综合英语第二册单元13

Unit 13
Main Idea
The text mainly tells us a story happened to a Chinese couple living in French Guadeloupe. They lived in a world where Chinese custom and culture are not well taken notice of. The author recalled the happiness of the lunar new years she’d been through in her hometown when she was young, and decided to create a Caribbean Spring Festival in this western culture dominated island. The whole celebration was imbued with fun and happiness and a kind of feeling that had been lost for more than 20 years. They’ve even been invited to give talks on Chinese culture. This made them feel the urge to learn more about their motherland.
Creating a Caribbean Spring Festival
by Yi Yenchun
Para 1
[ summary] The writer recalls how her family celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year when she was little.
[author] Yi Yenchun, a writer from Taiwan, is now living on French Guadeloupe in Latin America. The original article was written in Chinese, translated by Daniel Rote.
1. I remember when I was little, right before the Lunar New Year we’d make an offering to the Kitchen God.
make an offering: contribute (to the Kitchen God)
offering : things offered, especially as a gift or contribution. 提供之物，由指礼物，奉献之物
He gave him a box of chocolates as a peace offering.
Yesterday they made offerings to the departed spirit.
Lunar New Year: It refers to the traditional new year according to Chinese calendar lunar: lunar month, means the average time between one new moon and the next. Cf:calendar month: period of time from a certain date in a month to the same date in the next one.
2.Mom always told us not to jabber, and that we should eat some sweets, so as to speak some sweet words.
jabber: v. talk rapidly in what seems to be a confused manner 急促而含混不清地说话n. jabbering, chatter
Listen to those children jabbering away! 你听那些孩子叽叽喳喳地说过不停！You can hear the jabber of monkeys at the foot of mountain at night.
so as to do sth.: with the intention of doing sth.
He left a message so as to be sure of contacting her.
Cf. so… as to do sth.: to the extent that one does sth.
She was so kind as to phone a taxi for me.
3. There should be no fighting or disturbances so as not to cause the Kitchen God to report unfavourably on our family to the Jade Emperor in Heaven. [paraphrase] While making an offer to the Kitchen God, we should not fight or disturb, or the Kitchen God would give an unfavourable report to the Jade Emperor in Heaven.
the Jade Emperor:The Jade Emperor is the king of all the gods in Chinese
mythology. (玉皇大帝)
report unfavourably on our family: to report against our family, i.e. to speak ill of our family
4. Before New Year’s Eve, Mom had already started the busy process of making New Year foods like steamed buns, both stuffed and plain. Meanwhile Dad prepared the New Year couplet.
steamed buns, both stuffed and plain:“stuffed” buns refer to buns with other food or flavour inside, while “plain” ones refer to those without anything else inside. couplet: two successive lines of verse of equal length. In the text, it refers to those typical used for celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, attaching to both sides of one’s family door.春联
5. The big streets and hidden alleys of my hometown were swarming with people at this time of the year.
swarm with sb. / sth.: (of a place) be (unpleasantly) crowded with or full of (people or things)
The beach is swarming with bathers. The table swarmed with flies.
6. Shop fronts were piled up with all sorts of foods and gifts appropriate for the New Year’s holiday.
shop fronts: the part of the shops facing the street
pile up: 1)(meaning in the text) increase in quantity; accumulate
Evidence was piling up against them.
Her debts are piling up and she has no money to pay them.
2) (of a number of vehicles) crash into each other, especially each hitting the one in front.
appropriate for / to sth.: suitable, right and proper
Sports clothes are not appropriate for a formal wedding.
7. Last but not least, one of my happiest memories was of the New Year’s dinner and especially of the money handed out to us kids in red envelopes.
l ast but not least: use before the final item in a list, means last but no less important than the others. 最后但同样重要的
red envelope:红包(or called 压岁钱in some localities)
hand sth. out to sb.: distribute sth.
Relief workers were handing out emergency rations to the survivors. 救济人员在向生还者分发紧急配给品。

