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May: Look! Someone is celebrating his birthday.
Jimmy: This must be his 21st birthday. No doubt about it.
May: Why? Do you know that guy?
Jimmy: No. Well, in America, 21 is the age when you’re allowed to drink. So, many guys celebrate it in bars.
May: That’s interesting. But it would be really expensive, I suppose. Just think about all the drinks.
Jimmy: No. If it’s your birthday, then you don’t need to pay a cent. Just blow out the candles and open the gifts. That makes the birthday a special day. Your friends will take care of everything.
May: Wow. That’s wonderful.
Jimmy: What about in China? What’d you do to celebrate your birthday?
May: Nowadays, it’s no difference from America. But in old times, we have traditional ways to celebrate it.
Jimmy: Oh, really? Anything special?
May: Mother would cook "long-lived" noodles. And for old people, we’ll prepare Longevity Peaches. Just for blessing.
Jimmy: Wow, Longevity Peaches! What’s that? Real peach?
May: No. They are made of wheat flour and they look just like real peaches.
Jimmy: Why peach? Is there any interesting tale behind it?
May: Yes. The Goddess is said to own some magical peach trees in heaven. If you eat peaches grown on those trees, you will never die.
Jimmy: Oh, I know that. The Monkey King once stole a lot of them, which pissed the Goddess off. Cool!
聽看學
阿美: 看!有人在慶祝生日。
吉米: 這一定是他21歲的生日。毫無疑問。
阿美: 為什么?你認識那個人嗎?
吉米: 不認識。不過，在美國，你要到21歲才可以喝酒。所以，有很多男孩子來酒吧慶祝他們21歲的生日。
阿美: 挺有趣的。不過我猜那一定很貴。光想想那些飲料就知道了。
吉米: 不是的。如果是你的生日，你就不用花一分錢。只要吹生日蠟燭，收禮物就可以了。那才能叫過生日啊。你的朋友會把一切都張羅好的。
阿美: 哇，那太棒了。
吉米: 在中國怎么樣啊?你們是怎樣慶祝生日的呢?
阿美: 現在和美國沒什么差別。但在以前，我們用傳統的方式來慶祝生日。
吉米: 哦，真的嗎?有什么特別的嗎?
阿美: 媽媽會煮“長壽面”。如果是給老人過生日，就要準備壽桃。都是用來祝福的。
吉米: 哇，壽桃。那是什么啊?是真的桃子嗎?
阿美: 不是的。它們是用麥粉做的，不過看起來就跟真的桃子一樣。
吉米: 為什么是桃子呢?這里面有什么有趣的傳說嗎?
阿美: 有啊。傳說王母娘娘在天上有一些神奇的桃樹。如果你吃了那些桃樹上結出的桃子，你就能長生不死。
吉米: 哦，我知道這故事。美猴王有一次偷了一些，把王母娘娘給惹怒了。真好玩!
經典背誦 Recitation
Jimmy: Well, in America, 21 is the age when you’re allowed to drink. So, many guys celebrate it at bars. Today I went to a bar with a Chinese girl named May. It happened that someone was celebrating his 21st birthday there. So I told her about it. I also told her that if it was your birthday, then you didn’t need to pay a cent. Your friends would take care of everything. Then she told me about how Chinese people celebrated their birthdays. It was quite interesting.
生詞小結
blow out 吹滅
long-lived adj. 長壽的
longevity n. 長壽
flour n. 面粉
goddess n. 女神
piss off 使惱火
語素 Material
Party Food
The main thing about party food is, it has to be simple, tasty and, of course, non-drip. Some of the old classics are difficult to beat, such as cheese and pineapple on a stick. The simplest things done well are most likely to impress your guests, and it’s an easy way to get out of a hard slog in the kitchen. Moreover, great parties begin with a little party food planning. So don’t forget to make one, because preparation is the key to a good party.
派對食物
派對食物最重要的就在于簡單、美味，當然還不能掉汁。一些常見的經典食物永遠都不會過時，比如奶酪和菠蘿串。制作精美、簡單的食物最有可能給客人留下深刻的印象，而且這也是逃脫在廚房辛苦工作的簡單方法。此外，完美的派對要從計劃派對食物開始。所以，別忘了做一個計劃，因為事先準備是辦好派對的關鍵。
Party Tricks
Party tricks are the key to amaze others at a party in a western country. Most of these party tricks are simple but fun, and people are proud of their unique tricks which they’d love to show off. People believe that party tricks show one’s talent, and also cool “party tricks” make you control others’ thoughts and actions. So many people spend a lot of time learning new party tricks.
派對戲法
在西方國家，派對戲法是在派對上給他人驚喜的法寶。大多數派對戲法簡單而有趣。人們熱衷于展示自己獨特的戲法，并引以為豪。人們認為派對戲法能夠展示一個人的才華，而且出奇的派對戲法可以讓你掌控別人的想法和行為。因此有很多人花很多時間學習新的派對戲法。
