23.China is a country with many colorful days and festivals.The Dragon Head Raising Day is one of them.This special day is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar.It (1)
for the start of spring and farming. The dragon is (2)
[?m?p?:tnt] in China.We Chinese people call (3)
(我們自己)the "descendants (傳人) of the dragon".So people (4)
['sel?bre?t] the Dragon Head Raising Day with many customs about dragons.On the day in (5)
times,people put ashes in the kitchen.This was to "lead the dragon into house".People believed that with the (6)
of the dragon,they could have a good (7)
(收獲)in autumn. Also,people eat special foods on that day.The foods are usually named (8)
dragons.For example,people eat "dragon whisker" noodles and dumplings called "dragon teeth". Today,many customs have (9)
(消失).But one that has remained is the cutting of hair.It was said that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to the (10)
of a family-mother's brothers.So many people have their hair cut on the Dragon Head Raising Day.
Dear John, Glad to receive your email.You asked me about festivals in China.Let me introduce some important ones to you. First of all,I want to introduce the Lantern Festival.It comes in January or February._________________________. Can you tell me something about the festivals in your country?I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Yours, Zhang Ming