【百天聆听】第35天 原典英语训练教材

西方节日

Chapter Eleven: Easter 

Easter is a very important Christian festivity. People celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his death.

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon in March. This is between 22 March and 25 April. The origin of the English word Easter is uncertain . It probably comes from the pagan goddess of spring, Eostre.

The pagans celebrated the arrival of spring with special festivals.

The Christian Easter slowly replaced the pagan festivals, but some symbols of the spring festivals remained, such as flowers, eggs, rabbits and bunnies . The tradition of the Easter basket is ancient. The pagans offered their eggs in grass baskets to the goddess Eostre.

In Britain and in the United States it is usual to send Easter cards to friends and relatives. For most Christian families Easter morning begins with a church service. Some Easter services begin very early in the morning. Others take place out of doors in a garden or park.

Easter is a time for Christians to be happy and there is special music in the churches. It is possible to hear George Frederick Handel's "Messiah" during some Easter services.

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah To celebrate Easter and the arrival of spring almost everyone wears something new: a new dress, a new suit, new shoes.

Before Easter Day American and British children paint Easter eggs with bright colours and designs. Coloured eggs were exchanged at ancient spring festivals. The egg is an ancient symbol of life and fertility . The decoration of Easter eggs began in England during the Middle Ages. Members of noble families gave one another gold-covered eggs as Easter presents!

On Easter Day in the United States. There is the traditional Easter egg hunt in every city and town. Parents tell their children that the Easter bunny hid many eggs in the park. The children must find the hidden eggs. Eggs are hidden in the grass, in a shrub or under a tree. When the children find the eggs they put them in colourful Easter baskets. The child with the biggest number of eggs is the winner.

The tradition of the Easter bunny and the basket of eggs was introduced by German immigrants long ago.

On Easter Monday children roll their eggs down a hill.

Egg rolling is an ancient Easter tradition. The first egg that reaches the bottom of the hill without breaking is the winner.

A famous egg-rolling contest takes place outside the White House in Washington DC on Easter Monday. The President of the United States invites children to roll eggs on the lawn of the White House.

At Easter time there are chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies and sugar eggs in all sweet shops. Some eggs are personalized with a name on them.

Hot Cross Buns are a special Easter food. They are small sweet cakes with a cross on top. This cross represents Christ's death on the cross. The buns are usually eaten in Britain on Good Friday.

In many American cities and towns there is an Easter Bonnet Parade.

Girls and women with funny and bizarre Easter bonnets march in the parade. Most women make their own bonnets. There is a prize for the most original. The most famous Easter Bonnet Parade is in New York City, on Fifth Avenue. Thousands of people participate !

In 1933 the great American composer Irving Berlin wrote a song about the Easter Bonnet Parade. Here is a verse:

"In your Easter bonnet With all the frills upon it You'll be the grandest lady In the Easter parade."

Families usually spend Easter Day together. The traditional Easter meal consists of roast lamb, peas, new potatoes and eggs in many forms.


Chapter Twelve: May Day 


On the first day of May we celebrate the arrival of spring and warm weather. Everyone is happy to say goodbye to winter and to welcome spring.

Flowers bloom , leaves grow and baby animals are born in spring.

The May Day festival originated in the Roman Empire in about 258 BC.

It was a festivity in honour of Flora, the goddess of flowers and spring.

When the Romans invaded Britain the festivity was celebrated by the Britons too.

The ancient Celts celebrated spring the night before May Day. This festival was called Beltane. The Druids made big fires on top of the hills.

The Celts sat around the fires and ate, sang songs and danced happily.

In central Scotland Beltane is still an important festival. In the Middle Ages May Day was one of the merriest festivities in Britain. People went into the forest after midnight to pick flowers and plants. They returned the next morning and put the leaves and flowers in their hair. There was music,singing and dancing all day.

The most important event of the day was the dance around the Maypole.

The most beautiful young woman of the village became the Queen of the May. There were Morris dances too.

In Britain May Day is a public holiday and it is celebrated on the first Monday in May. It is not a public holiday in the United States.

In Britain and the United States there are still traditional Maypole dances on May Day. People in costumes dance around the Maypole. The Maypole is decorated with many coloured ribbons. The coloured ribbons represent the sun's rays and form a design on the Maypole.

In Britain many people in costumes do Morris dancing on May Day. They dance with bells and handkerchiefs. The tradition probably came from Spain in the 13th century when it was called Moorish dancing.

In the United States most elementary schools celebrate May Day with dances around the Maypole. In some American towns and universities there are May Day festivals. A young woman becomes the May Queen. Music,dancing around the Maypole and games are all part of the festival. There are beautiful floral decorations everywhere.


中级故事:百万英镑!

Part One: From San Francisco to London

When I was 27 years old, I worked in an office in San Francisco. I did my job well and my future was promising. I was alone in the world and I was happy. On Saturday afternoons I didn't work. I sailed my little sailboat on San Francisco Bay. One Saturday afternoon, I sailed out too far. The strong afternoon wind pushed my sailboat out of the bay, into the Pacific Ocean.

That night, when I had lost all hope, a small British brig saw me and took me on board. The brig was sailing to London. The voyage was long and stormy. I worked as a sailor to pay for my trip.

When I arrived in London, my clothes were old and dirty. I had only one dollar in my pocket. With this dollar, I ate and slept for the first twenty-four hours. During the next twenty-four hours, I didn't eat and I didn't sleep.

