Waiting for Big Prize
花开堪折
This time last year, I remember clearly, the day before Chinese Valentine’s Day, I was experiencing a feeling of romance and happiness. One afternoon when back at the dorm, a roommate of mine mysteriously told me, a pretty tall girl dressed all in red with a ponytail came specially to visit me. I regretted not having returned earlier. At 6:45 next morning, there was again a knock at the door. It was Xiao who paid a second visit to me! “There’ll be a calligraphy and drawing exhibition in the yard of the municipal government.”
With great enthusiasm, while enjoying those accomplished works by the artists she introduced me to many well-known calligraphers and painters. By the way, Xiao, let me add something, is the daughter of the principle of a university located in our city. Through noble talking with those experts in different fields, I learnt a lot that could never be learnt in school!
After the exhibit, Xiao showed me around the government offices. And then, I spent plenty of time in her office --- the Personnel Department.
“This is my schoolmate.” she introduced to the people present,
“He wins first prize scholarship every year,”
“He is a good English speaker as well that he has got the first place several times.”
“He is a volunteer student for the provincial sports meeting held recently in our city.”
….
My hands were sweating: “Was I that excellent?”
With almost no chances to get in a word, she became my spokesman.
That day accompanied by Xiao, I had a great time wandering around the exhibition and the municipal government, during which I felt like a noble guest.
However, this is not all the story. Two months and ten days after the Chinese Valentine’s Day, Xiao invited me to her flat which had for the first time impressed me with a charming sweet smell. She opened her leather storing case. Pointing at piles of letters in different sizes and colors.
“Only for you, I let out my secret”, she said, “Many a good boy is asking for my hand. I’m not an outstanding girl as they think!” Suddenly she asked me,
“Have you ever read the book ‘Red & Black’?”
“You must know the hero called ‘Yu Lian’!”
Xiao picked up a book from the bookshelf with the name “Dangerous Relations”, on whose cover I saw a romantic illusion of a lady and a gentleman talking.
“Maybe you’d like to read this book?”
I could hardly remember clearly what she said later.
An idea, out of my expectancy, came to me, I , a young man with no background, were just like Yu Lian in the book?!”
With this year’s Chinese Valentine’s coming, I could remember little but a love letter from somewhere in her secret leather case. One sentence in the letter struck me most!
“Pick the flower bud before it fully blossoms. Never wait until too late!” **** Hidden Message ***** Dangerous Chinese Valentine’s Good Day!
How to spend this Chinese Valentine’s Day in a fresh way? I keep wondering.
It’s known to all that learning takes time and patience. However, in this article, I’m not going to talk about school-learning. Driving is what I want to talk about.
In order to give my so-called wife (only not registered) a surprising joy on Chinese Valentine’s Day, I have been learning to drive for several weeks. I registered to learn to drive long ago. Yet, seldom I have had chance to go driving myself. Summer holiday as it is, being a teacher, without students at school, I need a rest, but I have a million things to do: have meetings for summer repairs; make plans for new term teaching; arrange inside decorations for new teaching building … From August 1st to August 10th, we, too, went to An Yang to learn the spirit of Red flag Trench（红旗渠精神）. The principal wants us to know it’s not easy to establish a business and we need to row against the flood facing new educational situations. And the principal also needs us to know to be grateful to our school and our plural executive! As busy as a bee, I have no time but money. After giving out a large sum of money instead of being trained or severely examined, I passed and got my driver’s license not long ago just before the Valentine’s.
This morning, we drove our “own” car to spend our July 7th Eve, the lunar calendar! Dressed in my cool Goldlion T-shirt, arm in arm with my wife, we got into the car. It was not difficult for me to start the car. However, it was not easy for me to drive it out of our neighborhood, for there was no space wide enough for me to turn my car. With so many engine misses, I found it a shame not to be able to drive it out! Patient I was, I tried to calm down my wife. Having no way out, she climbed out of the car to lead me out. All wet through I was, I kept trying driving in different directions. At last, I pulled my Audi out of the gate of our neighborhood. Not pleased or relieved at all I was, this was only the beginning of our trip, there would be numerous unknown difficulties or dangers ahead especially on highways! Yet, my wife was excited and moved---We’re heading for her home to pick her mother for a travel to City Forest Park for our Chinese Valentine’s Day! Noticing my sweating face, she could not help giving me a sweet kiss. This is so satisfying a present for July 7th Valentine’s Day.
