端午节的由来
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Double Fifth Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, the other two being the Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year.
The origin of this summer festival centers around a scholarly government official named Chu Yuan. He was a good and respected man, but because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor's court.
Unable to regain the respect of the emperor, in his sorrow Chu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Low river. Because of their admiration for Chu Yuan, the local people living adjacent to the Mi Lo River rushed into their boats to search for him while throwing rice into the waters to appease the river dragons.
Although they were unable to find Chu Yuan, their efforts are still commemorated today during the Dragon Boat Festival.
端午节的由来
端午节，又称为五五节，因为端午节是在农历的五月五日，是三个重要的中国节庆之一，其它两个分别是中秋节和农历新年。
这个节日的由来是古代中国有一位博学多闻的官吏屈原，他是一位爱民而且又受到尊崇的官吏，但是由于一位充满嫉妒的官吏陷害，从此在朝廷中被皇帝所冷落。由于无法获得皇帝的重视，屈原在忧郁的情况下投汨罗江自尽。
由于对屈原的爱戴，汨罗江畔的居民匆忙的划船在江内寻找屈原，并且将米丢入汨罗江中，以平息汨罗江中的蛟龙。即使他们当时并没有找到屈原，但是他们的行为，直到今天在端午节的时候，仍然被人们传颂纪念着。
Dragon Boat Festival/Vocabulary
dragon boat
龙舟（名词）
That dragon boat is very colorful.
那艘龙舟非常鲜艳。
Festival
节庆（名词）
In Taiwan, people celebrate many different festivals.
在台湾,人们庆祝许多不同的节庆。
Lunar calendar
农历
The lunar calendar is different from the calendar used in the west.
农历和西方所用的历法不一样。
scholarly
博学多闻的（形容词）
Our professor is very scholarly.
我们的教授非常博学多闻。
government
政府（名词）
I think our government needs some reforms.
我想我们的政府需要一些改革。
official
公务员（名词）
That official helped me to get my visa.
那位公务员协助我取得签证。
respected
受敬重的（形容词）
The woman is very respected because of her abilities.
那位女性因为能力而受到敬重。
misdeed
罪行，不当的行为（名词）
His misdeeds brought him bad fortune.
他不当的行为造成他悲惨的命运。
jealous
嫉妒（形容词）
My girlfriend is jealous of my female friends.
我的女朋友总是嫉妒我其它的女性朋友。
rival
对手（名词）
His rivals are trying to defeat him.
他的对手尝试击败他。
disfavor
不赞成、反对（动词）
Most people disfavor his ideas because they are outdated.
大部分的人都不赞成他的意见，因为那些意见都过时了！
admiration
钦佩、赞美（名词）
His kindness gained him the admiration of all the people.
他的仁慈获得人们对他的赞美和钦佩。
adjacent
邻近的、毗邻的（介系词）
The post office is adjacent to the bank.
那邮局在银行的旁边。
appease
缓和、平息（动词）
This food should appease his hunger.
这些食物应该会让他感到比较不饥饿了。
commemorate
庆祝、纪念（动词）
On this day we commemorate those soldiers who died during battle.
在这一天，我们纪念那些在战争中捐躯的军人。
■ 风俗习惯
Dragon Boat race
Traditions At the center of this festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by the villager's valiant attempts to rescue Chu Yuan from the Mi Lo river. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries.
Tzung Tzu
A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is tzung tzu. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of tzung tzu is meant to remind us of the village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Mi Low river in order to appease the river dragons so that they would not devour Chu Yuan.
Ay Taso
The time of year of the Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth lunar moon, has more significance than just the story of Chu Yuan. Many Chinese consider this time of year an especially dangerous time when extra efforts must be made to protect their family from illness. Families will hang various herbs, called Ay Tsao, on their door for protection. The drinking of realgar wine is thought to remove poisons from the body. Hsiang Bao are also worn. These sachets contain various fragrant medicinal herbs thought to protect the wearer from illness.
风俗习惯
端午节最重要的活动是龙舟竞赛，比赛的队伍在热烈的鼓声中划着他们多彩的龙舟前进。这项活动的灵感是来自于当时汨罗江畔的居民，在江中划船救屈原，而这个传统也一直保持了数个世纪。
在端午节时受欢迎的食物就是粽子，粽子是以米包着肉、花生、蛋黄及其它材料，再以竹叶包裹。而粽子的传统则来由于汨罗江边的渔夫，将米丢入江中平息江中的蛟龙，希望他们不要将屈原吃掉。
农历的五月，也就是端午节的这个时节，对中国人而言，除了屈原的故事还有许多其它重要的意义。许多中国人相信五月是一年中容易引发疾病的危险时节，因此必须有许多防备家人生病的措施。许多家庭会将一种特别的植物-艾草挂在门口，作为保护之用，而人们也会挂带香包，它是以含有多种香味的药用植物所做成，也可以保护人们远离疾病。
Traditions/Vocabulary
race
比赛（名词）
The races were very exciting because the cars were very fast and loud.
