Six Chinese Characters
Dear students,  our country has a long history.  Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are particularly loved by Chinese people.  Here are the top six lucky ones.  Please note we use "pinyin" here because "pinyin" is the Chinese spelling system for the characters. For example, "fu" is the "pinyin" for good luck in Chinese.  "pinyin" "fu" is only the phonic   (语音的 )  part of the character and if you want to know the meaning of good luck "fu",  you must read the Chinese character福 because "fu" also represents  (代表)  other Chinese characters that sound the same.
1.福  "fu" means blessing,  good fortune,  good luck. Chinese character福 "fu" is one of the most popular ones used during Chinese New Year. It is often displayed upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment.  The upside down福"fu" means good luck comes since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for "come".
2.禄 "Iu" means prosperity.
It is used to mean official's salary(薪水 ) in feudal (封建的 ) China.
3. 寿 "shou" means longevity.
Chinese character寿  "shou" also means life,  age or birthday.
4.喜 "xi" is happiness.
The doubled character喜 "xi" means double happiness. It is usually displayed everywhere at Chinese weddings.
5.财  "cai" is wealth or money.
Chinese often say "money can make a ghost turn a millstone". It is to say money really can do a lot of things. But, still-money can’t buy everything.
6.和  "he" means harmomous.
People's harmony is an important part of Chinese culture. When you have harmomous
relations with others,   things will be a lot easier for you.
【小题1】 What does the word "character" mean in this passage?

Six Chinese Characters

Dear students，our country has a long history．Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are particularly loved by Chinese people．Here are the top six lucky ones．Please note we use “pinyin” here because “pinyin” is the Chinese spelling system for the characters．For example，“fu” is the “pinyin” for good luck in Chinese．“pinyin” “fu” is only the phonic（语音的）part of the character and if you want to know the meaning of good luck “fu”，you must read the Chinese character 福 because “fu” also represents（代表）other Chinese characters that sound the same．

1．福 “fu” 一一blessing，good fortune，good luck

Chinese character 福 “fu” is one of the most popular ones used during Chinese New Year．It is often displayed upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment．The upside down 福“fu” means good luck came since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for “came”．

2．禄 “lu” means prosperity

It is used to mean official's salary（薪水）in feudal（封建的）china．

3．寿 “shou” means longevity

Chinese character 寿 “shou” also means life，age or birthday．

4．喜 “xi” is Happiness．

The doubled character 喜 “xi” means double happiness．It is usually displayed everywhere at Chinese weddings．

5．财 “cai” is wealth or money

Chinese often say “money can make a ghost turn a millstone”．It is to say money really can do a lot of things：but，still--money can't buy everything．

6．和 “he” means harmonious

People's harmony is an important part of Chinese culture．When you have harmonious relations with others，things will be a lot easier for you．

1．What does the word “character” mean in this passage?

A．性格                      B．汉字                       C．角色                      D．特征

2．We use ________ to show how to read the Chinese characters．

A．“pinyin”                 B．spelling                  C．Chinese                  D．letters

3．What does the upside down 福 “fu” mean?

A．It means coming．                                    B．It means that good luck came．

C．It means good fortune                                D．It means that “fu” is upside down．

4．Which sentence is right?

A．Money is a ghost．                                   B．Money can buy everything．

C．Money is everything．                                D．Money isn't everything．

5．After reading the passage，can we say that sound “he” only means harmony?

A．No，we can't．                                         B．Yes，we can．

C．I know several words read as “he”．            D．Yes，you can．

Choose the best response from A to F according to the sentences given. Each choice should be used only once.

(A man and a woman are talking at the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport)

M: The airplanes are late, aren’t they?

W:    1  I never expect planes to be on time.

M: Are you working here or just a visitor?

W: A visitor.

M: How long have you been here?

W:   2     .

M: What places of interests have you been to?

W: Quite a lot, like the Great Wall in Beijing, West Lake in Hangzhou.

They are really wonderful.

M:    3   

W: You know, China is a country with a long history and it’s quite beautiful.

M:     4 

W: Yes, of course. It’s delicious.

M: Oh, here is my airplane at last. I must go now. Bye.

W: Bye!   5   

M: Me, too. Take care.

Choose the best response from A to F according to the sentences given. Each choice should be used only once.

(A man and a woman are talking at the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport)

M: The airplanes are late, aren’t they?

W:    1  I never expect planes to be on time.

M: Are you working here or just a visitor?

W: A visitor.

M: How long have you been here?

W:   2     .

M: What places of interests have you been to?

W: Quite a lot, like the Great Wall in Beijing, West Lake in Hangzhou.

They are really wonderful.

M:    3   

W: You know, China is a country with a long history and it’s quite beautiful.

M:     4 

W: Yes, of course. It’s delicious.

M: Oh, here is my airplane at last. I must go now. Bye.

W: Bye!   5   

M: Me, too. Take care.