双语——圣诞节
12月25日圣诞节是西方国家最重要的节日，如今圣诞节成了中国人了解西方文化的一个窗口。西方人是怎样度过圣诞节的，有关圣诞节的趣事有哪些？本期就带领你们进入五彩缤纷的“圣诞节”。
【Show time 作品秀】
Shall Christmas Be Celebrated In China?
With more and more western cultures coming into our life gradually, many western festivals are popular among Chinese, such as Christmas.
On December 25, many people around me like to celebrate Christmas. They buy hats, and cards which are used to send to their friends and families. Besides, they hold a big party that night. I won’t object to these, but I have never done these. It’s not because I hate Christmas, but I think we are Chinese, we should celebrate our own festivals, rather than spend time doing something meaningless for us. China has a 5000-year-long history, we have a lot of traditional festivals to celebrate, most of which are ignored by Chinese young people.
Most businesses in China catch the chance to sell things for Christmas which only appear to customers. Too many products, too many advertisements, all these may let us forget the true meanings of the festival, and one will mislead by the wrong understanding of the festival.
As far as I am concerned, as a Chinese, we should enjoy our own festivals, and celebrate western festivals with a calm mind. Don’t you think so?
（宝应中学08级18班 凌雅静）
A Special Class Meeting
On the afternoon of December 18th, the students of Class 10, Grade 7, Xiangyu Experimental Secondary School held a special class meeting to celebrate Christmas. The Christmas party was hosted By Pan Mengzhe and Liang Shuang. The party began with a story about Father Christmas, then, they decorated Christmas Tree together and wrote Christmas cards. Next, They sang Christmas songs called Silent Night and Jingle bells. Afterwards, they talked about their new dreams. Finally, the party ended with an English song named‘Tomorrow Will Be Better’, all the students stood up and said loudly, “Merry Christmas!”
All the students had a good time in class. They all thought it was a really meaningful party. They not only learned a lot of the knowledge of Christmas but also got many chances to use English.
(宝应实验初中09级10班 胡晓航)
Santa Claus Is A Child
There is a secret that maybe even Jesus doesn’t know that Santa Claus who comes from the north on a snowmobile every Christmas Day is a child, disguised in red clothes, a red hat and the long white mustache.
I wonder why each child is so unique while they follow the same pattern when they become adults. Santa Claus is so unique that he can’t be that kind of adults who is buried in endless work, annoyed by little things and rushing about between the family and the company. But if he used to be, when he walked along the road of life, with his mustache growing longer, it occurred to him that it’s God’s arrangement. Everyone is on a circle, from childhood to adulthood and than return to childhood when he understands the truth life. If he isn’t a child, how can he know that children never dream of big houses or luxury cars, but a colorful dream, full of candies, dolls and the dirty balls that they play with pals, as well as the glass balls which are much shinier than the diamonds.
Are you ready? All the fairy tales that grandmother always tell, all the warm you can feel when the whole family surrounded the stove fire, and all values of childhood are on the way, loaded on the festival snowmobile, in Silent Night, when snow drops lightly, they will be put on you socks quietly. Open your eyes, and receive the purest and the most splendid dream. Naughty and happy, Santa Claus is singing ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS...’on the air.
(监利总校高中部07级2班 周澳)
Happy Merry Christmas
There are many festivals in other countries, for example, Thanksgiving Day, Halloween and so on. Of all the festivals, Christmas is the most important one.Now, I will tell you about Christmas.
It is on the twenty-fifth of December. Chinese usually buy Christmas Trees and put some beautiful lights on the tree. What about other countries’ people?
People usually have a big supper in a big restaurant. They often have pork, fish and drink nice beer. The children like eating pudding best , because it is colorful and delicious .The adult’s favorite food that day is turkeys, because it not only smells nice , but also tastes good .
People in other countries always have a party that day .They dance and sing at the party and all of them have a good time .The children often play a game called put snacks in the packet .They usually sing a song called ‘ling er xiang ding dang .’
In the evening, children always put their socks on the bed .Their parents dress up a Father Christmas and put the presents in the sock .Children are often very happy to receive the presents from Father Christmas. All the people have a good time at that time.
They say: we really love Christmas!
(淮安曙光双语学校初中部 09级12班 于成亿)
A Dream Of Christmas
As is know to all, San-ta Claus gives presents and brings happiness to children. But this time I had a chance to play a role of San-ta Claus.
In my childhood, I first saw the San-ta Claus who gave the gifts to children at Christmas’s night on TV. I thought it were so excited that I had received a gift from the San-ta Claus. Ever since then, I always dreamed of the San-ta Claus flying from the west to China and gave me a gift on Christmas day. With the growing of age, I had known that there was no San-ta Claus in the world, but my dream of Christmas didn’t stop.
