中国故事（双语）01：New Year''s Eve 除夕

On the last night of the year, a monster comes out of the sea. The monster’s name is Nian. The monster is hungry! It goes to a village near the sea. It eats the animals in the village. The villagers hide in the mountains.

Mrs. Chen is leaving the village.

“Wait!” says an old man. “Where are you going?”

“The monster Nian is coming!” says Mrs. Chen. “Everyone hides in the mountains. We wait for the new year. Come with me!”

“I can scare the monster away,” says the man. “Can I stay at your house tonight?”

“You may stay here,” says Mrs. Chen. But be careful!”

“I will be fine,” says the man.

He puts red paper on Mrs. Chen’s door. He lights lanterns. He makes the house very bright. He puts on a red coat. He waits for the monster.

That night, Nian walks out of the sea. Nian is very hungry. It  looks

around the dark village. It sees the red door of Mrs. Chen’s house. It sees the lanterns. The bright lights hurt Nian’s  eyes. It roars loudly!

The man hears the monster. He throws the door open. BANG!

He shouts at the monster. He waves his arms in the air. He

lights firecrackers. POP! POP! POP!

The monster sees the man in the red coat. It hears the loud noises and it sees the fire. The monster is scared! The man shouts, “GO AWAY!” Nian turns and runs back to the sea.

The people come back to the village. Their animals and houses are safe.

They run to Mrs. Chen’s house.

“Nian is gone,” says the man.

“How did you do it?” asks Mrs. Chen.

“It was easy,” says the man. “Nian is scared of fire. It oesn’t like the color red, and it doesn’t like loud noises.”

Now, on the last day of the year, the villagers put up red paper and red lanterns. They light loud firecrackers. They have a party for the new year. They know Nian will never come back!

The End

Question: How do you celebrate the last night of the year? Who do you celebrate with?

核心词汇和语法

monster n. 怪物，怪兽

hide v. 躲藏，躲避

scare v. 使惊恐，使害怕

lantern n. 灯笼，提灯

bright adj. 明亮的，发亮的

roar v. 吼叫，怒号

wave v. 挥手（或物）向……示意，挥动

firecracker n. 爆竹，鞭炮

You may stay here. 你可以待在这里。may 此处为情态动词，表

示允许。

He throws the door open. 他猛地撞开门。throw 本意为扔，此处

引申为猛地开。

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

在一年的最后一个晚上，一只怪物从海里出来。怪物的名字叫年。怪物饿了！它去海边的一个村庄。它吃村子里的动物。村民们躲在山里。

陈太太要离开村子了。

“等等！”一位老人说你要去哪里？”

“妖怪年来了！”陈太太说每个人都躲在山里。我们等待新年。跟我来！”

“我能把怪物吓跑，”那人说我今晚能住在你家吗？”

“你可以留在这里，”陈太太说。但要小心！”

“我会没事的，”那人说。

他把红纸贴在陈太太的门上。他点灯笼。他使房子非常明亮。他穿上一件红色外套。他在等怪物。

那天晚上，年走出了大海。年很饿。看起来

在黑暗的村庄周围。它看到陈太太家的红门。它看见了灯笼。明亮的灯光刺痛了年的眼睛。它大声吼叫！

那人听到了怪物的声音。他把门推开。猛敲

他对着怪物大叫。他在空中挥动双臂。他

点燃鞭炮。砰！砰！砰！

怪物看见了穿红色外套的人。它听到了巨大的噪音，看到了火。怪物害怕了！那人喊道：“走开！”年转身跑回大海。

人们回到了村子里。他们的动物和房屋是安全的。

他们跑到陈太太家。

“年走了，”那人说。

“你是怎么做到的？”陈太太问。

“这很容易，”那人说年怕火。它不喜欢红色，也不喜欢吵闹。”

现在，在一年的最后一天，村民们贴上了红纸和红灯笼。他们燃放巨大的鞭炮。他们有一个新年聚会。他们知道年永远不会回来了！