In China, the year 2024 is known as long nian in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. Over a long period of time, it has been called the Year of the Dragon in English. But actually, there are a lot of differences between the Chinese long and the Western dragon.

The Chinese long is made up of parts of some gentle animals, such as a rabbit’s eyes and an ox’s ears. In Chinese mythology, long is able to fly. In addition, it can also spray (喷洒) water from its mouth to create rain.

However, in Western culture, a dragon breathes fire and has the body of a snake and big wings of a bat. What’s more, you will find most of the Western dragons in dark colors because they usually stand for evil (邪恶). As a result, normally at the end of the stories, the evil dragon will be beaten by the superheroes.

What makes such differences? In fact, they have something to do with the cultural differences. In Chinese Confucian (儒家的) ideas, kindness and harmony (和谐) are very important. It is our duty to help each other and live a peaceful life. Western culture, on the other hand, prefers individual heroism (个人英雄主义). Whenever something terrible happens, there will be a superhero who is brave enough to stand out, fight against the enemy on his own, and, of course, save the whole world.

In recent years, Chinese have tried to translate long in another way. For example, Zhejiang’s Loong Air has already written long as Loong. One of the reasons is that Loong sounds the same as the Chinese character long. Besides, the letters “oo” in the word Loong look like the two big eyes of the animal, which makes it easier to memorize this word.

Anyway, no matter how long is translated, there is one thing for sure: the Chinese long is different from the Western dragon, and it is a symbol of good luck.

Wish you and your family the best in the Year of Loong!

【小题1】Which of the following is the picture of a Western dragon?

A．

B．

C．

D．

【小题2】According to the Chinese Confucian ideas, what might be the reason for long to spray water?

A．To fight against the evil dragon.	B．To help the farmers in the dry weather.
C．To show its power and ability.	D．To make itself the superhero in this world.

【小题3】Which of the following is True according to the passage?

A．A dragon breathes fire and has the body of a bat.

B．2024 is the year of Loong in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.

C．The Western dragon is a symbol of good luck.

D．Long can’t fly because it has no wings.

【小题4】________ make Loong the new translation of the Chinese character long according to the passage.

A．The historical background and cultural meaning	B．The historical background and spelling
C．The pronunciation and spelling	D．The cultural meaning and pronunciation

【小题5】In which part of a magazine may we find this passage?

A．Healthy Life.

B．Creative Art.

C．Amazing Animals.

D．Colorful Culture.