The older, the wiser. When I was a middle school student, I decided to realize my dream of Christmas. In the 2006’s Christmas, I didn’t go to sleep early. Then I took out the gifts that I bought last Sunday and hung them out to my classmates. I also left one for me because I didn’t want them to know the gift they received from me. I wanted to keep it a secret.
The next day, I saw the surprised looks on their faces and I still pretended to be very surprised. No one knew how happy I felt at that time.
After I knew that there wasn’t any San-ta Claus in the world. I thought that if I could receive a gift from Santa Claus. Everyone can make others happy. Don’t you think so? Let’s do it quickly.
（监利总校高中部08级36班 王伟）
Colorful Christmas
Christmas Day is coming.
December 25th is Christmas Day. I like Christmas. It is just like our Spring Festival. For the most Chinese people, Spring Festival is much more important and interesting than Christmas. But I like Christmas Day better. Because we can play with our friends and classmates that day. If it snows, Christmas will become much lovelier, just like in fairy tales. I can imagine I am in a fairy tale, the girl who sold the matches is my friend, and the ugly duck become more and more beautiful and so on. What a beautiful place!So we can also call Christmas “Snowy lovely day”.
On Christmas day, shops are decorated with red and green things. There are many Christmas cards, Christmas hats, Christmas dolls and many colorful things. So the shops look very beautiful.
We can give cards or dolls to our friends and say “Merry Christmas”. Meanwhile, I think studying can also means a new year will come. Let’s study harder to welcome the New Year!
（监利新教育实验学校09级4班 张倩）
Christmas
Christmas is the biggest festival in western countries, which is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, but now Christmas is a festival for most people in the world. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. Christmas has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.
（宝应实验小学 曹华）
【English news 英语新闻】
British royals celebrate Christmas. Britain's Queen Elizabeth receives flowers from a girl as she leaves the Sandringham Church.. (Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-26
Children dressed in Santa Claus outfits line up before a Christmas celebration at a kindergarten in Hanoi（河内—越南首都）December 24, 2009. [Agencies]
【Buzzwords 热词快递】
a bad apple 坏蛋
A：Oh, my God! What happened? Why are you black and blue?
B：I got beaten by Peter’s brother.
A：That’s a bad apple! Let’s think a way and teach him a lesson.
甲：噢，天哪！怎么啦？你身上怎么青一块紫一块的？
乙：彼得的弟弟把我给打了。
甲：这坏蛋，咱们想个法来教训他一下。
a hard nut 冥顽不化的人
A：Bob refused all his classmate’s invitations.
B：I really couldn’t understand him.
A：He’s surely a hard nut, nobody likes approaching him.
B：We’d better also leave him alone.
甲：鲍勃拒绝了班上所有人的邀请。
乙：他这个人我真不明白。
甲：他真是个脑子不开窍的人，没人愿意靠近他。
乙：我们最好也别惹他。
【English songs 英文歌曲】
Jingle Bells 铃儿响叮当
Dashing through the snow, 冲破大风雪，
On a one-horse open sleigh. 我们坐在雪橇上；
ver the fields we go, 飞奔过田野，
Laughing all the way. 一路笑声朗；
Bells on bob-tail ring, 铃儿响叮当，
Making spirits bright. 精神多欢畅；
What fun it is to ride and sing, 今晚滑雪多有趣啊！
A sleighing song tonight. 把滑雪歌儿唱。
Jingle bells, jingle bells, 叮叮当！叮叮当！
jingle all the way. 一路铃声响，
Oh what fun it is to ride, 多有趣啊，
In a one-horse open sleigh. 我的雪橇跑得快呦！
A day or two ago, 早在两天前，
I thought I 'd take a ride. 我就想要乘雪橇；
And soon Miss Fanny Bright, 美丽的小姑娘，
Was seated by my side, 坐在我身旁；
The horse was lean and lank, 马儿瘦又老，
Misfortune seemed his lot. 命运多不幸；
He got into a drifted bank, 啊！雪橇陷入雪堆里，
And we, we were got upset 我们很伤心。
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, 叮叮当！叮叮当！
Jingle all the way. 一路铃声响，
Oh what fun it is to ride, 多有趣啊，
In a one-horse open sleigh. 我的雪橇跑得快呦！
这首歌是由约翰·皮尔庞特（1805-1880年）创作的，他毕业于耶鲁大学，当过教师、律师、推销商，这首歌已成为圣诞节不可缺少的部分。歌中虽没有耶酥、圣诞老人等，但歌中的风雪、雪橇、小马拉车、铃声、歌声令人欢快不已。
【Cultures 文化】
Santa Claus
To understand Santa Claus, we must go back 1,600 years, to the 4th century. A Roman Catholic Church official of that time, Nicholas of Myra, became famous for his many good works. After he died, the church declared him a saint. He became a special saint for children. On the anniversary of his death each year, good children received gifts. In the Netherlands, people told children the gifts came from Saint Herr Nicholas. In the Dutch language, his name was “Santa Claus”. The Dutch brought this tradition to America. Americans called the gift giver “Santa Claus”. And they included him in their Christmas celebration.
