端午節的這一天One the day of Dragon Boat Festival

今天是端午節。 Today is the Dragon Boat Festival.

划龍舟比賽在河邊舉行。

The dragon boat regatta will be held at the riverside.

中中和許多同學代表學校參加比賽，

Zhong-Zhong and many schoolmates represent their school in the competition.

張老師是他們的教練。

Teacher Zhang as their coach.

參加比賽的學校很多，

There are many schools participating in the regatta.

許多家長和同學都來加油，

Many parents and classmates came to cheer for their school teams.

河邊到處都是人非常熱鬧。

The riverside is packed with people and bustling with noise and excitement.

比賽開始了！

The race begins!

運動員在龍舟上，

Athletes sat on the dragon boats,

跟著鼓聲的節拍喊一二三！一二三！

Follow the beat of the drum and shout one, two, three! one two three!

他們用力的向前划。

They rowed forward vigorously(with all their might).

每條龍舟都划得很快！

Every dragon boat rows very fast!(moves quickly)

在河邊看比賽的人，緊張得大聲叫：

People watching the race on the river bank are so nervous so they shout:

加油！加油！快追！快追！

Go! Go! come on! come on! Chase! Chase! Faster! Faster!

結果，中中這一隊得到小學組冠軍。

As a result(In the end), Zhong-Zhong’s school team comes in first place at the primary school level.

大家跑過去向他們祝賀說：恭喜！你們好棒啊！

Everyone ran over to congratulate them and said: Congratulations! You guys are awesome!

大家高高興興地坐下來吃粽子。

Everyone happily(cheerfully) sat down to eat rice dumplings.

張老師說：吃粽子是紀念愛國詩人屈原，

Teacher Zhang said: Eating rice dumplings commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

今天也是詩人節。

Today is also Poet’s Day.

青青拿出許多香包分給大家。

Qingqing bring out many fragrant sachets and distributed them to everyone.

他說：這是我外婆和我做的。

She said: My grandma and I made these.

有草藥的香味，很好聞。

The herbs inside make them smell really nice (It has an herbal scent, which is nice.)

張老師說：每年夏季，端午節一過，天氣就很熱了。

Teacher Zhang said: Every summer, after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather gets very hot.

戴香包，掛艾草是為了防蟲。

Wearing fragrant sachets and hanging calamus upside down on the front door are ancient traditions to prevent insects.

友友說：我爺爺已經把艾草掛在我們家的大門上了，

Friends said: My grandfather has hung calamus on our front door already,

他說毒蟲不敢靠近艾草！

He said poisonous insects are afraid to be near calamus!

中中说：太好了，下星期露营，
Zhongzhong said: Great, on the camping trip next week.

我要把很多香包和艾草都掛在身上，

I want to hang a lot of fragrant sachets and calamus on my body,

這樣就不怕蚊蟲來咬我了。

This way I won’t be afraid of mosquitoes or insect biting me.

明明笑著說：那就像稻草人啦！

Mingming smiled and said: Then you are just like a scarecrow!

假如你站在玉米田裡，鳥就不敢來吃玉米了！

If you stand in a cornfield, birds will not dare to eat the corn!

大家都笑了起來。

Everyone laughs.

北極星和指南針North star and compass

春假的時候，青青全家到山上露營。During spring break, Qingqing’s family went camping in the mountains.

吃完晚飯，爸爸、媽媽和青青一邊談天，一邊看天上的星星。After dinner, dad, mom and Qingqing were chatting while looking at the stars in the sky.

爸爸指著天空說：看！Milky Way，中文叫什麼？叫牛奶路嗎？

Dad pointed to the sky and said: Look! Milky Way, what is it called in Chinese?Is it called Milk Road right?

媽媽笑著說：不對！叫銀河.No, it’s called the silver river. Said Mom laughing.

媽媽說：他像一條閃閃發銀光的河，裡面有數不清的星星。Mom said: He is like a sparkling silver river (shimmering river) filled with countless stars in it.

