A traditional Chinese festival—Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day.It usually falls on April 4th or 5th.It is a time to remember the dearly departed.More importantly,it is a period to pay respect to one's ancestors and deceased family members,during which people mainly have the ritual to sweep tombs.Because it strengthens the ethic of filial piety(孝道),the Qingming Festival is a major Chinese festival.

Literally meaning “clear” (qing)and “bright” (ming),this Chinese festival falls in early spring.It is a “spring” festival,and it is an occasion for families to leave home and to sweep the graves of their ancestors.This sweeping of the graves is given an extended period,that is,10 days before and after the Qingming Festival.In some places,a whole month is distributed.

The Qingming Festival is popularly associated with Jie Zitui,who lived in Shanxi Province in 600 BC.Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of meat from his own leg.When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small country,he invited all his other faithful followers to join him.However,Jie declined his invitation,preferring to lead a hermit's(隱士的)life with his mother in the mountains.

Believing that he could force Jie to get out by burning the mountains,the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire.To his astonishment,Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death.The lord was deeply saddened by this tragedy.To honour Jie,the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie's death.Thus began the Cold Food Festival,a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.

The Cold Food Festival occurs before the Qingming Festival and is often considered as part of the Qingming Festival.As time passed,the Qingming Festival replaced the Cold Food Festival.Whatever practice is observed,the basic thing of the Qingming Festival is to remember deceased elders by making a special effort to visit their graves,or ancestral tablets(祖先靈位).To make the visit even more meaningful,some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors,and the story of Jie Zitui who chose death rather than capitulation(屈服).

Activity A Reading for understanding

Ⅰ.Text-centered chunks

fall on(節日等)適逢(某日)；正當(某日)

pay respect to向……致敬

be associated with與……有關；和……聯系在一起

succeed in doing sth做成某事；在某事上獲得成功

set sth on fire點燃某物；放火燒某物

put out熄滅；撲滅

remind sb of sth提醒某人某事

Ⅱ.Text-centered sentences

一、定語從句

1.More importantly,it is a period to pay respect to one's ancestors and deceased family members,during which people mainly have the ritual to sweep tombs.更重要的是，這是一個致敬祖先和已故的家庭成員的日子，在這期間，人們有掃墓的習俗。

【點石成金】during which people mainly have the ritual to sweep tombs是“介詞+關系代詞”引導的定語從句，對period進行了補充說明。其中，during which在從句中作時間狀語。

【運用遷移】他將把野餐活動推遲到5月1日，那時他會有空。

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2.The Qingming Festival is popularly associated with Jie Zitui,who lived in Shanxi Province in 600 BC.清明節通常與公元前600年生活在山西的介子推聯系在一起。

【點石成金】who lived in Shanxi Province in 600 BC是非限制性定語從句，對介子推進行了補充說明。其中，who在從句中作主語。

【運用遷移】史密斯先生是一位著名的科學家，我從他那兒學到了許多東西。

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二、非謂語

However,Jie declined his invitation,preferring to lead a hermit's life with his mother in the mountains.然而，介子推拒絕了他的邀請，寧愿和他的母親在山里過隱居的生活。

【點石成金】preferring to lead a hermit's life with his mother in the mountains意為“寧愿和他的母親在山里過隱居的生活”，是V-ing作伴隨狀語的結構。

【運用遷移】我滑倒在玻璃地面上，摔斷了胳膊。

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Activity B Reading for writing

假定你是李華，請你以“A traditional Chinese festival—Qingming Festival”為題寫一篇短文，介紹清明節。內容要點：

1.清明節的由來；

2.清明節的意義。

注意：

1.詞數80左右；

2.可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫；

3.至少需要使用一個定語從句或非謂語；

4.注意段落內的邏輯關系。

A traditional Chinese festival—Qingming Festival

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寫作導引

本次的寫作任務是寫一篇介紹節日由來及其意義的短文，要求學生介紹中國傳統節日——清明節，并且至少需要使用一個定語從句或非謂語。這些寫作要求和所給語篇的主題語境是緊密相關的。我們可以通過整合同主題閱讀材料的內容和語言，梳理寫作思路和積累素材。

一、語篇解碼

（一）內容分析

What is the text mainly about?

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（二）宏觀結構

Fill in the blanks according to the text.

S t r u c t u r e W h e n C o n t e n t●T h e Q i n g m i n g F e s t i v a l u s u a l l y f a l l s o n 1. .●T h i s C h i n e s e f e s t i v a l f a l l s i n 2. .W h a t●P e o p l e m a i n l y h a v e t h e r i t u a l t o 3. .●I t i s a n o c c a s i o n f o r f a m i l i e s t o l e a v e h o m e a n d t o s w e e p g r a v e s o f t h e i r 4. .●T h e C o l d F o o d F e s t i v a l w a s a d a y w h e n n o f o o d c o u l d b e c o o k e d s i n c e n o f i r e c o u l d b e l i t.

（續表）

二、素材積累

（一）社會風俗與文化的核心表達

1.enjoy a reunion dinner吃團圓飯

2.visit relatives and friends走親訪友

3.give lucky money in red paper給壓歲錢

4.paste the Spring Festival couplets on the door在門上貼春聯

5.raise lanterns掛燈籠

6.guess lantern riddles猜燈謎

7.dragon boat race龍舟賽

8.admire the full moon賞月

9.spread traditional Chinese culture傳播中國傳統文化

10.contribute to the economic and cultural development促進經濟和文化的發展

11.get a better understanding of Chinese culture and customs對中國的文化和風俗習慣有更好的了解

12.in memory/honour of the ancestors為了紀念祖先

13.increase one's knowledge about the local custom增進某人對當地風俗習慣的了解

（二）節日意義的核心句型

1.It has been playing an increasingly important role in our daily life;it has brought us a lot of benefits but has created some problems as well.它在我們的日常生活中起著越來越重要的作用；它給我們帶來了很多好處，但同時也引發了一些問題。

2.Celebrating festivals is a good way to hand down traditions.慶祝節日是傳承傳統的好方法。

3.In my opinion,with the improvement of...,...has caught the world's attention.在我看來，隨著……的提升，……吸引了世界的關注。

4.People hold the festival in order to...,which helps us inherit our culture.人們舉行這個節日是為了……，這幫助我們傳承文化。

5.From what has been discussed above,we may reasonably arrive at the conclusion that...綜上所述，我們可以合理地得出結論……

三、寫作支架

本次的寫作任務是寫一篇介紹節日由來及其意義的文章，根據寫作要求，其語篇結構可定為“介紹由來+分析意義”。文章的框架如下：

A traditional Chinese festival—Qingming Festival

I'm more than glad to introduce ______________to you. ______________falls on _____________ .It originated from _____________.

During ______________,people ____________________________.It is a period to _____________.

四、語篇過手

根據以上提供的主題、主題表達和語篇結構，寫出一篇介紹節日由來及其意義的短文。第一段介紹節日由來，第二段分析、闡述節日意義?？傇~數控制在80左右。

同時，學習運用前文閱讀材料中出現的定語從句或非謂語。注意表達的內在邏輯關系和使用恰當的連詞。