At about ten o'clock the following morning, I went to Portland Place. I saw a child walking past, holding a big pear. The child ate one small piece and then threw the pear onto the street.

I stopped and looked at it. I was very hungry and I really wanted that pear.

But every time I tried to get it, someone passed by and looked at me. I

quickly turned in the other direction and waited for the person to pass by. I tried again and again to get that pear, but the same thing happened. I was desperate . I decided to get the pear and not to worry about the people who saw me. At that moment, a gentleman opened a window behind me and said,"Come in here, please."

A well-dressed servant opened the door. He took me to a beautiful room.

Here, two old gentlemen were sitting and discussing something important.

Their breakfast was still on the table. I was very hungry and I stared at their breakfast.

I want to tell the reader that the two gentlemen had made a bet several days before. I knew nothing about the bet until later. Let me tell you what happened.

最后编辑于
©著作权归作者所有,转载或内容合作请联系作者
  • 序言:七十年代末,一起剥皮案震惊了整个滨河市,随后出现的几起案子,更是在滨河造成了极大的恐慌,老刑警刘岩,带你破解...
    沈念sama阅读 204,445评论 6 478
  • 序言:滨河连续发生了三起死亡事件,死亡现场离奇诡异,居然都是意外死亡,警方通过查阅死者的电脑和手机,发现死者居然都...
    沈念sama阅读 85,889评论 2 381
  • 文/潘晓璐 我一进店门,熙熙楼的掌柜王于贵愁眉苦脸地迎上来,“玉大人,你说我怎么就摊上这事。” “怎么了?”我有些...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 151,047评论 0 337
  • 文/不坏的土叔 我叫张陵,是天一观的道长。 经常有香客问我,道长,这世上最难降的妖魔是什么? 我笑而不...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 54,760评论 1 276
  • 正文 为了忘掉前任,我火速办了婚礼,结果婚礼上,老公的妹妹穿的比我还像新娘。我一直安慰自己,他们只是感情好,可当我...
    茶点故事阅读 63,745评论 5 367
  • 文/花漫 我一把揭开白布。 她就那样静静地躺着,像睡着了一般。 火红的嫁衣衬着肌肤如雪。 梳的纹丝不乱的头发上,一...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 48,638评论 1 281
  • 那天,我揣着相机与录音,去河边找鬼。 笑死,一个胖子当着我的面吹牛,可吹牛的内容都是我干的。 我是一名探鬼主播,决...
    沈念sama阅读 38,011评论 3 398
  • 文/苍兰香墨 我猛地睁开眼,长吁一口气:“原来是场噩梦啊……” “哼!你这毒妇竟也来了?” 一声冷哼从身侧响起,我...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 36,669评论 0 258
  • 序言:老挝万荣一对情侣失踪,失踪者是张志新(化名)和其女友刘颖,没想到半个月后,有当地人在树林里发现了一具尸体,经...
    沈念sama阅读 40,923评论 1 299
  • 正文 独居荒郊野岭守林人离奇死亡,尸身上长有42处带血的脓包…… 初始之章·张勋 以下内容为张勋视角 年9月15日...
    茶点故事阅读 35,655评论 2 321
  • 正文 我和宋清朗相恋三年,在试婚纱的时候发现自己被绿了。 大学时的朋友给我发了我未婚夫和他白月光在一起吃饭的照片。...
    茶点故事阅读 37,740评论 1 330
  • 序言:一个原本活蹦乱跳的男人离奇死亡,死状恐怖,灵堂内的尸体忽然破棺而出,到底是诈尸还是另有隐情,我是刑警宁泽,带...
    沈念sama阅读 33,406评论 4 320
  • 正文 年R本政府宣布,位于F岛的核电站,受9级特大地震影响,放射性物质发生泄漏。R本人自食恶果不足惜,却给世界环境...
    茶点故事阅读 38,995评论 3 307
  • 文/蒙蒙 一、第九天 我趴在偏房一处隐蔽的房顶上张望。 院中可真热闹,春花似锦、人声如沸。这庄子的主人今日做“春日...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 29,961评论 0 19
  • 文/苍兰香墨 我抬头看了看天上的太阳。三九已至,却和暖如春,着一层夹袄步出监牢的瞬间,已是汗流浃背。 一阵脚步声响...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 31,197评论 1 260
  • 我被黑心中介骗来泰国打工, 没想到刚下飞机就差点儿被人妖公主榨干…… 1. 我叫王不留,地道东北人。 一个月前我还...
    沈念sama阅读 45,023评论 2 350
  • 正文 我出身青楼,却偏偏与公主长得像,于是被迫代替她去往敌国和亲。 传闻我的和亲对象是个残疾皇子,可洞房花烛夜当晚...
    茶点故事阅读 42,483评论 2 342

推荐阅读更多精彩内容

  • **2014真题Directions:Read the following text. Choose the be...
    又是夜半惊坐起阅读 9,363评论 0 23
  • 夏夜的秋凉 腿去了烈日的灼烧 天空飘过,一丝晚霞 像少女遇到情郎脸上的红晕 风中,回荡的轻鸣 是灼烧的怒啸 还是你...
    浩宇_90阅读 185评论 0 1
  • 最近看了一部韩剧——《密会》,讲述42岁的女人与20岁的“少年”因灵魂相知而相爱的故事,看完觉得特别愉快,让人恐惧...
    寻梵何阅读 178评论 0 0