Once upon a time, long long ago, there was a man-eating monster called "Nian". This beast lived deep in the ocean. It would sleep every day of the year, except on the last day of the Lunar Year, when the cold winter months would turn into Spring.

很久很久以前，有一個(gè)吃人的怪物叫“年”。這頭野獸住在海底。它一年到頭都在睡覺(jué)，除了在陰歷的最后一天，寒冷的冬季將變成春天的時(shí)候。

Nian would come on land to attack, and eat whatever it could find and whatever lay in its path. This was the night that everyone lived in terror!

年獸會(huì)來(lái)到陸地上，攻擊并吃掉它能找到的任何東西。這個(gè)夜晚每個(gè)人都生活在恐懼之中！

Year after year Nian returned, as this was a beast that was far too powerful for anyone to take on or defeat. Many had tried and all had perished. On New Year's eve, all the villagers would take their loved ones, old and young, deep into the mountains to take shelter from the beast.

年復(fù)一年，年獸都會(huì)回來(lái)，因?yàn)橐矮F很強(qiáng)大，任何人都無(wú)法戰(zhàn)勝它。許多人嘗試過(guò)，但都失敗了。除夕之夜，所有的村民都會(huì)帶著他們的親人，無(wú)論老幼，深入到深山里躲避野獸。

One year on that night, a traveller came to town, looking for food and shelter. Everyone, with the exception of an old lady, was far too busy packing to pay him any kindness or offer him a simple plate of dumpling or a place to sleep. After his meal, the passerby was touched by the old lady's generosity and decided to bestow a long hidden secret of how to be rid of the New Year beast.

有一年的晚上，一位旅者來(lái)到城里，尋找食物和住所。每個(gè)人都忙著收拾行李，無(wú)暇顧及旅者。只有一位老婦人對(duì)旅者表達(dá)了善意，她給旅者提供了一盤(pán)簡(jiǎn)單的餃子和一個(gè)睡覺(jué)的地方。飯后，這位旅者被老婦人的慷慨感動(dòng)，決定告訴一個(gè)如何擺脫新年怪獸的方法。

That evening when Nian arrived at their village, all the houses were dark, except the one in which the old woman lived. As Nian saw the light, it licked its lips with anticipation and approached the house.

當(dāng)天晚上，當(dāng)年獸來(lái)到他們的村子時(shí)，所有的房子都是黑的，除了那個(gè)老婦人住的房子。當(dāng)年獸看到亮光時(shí)，它滿(mǎn)懷期待地舔了舔嘴唇，走近房子。

Suddenly, it was greeted with deafening noises of firecrackers  sounding endlessly. The monster was frightened and startled.

突然，迎接它的是震耳欲聾，一直在響的鞭炮聲，怪物嚇了一跳。

Next, the beast saw that the house was covered in red paper.

接著，野獸看到房子被紅紙蓋著。

That scared Nian even more ,and it took off running back into the ocean.

這更嚇壞了年獸，它逃回了回了海里。

When the villagers returned ,they saw that the old woman was unharmed! Everyone was eager to learn what she did to survive Nian.

當(dāng)村民們回來(lái)時(shí)，他們看到老婦人安然無(wú)恙! 每個(gè)人都很想知道她是怎么躲避年獸活下來(lái)的。

The old woman told the villagers that Nian was afraid of loud noises and the color red.

老婦人告訴村民，年獸害怕噪音和紅色。

The next year, the villagers stayed up all night, lit firecrackers, lit red lanterns all around their houses pasted red paper on their walls and doors, wore red clothing danced to loud music, and banged loud gongs and drums.

第二年，村民們通宵達(dá)旦，燃放鞭炮，在他們的房子周?chē)c(diǎn)亮紅燈籠，把紅紙貼在墻上和門(mén)上，穿著紅色的衣服，隨著響亮的音樂(lè)跳舞，敲鑼打鼓。

That year and every year since, Nian has never returned. This eventually became a tradition and the way to celebrate Chinese New Year.

從那以后，“年”再也沒(méi)有來(lái)過(guò)，而村民們每年的活動(dòng)最終成為了一種傳統(tǒng)和慶祝中國(guó)新年的方式。

重點(diǎn)詞句：

1. monster 怪物

2. beast 野獸

3. dark 黑暗

4. light 光，點(diǎn)亮

5. villager 村民

6. drum 鼓，敲鼓

1.As Nian saw the light , it licked its lips with anticipation and approached the house.

當(dāng)年獸看到亮光時(shí)，它滿(mǎn)懷期待地舔了舔嘴唇，走近房子。

2. Everyone was eager to learn what she did to survive Nian.

每個(gè)人都很想知道她是怎么躲避年獸活下來(lái)的。