那个比赛非常刺激，因为那些车子非常的快速而且大声。
competing
竞争的（形容词）
All of the competing race car drivers are very skilled.
所有竞争的赛车选手都有高超的技术。
rhythm
节奏（名词）
I like to dance to the rhythm of this music.
我喜欢随着音乐的节奏跳舞。
inspire
启发灵感（动词）
The beautiful scenery inspired me to write this song.
这美丽的风景启发我写这首歌曲的灵感
villager
村民、乡民（名词）
During our travels we found the villagers to be very friendly and helpful.
在我们的旅程中，我发现乡民们非常友善及热心。
valiant
英勇的（形容词）
The valiant hero saved the little girl's life.
那个英勇的英雄拯救了小女孩的生命。
remain
留下、保持原状（动词）
he had completed the report.
他留在办公室直到完成报告。
Tzung Tzu
粽子（名词）
He ate so much Tzung Tzu that he became sick.
他因为吃太多粽子而感到身体不适。
wrap
包裹（动词）
She wrapped the Christmas presents with colorful paper.
他用彩色的纸包裹圣诞礼物。
scatter
洒落（动词）
The man is scattering seeds on the grass for the birds to eat.
那个男人将种子洒在地上给鸟吃。
devour
狼吞虎咽的吃，吃光（动词）
The lion devoured the food.
那只狮子狼吞虎咽的吃那些食物。
significance
重要性（名词）
Do you understand the significance of this story?
你知道这个故事的重要性吗？
Ay Tsao
艾草（名词）
Every year my family hangs Ay Tsao on their front door.
每年我的家人都会挂艾草在前门。
Hsiang Bao
香包（名词）
The children love to collect the colorful Hsiang Bao.
小孩喜欢搜集鲜艳的香包。
Realgar wine
雄黄酒（名词）
People drink realgar wine to protect themselves from illness.
人们喝雄黄酒保护自己免于生病。
sachet
香包、香袋
The sachets are very fragrant.
那些香包很香。
fragrant
芳香的（形容词）
Those flowers are very fragrant.
那些花很香。
■ 白蛇传的故事
There is a very famous traditional Chinese story that has a close connection to the Dragon Boat Festival. Once upon a time on E-Mei mountain there lived two snake spirits, White Snake and Green Snake. These snakes, being magical, turned themselves into beautiful maidens and set off on a journey to the West Lake of Hang Zhou.
When they arrived at West Lake they met a man named Xu Xian. White Snake quickly fell in love with Xu Xian and they were soon married. A Buddhist monk, named Fa Hai, warned Xu Xian of his wife's deceptive appearance and suggested to him a plan.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival White Snake wished to stay home so as to avoid the Ay Tsao, used for protection from spirits, hanging on the doors of people's houses. Her husband prepared, according to Fa Hai's instruction, some realgar wine, as this was a tradition during the Dragon boat festival. White Snake, thinking her magic would protect her from the effects of the realgar wine accepted a cup. After she drank the wine she became very ill and was barely able to get to her bed.
When her husband came to her side, he found not his wife but a huge white snake. So great was Xu Xian's shock that he fell to the floor dead.
After recovering from the realgar wine and regaining her human form, White Snake was grief-stricken to find her husband dead. She set off on a journey to obtain a potent medicinal herb, which could revive her husband. After returning and reviving her husband with the medicine, she explained to Xu Xian that the white snake he saw was actually a dragon and that this vision was indeed a very good omen. Xu Xain's fears were put to rest for the moment by his wife's fanciful story…
白蛇传
另一个与端午节息息相关的中国传统故事是「白蛇传」。 从前，在伊眉山上有两只蛇精，白蛇与青蛇。这两只蛇精运用法力将自己变成美丽的女子，并到杭州溪湖游玩。
当他们在西湖游玩时，遇到一位名叫许仙的男子，白蛇与许仙很快的相恋并且随即结婚。当时一位名叫法海的和尚，曾经警告许仙注意他妻子惑人的外表，并建议他一个知道真相的计画。 端午节当天，白蛇待加家里以避开人们挂在门上驱邪的艾草，而许仙则依照法海的建议准备了大家在端午节时都会喝的雄黄酒。白蛇自认魔力可以抵挡雄黄酒对他的影响，因此喝了一杯。但是在他喝下那杯酒之后，他却变得精疲力竭，几乎走不到床上。当许仙回到白蛇身边，看到的不是自己美丽的妻子，而是一只巨大的白蛇，许仙震惊不已且跳楼自杀。
当白蛇恢复精力及人形时，他才发现自己丈夫已经身亡，因此白蛇外出寻找能使许仙起死回生的强效药草。许仙在服用药草，并起死回生之后，白蛇告诉许仙他看到的那条白蛇，其实是一只代表吉相的龙。而在那时，许仙也在白蛇引人入胜的故事中将恐惧拋诸脑后…