十二生肖的故事

The Great Race of the Zodiac Animals (十二生肖的賽跑故事)

Vocabulary and Grammar (字彙與文法)

zodiac n. [ˋzodɪ͵æk] 黃道帶；（此指）十二生肖

A cycle of twelve animal signs used in the Chinese calendar. (中國農曆中使用的十二種動物標誌的循環。)

There are twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. (中國的十二生肖有十二種動物。)

emperor n. [ˋɛmpərɚ] 皇帝

The ruler of an empire (a group of countries ruled by one person). (一個帝國的統治者。)

The Jade Emperor wanted to choose the zodiac animals. (玉皇大帝想要選擇十二生肖的動物。)

race n. [res] 賽跑；競賽

A competition to see who is fastest. (看誰最快的比賽。)

He held a race for the animals. (他為動物們舉辦了一場比賽。)

cross v. [krɔs] 越過；穿過

To go from one side of something (like a river or road) to the other. (從某物的一邊到另一邊。)

The animals had to cross a river. (動物們必須越過一條河。)

ride v. [raɪd] (rode [rod], ridden [ˋrɪdn]) 騎；乘

To sit on and travel on something, like an animal, bicycle, or bus. (坐在某物上並藉其旅行。)

The rat asked to ride on the ox's back. (老鼠請求騎在牛的背上。)

float v. [flot] 漂浮

To stay on the surface of a liquid and not sink. (停留在液體表面不下沉。)

The rabbit used a log to float across the river. (兔子用一根圓木漂過河。)

hid v. [hɪd] 躲藏 (hide [haɪd] 的過去式)

Put or keep something/someone in a place where they cannot be seen or found. (將某物/某人放置或保留在看不見或找不到的地方。)

The snake hid on the horse's foot. (蛇躲在馬蹄上。)

together adv. [təˋgɛðɚ] 一起

With each other. (互相一起。)

The goat, monkey, and rooster worked together. (山羊、猴子和公雞一起合作。)

order n. [ˋɔrdɚ] 順序

The way things are arranged one after another. (事物一個接一個排列的方式。)

The race decided the order of the zodiac animals. (這場比賽決定了十二生肖動物的順序。)

Introduction

Have you heard of the Chinese Zodiac? It has twelve animals. This is a famous old story about how these animals were chosen by a great emperor through a race across a river.

Reading (閱讀)

A very long time ago in China, the Jade Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals for the zodiac signs. The Jade Emperor was an important ruler in Chinese stories. He decided to hold a big race. The first twelve animals that could cross the wide river would get a place in the zodiac.

All the animals were excited. The rat was small and knew it wasn't a good swimmer. It saw the kind ox getting ready to cross the river. The rat cleverly asked the ox, "Can I ride on your back?" The ox agreed.

As they got very close to the other side of the river, the quick rat suddenly jumped off the ox's back and onto the land. So, the rat finished first! The helpful ox was second. The strong and fast tiger arrived third.

The rabbit couldn't swim well, but it was smart. It jumped on some stones and then found a log floating in the water. It used the log to cross the river and came in fourth.

The powerful dragon, which could fly, came fifth. The Jade Emperor was surprised. "Why aren't you first?" he asked. The dragon explained it stopped to help some villagers.

Next came the horse. But wait! The snake had hidden on the horse’s foot during the crossing. Just before the finish line, the snake jumped out, which scared the horse. The snake finished sixth, and the horse was seventh.

The goat, monkey, and rooster found a raft and worked together to cross the river. They finished eighth, ninth, and tenth. The playful dog was eleventh because it stopped to play in the water. Finally, the pig arrived last. It got hungry during the race, stopped to eat, and then fell asleep! That's how the order of the twelve zodiac animals was decided.

Questions (問題)

Q: Who held the race for the animals?

A: The Jade Emperor held the race.

Q: How did the rat get first place in the race?

A: The rat rode on the ox's back and jumped off just before the finish line.

Q: Why did the dragon finish fifth even though it could fly?

A: The dragon stopped to help some villagers during the race.

Discussion (討論)

Q: Do you think the rat was clever or unfair to the ox? Why? (你認為老鼠對牛是聰明還是不公平？為什麼？)

A: I think the rat was clever because it found a way to win even though it was small. But it was also a bit unfair because the ox was kind and helped it. (我認為老鼠很聰明，因為即使牠很小，也找到了獲勝的方法。但這也有點不公平，因為牛很善良並幫助了牠。)

Q: Which animal in the story do you like the most? Why? (故事中的動物你最喜歡哪一個？為什麼？)

A: I like the dragon the most because even though it could have won easily by flying, it chose to stop and help others. That shows kindness. (我最喜歡龍，因為即使牠可以輕鬆地飛來獲勝，牠卻選擇停下來幫助別人。這顯示了牠的善良。)

Conclusion (結論)

The famous story of the great race explains how the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac got their order. Each animal used its own unique abilities and characteristics to cross the river. This legend is an interesting part of Chinese culture.