爸爸說：這個名字取得很有道理。Dad said: This name makes sense to me.

媽媽又說：看！靠近北方天空有七顆星，排成鬥的樣子，叫北鬥七星，就是Big Dipper它的右上方就是北極星了。

Mom said again: Look! Near the northern sky seven stars line up like a dipper, It is the Big Dipper, which is called the NorthDipper in Chinese. On the upper right is the North Star.

爸爸說：青青，你知道嗎？北極星永遠在北極的上方，它在地球的正北方，英文叫North Star又叫Polaris。

Dad said: Qingqing, do you know? Polaris is always above the North Pole. It is in the true north of the earth. It is called North Star or Polaris in English.

青青說：老師說，如果迷路，找到北極星就能知道方向。Qingqing said: The teacher said that if you get lost, you can know the direction by finding the North Star.

爸爸，古代的人只靠北极星任方向吗？Dad, did people in ancient times only rely on the North Star to determine their direction?

爸爸回答：不是，他們靠指南針認方向。Dad replied: No, they rely on the compass to know the direction.

指南針就是compass它是兩千多年前中國人發明的。The compass is a compass, which was invented by the Chinese more than 2,000 years ago.因為有指南針，所以中國古代的人，不怕到很遠的地方去;

Because of the compass, people in ancient China were not afraid to travel to faraway lands.

船在海上走，也不會迷失方向，後來指南針經過絲路，傳到亞洲其他國家和歐洲去。 世界的海運才發達起來。ships would not lose their way while traveling on the sea. Later, the compass spread to other Asian countries and Europe through the Silk Road. The world’s maritime transport has just developed.

青青說：真有趣！Qingqing said: How interesting! That’s really fascinating!

爸爸拿出一個指南針。他說：你看，裡面這根針，白色指南，紅色指北。 很有趣吧！

He said: Look, the white end of the needle inside points to the south, and the red end points to the north. Very interesting!

爸爸說：明天清早，我們全家去山上探險吧！Dad suggested: Early tomorrow morning, let’s go exploring in the mountains as a family!

青青拍拍手說：好極了，我們一定要帶著它。Qingqing clapped her hands and said: Marvelous!( Great,) we must take it. Be sure to bring the compass.

夏季運動會Summer Sport Games

今年的夏季運動會在州立大學舉行。

This year’s summer sport games are held at State University.

我們校車開到那裡的時候，

When our school bus arrived there,

看臺上已經是人山人海了。

The stands were already packed with people.(filled with huge crowds of people.

八點半比賽正式開始。

The game officially starts at half past eight.

At eight thirty AM, the competition officially began.

有跳高、跳远、赛跑、拔河等等，

There are high jumps, long jumps, running races, tug-of-war, etc.

場面十分熱鬧。

A bustling scene with noise and excitement. (The scene was very lively.)

唐國舟是少年足球隊的隊員，他跑得很快。

Tang Guozhou is a member of the youth soccer team and he can run very fast.

今天他參加一千米長跑。

He took part in the one-thousand-meter race today.

一開始他跑在最前面，

At first, he was running at the head of the pack,

其他的運動員遠遠地落在後頭。

While other athletes lag fell far behind.

忽然，唐國舟跌倒了，

All of a sudden, Tang Guozhou fell down.

啊！後面的幾個人追過了他。

ah! Those who were behind caught up to and went past him.

我們在場外緊張地大叫：

We nervously shouted from the sidelines:

「唐國舟快跑！」「唐國舟加油！」

“Tang Guozhou, run!”  “Come on, Tang Guozhou

果然，他很快地爬起來又向前面跑去。

Sure enough, he quickly got up and continued running forward.

結果唐國舟得了亞軍，

As a result(In the end), Tang Guozhou won the second place.

我們都跑過去向他祝賀。

We all ran over to congratulate him.

美麗的行星Beautiful Planet

太陽才下山，天邊就升起一顆明亮的星星，

The sun had just gone down, and a bright star rose in the sky.

