A Celebration of Girls and Dolls
Every year on March 3, the Japanese celebrate Girls' Day by praying for their young daughters' health and future happiness. Girls' Day is also called the Doll Festival because people arrange special dolls on a staircase1-like shelf a few weeks before March 3. On the day of the festival, a party is held for the girls where sake2 and diamond3-shaped rice cakes are consumed. The dolls are then promptly boxed up on March 4. If not, according to superstitions4, the daughters will have a hard time finding a husband.
Girls' Day is connected to an old custom that used dolls to get rid of evil. Families would make dolls out of paper, breathe on them, and then rub them against their bodies. This transferred any bad luck the family members had to the dolls. Afterwards, the dolls were taken to the nearest river and thrown in. As they floated away, the dolls took the bad luck with them.
Nowadays, festival dolls are beautiful, expensive, and are not thrown away. Instead, they stay with a girl throughout her life and are taken good care of. Brides even take their dolls with them after getting married. These former carriers of bad luck have now become treasured mementos5.
每年的三月三日，日本人會為他們年幼的女兒祈求健康及將來的幸福，藉此慶祝女兒節。女兒節又稱為人偶節，這是因為人們在三月三日的數週前就會在階梯狀的架子上擺設特別的人偶。在女兒節當天，人們會替女孩們舉行派對，並且享用清酒及菱餅（編按：菱餅是一種有粉紅、白、綠等三層顏色的菱形糕餅）。在三月四日時，這些人偶會立刻被裝箱收起。如果沒這麼做，根據迷信，該戶人家的女兒就很難找得到歸宿。
女兒節與一個利用人偶來避邪的古老習俗有關。家家戶戶會用紙來做人偶，然後對著人偶吹氣，接著用人偶摩擦他們的身體。這樣做能把家人所遭受的任何厄運都轉移到人偶上。然後他們會把人偶帶到最近的河邊，接著丟入河中。當人偶漂走時，厄運也隨之被帶走。
如今，這些節慶的人偶美麗、昂貴，而且不再被人丟棄。它們反而會陪伴女孩一輩子，並且受到妥善照顧。新嫁娘甚至會在婚後帶走人偶。這些從前的厄運宿主，如今變成了人們珍藏的紀念品。
1. What do Japanese people do to celebrate Girls' Day?
(A) All girls go swimming in a river.
(B) They clean their houses and throw away old dolls.
(C) They arrange beautiful dolls on a special shelf.
(D) Married women visit their side of the family.
1. 日本人會如何慶祝女兒節？
(A) 所有女孩會到河裡游泳。
(B) 他們會打掃家裡，並且丟掉舊人偶。
(C) 他們會把漂亮的人偶陳設在特別的架子上。
(D) 已婚婦女會回娘家拜訪。
2. Which is NOT true about the doll traditions in Japan?
(A) Japanese people believed they could transfer their bad luck to dolls.
(B) The dolls used to be made out of paper.
(C) People now store the dolls carefully after the festival.
(D) Girls will throw their dolls into a river on their wedding day.
2. 關於日本的人偶傳統，何者為非？
(A) 日本人相信可以把自身的厄運轉移到人偶上。
(B) 以前的人偶是用紙做的。
(C) 如今人們會在節日後小心翼翼地把人偶收好。
(D) 女孩會在結婚當日把她們的人偶丟進河裡。
答案：1. (C) 2. (D)
《Building Your Vocabulary》
1. celebrate vt. 慶祝
We ate out to celebrate Mom's birthday.
我們上館子吃飯來慶祝媽媽的生日。
2. consume vt. 吃；喝
Many snacks were consumed at the party.
宴會上的點心被吃掉了不少。
3. promptly adv. 立刻地；迅速地
Jay promptly finished his homework.
阿杰迅速地做完了功課。
4. transfer vt. 轉移；遷移
The entire production line was transferred to another country.
這整條生產線都被遷移到另一個國家去了。
5. float vi. 漂；浮
A lot of trash floats in that dirty river.
許多垃圾漂浮在那條骯髒的河裡。
《Phrases for Learning》
1. box...up/box up... 把……裝入箱∕盒內
Jennifer boxed up all of her old toys.
珍妮佛把她的舊玩具全都裝箱了。
2. breathe on... 對……呼氣
Don't breathe on me! Your breath smells.
別對著我呼氣！你的口氣很臭。
3. rub A against/on B 以 A 摩擦 B
My cat likes rubbing her face on my leg.
我的貓喜歡用牠的臉來摩擦我的腿。
《Extra Word》
1. staircase n. 樓梯
2. sake n. 日本清酒
3. diamond n. 菱形
4. superstition n. 迷信
5. memento n.（用以紀念某人事物的）紀念物
《SENTENCE PATTERN》
...the daughters will have a hard time finding a husband.
（……該戶人家的女兒就很難找得到歸宿。）
have a hard time + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have trouble + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have difficulty + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have problems + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
做……有困難；在……方面有困難
Dan has difficulty (in) getting up early.
（阿丹很難早起。）
Vivian has trouble with math.
= Vivian has problems with math.
