情境介紹
任職於跨國企業台灣分公司的Eric今天特地帶了粽子來辦公室與同事分享，引起外籍同事Henry的興趣??
Henry: What are those things on the counter?
Eric: Those are zhongzi for Dragon Boat Festival.They are sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. People eat them to commemorate Qu Yuan, the famous poet and minister in the state of Chu around 300 BC.He warned his king not to become an ally of the Qin king. Sadly, Qu Yuan was accused of treason and exiled.
Henry: Didn’t the Qin kingdom conquer all the states in China?
Eric: Yes, and they later invaded Chu. When Qu Yuan found out, he drowned himself out of grief. Legend has it that the local people raced out onto the river in their boats to save him.
Henry: Is that the origin of the Dragon Boat Races?
Eric: Yes, it is. Because he was “a man of the people,”they threw zhongzi in the water to prevent the fish from eating Qu Yuan’s body.
Henry: How touching and tragic! I’d better try one quickly and not miss the boat.
Henry： 櫃子上的那些東西是什麼呀？
Eric： 那是端午節要吃的粽子呀！他們是包在竹葉中的糯米飯糰。人們吃粽子來紀念屈原，一個約西元前300 年時楚國的著名詩人與大臣。他希望他的君主不要與秦國結成同盟。但令人傷心的是，他被指控叛國罪，還被放逐了。
Henry： 秦國不是統一了中國所有的城邦嗎？
Eric： 是的，他們後來也侵略了楚國。當屈原知道後，他便傷心地投河自盡了。傳說當地人知道後趕緊撐著船衝入河裡要救他。
Henry: 這是龍舟比賽的由來嗎？
Eric： 沒錯。因為他是個深受愛戴、與人民同在的官員，人們為了保護屈原的身體不被魚咬食而將粽子丟入河底餵魚。
Henry： 好感人、也好悲傷！我最好趕快嘗顆粽子，不然就被搶光了。
實用慣用語
端午的故事我們從小聽到大，但怎麼流利地用英文講述（recount）屈原的故事（the story of Qu Yuan）呢？趕快來看看
你知道下列哪幾個慣用語！
Be accused of被指控（做某事）
例：The little girl cried whenshe was wrongfully accused of peeking at a classmate’s test.（這小女孩因為被錯誤指控偷看同學的試卷而哭了。）
Had better最好（做某事）
例：I’d better run to the post office now before it closes at ve.（我最好在郵局五點關門前趕到那。）
Race out衝出
例：The dog raced out onto the field to catch the Frisbee her owner threw.（狗狗衝到草地上去接他主人丟的飛盤。）
Miss the boat錯失機會
例：Gary almost landed a role on a TV show, but he missed the boat because he didn’t answer his phone.（蓋瑞因為沒接電話，而錯失了一個電視節目角色演出的機會。）
A man of the people平民出身的人、與人民同在的人
例：The newly-elected president vows to be a man of the people, not a corporate puppet serving rich masters.（新當選的總統發誓與人民同在，不會當服侍富人的傀儡。）
實用詞彙
1. counter (n.) 櫃臺；櫃臺
2. zhongzi (n) 粽子（音譯）
3. sticky rice (phr.) 糯米
4. wrap (v.) 包，裹
5. commemorate (v.) 慶祝；紀念
6. minister (n.) 部長；大臣
7. ally (n.) 同盟國；盟友
8. treason (n.) 叛國罪；謀反罪
9. exile (v.) 流放；流亡（也可以當名詞，in exile）
10. conquer (v.) 攻克，攻取
11. invade (v.) 侵入，侵略
12. drown (v.) 把??淹沒
13. origin (n.) 起源；由來
14. tragic (adj.) 悲劇的
本月加值
船（boat）這個字在英文片語中有許多不同的運用唷，一起來看看有哪些片語可以幫助我們說話更生動、活潑！
Fresh o the boat / just o the boat剛下船的，形容人剛移民至一個新國家、尚未融入當地文化(有時具貶抑之意)
例：Even though I’ve lived here for a few years, there are times when I still feel like I’m fresh o the boat.（即使我已經在這住了好幾年，有些時候我仍然感覺自己像是初來乍到般的生疏。）
Rock the boat無事生非、破壞別人的計劃、找麻煩
例：Now that an agreement is reached, we certainly don’t want anyone rocking the boat.（既然現在已經達成協議，我們不希望有人來找麻煩。）
In the same boat在同一個情況、面臨一樣的問題
例：Both of Tom’s companies are in the same boat; they’re unable to pay employees their salaries.（湯姆的兩間公司都遭遇一樣的問題；它們都付不出員工的薪資。）
Whatever oats your boat隨心所欲；想做什麼就做什麼
例：I wouldn’t recommend wearing that dress, but whatever floats your boat.（我不會建議你穿那件洋裝，但你喜歡怎樣就怎樣吧。）
小試身手：請試著用本期介紹過的字彙完成Henry在臉書的po文。
I never knew the(1)__________of Dragon Boat Festival was such a(2)__________ story. Unwilling to see the invasion of his country by its enemy, Qu Yuan who was a former(3)__________in Chu（楚國）(4)__________himself. Zhongzi was what people threw in the river to prevent fish from eating his body. I must not miss the boat to(5)__________ his patriotic（愛國的） sacrifice while staying in Taiwan.
答案(1)origin (2)tragic (3)minister (4)drowned (5)commemorate