Just after the sun went down, there rose a bright star on the horizon,

金光閃閃，好看極了！

Glittering gold, so beautiful!

twinkling with golden rays, and so very beautiful!

青青指著那顆星說：「它是金星，太陽的行星。 」

Qingqing pointed to the star and said, “It is Venus, one of the sun’s planet.”

媽媽說：「妳好棒啊！」

Mom complimented, “You are awesome!”

青青說：「我知道六顆行星的中文名字。

Qingqing said: “I know the Chinese names of six planets.

最靠近太陽的是水星，然後排下去就是金星、地球、火星、木星和土星。 」

The planet closest to the sun is Mercury, followed by Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. ”

Followed in order are

媽媽說：「這些星球的名字好記嗎？」

Mom said: “Are the names of these planets easy to remember?”

青青說：「我有個方法，就是記星球的顏色

Qingqing said: “I have a method, which is to remember the color of the planet.

Mercury 看起來像水一樣清叫水星，

Mercury looks like water and is called Mercury. (As clear as water)

Venus 像金子一樣亮叫金星，

Venus is as shiny as gold and is called Venus,

Mars 像火一樣紅叫火星，

Mars is as red as fire and is called Mars,

Jupiter 像木頭的顏色叫木星，

The color of Jupiter is like wood, which is called Jupiter.

Saturn 像土一样黄叫土星。 很有趣吧！」

Saturn is as yellow as dirt (or earth) and is called Saturn. Very interesting (Isn’t that fun)! ”

媽媽說：「嗯！不但有趣，而且很有道理。 」

Mom said, “Yeah! Not only is it interesting, but it also makes sense.”

青青說：「古代的人很會取名字，他們好聰明哦！」Qingqing said: “People in ancient times were very good at naming. They were so smart!”

媽媽笑著說：「妳也很聰明呀！」

Mom smiled and said: “You are also very smart!(So are you)”

神農氏的故事The story of Shen Nong Shi

上古時候，人們靠打獵過日子。

In ancient times, people lived by hunting.

到了冬天，食物吃光了，就只有餓死和病死。

When winter came and all the food was consumed, they faced death from starvation and disease.

那時候，有一個聰明的年輕人，

At that time, there was a smart(clever)young man,

他發現鳥把種子的皮吐掉，只吃裡面的東西。 He discovered that the birds spit out (the skins of the seeds) husk and ate only the contents (the plant seeds within).

他也想試試看！

He wants to try it too!

他用石頭把種子皮磨掉，加水煮一煮，就變成特別好吃的食物。

He used stones to grind off the seed skin and boiled it with water to turn it into a particularly edible delicious food.

(He ground the husk off the seeds with stone)

這些種子就是麥子和稻米。

These seeds were wheat and rice.

他想：我們可以來生產這些食物啊！

He thought: We can produce these foods this way!

於是，他教人把野草、樹木燒掉，開墾成農田。

So, he taught people to burn the weeds and trees and cultivate(develop) them into farmland.

他發明許多種田的工具，他教人們種田。

He invented many farming tools and taught people how to farm.(to plow the field)

人們安定下來了，對生活充滿了希望。

People have settled down and live at one place and start to have full of hope for life.

人們不但有食物吃，而且有房子住，

Not only do people have food to eat, but they also have houses to live in.

大家都感謝他，要求他做皇帝。

Everyone thanked him and asked him to be emperor.

They were all very grateful to him and asked him to be their ruler.

後來他做了皇帝就是炎帝，炎是火的意思。 不過，後人都稱他為神農氏，

Later he became emperor and was known as Emperor Yan, which means fire. However, later generations called him Shen Nong Shi.

神農氏是農業之神的意思。

Shen Nong Shi means the god of farming.

有一天，神农氏发现受伤的动物会去找不同的草吃，不久伤就好了。

One day, Shen Nong Shi discovered that injured animals would find different herbs to eat, and soon the injuries would heal. (recovered soon)

他想，什麼草能治好人的病呢？

He thought(start to wonder), what kind of herbs would cure people’s diseases?