（薇薇安的數學很不好。）
注意:
time 在此用法中為可數名詞，"a + 形容詞 + time"表『一段……的時間』。problem 為可數名詞，在此用法中習慣用複數形 problems；trouble 與 difficulty 則為不可數名詞，故不可加 -s。
Girls' Day is connected to an old custom that used dolls to get rid of evil. Families would make dolls out of paper, breathe on them, and then rub them against their bodies. This transferred any bad luck the family members had to the dolls. Afterwards, the dolls were taken to the nearest river and thrown in. As they floated away, the dolls took the bad luck with them.
Nowadays, festival dolls are beautiful, expensive, and are not thrown away. Instead, they stay with a girl throughout her life and are taken good care of. Brides even take their dolls with them after getting married. These former carriers of bad luck have now become treasured mementos5.
每年的三月三日，日本人會為他們年幼的女兒祈求健康及將來的幸福，藉此慶祝女兒節。女兒節又稱為人偶節，這是因為人們在三月三日的數週前就會在階梯狀的架子上擺設特別的人偶。在女兒節當天，人們會替女孩們舉行派對，並且享用清酒及菱餅（編按：菱餅是一種有粉紅、白、綠等三層顏色的菱形糕餅）。在三月四日時，這些人偶會立刻被裝箱收起。如果沒這麼做，根據迷信，該戶人家的女兒就很難找得到歸宿。
女兒節與一個利用人偶來避邪的古老習俗有關。家家戶戶會用紙來做人偶，然後對著人偶吹氣，接著用人偶摩擦他們的身體。這樣做能把家人所遭受的任何厄運都轉移到人偶上。然後他們會把人偶帶到最近的河邊，接著丟入河中。當人偶漂走時，厄運也隨之被帶走。
如今，這些節慶的人偶美麗、昂貴，而且不再被人丟棄。它們反而會陪伴女孩一輩子，並且受到妥善照顧。新嫁娘甚至會在婚後帶走人偶。這些從前的厄運宿主，如今變成了人們珍藏的紀念品。
1. What do Japanese people do to celebrate Girls' Day?
(A) All girls go swimming in a river.
(B) They clean their houses and throw away old dolls.
(C) They arrange beautiful dolls on a special shelf.
(D) Married women visit their side of the family.
1. 日本人會如何慶祝女兒節？
(A) 所有女孩會到河裡游泳。
(B) 他們會打掃家裡，並且丟掉舊人偶。
(C) 他們會把漂亮的人偶陳設在特別的架子上。
(D) 已婚婦女會回娘家拜訪。
2. Which is NOT true about the doll traditions in Japan?
(A) Japanese people believed they could transfer their bad luck to dolls.
(B) The dolls used to be made out of paper.
(C) People now store the dolls carefully after the festival.
(D) Girls will throw their dolls into a river on their wedding day.
2. 關於日本的人偶傳統，何者為非？
(A) 日本人相信可以把自身的厄運轉移到人偶上。
(B) 以前的人偶是用紙做的。
(C) 如今人們會在節日後小心翼翼地把人偶收好。
(D) 女孩會在結婚當日把她們的人偶丟進河裡。
答案：1. (C) 2. (D)
《Building Your Vocabulary》
1. celebrate vt. 慶祝
We ate out to celebrate Mom's birthday.
我們上館子吃飯來慶祝媽媽的生日。
2. consume vt. 吃；喝
Many snacks were consumed at the party.
宴會上的點心被吃掉了不少。
3. promptly adv. 立刻地；迅速地
Jay promptly finished his homework.
阿杰迅速地做完了功課。
4. transfer vt. 轉移；遷移
The entire production line was transferred to another country.
這整條生產線都被遷移到另一個國家去了。
5. float vi. 漂；浮
A lot of trash floats in that dirty river.
許多垃圾漂浮在那條骯髒的河裡。
《Phrases for Learning》
1. box...up/box up... 把……裝入箱∕盒內
Jennifer boxed up all of her old toys.
珍妮佛把她的舊玩具全都裝箱了。
2. breathe on... 對……呼氣
Don't breathe on me! Your breath smells.
別對著我呼氣！你的口氣很臭。
3. rub A against/on B 以 A 摩擦 B
My cat likes rubbing her face on my leg.
我的貓喜歡用牠的臉來摩擦我的腿。
《Extra Word》
1. staircase n. 樓梯
2. sake n. 日本清酒
3. diamond n. 菱形
4. superstition n. 迷信
5. memento n.（用以紀念某人事物的）紀念物
《SENTENCE PATTERN》
...the daughters will have a hard time finding a husband.
（……該戶人家的女兒就很難找得到歸宿。）
have a hard time + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have trouble + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have difficulty + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
= have problems + (in) + 動名詞∕with 名詞
做……有困難；在……方面有困難
Dan has difficulty (in) getting up early.
（阿丹很難早起。）
Vivian has trouble with math.
= Vivian has problems with math.
（薇薇安的數學很不好。）
注意:
time 在此用法中為可數名詞，"a + 形容詞 + time"表『一段……的時間』。problem 為可數名詞，在此用法中習慣用複數形 problems；trouble 與 difficulty 則為不可數名詞，故不可加 -s。