8. I left my hometown when I was twelve years old and in a flash more than twenty years have passed.
in a flash: in a very short time
You just have to call and he’s here in a flash.
9. My memories, however, not only have not diminished, they’ve actually got fresher. diminish: become smaller or less
Nothing could diminish her enthusiasm for the project.
His illness diminished his strength.
That country’s money is diminishing in value.
Cf: lessen dwindle decrease decline shrink reduce
lessen: to become or make less 减少，减轻
The noise lessened.
dwindle: to become smaller and smaller 逐渐变小
The number of people helping us dwindled steadily until there are only four left. decrease: to become less in size, number, strength, amount, or quality
I shall have to decrease your wages.
decline: to move from a better to a worse position 下降，衰退
The old man declined rapidly and soon died.
shrink: to become smaller as from the effect of heat or water; to move back and away 收缩，畏缩
Washing wool in hot water will make it shrink.
reduce: to become smaller or less 缩减
Para 2
[summary] The writer, after experiencing a miserable Chinese Lunar New Year on Guadeloupe − no activities, no Chinese food − decides to recreate the Chinese Lunar New Year spirit in the foreign land.
1. It was here that my husband and I spent the most miserable New Year of our life, eating sausage sent from Mom and Dad that had mildewed after being detained in customs for too long.
miserable: a.
1) very unhappy or uncomfortable; wretched
e.g. miserable from cold and hunger
2) causing unhappiness or discomfort; unpleasant
e.g. miserable weather
3) poor in quality or quantity; too small or meager
e.g. What a miserable meal it is!
4) mean, contemptible
e.g. What a miserable old devil he is!
that had mildewed after being detained in customs for too long:The Customs Office in many countries has strict restrictions on the entry of food, especially meat products, which will be kept in quarantine for several weeks or even months. mildew: v. (esp. passive voice) cause something to be affected by mildew（发霉）, e.g. mildewed leaves, fruit, canvas
n. [U] a usu destructive growth of tiny fungi which forms on plants, leather, food, etc., in warm wet conditions 破坏性的霉，霉花
cf. mould / mold: any of several kinds of woolly or furry fungus which grow on slightly wet surfaces such as leather, cheese, or objects left in a warm wet place 霉菌，霉
detain: 1) prevent (somebody) from leaving or doing something
She was detained in the office by the unexpected caller.
2) keep (somebody) in custody, lock up
The police detained him for questioning.
When “customs”is used to refer to the government department that collects import duty and deal with other international affairs, it can also be “the customs”海关
2. We cried in each other’s arms. This year I suddenly had a brainstorm. [paraphrase] We took each other in our arms and cried. This year I had a sudden clever idea.
brainstorm: 1) (US English, informal) sudden clever idea灵机一动
Unless someone has a brainstorm we’ll never solve this problem.
2) (British English, informal) moment of confusion or forgetfulness sudden mental aberration一时糊涂，记不起来，突然的神志不清
I must have a brainstorm—I couldn’t remember my telephone number.
3.Why couldn’t I, in this place devoid of Chinese people, foods, and thus the New Year spirit, recreate the New Year of my youth?
[paraphrase] In this place without Chinese and thus without the New Year atmosphere, Why couldn’t I celebrate a New Year like when I was young?
devoid of: without something; completely lacking in something
He is a criminal devoid of conscience. 他是一个丧尽天良的罪犯。

spirit: in the text it means characteristic quality or mood of something
e.g. the sprit of the times 时代气息
Para 3
[summary] The writer prepares for the Chinese New Year party, shopping for food and seeking help from her friends.
1. Taking adv antage of a business trip with my husband’s, I went to French Guinea where I was able to pick up a few Chinese foods and Indian spices.
take advantage of something: make use of something well
They took full advantage of the hotel’s facilities.
There are so me more phrases and idioms concerning “advantage”:
have the advantage of somebody: be in a better position than somebody
to somebody’s advantage: with results which are profitable or helpful to somebody 对某人有利
The new agreement is to our advantage.
a few Chinese foods: Here “food” is used as a countable noun, meaning specifi c kinds of food.
Cf. spice flavour
When used as a noun, “spice” refers to any of various types of substance obtained from plants, with a strong taste or smell, for adding into food, especially in powder form; while “flavour” means the smell or taste of food, etc. It can also mean special quality, characteristic or atmosphere, e.g. The film retains much of the books exotic flavour.（这部电影保留了原著许多异国情调。

）
When used as a verb, both of them mean “add flavour to food”, but besides this,“spice” can also mean “add (humor, etc)to give interest, variety, etc”. e.g. His stories are spiced with humor.
2. Afterwards I went to one of Guadeloupe’s s tationery stores where I purchased the last two sheets of red paper.
purchased the last two sheets of red paper: The writer puts in this interesting detail to show how difficult it was to get the things for her party in a foreign environment.
purchase: v. [formal] buy; n. [ C, often pl.] an ac of buying, [U, formal] buying They’ve just purchased a new house in the country for 25,000 pounds.
She made several purchases in the dress shop.
He gave his son some money for the purchase of books.
Some words about selling and buying:
sell 卖retail 零售market 上市销售
buy 买get 买pawn 典当
patronize 光顾treat 请客bargain 讨价还价
3. I then went to raise an army, sending invitations out to all our friends and asking
those who could make Chinese food to provide a dish or two.
raise an army: to get or collect a large number of people to help. The word army is used in exaggeration to emphasise that she had asked for help from a big group of people. Raise means to assemble or gather, e.g. raise money / a fund; raise 3 000 troops.
One dish or two: “dish” here is a countable noun, meaning food served in the dish. e.g.a big dish of curry (一大盘用咖喱调味的菜)
Some more phrases and idioms concerning “dish”:
dish something out: give away a lot of something(大量给予或分发)
The students are dishing out leaflets to passers-by.
dish something up: 1) put (food) on plates
2) present or offer something(derogatory)
They are dishing up the usual arguments in a new form. 他们将老调子改头换面，又端出来了。