(Human illness)

於是，他到山林裡去找。

So, he went to the mountains and forests in search of herds.

他自己試過，吃了幾百種草，發明瞭許多種藥方，

He tried it himself, tasted hundreds of kinds of herbs, and invented many kinds of medicines.

他用草藥醫治人的病，所以，五千多年前，中國不但已經有農業，而且有醫藥。

He used herbal medicine to treat people’s diseases. Therefore, more than 5,000 years ago, China not only had developed agriculture, but also medicine.

後來，這兩樣都傳到了世界各地。

Later, both of these spread to all over the world.

世界上有許多不同的藥品是以草藥做成的。

There are many different medicines in the world that are made from herbs.

神農氏對世界文明有很大的貢獻。

Shen Nong Shi made a significant contribution to the civilization of the world.

你變聰明了You Have Become Smarter

謝小奇特別愛吃藥，他常常要求醫生給他藥吃，因為他覺得藥很神奇，

Xie Xiaoqi especially likes to take medicine. He often asks doctors to give him medicine because he thinks medicine is magical.

他相信藥可以治好所有的病。

He believed that medicine could cure all diseases.

有一天，謝小奇問：

One day, Xie Xiaoqi asked the doctor:

「醫生！什麼藥可以治肚子餓？」

“Doctor! What medicine can cure hunger?”

醫生說：「食物啊，像米、麥等食品都是。 」

The doctor said(replied): “Food can, such as rice, wheat and other foods can.”

謝小奇又問：「吃什麼藥可以變聰明呢？」

Xie Xiaoqi asked again: “What medicine can I take to make me smarter?”

醫生说：「多看書和多用心。」

The doctor said: “Read a lot and pay more attention.”

謝小奇说：「那太没意思了！

請您給我一些藥吧！」

Xie Xiaoqi said: “That’s really no fun! Please give me some medicine! ”

於是醫生给他一瓶藥水。

So the doctor gave him a bottle of medicine.

過了幾天，謝小奇把藥吃完了，

After a few days, Xie Xiaoqi finished this medicine.

他覺得還没變聰明，He feels he hasn’t become smarter yet,

於是他又向醫生要了幾瓶藥水。

So he asked the doctor for more bottles of potion.

又過了幾天，謝小奇把藥全吃光了，

Several more days passed; Xie Xiaoqi finished all the medicine.

可是他還是没有變聰明。But he still hasn’t gotten smarter.

謝小奇覺得很奇怪，他再回來看醫生，

Xie Xiaoqi felt very strange. He came back to see the doctor again.

他說：「醫生，您給我的不是藥水，而是糖水吧？」

He said: “Doctor, what you gave me was not medicine, but sugar syrup instead, right?”

醫生笑著說：「嗯！你變聰明了！」

The doctor smiled and said, “Well! You’ve indeed become smarter!”

春曉                         孟浩然
Spring Dawn   by Meng Haoran
春眠不覺曉
After a spring night’s sleep, I hardly sensed it was dawn,
處處聞啼鳥
I heard birds chirping everywhere,
夜來風雨聲
The sound of wind and rain during the night.
花落知多少
Made me wonder how many flowers have fallen.

包餃子 Making Chinese Dumpling

耶誕節假期，林友友請朋友到家裡來玩兒，

During Christmas holidays, You-you  Lin invited many friends over to his house,

大家要跟林媽媽學包餃子。

Everyone wanted to learn how to make dumplings from Mrs. Lin.

林媽媽從冰箱裡拿出幾包餃子皮

Mrs. Lin took out a several packages of dumpling wrappers from the refrigerator.

和一大碗有肉、有菜的餃子餡。

And a large bowl of dumpling stuffing made from pork and vegetables.

林媽媽說：來！每個人先把一湯匙的餃子餡放在餃子皮上，然後再把皮折起來。

Mrs. Lin said: here! Everyone put a tablespoon of the dumpling filling on the dumpling wrapper first,

Then fold the wrapper over.

