August 1

Beautiful Planet

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)”

 

 

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July 2

The story of Shen Nong Shi

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.

 

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July 1

You Have Become Smarter

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!”

 

 

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June 1

Spring’s Dawn


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.

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May 1

Making Chinese Dumpling

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!

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April 2

So-So

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.

 

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April 1

My Last Name is Not Wang

我不姓王My Last Name is Not Wang

張先生是一個很不細心、很馬虎的人,

Mr. Zhang was a very careless and sloppy person.

他常常寫錯字,也常常認錯人,

He often wrote wrong characters and often recognizes the wrong people,

所以大家都叫他馬虎先生。

So(therefore) everyone called him Mr. Sloppy.

有一天,張先生在路上看見一個朋友,

One day, Mr. Zhang saw someone on the street,

他說:゙嗨王老師,你好嗎?

He said: ゙Hi Teacher Wang, how are you?

那個人還沒回答,The man hasn’t answered yet,  (before the other person had a chance to answer)

張先生又說: 啊! 王老師,你變了!
Mr. Zhang said again(continued said): Ah! Teacher Wang, you have changed!

你沒有以前胖,而且也沒有以前高了,
You are not as heavy as before, and you are not as tall as before,

你比以前黑多了,你的身體還好吧?

You look much darker than before, how is your health?

那個人說:對不起,我不姓王!

The man said: I am sorry! My last name is not Wang!

張先生聽了,Mr. Zhang heard,

忽然大聲說:Suddenly said loudly:

你真的變了,你看你連姓什麼都變了!

You really have changed! Look, even your last name has changed!

那個人聽了,忍不住大笑起來。

When the person heard this, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

 

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March 2

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

感恩節大遊行Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

感恩節快到了! It was almost Thanksgiving.

星期二早上。 明明全家坐飛機去奶奶家。

Tuesday morning, Ming-Ming’s family flew to grandma’s house.

飛機上坐滿了人,好像都是趕著回家過節。

The plane was packed with people, and everyone looked like they were rushing home for the holidays.

飛機飛了六個小時才到紐約市,The plane took six hours to get to New York City,

姑姑和表弟表妹也到了,Auntie and two younger cousins were there already,

大家在機場見面,高興的抱在一起。When we met at the airport everyone felt so happy and hugged each other.

奶奶說,明天去看梅西大遊行,Grandma said, we were going to see the Macy’s Parade tomorrow,

大家聽了都很歡喜。Everyone was excited to hear that.

奶奶說一定要早去,不然交通會太擠,車子走不通。
Grandma said that we needed to go early, so that we would not get stuck in the heavy traffic.

(Otherwise, the traffic would be too crowded. The car gets stuck.)

感恩節一大早,大家吃過早飯,就開車上路了。Early on Thanksgiving, they got on the road soon after breakfast!

因為來得早,所以佔到路邊的好位子。Because they arrived early, I got a good seat on the side of the road.

十點鐘左右,樂隊過來了,吹吹打打很熱鬧。Around ten o’clock, the marching band came over, and playing trumpets and drums is very lively.

哇,卡通氣球也有一個個過來了,有chicken little– Wow, cartoon balloons are coming one by one, like chicken little–

哦!還有SpongeBob,這些氣球都非常的大,Oh! There was SpongeBob, All the balloons were so big.

每個氣球都是由一、二十個人拉著走。Each balloon was pulled away by ten or twenty people.

All the balloons were so big that it took 10to20 people to pull each one.

今年參加遊行的卡通人物很多,Many cartoon characters were participating in the parade this year,

孩子們高興地一直拍手叫好,All the kids were so thrilled they kept clapping and shouting.

The children clapped their hands and shout happily,

明明和姊姊也拍了許多照片。Mingming and her sister also took a lot of photos.

胖胖的耶誕老人公公來了,Finally, the pot-bellied Santa Clause showed up!

這是每年遊行的最後一個節目,This was the last show in the parade every year.

因為感恩節一過耶誕節就快來了!Because after Thanksgiving Christmas was right around the corner.