要了解圣诞老人，我们得追溯到1600年前，也就是公元四世纪。那时，（土耳其）迈拉有一个名叫尼古拉斯的罗马天主教官员，由于他的许多优秀著作而名扬四方。他去世后，他生前所在教堂宣布他为圣徒。他成为孩子们心中一位特别的圣徒。每年在他祭日的这一天，好孩子就会收到他的礼物。在荷兰，人们告诉孩子，礼物是圣徒尼古拉斯赠送的。在荷兰语中，它的名字叫“Santa Claus (圣诞老人)”。荷兰人把这一传统带到了美国。美国人把赠送礼物者称为“圣诞老人”。并且，美国人把圣诞老人列入圣诞节的庆祝活动中。
Christmas Socks
It is said that there was a goodness man went broke his domain. He lived a hard life and he has three daughters. The three daughters were being married but he didn't have money to buy dower for his daughters. On the happy Christmas Eve three girls went to bed early. They didn't know that their father was so worried. At last the Christmas father decided to help them. He sprinkled gold through the stack and the gold fell into the socks of the man's daughters. They lived a happy life from then on…Christmas socks were originated by this.
传说有个心地善良的没落贵族，生活非常艰难。三个女儿快要出嫁了，他为没有钱给她们买嫁妆而难过。喜庆的圣诞夜，三个姑娘早早地蜷在炕上睡觉了，剩下父亲在长吁短叹。圣诞老人决定帮助他们。他在他们家的烟囱里撒下了许多金子，落进姑娘们烤在火炉旁的长统丝袜里。从此，他们过上了幸福而快乐的生活……圣诞节的袜子就这样产生.
Christmas Tree
It is said that there was a farmer served a poor boy on a cold windy Christmas Eve and gave him a big Christmas meal. The boy cut a Fir tree's branch and inserted it into the earth. He said, "Every year this time. There will be many presents in this branch. I wish I can pay back to your favor by this beautiful Fir tree. “After the boy left, the farmer discovered that the branch had grown up as a big tree. Then he realized that the boy was an envoy of the god. This is the origin of the Christmas day. In western countries, whatever you are, everyone will prepare a Christmas tree to increase the happiness of the Christmas day. Christmas trees are made of evergreen tree like Fir trees and they represent the long lives. People put candles, flowers, toys, and stars on the tree.
另一个传说记载。据说有一位农民在一个风雪交加的圣诞夜里接待了一个饥寒交迫的小孩，让他吃了一顿丰盛的圣诞晚餐，这个孩子告别时折了一根杉树枝插在地上并祝福说：“年年此日，礼物满枝，留此美丽的杉村，报答你的好意。”小孩走后，农民发现那树枝竟变成了一棵小树，他才明白自己接待的原来是一位上帝的使者。这个故事就成为圣诞树的来源。在西方，不论是否基督徒，过圣诞节时都要准备一棵圣诞树，以增加节日的欢乐气氛。圣诞树一般是用杉柏之类的常绿树做成，象征生命长存。树上装饰着各种灯烛、彩花、玩具、星星。 （部分内容由宝应实验初中从斌老师提供）
【Laugh of the day 百事可乐】
1、Two birds
Teacher: Here are two birds, one is a swallow, and the other is sparrow. Now who can tell us which is which?
Student: I cannot point out but I know the answer.
Teacher: Please tell us.
Student: The swallow is beside the sparrow and the sparrow is beside the swallow.
两只鸟
老师：这儿有两只鸟，一只是燕子，另一只是麻雀。现在谁能指出哪只是燕子，哪只是麻雀吗？
学生：我指不出，但我知道答案。
老师：请说说看。
学生：麻雀旁边的就是燕子，燕子旁边的就是麻雀。
2、The answer of the prisoner
It was the Christmas season and the judge was in a merry mood as he asked the prisoner,
“What is your offense?”
“I did my Christmas shopping early this year.” cried the prisoner.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” said the Judge. “How early were you doing this shopping?”
“Before the store opened.” answered the prisoner.
犯人的回答
在圣诞季节，一个法官以愉快的语气问一个犯人：“你犯什么罪了？”
“我今年圣诞采购开始的太早了。”犯人回答道。
“那没什么错呀，”法官说,“那你有多早呢？”
“在商店开门前。”犯人回答。