Easter

湖北孝感市第一高级中学 曹文英

背景介绍

复活节是基督教的重要节日之一，定在每年春分月圆之后的第一个星期日，是为纪念耶稣基督被钉死在十字架后第三天复活的日子。在西方，与复活节相关的物品有复活节兔子和复活节彩蛋，而这些民间风俗都不是起源于基督教。

情景对话

Xiaomei:Three dozen eggs？What do you need so many eggs for？ Are you making omelets （煎蛋卷）for an army？

Hattie:Did you forget Easter is this Sunday？ I bought so many eggs because I want to dye Easter eggs！

Xiaomei:Easter already？ But it's only March...I thought Easter was in April.

Hattie:Easter is a movable holiday.It's not on a fixed date according to our calendar.Easter is always the first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox （春分）.That means that Easter could fall any time between March 22nd and April 25th.This year it's a bit earlier.Good thing I remembered and bought the eggs！

Xiaomei:You know，we don't really celebrate Easter in China where I'm from...From all the decorations I see，I guess it's mostly about bunnies （兔子）？

Hattie:Ha！ You're hilarious（欢闹的）.You see a lot of bunnies in Easter decorations； it's true； And we also decorate and hide eggs and candy for the children.Kids take their Easter baskets and rush to find the hidden candy and eggs.We tell them the Easter bunny is the one who hid them.But apart from all these fun traditions，Easter is actually a holiday to remind us of the resurrection（复活）of Jesus Christ.

Xiaomei:Bunnies remind you of Jesus？

Hattie:In a way they do.All the symbols of Easter have to do with new life and birth.For example，eggs， they are symbols of new birth， a beginning of life.Bunnies，too...They are associated with a very high level of proliferation （繁殖）， new life.As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ brings new life.He died on the cross to atone（赎罪）for the sins（罪行）of the world，but was resurrected three days later.With the atonement，Jesus Christ overcame physical and spiritual death，and we believe that we can overcome our past mistakes and will also be resurrected and live again.When we become Christian，we begin a new life as followers of Jesus Christ.Easter is a reminder of all that.It's a celebration of Christ's triumph（战胜）over death and our opportunity to overcome our own weaknesses.

Xiaomei:Wow，I guess there's a lot more to Easter than I thought...

小梅：三打鸡蛋？你要这么多鸡蛋干什么呀？你要给一大群人做煎蛋卷吗？

哈蒂：这个星期日是复活节，你忘了吗？我买了这么多鸡蛋是要染复活节彩蛋！

小梅：就要过复活节了呀？可是现在才三月份呀……我以为复活节是四月份呢。

哈蒂：复活节的日期不是固定的，根据每年年历的不同有所变化。复活节一般是三月春分月圆后的第一个星期日。这就意味着复活节可能出现在3月22日至4月25日之间的任何一天。今年的复活节来得有点早。好在我记着这个节日呢，所以买了这些鸡蛋！

小梅：你知道的，在我的祖国中国，我们不怎么庆祝复活节……根据我所看到的所有装饰物，我猜这个节日主要是关于兔子？

哈蒂：哈！你真逗！你看到复活节的装饰物中有许多兔子，没错。此外，我们还要装饰鸡蛋和糖果，并把鸡蛋和糖果藏起来让小孩子找。孩子们拿着自己的复活节篮子跑去寻找被藏起来的糖果和鸡蛋。我们告诉孩子们是复活节兔子把鸡蛋和糖果给藏起来的。不过除了这些有趣的传统以外，复活节实际上是纪念耶稣基督复活的节日。

小梅：兔子提醒你们纪念耶稣？

哈蒂：从某种意义上讲，是这样的。复活节的所有象征都是关于“新生命、重生”的。例如，鸡蛋象征着新生和生命的开始。而兔子让人们联想到很强的繁殖能力，也象征着新生命。我们基督徒相信耶稣带来了新生。耶稣被钉在十字架上为这个世界赎罪。三天以后，耶稣复活。在替世人赎罪的过程中，耶稣基督战胜了肉体和精神的死亡。于是我们相信，我们能克服以往的过错，获得重生。当我们成了基督教徒，我们就成了耶稣基督的追随者，开始了新的生活。复活节就是为了纪念这些信仰。它庆祝耶稣基督战胜了死亡，也庆祝人们有机会克服自身的弱点。

小梅：哇，我想，复活节的意义远远超出我的想象啊……

巧笔妙记

1.apart from除……之外

2.have to do with与……有关

创新阅读

Write a composition to introduce Easter according to the conversation.You can introduce the time，the activities，the origin and what it means to the westerners.The following expressions may help you：

关于时间的表达：

fall on（节日）出现在某一天

关于活动的表达：

celebrate庆祝

dye Easter eggs染复活节彩蛋

celebration（s） 庆祝

decorate and hide eggs and candy装饰和藏彩蛋与糖果

关于起源的表达：

in memory of纪念

have to do with new life and birth与新的生命和新生有关

derive from 来自；起源于

date back to可追溯到

a reminder of a new life as followers of Jesus Christ作为耶稣基督的追随者的新生命的提醒

a celebration of Christ's triumph over death and our opportunity to overcome our own weaknesses庆祝耶稣基督战胜了死亡，也庆祝人们有机会克服自身的弱点

Also，we can use a topic sentence in each paragraph to make the structure clear.The following can be useful：

Easter is an important festival to westerners.

Easter usually falls on...

People celebrate Easter in various ways.

The origin of Easter has a long history.

Easter is indispensable for westerners because it not only...，but also...