輕鬆實用美語 第11課:元宵快樂(1)

a red letter day: a day of great importance 重要的日子
the Lantern Festival 元宵節
go by: according to 遵循
fill me in: tell me 告訴我
chaperone 陪看花燈的人
matchmaker 媒人
hook someone up 牽線搭橋
nowadays 現今
to crack [a riddle, a code, a legal case, etc..]: to solve 解開難題
lunar calendar 農曆
G: Hi, Jingjing, I`ve had a really good time during this Spring Festival in Beijing. I`m so sad that`s coming to an end.
J: Don`t get too sad, we`ll still have a red letter day coming up!
G: Oh, yeah, what day is that?
J: The Lantern Festival! It`s on the fifteenth day of the first month.
G: But it`s already the middle of Feb., didn`t we miss it?
J: No, chinese people go by the lunar calendar to celebrate this holiday.
G: Okey, so fill me in, what do chinese people do on this special day?
J: Well, in chinese, we call it 'Yuan Xiao Jie', the first month of chinese calendar is called 'Yuan' month, and in ancient time, people call night 'Xiao'.
G: Oh, I see, why`s they called it 'Lantern' in English then?
J: In early times, young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love. Matchmakers try to hook people up. The bright of this lanterns were sign of good luck and hope.
G: What about nowadays?
J: Nowadays, people enjoy guessing lantern riddles, and eating Tang Yuan or Yuan Xiao.
G: Emm, I think I`d better practise chinese, so I can crack the riddles.
J: That`s right, good luck, and have a very happe Yuan Xiao Jie.

1. What red letter day is coming up?
2. In early times, what did matchmakers try to do?
3. Nowadays, what do people do during the Lantern Festival?

1. the Lantern Festival
2. to hook people up
3. to eat Tangyuan and guess lantern riddles