月饼里面有什么？
What are mooncakes?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
九月的一天，一个中国同事送了我一个礼物。我打开一看，是四个圆圆的东西，上边有好看的花，还有字。同事笑着说：“中秋节快到了，这是给你的月饼。”
中秋节在农历八月十五。这天晚上的月亮又大又圆。中国人觉得，这样的月亮就像家里人都在一起。所以，这天晚上很多人都会回家，和家里人一起吃晚饭、看月亮，还要吃月饼。
月饼和月亮一样，也是圆的。很多月饼里边是甜的。有的中间还有一个黄色的东西，就像天上的月亮。第一次吃的外国人常常会问：“里边怎么会有鸡蛋？”不过，那不是鸡蛋，是鸭子的蛋黄，有点儿咸。
月饼有很多种味道。有甜的，也有咸的，有的里边还有肉。不同的地方，样子和味道都不一样。
月饼还有一个有意思的故事。听说六百多年前，有人想和很多人一起做一件大事，可是不能让别人知道。他们就在小纸条上写了一个日子，放进月饼里，送给大家。大家一吃月饼，就都知道是哪一天了。这个故事是不是真的，现在已经没有人知道了。
月饼很好吃，可是一个人吃一个，有点儿多。所以，中国人常常把它分成几小块，家里人一起吃。如果你也收到了月饼，那就这样吃吧：请几个朋友来，一边看月亮，一边吃。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 送 | sòng | to give (as a present) |
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open |
| 花 | huā | flower; blossom |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 这样 | zhèyàng | like this; this way |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 肉 | ròu | meat; flesh |
| 有意思 | yǒuyìsi | interesting; fun |
| 同事 | tóngshì | colleague; coworker |
| 礼物 | lǐwù | gift; present |
| 月亮 | yuèliang | the moon |
| 甜 | tián | sweet |
English (for the teacher)
One day in September, a Chinese colleague gave me a present. I opened it: four round things, with pretty flowers and characters on top. My colleague smiled and said: “The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here, these are mooncakes for you.”
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. That night the moon is big and round. To Chinese people, a moon like that is like the whole family being together. So that night many people go home to have dinner with their family, look at the moon, and eat mooncakes too.
Like the moon, mooncakes are round. Many mooncakes are sweet inside. Some also have a yellow thing in the middle, just like the moon in the sky. Foreigners eating one for the first time often ask: “Why is there an egg in here?” But it isn’t a hen’s egg: it’s a duck egg yolk, and a little salty.
Mooncakes come in many flavours. There are sweet ones and salty ones, and some even have meat inside. In different places, they look and taste different.
Mooncakes also have an interesting story. It is said that more than six hundred years ago, some people wanted to rise up together, but no one else could know. So they wrote a date on little slips of paper, put them inside mooncakes and handed them out. As soon as people ate their mooncakes, they all knew which day it was. Whether the story is true, nobody knows anymore.
Mooncakes are delicious, but a whole one is a bit much for one person. So Chinese people often cut it into a few small pieces and the family eats it together. If you get mooncakes too, eat them like this: invite a few friends over, look at the moon, and eat.