01. What does the festival mean?
猪年将至，爆竹声中阖家团圆，人们挂起灯笼，吃着年夜饭，沉浸在新年的喜悦中。
- The Year of the Pig：猪年
- Zodiac [‘zəʊdiæk]：十二生肖
During Chinese New Year, China is dominated by iconic red lanterns, loud fireworks, massive banquets and parades. In 2019, it is the Year of the Pig according to the Chinese zodiac, which features a 12-year cycle with each year represented by a specific animal.
02. What do people do during the Spring Festival?
千门万户曈曈日，总把新桃换旧符。红红火火为底色，中国书法跃于纸上。春联表达着人们的幸福生活的向往，洋溢着喜庆的节日氛围。
- Rejoicing [rɪ’dʒɔɪsɪŋ]：喜庆，欢庆
- Festivity：节日气氛，欢乐
- Couplet [ˈkʌplət]：对联
- Calligraphy [kæˈlɪɡrəfɪ]：书法
People decorate their rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners’ wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year.
春联以对仗工整、简洁精巧的文字抒发美好愿望，是中国独有的文学形式。“上联”“下联”“横批”可以这么讲——
- Scroll：卷轴
- Antithetical [ˌæntɪ’θetɪkl]：对偶的，对立的
- Correspondence：符合，对应；相关
The first line (upper scroll) and the second line (lower scroll) have parallel structures and antithetical meanings. There must be a one-to-one correspondence between the two lines. The tone pattern is emphasized but rhythm is not important. The horizontal scroll is a four-character phrase, which sums up the two lines’ meaning.
除夕之夜，看春晚也是一项必不可少的活动。央视春晚还曾以十亿多的观众数，创造了吉尼斯世界纪录。其中，“春晚”的英语是“Spring Festival Gala”，但近年也越来越多直接用汉语拼音“Chunwan”表达。
- Gala[‘ɡɑːlə]：盛会，演出，庆典
- Abbreviate [əˈbriːviːeɪt]：简称
The CCTV New Year’s Gala, also known as the Spring Festival Gala, and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as Chunwan, is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Central Television (CCTV).
每逢春节，家里的门窗总少不了一个大大的“福”字。外国人会问，“福”怎么贴倒了？我们可以说这是“福到了”的谐音，“谐音”用“homophonic”表示。
- Upside down：颠倒
- Homophonic[ˌhɒmə’fɒnɪk]：谐音
The Chinese character “fu” means blessing or happiness. “Fu” can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the “reversed fu” is homophonic with “fu comes”, both being pronounced as “fudaole.”
当然，讨红包也是极具吸引力的习俗。据说红色可以辟邪驱魔，象征着吉祥如意，auspicious [ɔː’spɪʃəs] 表示“吉利的”。
- Red envelope/lucky money：红包
- Ward off：避开
Red envelopes are gifts presented at social and family gatherings such as Chinese New Year. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is a symbol to ward off evil spirits.
（转载自微信公众号：开言英语）