Clara: Guess what? I'm going to Chiang Mai in two weeks.
Ben: Wow, sounds like fun! But I believe that April is the hottest month of the year there.
Clara: Yes, that's true. But there's a water festival there from April 13th to 15th.
Ben: I wonder if it's similar to the Water Festival of the Dai people in Yunnan Province.
Clara: Yes, I think so. This is the time of the Thai New Year. People go on the streets to throw water at each other.
Ben: Cool! But why do they do that?
Clara: Because the new year is a time for cleaning and washing away bad things. Then you'll have good luck in the new year.
Chinese people have been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying mooncakes for centuries. Mooncakes are in the shape of a full moon on the Mid-Autumn night. They carry people's wishes to the families they love and miss.
mooncakefolkgoddesssteallaydessertgardentraditionadmirein the shape of
现在完成进行时
Chinese people have been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival for centuries.（中国人庆祝中秋节已有几个世纪。）have been doing 现在完成进行时，表示从过去持续到现在并可能继续。
There are many traditional folk stories about this festival. However, most people think that the story of Chang'e is the most touching. Chang'e was Hou Yi's beautiful wife. After Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, a goddess gave him magic medicine to thank him. Whoever drank this could live forever, and Hou Yi planned to drink it with Chang'e. However, a bad man, Pang Meng, tried to steal the medicine when Hou Yi was not home. Chang'e refused to give it to him and drank it all. She became very light and flew up to the moon. Hou Yi was so sad that he called out her name to the moon every night. One night, he found that the moon was so bright and round that he could see his wife there. He quickly laid out her favorite fruits and desserts in the garden. How he wished that Chang'e could come back!
After this, people started the tradition of admiring the moon and sharing mooncakes with their families.
此后，人们开始了赏月和与家人分享月饼的传统。
traditionadmireadmire the moon
要点摘要
第一段：中秋节吃满月形月饼，寄托对家人的思念。
第二段：嫦娥奔月传说——后羿射日获仙药→庞蒙抢药→嫦娥吞药飞月→后羿摆供品望月思妻。
第三段：起源——赏月、分享月饼的传统由此而来。
Section B 2b (Reading)
The Spirit of Christmas
圣诞节的精神
Many would agree that when we think of Christmas, we probably think of gifts, Christmas trees and Santa Claus. But behind all these things lies the true meaning of Christmas: the importance of sharing and giving love and joy to people around us. The story in A Christmas Carol is perhaps the best example of this.
Christmasnovelevedeadbusinesspunishwarnpresentwarmthspreadthink of
倒装句 behind...lies
Behind all these things lies the true meaning of Christmas.（在这一切背后有着圣诞节的真正意义。）地点状语前置的完全倒装：Behind... + 谓语 + 主语。
A Christmas Carol is a famous short novel written by Charles Dickens. It is about an old man named Scrooge who never laughs or smiles. He is mean and only thinks about himself. He doesn't treat others nicely. He just cares about whether he can make more money and he hates Christmas. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge sees the ghost of Jacob Marley, his dead business partner. Marley used to be just like Scrooge, so he was punished after he died. He warns Scrooge to change his ways if he doesn't want to end up like him. He also tells Scrooge to expect three spirits to visit him.
That night, three ghosts visit Scrooge. First, the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him back to his childhood and reminds him of his happier days as a child. Then the second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes him to see how others are spending Christmas this year. Everyone is happy, even poor people. The last one, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, takes him to the future. He sees that he is dead, but nobody cares. He is so scared that he wakes up in his bed and finds out it is only the next morning — Christmas Day!
He is so scared that he wakes up.（他害怕得醒过来了。）so + 形容词 + that 从句。
He decides to change his life and promises to be a better person. He happily celebrates Christmas with his relatives. He also gives gifts to people in need. He now treats everyone with kindness and warmth, spreading love and joy everywhere he goes. And that is the true spirit of Christmas!