小年马上就到啦！

小年也叫灶神节，是用来祭拜灶神的日子。灶神就是我们常说的灶王爷，负责管理各家的灶火，还负责监督这家人谁做了好事，谁做了坏事，然后记在自己的小本本上，等腊月二十三或二十四那天返回天庭向玉皇大帝“打小报告”。

有的人可能要问了，小年只有一天，为什么却说是腊月二十三和腊月二十四这两天呢？

这是因为腊月二十三是北方人庆祝小年的日子，而腊月二十四则是南方，这究竟是怎么回事？

其实从商朝开始就已经有祭灶的习俗了，小年日期也一直是腊月二十四。但从清朝雍正时期开始，祭灶就变成了腊月二十三。这是因为腊月二十三是皇家祭天的日子，由于小年是在第二天，所以皇帝在祭天时，就顺便把灶王也祭拜了，后来民间开始纷纷效仿。于是在北方，小年就慢慢变成了在腊月二十三这天庆祝，而南方则因为“山高皇帝远”，仍沿用腊月二十四祭灶王的习俗。那么在你的家乡，你们是在哪天过小年呢？

其实关于小年，除了上面说的这些，还有其他很多有趣的事，我们一起来看看吧。

文章来源：中国网英文版

网址：http://www.china.org.cn/living_i ... ontent_17070623.htm









House cleaning

大扫除





Bath and hair-cut

沐浴和理发




Paste paper-cuts to windows

贴窗花




Preparations for the Spring Festival

为春节做准备







检测题

一、阅读理解

根据短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

1. When do the people in southern China celebrate Little New Year?

A. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month.

B. On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.

C. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

D. On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month.

2. Why do people provide offerings for the Kitchen God?

A. They want to make him say good words for them.

B. They want to welcome him back to their house.

C. They want to ask him to take the offerings to Heaven.

D. They want to ask him to protect them from Heaven’s punishment.

3. Why do people clean house on Little New Year according to Chinese folk beliefs?

A. To protect their household for another year.

B. To ask the ghosts and deities to stay on Earth.

C. To ensure the ghosts and deities return to Heaven on time.

D. To send the Kitchen God’s spirit to Heaven to make his report.

二、语法填空

阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。



三、完成句子

根据括号内所给的汉语提示完成句子。

1. __________________ (传说) the lake was formed by the tears of a god.

2. She wanted to __________________ (将她的事安排妥当) before she left the city.

3. Most people are too __________________ (忙于) their own troubles to give much help.

4. Next time you visit Bob, remember to give him a call __________________ (提前).（2020年天津）

5. We played games together, and __________________ (熬夜) reading bedtime stories.（2020年天津）

点击下方空白区域查看答案

▼

一、1. B 2. A 3. C

二、1. who / that 2. location 3. twelfth 4. traditionally 5. makes 6. in 7. is taken 8. Offerings 9. sending 10. him

三、1. Legend has it that 2. put her affairs in order 3. busy with 4. in advance 5. stayed up late

本文来自公众微信号：维克多英语

哈哈，That is so interesting. I even haven't  known some of the oringinal stories.