration.

C.They are traditional Chinese festivals.

D.They are related to rice dumplings.

2.How many activities during the Dragon Boat Festival are mentioned in the text?

A.One.

B.Two.

C.Three.

D.Four.

3.What do paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A.Origins of the Dragon Boat Festival.

B.Legends of Qu Yuan.

C.History of ancient China.

D.Ways to prevent disease during early hot days.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Useful expressions

fall on 发生

dragon boat 龙舟

in order to 为了……

beat drums 击鼓

paddle out in boats 划船

keep evil spirits away 辟邪

regard...as...把……视为……

fight against diseases 抵抗疾病

Ⅱ.经典句式

It is obvious that...很显然……

e.g.It is obvious that he is wrong.很显然，他错了。

It is obvious that the project will do a lot of good. 很显然，这项工程会带来很多的益处。