很久很久以前，有一个勤劳善良的小伙子，因为常常放牛，人们叫他牛郎。牛郎父母早亡，他和哥哥嫂子住在一起，但他嫂子怕他日后要争夺家产，想方设法将他赶出家门了，只给他一头老牛，从此他便和老牛相依为命。一天，天上的仙女下凡游玩，牛郎在老牛的帮助下认识了其中一位仙女，两人一见钟情，后来仙女就偷偷留在凡间做了牛郎的妻子。因为仙女织布手艺很好，人们就叫她织女。婚后他们辛勤劳动，日子过得幸福美满，还有一双可爱的儿女。有一天，牛郎去喂老牛的时候，老牛满眼泪花，开口说话了。它告诉牛郎，它将不久于人世，等它死后，要他们将它的皮剥下来，日后可披着飞天。等老牛死后，夫妻俩忍痛将它的皮剥下来，将它埋葬了，满以为他们可以平平淡淡，白头偕老。谁知好景不长，王母娘娘知道仙女私自下凡后勃然大怒，亲自带人把织女抓回了天庭。牛郎见织女被带走，心急如焚，突然想起老牛临终的话，马上找来牛皮披在身上，将一儿一女放在两个箩筐，他们一出屋就飞了起来。眼看和织女的距离越来越近了，岂料王母娘娘拔下头簪往背后一划，一道波涛汹涌的银河出现了，阻断了一家人团圆的道路，夫妻只能遥遥相望。后来王母被他们的忠贞的爱情感动了，允许喜鹊每年七月初七为他们搭起鹊桥，让牛郎和织女一家人团聚。 Once upon a time, there was a diligent young man named "Cowherd" because of looking after cows all the time. With his parents died early, he lived with his brothers as well as his sister-in-law, who was worried that the cowherd would scramble for properties and tried every means to kick him out of their house. Given only an old cow after leaving his brother's home, he sticked together with it and helped each other in difficulties. One day, with the aid of the old cow, he met a hairy coming from the heaven with whom he fell in love at first sight. The fairy became the cowherd's wife afterwards secretly. She was called the "Girl Weaver" because of her good command of home textile. They worked hard and had two babies, and lived a happy life after marriage. One day, the cowherd went to feed the old cow, and it spoke to him with tears in its eyes and told him it was going to die soon, asking him to peel off its skin to fly in the sky. After its death, the couple reluctantly did as it said and buried it. They thought they would have a plain and peaceful life until life ends, however, the queen of the heaven was agitated because the fairy went down to the man's world without her permission, and she went to catch the fairy back with soldiers personnally. Seeing the girl weaver taken by the queen of heaven, cowherd was anxious when the old cow's words suddenly occurred to him. He got the cow's skin and flied to the heaven carrying his daughter and son in two baskets. The queen of heaven quickly removed her hairpin and scraped backwards when cowherd almost caught up with her. A silver river, which we call as the Milky Way today, appeared in the sky, made it impossible for the cowherd to get together with the girl weaver. Later, the queen of heaven was moved by their loyalty to love and allowed the family to reunite annually, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, across the magpie bridge. This is the story of the cowherd and the girl weaver.

-- Jewel@

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February 14th is the Valentine's Day of the west, and March 14th is the newly emerged "White Valentine's Day". Do you know about the Chinese Valentine's Day? Do you know the story and origin of Chinese Valentine's Day? Lesson Content: Once upon a time, there was a diligent young man named "Cowherd" because of looking after cows all the time. With his parents died early, he lived with his brothers as well as his sister-in-law, who was worried that the cowherd would scramble for properties and tried every means to kick him out of their house. Given only an old cow after leaving his brother's home, he sticked together with it and helped each other in difficulties. One day, with the aid of the old cow, he met a hairy coming from the heaven with whom he fell in love at first sight. The fairy became the cowherd's wife afterwards secretly. She was called the "Girl Weaver" because of her good command of home textile. They worked hard and had two babies, and lived a happy life after marriage. One day, the cowherd went to feed the old cow, and it spoke to him with tears in its eyes and told him it was going to die soon, asking him to peel off its skin to fly in the sky. After its death, the couple reluctantly did as it said and buried it. They thought they would have a plain and peaceful life until life ends, however, the queen of the heaven was agitated because the fairy went down to the man's world without her permission, and she went to catch the fairy back with soldiers personnally. Seeing the girl weaver taken by the queen of heaven, cowherd was anxious when the old cow's words suddenly occurred to him. He got the cow's skin and flied to the heaven carrying his daughter and son in two baskets. The queen of heaven quickly removed her hairpin and scraped backwards when cowherd almost caught up with her. A silver river, which we call as the Milky Way today, appeared in the sky, made it impossible for the cowherd to get together with the girl weaver. Later, the queen of heaven was moved by their loyalty to love and allowed the family to reunite annually, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, across the magpie bridge. This is the story of the cowherd and the girl weaver.

• diligent [´dilidʒənt]   a.勤奋的   (初中英语单词)
• peaceful [´pi:sfəl]   a.和平的；平静的   (初中英语单词)
• permission [pə´miʃən]   n.允许；同意；许可   (初中英语单词)
• anxious [´æŋkʃəs]   a.担忧的；渴望的   (初中英语单词)
• origin [´ɔridʒin]   n.起源；由来；出身   (初中英语单词)
• scramble [´skræmbəl]   v.&n.爬；争夺；炒(蛋)   (高中英语单词)
• secretly [´si:kritli]   ad.秘密地；隐蔽地   (高中英语单词)
• seeing [si:iŋ]   see的现在分词 n.视觉   (高中英语单词)
• loyalty [´lɔiəlti]   n.忠诚；忠心；忠实   (高中英语单词)
• annually [´ænjuəli]   ad.每年；按年计算   (高中英语单词)
• textile [´tekstail]   a.纺织的 n.纺织品   (英语四级单词)
• reluctantly [ri´lʌktəntli]   a.不情愿地；勉强地   (英语四级单词)
• weaver [´wi:və]   n.纺织工；编织者   (英语四级单词)
• bridge [bridʒ]   n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌   (英语四级单词)
• summary [´sʌməri]   a.&n.摘要(的)   (英语四级单词)
• backwards [´bækwədz]   ad.向后 a.向后的   (英语六级单词)