Question

Spring Festival is coming soon, which means gift-giving season is also coming. Are you thinking about buying gifts for the ones you love? According to Chinese culture, there are some taboos on gift giving that you should remember in mind.

Chinese people usually don’t give a clock to each other. A clock sounds as zhong in Chinese. It means “the end”. So giving someone a clock means “your time is up”. It is unlucky, especially for old people.

If clocks aren’t OK, maybe buying some fruit is a good idea. But remember not to buy pears. A pear sounds as li in Chinese. That means separation (分离). The umbrella also sounds the same as the word for separation in Chinese. Therefore, both pears and umbrellas are not good gifts.

It’s hard to choose gifts. So what is a right gift? A “red envelope” with money in it is the most popular gift in China. People give their friends red envelopes as a way to express their greetings. During the Spring Festival, the elder people will give children red envelopes to express their love.

Chinese people like to put amounts of money equal to certain “lucky numbers” inside red envelopes. For example, “520” means “I love you”, “1,314” means “forever love”, “666” means “hoping that everything goes well for you” and “888” means “wishing you wealth”.

1.___________ may have the meaning of “separation” as gifts.

A. Pears and apples B. Pears and umbrellas

C. Umbrellas and clocks D. Clocks and apples

2.You’d better not give someone a clock as a gift because it means that _____________.

A. your life is coming to an end B. you must finish something on time

C. your are an unlucky person D. you are getting old

3.The underlined word “taboos” in the first paragraph means __________.

A. 符号 B. 禁忌 C. 秩序 D. 短信

4.The author writes the passage to __________.

A. tell people the Chinese traditional festival

B. discuss the different kinds of gifts

C. ask people to give others some expensive gifts

D. help people choose the right gifts

Answer 1