今兒是大年初七,祝各位兄弟姐妹、親朋好友、父老鄉親,以及環球雅思的忠實粉絲們,初七快樂!
正月初七是中國傳統習俗中的「人日」,在我從小生活的地方,這一天有吃麵條的習俗,寓意用麵條纏住歲月的雙腿,取長壽之意。歲月歲月你慢點兒跑,鮮菇我還不想老啊。
說到這兒,突然想到一道口語話題是跟吃有關的,題目如下:
這道題讓我們描述在特定場合吃的一種食物。
一般來說,大家看到這道題想到的比較多的是餃子。
餃子是中國北方餐桌上十分常見的一種食物,更是春節期間的必吃之物。年三十兒晚上要包餃子吃餃子,初一繼續包和吃,初三吃,初五還要吃。正月裡如此頻繁出現的食物,你想到了,別人必然也想得到。試想一下,你口語考試那天,同一個考場,考官問了7、8個人同一個part2話題,所有人的答案都是餃子。他/她將會有怎樣的心情?
所以,今天這道題,咱們不說餃子,就說說正月初七吃的這個麵條吧。當然,你也可以說元宵節的元宵,中秋節的月餅,端午節的粽子。
相信我,說元宵、月餅和粽子的人也不會是少數。如果考試的時候你說了麵條,還講了講這個考官聽都沒聽說過的「人日子」,他/她定會對你刮目相看。
接下來,咱們一起逐一解析這道題目下面的四個小問題。
「What the food is?」
什麼食物呢?
麵條啊!
英文怎麼說呢?
大家一起來!
n-o-o-d-l-e-s,noodles!
完美!
On what occasion do people eat it?
正月初七,人日子。
「正月」即農曆的第一個月,the first month of the lunar year.
正月初七——the seventh day of the first month of the lunar year.
「人日子」,顧名思義「People Day」.
So, Chinese people eat noodles on the seventh day of the first month of the lunar year.
How is it cooked?
至於麵條的做法,可以說是這道題最難的一問了。
先幫大家補充一些必用詞彙:
麵粉:flour
麵團:dough
和面:knead dough
擀麵杖:rolling pin
擀麵:roll out the dough
接下來我們把這些詞兒都用上,從和面、揉面到擀麵、切麵條,簡單敘述一下麵條的製作過程。
As for how to cook noodles, well, in different parts of China, people have different methods. In my hometown, the traditional way is to use wheat flour and water to knead the dough. Then we use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin one before we cut it into long and slender pieces. Later, we would boil water and put the noodles into the boiling pot. At the same time, we use chopsticks to stir the noodles until they are cooked.
Why people eat it on that day?
首先,我很好奇,為什麼這一天叫「人日」,難道還有貓日狗日嗎?
於是,無知而勤奮好學的我打開了百度百科,看到了這麼一段話:傳說女媧創造蒼生,順序造出了雞、狗、豬、羊、牛、馬等動物,並於第七天造出人來,故此初七為人的生日。
人日:指陰曆正月初七,古代相傳農曆正月初一為雞日,初二為狗日,初三為豬日,初四為羊日,初五為牛日,初六為馬日,初七為人日。
如此看來,貓日是沒有的,有狗日,嗯。
至於這一天為什麼要吃麵條,因為麵條很長,長意味著長久,長壽。人們希望能活得長長久久,健健康康,所以吃麵條。
Noodles are very common in China. Chinese noodles are often made long and slender on that day because we believe that after eating noodles we can live longer as well. We usually use the pronunciation and meaning of some Chinese characters to make some connections between food and festivals. On one of the most important days of the first month of the lunar year, people hope to have a good year by eating some long noodles. It’s a very sweet tradition I would say. It’s also an important tradition that I hope to be inherited by the future generations.
你的家鄉在「人日」這天還有什麼其他的習俗呀?
歡迎大家來留言~