China Daily《中国日报》双语精读24节气之7：立夏 备考2023年高考英语.docxVIP

July 12, 2022 24 Solar Terms: 6 things you may not know about the Start of Summer 24节气:关于立夏你可能不知道的5件事 The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Summer (Chinese: 立夏), the 7th term of the year, begins on May 5 and ends on May 21 this year. Start of Summer signals the transition of seasons. On this day, the suns rays reach an angle of 45 degrees to the earth. The temperature will rise quickly during this period, yet in northern China weather remains mild, not tropical. 中国传统阳历将一年分为24个节气。立夏(中文:立夏)，一年中的第7个节气，今年5月5日开始，5月21日 Here are five things to learn about the Start of Summer. 关于立夏，有五件事需要了解。 Greeting Start of Summer迎接立夏 The term Start of Summer was originated at the end of the Warring States Period (239BC). Since it is a crucial time for the harvest of summer crops such as wheat and canola, ancient Chinese emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to the Start of Summer. In the Zhou Dynasty (1050-221 BC), the emperor led his officials to stage a welcome rite for the Start of Summer and encouraged his residents to seize the key time to do farm work. Its said that most of the decorations were arranged in the color red, including the emperor and the officials dress, the jade pendants, the horses and the flags, in order to show respect to the god of summer and pray for a good harvest. “立夏”这个词起源于战国末期(公元前239年)。由于这是小麦和油菜等夏季作物收获的关键时期，中国历代皇帝都非常重视立夏。在周朝(公元前1050-221年)，皇帝带领他的官员为立夏举行欢迎仪式，并鼓励他的居民抓住关键时间做农活。据说，大多数装饰品都是红色的，包括皇帝和官员的衣服，玉坠，马和旗帜，以示对夏天的神的尊重和祈求丰收。 Checking ones weight 称体重 The custom of weighing people at the Start of Summer originated from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-180) and prevails in South China today. It was believed that this practice would bring health and good luck to the people weighted. After lunch on the day of Start of Summer, people would suspend a stool or basket from a beam. The young and old took turns to get weighed while the person calculating the weight would of