The value and art of ice冰的價值與藝術

江麗

1 These days， ice is easy to get. You can walk to your ice maker and have ice fall intoyour glass. Hundreds or thousands of years ago， ice wasn't this easy to make or to get. Inthe past， it involved harvesting ice from frozen bodies of water.

2 People throughout history have known the value of ice. People in ancient Chinawould wait till the winter to make ice blocks from frozen rivers and then they woulduse ice blocks to keep food cool through warmer months. In ancient cultures， ice was aluxury. Royalty would ship ice and then use it for juice drinks and other treats. In an agewhen there were no ice makers， ice was truly short and it was a sign of power.

3 Sometimes its translucence （半透明） madeit perfect for decorative purposes. Centuries ago，some Chinese villagers would freeze buckets andwater， cut a hole in the top and pour out the unfro?zen water. Then they'd put a candle into the cen?ter. And that are what we call ice lanterns now.And there are now a lot of big events aroundthe world， some of which result in entire multi?storey buildings made from ice， with coloredlights that make them look like a frozen fairy tale land.

4 In 1990， Alaska became the host of the annual World Ice Art Championships， whichis now a month?long event that attracts dozens of teams and tens of thousands of visitors.Canada is home to several large ice?based events， including the Ice Magic Festival nearLake Louise and the Deep Freeze Festival in Edmonton.

5 But the biggest and most mind?blowing event is the Harbin International Ice andSnow Festival， in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， China. When complete， the grounds turninto a real ice world， full of huge buildings and beautiful art with the best visual effects. Thevillage includes many features like the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian pyramids， allquite at home in this city that has a lower temperature in January.

Reading Check

1. What did people in ancient China use ice blocks for according to the text？

A. Cooling their houses.

B. Preserving food.

C. Creating sculptures.

D. Transporting goods.

2. What made ice a symbol of wealth and power in ancient times？

A. Its translucent nature.

B. Its use in everyday beverages.

C. Its necessity for survival.

D. Its transportation and use by royalty.

3. What are ice lanterns？

A. They're decorative candles surrounded by ice.

B. They're frozen buildings lit up by colored lights.

C. They're buckets of water frozen with a candle inside.

D. They're ice sculptures used in ancient Chinese rituals.

4. What do the last two paragraphs mainly talk about？

A. The tourist attractions in Alaska.

B. Some festivals and events relating to ice.

C. Decorative purposes of ice.

D. The value of ice.

語篇解碼

本文是一篇說明文。文章主要介紹了冰在過去的重要價值以及如今關于冰的一些節日活動。

語言學習

Ⅰ. 語料薈萃

Ⅱ. 語句分析

1. People in ancient China would wait till the winter to make ice blocks from frozenrivers and then they would use ice blocks to keep food cool through warmer months. 在中國古代，人們會等到冬天從結冰的河流中制取冰塊，然后再用冰塊在溫暖的月份里冷卻食物。

【點石成金】該句中，to make ice blocks from frozen rivers 和to keep food coolthrough warmer months都為不定式作目的狀語。

2. And there are now a lot of big events around the world， some of which result inentire multi?storey buildings made from ice， with colored lights that make them look like afrozen fairy tale land. 現在世界上有很多重大活動，其中一些活動需要的整個多層建筑都是由冰建造的，彩色的燈光使這些多層建筑看起來像一個冰凍的童話世界。

【點石成金】該句中，which引導非限制性定語從句，events為先行詞，在這個非限制性定語從句中還包含一個由that引導的限制性定語從句，lights為先行詞。

語言運用

Ⅰ. 例句仿寫

1. 我們生火的目的是取暖。

We made a fire?______________________________________________________ .

2. 為了更好地了解這種文化，她在這個國家生活了一年。

______________________________________________________， she lived in the country for a year.

3. 這是一場她完全沒有防備的危機。

It was a crisis ______________________________________________________（. 介詞+which）

4. 我的英語老師，約翰遜女士，下個月將要退休。

Ms Johnson， ______________________________________________________， is going to retire next?month.

Ⅱ. 寫作實踐

假定你是李華，你的外國朋友Peter給你發來郵件詢問你印象最深的一次節日體驗，請你給他回一封郵件，內容包括：

1. 節日介紹；

2. 你的感受。

注意：

1. 詞數80左右；

2. 可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Dear Peter，

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours，

Li Hua