大家學得很快，不一會兒，已經包好了一百多個。

Everyone learned quickly, and very soon, more than one hundred pieces had been wrapped.

林媽媽煮了一大鍋水，等水開了，

Mrs. Lin boiled a large pot of water, after the water boiled,

大家幫忙把餃子放進鍋裡,不一會兒，餃子就煮熟了。

Everyone helped put the dumplings into the pot,   after a while, the dumplings were cooked.

好香啊！大家吃着自己包的饺子，

They smell wonderful! Enjoying the dumplings, they made by themselves,

覺得特別美味可口。 Everyone thought they tasted especially delicious.

林媽媽笑著說：快過年了，誰在餃子里吃到杏仁，

明年一定很幸運！

Mrs. Lin said with smile: “Chinese New Year will soon be here! Whoever finds an almond in your dumplings, you will be very lucky next year!

她才說完，每個人都吃到了一兩顆。

By the time she finished speaking, everyone bit into one or two pieces of almond.

友友說：一定是我媽媽包的。

You-you said: My mom must have put them there.

大家高高興興地說，謝謝林媽媽！

Everyone merrily said, thank you Mrs. Lin!

馬馬虎虎So-So

很久以前，有一位畫家，Once upon a time, there was a painter,

他不但喜歡畫馬而且喜歡畫老虎。He not only likes to draw horses but also likes to draw tigers.

有一天，他的朋友請求他畫一幅馬。One day, his friend asked him to draw a horse.

朋友走了以後，After his friend left,

他就在剛剛畫好的老虎下面，畫了一個馬的身體。The painter is added a horse body under a tiger’s head that he had just finished.

他想這樣送給朋友就行了。He thought this would be good enough for his friend.

他的大兒子看見了，問道：His elder son saw it and asked:

爸爸！ 您在畫什麼？Daddy! what are you drawing?

畫家回答：哈哈！我在畫馬呀！The painter replied: Haha! I’m drawing(painting) a horse!

大兒子心想:哦,原來有一種馬,牠的頭長得很像老虎。The eldest son thought: Oh, I see. So, there is a kind of horse whose head looks like a tiger.

畫家把畫好的畫掛在牆上。The painter hangs the finished picture on the wall.

小兒子看見了，問道：The younger son saw it and asked:

爸爸！ 這是什麼動物？ 是老虎嗎？Daddy! What kind of animal is this? Is it a tiger?

畫家說：嗯—也沒錯！The painter said: Well — that’s also right!

小兒子想：原來有一種老虎，身體是這個樣子。The youngest son thought: So, there is a kind of tiger whose body looks like this.

有一天，大兒子遠遠看見一隻老虎，One day, the eldest son saw a tiger in the distance,

他還以為是馬。He thought it was a horse.

他忽然聽見老虎吼的聲音，才連忙逃走。Suddenly he heard the roar of a tiger,

Then he ran away hurriedly.

又有一天，小兒子看見前面有幾匹高大的馬，One another day, the youngest son saw several large horses in front of him.

他认为一定是老虎，所以就把牠们射伤了。He thought for sure they were tigers,

So he pulled his bow and shot them with arrows.

馬的主人找畫家賠錢。The owner of the horse came to the painter to demand compensation.

他們看見牆上的這張畫就問道：When they saw the picture on the wall, they asked:

這是什麼？ 不是馬也不是虎，好奇怪！What’s this? It’s neither a horse nor a tiger. How strange!

畫家回答說：哎，大兒子以為是馬，The painter sighed replied: “Ai, the eldest son thought it was a horse.

小兒子以為是老虎，才發生這些事。The youngest son thought it was a tiger, that’s why all this misfortune happened.

大家聽了，忍不住哈哈大笑，Everyone listened and couldn’t help burst out laughing,

後來，馬虎和馬馬虎虎變成了成語，Ever since, house-tiger and horse -horse-tiger-tiger became idioms,

表示不認真、不細心的意思。Which means doing something casually and carelessly.

馬馬虎虎還有so-so的意思。It also means so-so.