Section 2---Unit 05 Moon Legends and Superstitions

 Section 2---Unit 05 Culture and Customs

Moon Legends and Superstitions

When some people look up at the bright moon in the sky, they see light and shadows that make shapes on the surface. What do you see?

People in East Asia see the Jade Rabbit. Ancient legends tell the story of an old man who was begging for food. A rabbit threw itself onto a fire, offering to feed the man. The old man was really the Jade Emperor, and he rewarded the rabbit by letting it live forever on the moon.

Some Europeans see a man on the moon carrying sticks on his back. German stories say the man was banished to the moon for stealing his neighbor's wood. Roman fables being punished for stealing sheep.

A Maori legend explains that the image on the moon is the woman Rona under a tree. One dark night, Rona hurt her foot because she couldn't see, and she called the moon rude names. The angry moon goddess reached down to grab Rona, who tried to hold onto a tree. The tree ended up on the moon with her.

Superstitions warn us that cutting your hair between the full moon and the new moon makes hair unhealthy. Other people say that pointing at the moon brings bad luck. Stories also warn us to watch out for werewolves during a full moon.

The moon also has a place in language. If people say that something happens "once in a blue moon," they mean it rarely happens. Actually, a "blue moon" is a second full moon in one calendar month, and that happens every three years.

So, the next time you find yourself gazing up at the moon, pay close attention. Maybe you can come up with your own story about what you see.

	actually	第二級	[形容詞] actual(實際的;事實上的) 的衍生的副詞
	ancient	第二級	[形容詞] 古代的
	attention	第二級	[名詞] 注意;專心
	begging	第二級	[動詞] beg(乞討;懇求) 的現在分詞
	being	第二級	[名詞] 存在;生存;生命;本質
	calendar	第二級	[名詞] 日曆;月曆;行事曆
	emperor	第三級	[名詞] 皇帝
	fables	第六級	[名詞] fable(寓言) 的複數
	forever	第三級	[副詞] 永遠
	gazing	第四級	[動詞] gaze(凝視,注視,盯) 的現在分詞
	grab	第三級	[動詞] 攫取,抓取; [名詞] 攫取,霸佔
	image	第二級	[名詞] 肖像影像
	jade	第六級	[名詞] 玉;玉製品;綠玉色
	legend	第四級	[名詞] 傳說;傳奇故事
	legends	第四級	[名詞] legend(傳說;傳奇故事) 的複數
	luck	第二級	[名詞] 好運;幸運
	neighbor	第二級	[名詞] 鄰居
	offering	第二級	[動詞] offer(提供) 的現在分詞
	offering	第五級	[名詞] 提供;供奉;捐獻物;供物;課程
	onto	第三級	[介系詞] 到...之上;向...之上
	punished	第二級	[動詞] punish(處罰) 的過去式及過去分詞
	rarely	第二級	[形容詞] rare(罕見的) 的衍生的副詞
	rewarded	第四級	[動詞] reward(酬謝;獎勵) 的過去式及過去分詞
	rude	第二級	[形容詞] 無禮的
	shadows	第三級	[動詞] shadow(使變暗;使陰鬱) 的第三人稱單數現在式; [名詞] shadow(蔭;陰暗處;影子) 的複數
	stealing	第三級	[動詞] steal(偷竊) 的現在分詞
	sticks	第二級	[動詞] stick(黏貼;刺;戮;釘住;插牢;堅持) 的第三人稱單數現在式; [名詞] stick(棍;棒;杖;枝條) 的複數
	superstitions	第五級	[名詞] superstition(迷信) 的複數
	surface	第二級	[動詞] 顯露,呈現;起床,露面; [名詞] 表面
	warn	第三級	[動詞] 警告
	wood	第二級	[名詞] 木材

Reading Comprehension

(   ) 1. Which character in a moon legend got in trouble for being a thief?

(A) The Jade Rabbit                                      (B) The woman Rona

(C) The man on the moon carrying sticks     (D) The angry moon goddess

(   ) 2. Which of the following is NOT correct, according to the article?

(A) Some say pointing at the moon gives you bad luck.

(B) Rona hurt herself because it was too dark to see where she was going.

(C) The Jade Emperor pretended to be an old man.

(D) German stories talk about a man who stole sheep.

(   ) 3. What is the main idea of the article?

(A) To discuss different ways of looking at the moon

(B) To discuss how the moon has a place in everyday language

(C) To discuss an old Maori legend about a woman under a tree

(D) To discuss the East Asian legend of the Jade Rabbit

(   ) 4. If a "blue moon" happens in 2015, when will the next one after it take place?

(A) 2016                 (B) 2017                  (C) 2018                  (D) 2019

	according	第五級	[動詞] accord((與...)一致;調解) 的現在分詞
	article	第二級	[名詞] 文章;報導；論文;物件;條款
	being	第二級	[名詞] 存在;生存;生命;本質
	character	第二級	[名詞] 特性;角色;(中文)字
	discuss	第二級	[動詞] 討論
	emperor	第三級	[名詞] 皇帝
	following	第二級	[形容詞] 接著的,其次的;下面的; [介系詞] 在...以後; [名詞] 一批追隨者;下列事物(或人員)
	jade	第六級	[名詞] 玉;玉製品;綠玉色
	legend	第四級	[名詞] 傳說;傳奇故事
	luck	第二級	[名詞] 好運;幸運
	pretended	第三級	[動詞] pretend(佯裝;假裝) 的過去式及過去分詞
	sticks	第二級	[動詞] stick(黏貼;刺;戮;釘住;插牢;堅持) 的第三人稱單數現在式; [名詞] stick(棍;棒;杖;枝條) 的複數
	stole	第三級	[動詞] steal(偷竊) 的過去式
	thief	第二級	[名詞] 小偷