端午节：龙舟和粽子
What is the Dragon Boat Festival?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
农历五月初五，是中国的端午节。这一天，很多地方的河上都有很多人。很多很长的船在河上比赛，船头都做成了龙的样子。船上的人一起划船，河边的人一起大声喊：“加油！”大家叫它们“龙舟”。
为什么是这一天呢？这里有一个很有名的故事。两千多年前，有一个人叫屈原。他是楚国的大官，也会写诗。他非常爱自己的国家，可是国王不听他的。后来，别的国家打败了他的国家，屈原非常难过，就跳进了一条大河。
人们听说了，马上坐船去河上找他，可是怎么也找不到。大家怕河里的鱼吃屈原，就用叶子包上米，放进河里，让鱼吃米，别吃屈原。
两千多年过去了，人们还在包这样的米，不过现在不放进河里了，是自己吃。这是粽子。
粽子不都是一样的。很多北方人喜欢吃甜的；很多南方人喜欢吃肉的，里边还有蛋黄。端午节的时候，网上都会有人问：“粽子应该是甜的，还是咸的？”大家说来说去，谁也不听谁的。
所以，端午节那天，如果有中国朋友送你粽子，你可以先问一句：“甜的还是咸的？”听了他的回答，你可能就知道他是哪里人了。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 长 | cháng | long; length |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; slip (as in 纸条) |
| 鱼 | yú | fish |
| 包 | bāo | bag; sack |
| 这样 | zhèyàng | like this; this way |
| 地方 | dìfang | place |
| 河 | hé | river |
| 船 | chuán | boat; ship |
| 比赛 | bǐsài | match; competition; game; to compete |
| 有名 | yǒumíng | famous; well-known |
| 故事 | gùshi | story; tale |
English (for the teacher)
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is China’s Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, the rivers in many places are crowded with people. Long boats race each other on the water, and the front of every boat is made to look like a dragon. The people in the boats paddle together, and the people on the riverbank shout together: “Go!” People call them dragon boats.
Why this day? There is a famous story behind it. More than two thousand years ago, there was a man called Qu Yuan. He was a high official of the state of Chu, and he wrote poems too. He loved his country very much, but the king wouldn’t listen to him. Later, another state defeated his country, and Qu Yuan was so heartbroken that he jumped into a big river.
When people heard, they took boats out on the river to look for him at once, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find him. Afraid the fish in the river would eat Qu Yuan, they wrapped rice in leaves and put it in the river, so the fish would eat the rice and leave Qu Yuan alone.
More than two thousand years later, people still wrap rice like this, only now they don’t put it in the river; they eat it themselves. These are zongzi.
Not all zongzi are the same. Many northerners like sweet ones; many southerners like ones with meat, and egg yolk inside too. At every Dragon Boat Festival, someone online asks: “Should zongzi be sweet or salty?” People argue back and forth, and nobody gives in.
So on the day of the festival, if a Chinese friend gives you zongzi, you can ask first: “Sweet or salty?” From the answer, you may be able to tell where they’re from.