文/魏巍老师
The Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival
端午节的传说
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, people have celebrated the festival by racing dragon boats and eating zong zi which is made of glutinous rice（糯米）wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves.
端午节是在中国农历的五月初五庆祝的。数千年来,人们通过赛龙舟和吃粽子来庆祝节日。粽子是糯米做的用竹叶或芦苇叶包裹形成一个金字塔的形状。
The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Qu was a minister of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period(475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.
端午节以赛龙舟而著名，尤其是在有许多河流和湖泊的南方省份。赛舟会是纪念屈原的死。据说屈原在河里溺水自杀而亡。曲是战国时期(公元前475 - 221)楚国的一个伟大的政治家。他为人正直，忠心耿耿，由于他的睿智的建议给国家带来了和平与繁荣而备受尊敬。然而，当一个不诚实和腐败的王子污蔑曲时，他觉得很丢脸，并被流放。5月5日，屈意识到这个国家已经落入了邪恶腐败的官员之手，他抓起一块大石头跳进汨罗江。附近的渔民冲过去试图救他，但甚至无法找到他的尸体。后来，楚国衰落了，最终被秦国征服。
The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.
每年的五月初五，楚国人为了纪念、哀悼屈原都会把米扔到河里喂他的鬼魂。但有一年,屈原的灵魂出现,告诉哀悼的人们：有一种庞大的爬行动物在河里偷了米饭。酒神建议他们用丝绸把米包起来，用五根不同颜色的线捆好，然后再把米扔进河里。
,