4. I borrowed calligraphy ink from one of my Japanese friends and, using a brush that Mom gave me last year, wrote out a New Year couplet.
calligraphy ink: ink used in traditional Chinese writing
calligraphy: beautiful handwriting
brush: it refers to the traditional Chinese writing instrument (毛笔)
5. I also asked an English friend of mine to fold the red paper into envelopes to prepare the Lunar New Year money for the children.
to fold the red paper into envelopes: to make envelopes out of red paper
In cooking, “fold… into…” means mix one ingredient gently into another, usually with a spoon. e.g.fold the eggs into the flour (将鸡蛋和面粉调匀)
Some more phrases concerning “fold”:
fold up: collapse because of pain or great laughter
fold something away: (cause something to) become more compact for storage by folding
fold A in B / fold B around A: cover or wrap something up.
e.g. fold the newspaper around the bowl = fold the bowl in the newspaper
Para 4
[summary] The party turned out to be a great success, with a rich variety of international dishes. The observance of the old Chinese custom of giving children red envelopes was greatly appreciated by the kids at the party.
1.For a gathering of people from around the world, we laid out quite a surprising
spread of Chinese dishes.
gather: v. come or bring sb. / sth. together in one place 聚集
gathering: n. meeting or coming together of people
This is a small family gathering.
lay out: spread sth. out ready for use or to be seen easily 展开某物为备用或易见Please lay out all the clothes you want to take on holiday.
I like those beautiful jewellery laid out in the shop window.
2.We specially prepared some red cards to identify, in Chinese and French, every
dish on the table.
identify: v. recognize
She identified the man as her attacker.
Can you identify your umbrella among this lot?
3. The dishes we had laboured over disappear in less than a half hour.
labour: v. work or try hard
I’ve been labouring over a hot stove all morning.
He laboured to finish the job on time.
Names of some dishes:
Ants on a Hill: the name of a food (蚂蚁上山)
hua- juan:花卷
boiled salted chicken:盐水鸡
kung-pao chicken: 宫保鸡丁
stewed pork in brown sauce:红烧肉
Cantonese fried rice: 广东炒饭
sushi: a Japanese dish made of fish pieces on top of cooked rice (生鱼片米饭)
small moon cake: 小月饼
Para 5
After dinner, we annou nced t… with his own eyes the power of the Red Envelope.
年夜饭后，我们宣布发红包的时候到了，又向朋友们介绍说如果父母给小孩压岁钱，小孩就要跪下叩头。

可是想不到的是当我端出满是红包的托盘时，小孩子们都跪下来向我叩头。

我连忙扶起他们，再告诉他们只需要给自己的父母叩头。

丈夫说这是他第一次见识到红包有如此大的威力。

1. Who would have guessed that when I brought out a platter of red envelopes the children would kneel and kow-tow to me?
[paraphrase] The writer was surprised when she saw the children all get down on their knees at the sight of the money! After hearing her talk about this old Chinese custom, the children must have thought that they were expected to do so.
2. I pulled them up quickly and explained again that they needed to kneel to their own parents.
pull up: 1) use force on sb. in order to make sb. / sth. stand up
He pulled up the tree by the roots.
2) correct or reprimand sb. 纠正，训斥某人
He was pulled up by the chairman.
3) cause a vehicle to come to a halt (使车辆)停下
The driver pulled up at the traffic lights.
3. My husband commented that it was the first time he had seen with his own eyes the power of the Red Envelope.
the power of the “Red Envelope”:the Red Envelope’s power to make the children kneel. Notice the writer capitalizes the first letters of red envelope to give the term the status of a proper noun, representing a typical Chinese cultural feature.
Para 6
On Guadeloupe getting things done takes time, but… catch up on our motherland.
在瓜德罗普岛，干事很费时间，但是消息却传得很快。

我们庆祝完春节后，岛上五花八门的社团纷纷闻讯赶来，请我们这对夫妻档到他们的讨论节目中谈一谈中华文化。

侨居海外多年，我们觉得自己对中华文化知之甚少，会让人觉得我们两个中国人徒有虚名。

于是，我们就开始阅读中文的报刊杂志，来弥补我们对祖国的无知。

1. After our New Year celebration various organisations on the island approached us one after another to reques t our “husband and wife association” to give a talk on Chinese culture in a discussion group.
husband and wife association: Notice the humorous tone when the writer mentions herself and her husband. 夫妻搭档
approach: v. go to sb. for help or support or in order to offer sth.
He approached the bank manager for a loan.
2. We who had lived outside China for so many years felt that our shaky knowledge of Chinese culture would show us up for fake Chinese.
shaky: a. not safe and reliable
The government is looking very shaky at the moment.
My French is very shaky. (= I don’t speak French very well.)
show sb. up for sth./ as / to be sth.: show sb. to be 显露某人
His diary shows him up to have been a greedy man.
fake: a. not genuine, made and intended to deceive
He is a fake policeman.
The money is all fake.
Cf. false bogus sham
false: not real
The diamonds she wears are false.
bogus: (usu. derog. ) false
His whole story is bogus, don’t believe it.
sham: false but made to look or seem real
This is a sham agreement; neither side intends to keep it.。