Though longing to take out my honey in my own car for an airing, I was still trembling in my heart.
On the highway to the park, Sweet is ahead, and danger’s ahead as well? **** Hidden Message ***** **** Hidden Message ***** Chinese valentine's day
Tomorrow will be 7-7 according to the Chinese calender, meaning that it is Chinese Valentines day. China is probably the only country in the world where you have two Valentines Days every year, one commercialized day in February and one more traditional day about half a year later. But also this one is getting more commercial, with people sending flowers and cards. I have not seen any special restaurant menus for couples yet, like they have on Feb. 14, but I won't be surprised that will come soon as well.
On 31 August 2006, China marked festival of "Night of 7th day in 7th month" (Qixi 七夕), an event associated with the tragic story involving a mixed marriage. It is said that Fairy Seven (Qixiannu 七仙女) sneaked out of her heavenly home to the mortal world and took a low-paid weaver girl job in order to marry her humble lover Cowherd Boy. They subsequently had two children, with the husband working on the farmland and the wife looking after the kids and making clothes – the ideal family model from the perspective of traditional Chinese people.
In some Chinese provinces, people believe that decorating the flowers on the ox's horn on the Chinese Valentine's Day enables to prevent from the disaster. On the night of Valentine's Day, women wash their hair to give it a fresh and shiny outlook. Children wash their face in the next morning of the Valentine's Day using the overnight water in their backyards to have a much more naturally beautiful appearance. Girls throw the five-color ropes, made at Chiese Dragan Boat festival, on the roof for magpies. Magpies will carry ropes to build the bridge.
On the Chinese Valentine's Day, people in love like to go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and the possible marriage in China. People still single will do the same thing to ask their luck of love in the Matchmaker temple.
The Chinese Valentine's Day is also called The Daughters' Festival. Long ago, Chinese girls always wanted to train themselves having a good handcrafting skill like the Weaving Maid. The skill is essential for their future family. On that night, the unmarried girls may pray for the Weaving Maid star to let them become smarter. When the star Vega is high up in the sky, girls do a test, which is to put a needle on the water surface. If the needle doesn't sink, then girl is already smart enough and ready to find a husband. Girls may ask for any wish, but only one per year.
Here is a Chinese verse that praises the Qixi festival:
Looking into the night sky on the seventh of July,
Where lovers unite on the bridge made of magpie.
七夕抬头望碧宵，
喜鹊双双拱鹊桥。 **** Hidden Message ***** **** Hidden Message ***** Today, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, is Chinese Valentine's Day. The legend has been handed down for nearly 2 millennia. The story has been recorded as far back as the Jin Dynasty (256-420 AD). Poets composed hundreds of verses on the love story and many types of Chinese opera tell the story.
On the Chinese Valentine's Day, people in love like to go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and the possible marriage in China. People still single will do the same thing to ask their luck of love in the Matchmaker temple. In some Chinese provinces, people believe that decorating the flowers on the ox's horn on the Chinese Valentine's Day enables to prevent from the disaster. On the night of Valentine's Day, women wash their hair to give it a fresh and shiny outlook. Children wash their face in the next morning of the Valentine's Day using the overnight water in their backyards to have a much more naturally beautiful appearance. Girls throw the five-color ropes, made at Chinese Dragon Boat festival, on the roof for magpies. Magpies will carry ropes to build the bridge.
This is the day I have had circled on our lunar calendar for some time now, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Today we will display our skill at carving melons, we will decorate the car with flowers and we will go to the "temple of matchmaker" and pray that we get hooked up. In the evening, we will sit outdoors to observe the stars. Chinese grannies would say that, if you stand under a grapevine, you can probably overhear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are talking about. But so far, I haven’t got the chance. Anyhow, it’s good times. **** Hidden Message ***** **** Hidden Message ***** **** Hidden Message ***** 活动结束。。。
翻译有没有标准答案，能否公布？那些答得好的会员能否征求一下他（她）们的意见，将威望限制取消，然后让我们答得不是很好的会员能学习一下，如何？主要是为了学习。呵呵。 来晚了，我很很的学习了一下
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