【英语文化】初中英语传统文化阅读35:The Mid-Autumn Festival中秋节

The Mid-Autumn Festival（中秋节）

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China. Falling in the middle of autumn, this special festival stands for family reunion and fruitful harvest. It has been an important cultural tradition for thousands of years.

The festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. On this night, the moon is full, round and bright, shining gently over every household. Whenever the festival comes, family members will try their best to gather together. They sit outdoors, admire the beautiful full moon, and enjoy delicious moon cakes of different tastes.

In Chinese culture, the full moon is the most classic symbol of reunion. No matter how far people are from home, they hope to return to their families on this festival. For those who cannot make it back, they will look up at the bright moon silently and think of their loved ones far away. The bright moon carries their missing for family and hometown.

Moon cakes are the most representative food of the festival and have a long history. They come in many flavors now, such as red bean, lotus seed and nuts. Every moon cake is filled with people’s best wishes for happiness, unity and peace.

There are many well-known ancient stories about the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most famous one is about Chang’e, who flew to the moon after taking magic medicine. Beside her on the moon lives a lovely jade rabbit, which makes magic pills day and night. There is also the story of Wu Gang, who kept trying to cut down a forever-growing laurel tree on the moon but never succeeded.

Besides folk tales, countless ancient poets created wonderful poems for this festival. The great poet Su Shi once wondered when the bright moon would appear and wrote timeless verses. Another famous poet Li Bai often invited the bright moon to drink alone and expressed his feelings through poems. These classic works fully show how much ancient people loved the bright moon and cherished their homes and families.

Up to now, the Mid-Autumn Festival has remained a warm and precious festival for Chinese people, passing down the spirit of reunion and gratitude from generation to generation.

中秋节是中国四大传统节日之一。时值秋季正中，这个特别的节日象征着阖家团圆、五谷丰登，是流传千年的重要文化习俗。

中秋节定于农历八月十五。每到这天夜晚，月亮圆满皎洁，温柔地洒满千家万户。节日来临，家家户户都会尽力团聚。人们围坐庭院，赏月闲谈，品尝口味丰富、香甜可口的月饼。

在中国文化中，圆月是团圆最经典的象征。无论身在何方，人们都盼着中秋归家团圆。那些无法返乡的游子，便会抬头望月，默默思念远方的亲人。一轮明月，承载着人们对家人和故乡的无尽牵挂。

月饼是中秋节最具代表性的美食，拥有悠久的历史。如今的月饼口味繁多，有红豆、莲蓉、坚果等多种口味，每一块月饼都寄托着人们对团圆美满、平安幸福的美好期许。

关于中秋节，流传着许多家喻户晓的古老传说。最著名的便是嫦娥奔月的故事，嫦娥服食仙药后飞向月宫。月宫中还有一只可爱的玉兔，日夜捣制仙药。除此之外，还有吴刚伐桂的传说，吴刚日复一日试图砍倒月宫的桂树，却始终无法成功。

除了民间传说，无数古代文人墨客也为中秋写下了千古名篇。大诗人苏轼曾望月沉思，感慨明月何时圆满，留下传世诗句；诗仙李白常常对月独饮，以月寄情。这些经典诗作，淋漓尽致地展现了古人对明月的喜爱，以及对家国故土的深切眷恋。

时至今日，中秋节依旧是中国人心中温暖珍贵的节日，团圆感恩的美好寓意代代相传、生生不息。

重点词汇与核心短语

核心单词

traditional /trəˈdɪʃənl/ adj. 传统的

reunion /ˌriːˈjuːniən/ n. 团聚，团圆

harvest /ˈhɑːvɪst/ n. 丰收

lunar /ˈluːnə(r)/ adj. 农历的，月亮的

delicious /dɪˈlɪʃəs/ adj. 美味的

flavor /ˈfleɪvə(r)/ n. 口味，风味

magic /ˈmædʒɪk/ adj. 有魔力的，仙制的

wonder /ˈwʌndə(r)/ v. 疑惑，沉思，想知道

represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/ v. 代表，象征

cherish /ˈtʃerɪʃ/ v. 珍惜，眷恋

高频固定短语（中考必考）

traditional festivals 传统节日

family reunion 阖家团圆

the moon is full 月圆，满月

think of 思念；想起（区分 think about 考虑）

magic medicine 仙药

try to do sth. 努力/试图做某事

fly to the moon 奔月

pass down 传承，流传

how much 多么（表情感程度）

generation to generation 一代又一代

阅读理解

1. What does the Mid-Autumn Festival stand for in Chinese culture?

2. What do people usually do on Mid-Autumn night?

3. What will people do if they cannot return home for the festival?

4. Which three traditional stories about the moon are mentioned in the passage?

5. What do ancient poets’ poems show about people’s 

参考答案

1. It stands for family reunion and a good harvest.

2. Families get together, admire the full moon and eat delicious moon cakes.

3. They will look at the bright moon and think of their loved ones far away.

4. The stories of Chang’e flying to the moon, the jade rabbit making magic pills and Wu Gang cutting the laurel tree.

5. They show how much ancient people loved the moon and cherished their homes and families.

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