VOA慢速英语--春分：春天的到来

Vernal Equinox: The Arrival of Spring

The vernal equinox this year falls on Tuesday, March 20. In the Northern Hemisphere¹, the day marks the start of spring. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same day marks the start of the autumnal equinox, or the beginning of fall.

The word vernal comes from the Latin² word vernalis, meaning “of the spring.” And equinox comes from the Latin words aequus, meaning equal, and nox, meaning night. The day has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night time.

On this day, people living in colder areas of the Northern Hemisphere hope they can put away their winter coats until next year. They also may hope to begin planting flowers and vegetables in a garden.

But for those of us in the northeastern United States, it may not exactly feel like the start of spring on March 20. Here, the first day of spring is expected to bring a snow storm.

Identifying and celebrating Spring

Ancient sites around the world were built to signal the start of spring. Around the year 1000 A.D., for example, the Maya built a pyramid in what is now Mexico’s Yucatan. It sits within an ancient city called Chichen Itza. On the spring equinox, the sunlight hits in such a way that makes the structure look like a snake. The Maya called this day “the return of the Sun serpent.”

Today, cultures around the world have their own ways of identifying and celebrating the arrival of spring.

Cherry blossoms⁴

In Japan, spring is marked with a huge cherry blossom³ festival, known as hanami. The tradition dates back more than a thousand years. People gather under the blooming trees to eat, drink tea, celebrate and enjoy the cherry blossoms, known as sakura in Japanese. Artists and poets celebrate the short-lived blooms⁵ as a symbol of beauty.

In 1912, Japan gave 3,000 cherry trees to the U.S. capital city of Washington, D.C. The gift was to honor⁶ the lasting⁷ friendship between the United States and Japan. The cherry blossoms have become a signal of the start of spring in Washington. The city’s National Cherry Blossom Festival draws millions of visitors every year.

Nowruz

For many countries in Central Asia and the Middle East, the beginning of spring also marks the beginning of a new year. The celebration is called Nowruz. The words "now" and "ruz" means “new day” in Farsi.

Countries along the ancient Silk Road trading path, including Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian nations, celebrate Nowruz.

In the past, Iran was the only country where Nowruz was an official holiday. But after countries gained their independence following the fall of the Soviet⁸ Union, many made Nowruz a national holiday, as well.

During Nowruz, people visit family members and friends and exchange gifts. Iranian families set up a “haft seen” display of seven special items that represent spring and new beginnings.

In Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia, people watch wrestling events, horse races and a special horseback game called, in Uzbek, Kopkari. In this game, two teams of players on horseback try to get the body of a headless goat into a goal. A similar game is called buzkashi in Afghanistan and oghlak tartish in Kyrgyzstan and Uyghur-speaking areas.

Holi festival

Many in India and Nepal mark the arrival of spring with the Holi festival, known also as the festival of colors or festival of love.

People celebrate the festival by covering each other in -- you guessed it -- colors! Children especially enjoy the festival, as they get to throw colored powder and water-filled balloons at others.

Some say the festival comes from a story of the burning of the devil⁹ Holika. It represents the victory of good over evil¹⁰, or the arrival of spring after a long, dark winter.

Others say the celebration was inspired by the story of two young lovers¹¹ with different skin colors. Krishna, who has blue skin, was in love with Radha. So, he colored Radha with paint leading to the modern-day colorful festival of love.

Las Fallas

People in Valencia, Spain, have their spring celebration called Las Fallas. It is a wild, five-day street festival involving fire.

The festival centers on the creation¹² – and burning – of huge colorful statues made of wood, paper and plastic. The statues are meant to look like real people. Often, they are modeled after Spanish politicians or stars.

Valencian communities and organizations work all year to create their structures. As many as 700 of them are then placed throughout the city, with fireworks inside of them.

Las Fallas begins March 15, with events like bullfights, parades, cooking and beauty competitions.

Then, at midnight on March 20, the city turns off all streetlights and the statues are set on fire. This marks the end of the festival, and the beginning of spring.

I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver¹³.

Words in This Story

serpent - n. a large snake

pyramid - n. a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular¹⁴ sides which form a point at the top

blooming - adj. producing flowers

display - n. an arrangement of objects intended to decorate or inform people about something

powder - n. a dry substance made up of very tiny pieces of something

1 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

2 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

3 blossom   

n.花，开花；vi.开花，发展

参考例句：

• The blossom on the trees looks lovely in springtime.春天树上的花很漂亮。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。

4 blossoms   

n.（尤指果树的）花( blossom的名词复数 )；花丛，花簇v.（植物）开花( blossom的第三人称单数 )；发展；长成；变得更加健康（或自信、成功）

参考例句：

• It was springtime and the slopes were ablaze with almond blossoms. 时当春季，怒放的扁桃花使那片山坡鲜红似火。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The spring comes and peach blossoms [flowers] are all open. 春天了，桃花都开了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 blooms   

n.（常指供观赏的）花( bloom的名词复数 )；最佳时期；茂盛时期；健康有精神的面貌

参考例句：

• the exotic blooms of the orchid 奇异的兰花
• This plant blooms between May and June. 这种植物在5月至6月间开花。 来自辞典例句

6 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 devil   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• It is easier to raise the devil than to lay him.召鬼容易驱鬼难。
• Susie,you're a determined little devil.苏茜，你真是个坚决的小家伙。

10 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

11 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

12 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

13 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

14 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。