The Legend of Nian

Hello, everyone! I like reading, painting and playing games. I also love English and Chinese traditional culture. Today, I'll tell you a story about the Spring Festival — The Legend of Nian.

Long long ago in China, there was a scary beast named Nian. It had a big mouth with sharp teeth. It could eat several people in one bite. Nian usually lived in the deep ocean. But when winter was about to end, it would be very hungry and climb out of the ocean around the Chinese New Year to look for people to eat. Villagers were afraid of it. Every year before the New Year, they would run away to the mountains to hide.

One day, an old man came to the village. He said he could drive Nian away. The villagers did not believe him, but they had no other choice. That night, people heard loud noises like "BOOM, BANG, CLANG" and Nian’s terrible roars.

The next morning, the old man and Nian were gone. There was a bag left. In it were red things and firecrackers. People found out that Nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red.

Since then, it became a great tradition in China. During the Spring Festival, people wear red clothes and set off firecrackers. They also put up red couplets on doors. These customs have been passed down for hundreds of years.

大家好！我喜欢阅读、画画和玩游戏。我也热爱英语和中国传统文化。今天，我给大家讲一个关于春节的故事 ——《年兽的传说》。

很久很久以前，中国有一头可怕的怪兽，名叫 “年”。它嘴巴巨大，长着锋利的牙齿，一口能吃掉好几个人。 年兽平时住在深海里。但每当冬天快要结束的时候，它就会饥肠辘辘，在临近新年时爬出大海，寻找人来吃。村民们都很害怕它，每年新年前，大家都会逃到山里躲避。

有一天，一位老人来到村子里。他说自己可以把年兽赶走。村民们并不相信他，但也没有别的办法。那天夜里，人们听到 “砰砰、噼啪” 巨大的声响，还有年兽恐怖的咆哮声。

第二天早上，老人和年兽都不见了，地上留下一个袋子。袋子里面装着红色的物件和鞭炮。人们这才弄明白：年兽害怕巨大的响声和红色。

从那以后，这就成了中国一项盛大的传统。春节期间，人们穿上红衣、燃放鞭炮，还会在门上贴红对联。这些习俗已经流传了数百年。

重点短语（附音标）

1. traditional culture /trəˈdɪʃənl ˈkʌltʃə(r)/ 传统文化
2. a beast named Nian /ə biːst neɪmd niːən/ 一头名叫年的怪兽
3. sharp teeth /ʃɑːp tiːθ/ 锋利的牙齿
4. the deep ocean /ðə diːp ˈəʊʃn/ 深海
5. be about to end /bi əˈbaʊt tu end/ 即将结束
6. climb out of  /klaɪm aʊt əv/ 从…… 爬出来
7. look for /lʊk fɔː(r)/ 寻找
8. drive … away /draɪv əˈweɪ/ 赶走；驱赶
9. find out /faɪnd aʊt/ 查明，弄清楚
10. be afraid of /bi əˈfreɪd əv/ 害怕……
11. during the Spring Festival /ˈdjʊərɪŋ ðə sprɪŋ ˈfestɪvl/ 在春节期间
12. set off firecrackers /set ɒf ˈfaɪəkrækəz/ 燃放鞭炮
13. pass down /pɑːs daʊn/ 传承，流传

回答问题

Questions

1. What was Nian like?
2. Where did Nian usually live?
3. What two things was Nian afraid of?
4. What do people do during the Spring Festival because of this story?
5. Why did villagers run away before Chinese New Year long ago?

Keys

1. Nian was a scary beast. It had a big mouth with sharp teeth and could eat several people in one bite.
2. It usually lived in the deep ocean.
3. Nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red.
4. They wear red clothes, set off firecrackers and put up red couplets on doors.
5. Because Nian would climb out of the ocean to look for people to eat around the Chinese New Year, and they were afraid of the beast.

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