回到家以後,全家說說笑笑一起準備感恩節大餐,

After returning home, (After getting home)the whole family chatted and laughed together to prepare the Thanksgiving feast.

孩子們做蔥油餅和小蛋糕,The children made scallion pancakes and cupcakes,

其他的食物都有大人們準備。The rest of the meals are prepared by adults.

晚飯時,飯桌上有烤火雞、紅莓醬,洋芋泥、玉米麵包、南瓜餅等可口的食物,

During dinner, the table was laden with such mouth -watering dishes as roast turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, cornbread, pumpkin pie,

另外還有香噴噴的蔥油餅和紅莓小蛋糕。As well as great smelling scallion pancakes and cranberry cupcakes.

明明、姊姊、表妹、表弟,一起抱著奶奶,Mingming, her elder sister and younger cousins hugged grandma together,

感恩奶奶給他們一個最難忘的感恩節。Thanking grandma for giving them a most unforgettable Thanksgiving.

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March 2

Stone Soup

石頭湯 Stone Soup

很久以前,有一個農村,

Once upon a time, there was a village,

這裡的村民都很自私又很小氣,所以大家很少有往來。The villagers were all very selfish and stingy, so they hardly saw one another.

(So they rarely communicate)

有一年冬天,有個老人來到這裡,

One winter, an old man came here,

他帶來一個大鍋子,He brought a big cauldron,

他把冰塊和雪放進鍋子裡,

He placed ice cubes and snow into the pot,

就在路邊生火煮了起來。

They built a fire by the side of the road and started cooking.

老人又從皮箱裡拿出一個小石頭,放進鍋里。

The old man took out a small stone from the suitcase and put it into the cauldron.

他高聲叫道:美味的石頭湯唷!
He shouted: “Delicious stone soup!”

快來吃,不要錢唷。 Come and have some, free of charge.(no money required.)

大家一聽,不要錢! 就連忙打開大門,拿著碗出來,

When everyone heard it was free, they hurriedly opened the doors and rushed out with their bowls,

大家圍著大鍋子等著喝美味的石頭湯。

Everyone gathered around the cauldron and couldn’t wait to taste the delicious stone soup.

老人用大湯杓攪著攪著鍋里的湯,自言自語地說:

The old man stirred the soup with a ladle and murmured to himself,

如果再加點兒胡椒,蔥和油,

If we add a little ground pepper, scallions, and oil,

就是世界上最美味的湯了!

It will be the most delicious soup in the world!

有人想:這些都是小東西,要不了幾個錢,

Some people thought: These are trivial and don’t cost much.

於是,他們就回家拿來了。

So, they returned home and fetch them.

老人把這些東西加進湯里。

The old man added these ingredients to the soup.

老人喝了一口湯,說道:不錯! 不錯!

The old man took one sip of the soup and said: Not bad! good!

假如湯里有自己最愛吃的東西,那就更好喝了!

If the soup has everyone’s favorite thing, it would be even better!

大家聽了,覺得老人說的話很有道理。

Everyone listened and felt that what the old man said was very reasonable. (thought it made sense.)

於是,匆忙回家把自己最愛吃的東西都拿來了。

So, they hurried home and brought back their favorite food.

老人把大家拿來的肉、玉米、白菜、青豆、杏仁、洋蔥芹菜、番茄—都加進湯裡。

The old man added the meat, corn, cabbage, green beans, almonds, onions, celery, and tomatoes into the soup.

石頭湯果然更香了。

Which of course smelled even better.

於是,大家高高興興地吃著。

So, everyone happily consumed the soup.

這時候老人忽然不見了,

At this moment, the old man suddenly disappeared.

只見鍋子上有“合作”兩個字。

I saw the word “cooperation” on the caldron.

這時候大家才明白:

Then everyone finally understood:

每個人拿出一點兒食物,

Everyone chipped in a little food,

合在一起才煮成這麼美味的湯,

Combined to make such a delicious soup,

從此以後,村民們互助合作,過著幸福快樂的人日子。

Since then (from then on), the villagers learned to help and cooperate with one another and lived happily ever after.

 

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