時事照英文-中國生肖故事：動物渡河大賽

Chinese Zodiac Story: The Great Race and the Animals

中國生肖故事：動物渡河大賽

Reading 閱讀

There are stories about how animals became part of the Chinese calendar.

One popular old story is about the Jade Emperor in Chinese stories. He said there would be a big race across a river. The first 12 animals to swim to the other side would have a year named after them.

On the race day, all the animals got ready. Two animals that could not swim, a rat and a cat, climbed on an ox’s back. During the race, the smart rat pushed the cat into the water. Then the rat jumped to the shore and became the first animal to finish the race. The rat got the first year in the calendar. The other animals came after.

The cat did not get into the Zodiac. It is said that cats chase rats even today because of this revenge. The other animals joined the calendar in the order they finished: ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Vocabulary 字彙

• Chinese calendar (中國曆法/農曆)

  Example: Stories explain how animals joined the Chinese calendar.

  中文說明: 一種以動物代表年份的傳統曆法系統，與中國文化密切相關。

• Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝)

  Example: One popular old story is about the Jade Emperor in Chinese stories.

  中文說明: 中國神話故事中的一位重要天神，被認為是天上的統治者。

• race (比賽/競賽)

  Example: He said there would be a big race across a river.

  中文說明: 為了看誰最快或最好而進行的競爭。

• swim (游泳)

  Example: Two animals that could not swim, a rat and a cat, climbed on an ox’s back.

  中文說明: 在水中利用肢體動作前進。

• rat (老鼠)

  Example: Then the rat jumped to the shore and became the first animal to finish the race.

  中文說明: 一種常見的小型哺乳動物，在十二生肖中排第一。

• cat (貓)

  Example: A cat, climbed on an ox’s back.

  中文說明: 一種常見的寵物，但在此故事中，貓沒有進入十二生肖。

• ox (牛)

  Example: A rat and a cat, climbed on an ox’s back.

  中文說明: 一種大型的家養動物，常用於農耕，在十二生肖中排名第二。

• Zodiac (生肖)

  Example: The cat did not get into the Zodiac.

  中文說明: 源自希臘文，指包含十二種動物的中國生肖系統。

• revenge (復仇/報仇)

  Example: It is said that cats chase rats even today because of this revenge.

  中文說明: 因為受到的傷害或委屈而採取行動報復。

• shore (岸邊/岸上)

  Example: Then the rat jumped to the shore and became the first animal to finish the race.

  中文說明: 水體（如海洋、湖泊或河流）邊緣的陸地。

• climbed on (爬上) - 片語 Phrasal Verb

  Example: Two animals that could not swim, a rat and a cat, climbed on an ox’s back.

  中文說明: 「climb on」 是指攀爬到…之上，在本句中描述老鼠和貓爬到牛背上的動作。

Grammar Points 文法重點

• "would be" (將會/會)

  This structure uses the modal verb "would" followed by "be".
  It is used to describe a future event from a past perspective, or to express a conditional or hypothetical situation. In this context, it describes what the Jade Emperor announced would happen in the future (from the story's point of view).

  例句：He explained that there would be a great race across a river.

  中文詳解: 「would be」在此表示「將會」或「會」，用來敘述過去時間點看未來會發生的事情。在這個故事裡，玉皇大帝宣布將會舉辦一個比賽。「would」在這裡表達的是從故事的過去時間線來看，比賽在未來將要發生。

• "climbed onto" (爬上)

  This is a phrasal verb "climb on" with the preposition "onto".
  "Climb" means to go up, and "onto" specifies the direction and surface - in this case, getting on top of the ox's back. It describes a physical action of getting on something.

  例句：The rat and the cat climbed onto the back of the ox.

  中文詳解: 「climbed onto」 指的是「爬上…的背上」。 「climb」 是爬的動作，「onto」 表示方向是向上並到達表面之上。 這個片語生動地描述了老鼠和貓爬到牛背上的動作。

• "to this day" (直到今天/至今)

  This phrase is an idiom that means up to the present time; even now.
  It emphasizes the continuation of a situation or action from the past into the present.

  例句：To this day cats always chase rats for revenge.

  中文詳解: 「to this day」 是一個慣用語，表示「直到今天」、「至今」。 用來強調某種情況或行為從過去持續到現在。 在這個例子中，它強調了貓追逐老鼠的行為，從故事發生的時候一直延續到現在。

Key Points Summary 重點歸納

• The Great Race Origin (渡河大賽的起源):

  The Jade Emperor initiated a race for animals to cross a river, with the order of arrival determining their place in the Chinese Zodiac calendar.

• Rat's Cleverness and Cat's Exclusion (老鼠的聰明與貓的排除):

  The rat used cleverness to become first by riding on the ox and pushing the cat into the river, leading to the cat's exclusion from the Zodiac and a lasting cat-rat rivalry.

• Order of the Zodiac Animals (生肖動物的順序):

  The first twelve animals to finish the race, in the order of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig, were assigned years in the Chinese Zodiac calendar.

Quiz 牛刀小試

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參考圖片

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