BBC documentary on Spring Festival

四川外國語大學 敖燦燦

Jutroduction

春節是中華民族最隆重的傳統佳節，是中國人一年中最重要的時刻。2016年，英國廣播公司拍攝了一部關于中國新年的三集紀錄片，圍繞中國各地一年一度的慶祝活動——春節——向英國人展示了相關的食物、傳統和習俗。下面讓我們跟隨BBC的鏡頭，一起來感受下過年的快樂和團聚的幸福吧!

Chinese New Year is a time when the modern and the traditional are brought together to celebrate a tradition even older than the Great Wall of China.In 2016,the BBCfilmeda threepart documentary on Chinese New Year to show people in the UK about the food,traditions and customssurroundingthe national annual celebration.

In the 2016 series,the program's presenters tasted various Chinese dishes,traveled through rolling Chinese countryside,andwitnesseda proper family reunion.The three-episode documentary（三集紀錄片）,namely Migration,Reunion and Celebration,is an eye-opener for most audiences in the West,and a tear-jerker（催人淚下的故事）for those in China.

It is hard to miss the careful planning that went into the documentary,to the point that in a sense,the series could be viewed as introduction to the Spring Festival for those not familiar with the traditional holiday.

Stories of real lives of people,from cities like Beijing to the remote mountains in Yunnan that the Lisu ethnic group calls home,are told by the hosts fromfirst-hand experiences.

Traditions,such as fishing for fat-head carp（鯉魚）on Chagan Lake in Jilin Province,making 1,200 degrees molten iron dance in Nuanquan of Hebei Province,shopping for the right ingredients to prepare for the most important meal of the year on New Year's Eve and planning and rehearsing （排練）for a television program watched by 800 million viewers from around the world,are all vividlycaptured.

Family is the central aspect of Chinese lives;often the only chance a family gets to reunite during the whole year is during the Spring Festival. “Chunyun”,the Spring Movement in Chinese and a term that describes the massive migration where a sixth of the world's population travels home to celebrate the Spring Festival with their families across China,has already begun this year.Chinese people travel great distances each year to be reunited with their loved ones across the length and breadth of this huge and varied country.

The film refers to the Spring Festival as“the biggest celebration on the earth”,the Spring Festival Gala as the world's“mostwatched TV show”,and Chinese people going home for their holiday as “the largest human migration”.

Reading Check

1.What is the three-episode documentary mainly about?

A.Chinese dishes.

B.Chinese countryside.

C.Chinese family's reunion.

D.Chinese food,tradition and customs.

2.Why do people travel great distances in the Spring Festival?

A.To have a journey.

B.To spend their holiday.

C.To taste delicious food.

D.To reunite with family members.

Using Language

I.Important vocabulary in the text

1.film v.拍攝影片

2.surround v.圍繞；環繞

3.witness v.目擊；見證

4.capture v.拍攝；錄制

5.first-hand experiences 親身經歷

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.Recent years have___________many changes in China.

2.The images___________by her cameras.

3.Tall trees___________the lake.

4.He had___________her life story.

5.He is a journalist with___________of working in war zones.