Last Tomb Sweeping Day, I return home to worship my grandfather. Tomb Sweeping Day is a folk Festival. The day before Tomb Sweeping Day is called Cold Food Festival. But Today, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown. Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money. Unlike the sacrifices at a family's home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food. One theory is that since any number of ghosts roam around a grave area, the less appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers.

去年清明节，我回家祭拜我的祖父。清明节是一个民间节日。在清明节前一天被称为寒食节。但是今天，中国人会去拜扫祖先的坟墓，清除长出的杂草，扫去灰尘，家人会摆出食物和纸钱作为供品。与在家中祭祀祖先的供品不同，坟墓中的供品通常是干巴巴的食物。有一个理论是，因为许多鬼魂在坟墓周围游荡，不太吸引人的食物会被祖先消耗掉，而不会被陌生人抢走。

With the passing of time, this celebration of life became a day to the honor past ancestors. Following folk religion, the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.

随着时间的流逝，这个庆祝生命的日子成为纪念过去祖先的日子。遵循民间宗教，中国人相信先人的灵魂会照顾家庭。牺牲食物和精神财富可以让他们保持幸福，家庭将因丰收和更多的孩子而繁荣。

Dreaming of winter holiday for months, many students can't help to design their vacation journey while some of them have no plan but kill time at home. It is said that male student tend to spend all his time and money playing Internet games while the female students tend to watch episodes without worry and pressure.

许多学生梦想着几个月的寒假，忍不住设计他们的假期旅程，而其中一些人却没有计划，只能在家消磨时间。据说，男学生倾向于把所有的时间和金钱都花在玩网络游戏上，而女学生则倾向于毫无顾虑和压力地观看剧集。

Such cozy life might lead to post-holiday syndrome, a large number of students tend to overindulge themselves in eating, merrymaking and playing around during the holidays, which makes it difficult to adjust to their routine study schedule and life pace on the campus.

这种舒适的生活可能会导致节后综合症，大量学生在假期中会过度放纵自己的饮食、娱乐和玩耍，这使得他们很难适应日常的学习日程和校园生活节奏。

My suggestions to deal with this syndrome are as follows. First, make a specific to-do-list and stick to it. Without a clear purpose, one might easily waste crucial years neglecting one's studies. Second, join one or two volunteering activities and make some friends cause you don't know what surprise will wait for you when you do something new.

我对治疗这种综合征的建议如下。首先，制定一份具体的待办事项清单并坚持下去。如果没有明确的目标，一个人很容易浪费关键的几年时间而忽视自己的学业。第二，参加一两次志愿活动，交一些朋友，因为你不知道当你做一些新的事情时会有什么惊喜等着你。

During the winter holiday, I was very happy because of the Chinese new year and other reasons. During the holiday, my parents and I went back to my hometown in the countryside in Hebei Province. I had not come back for several years, so that I was so surprised to find that great changes had taken place in this small village in the past years. Almost every family in the village had color TV set and some of them had computers. Many families had their houses newly built or rebuilt. Previously, could be seen everywhere, but now they have taken on an entirely new look. Motorcycles or even private cars are not luxuries any more.

在寒假期间，由于中国新年和其他原因，我非常高兴。假期期间，我和父母回到了河北省农村的老家。我已经好几年没回来了，所以我很惊讶地发现，在过去的几年里，这个小村庄发生了巨大的变化。村里几乎每个家庭都有彩电，其中一些家庭有电脑。许多家庭的房子都是新建或重建的。以前，它们随处可见，但现在它们呈现出全新的面貌。摩托车甚至私家车不再是奢侈品。

One of the villagers proudly told me that he and some other villagers were going to join a tour and travel abroad. Previously, the villagers were busy in their farm work all the year round, but now they have much more time and money to relax or entertain. Traveling has become a new trend among villagers. Seeing these amazing changes, my father said that he would go back to my hometown as soon as he retired. As for me, I strongly supported his idea.

其中一位村民自豪地告诉我，他和其他一些村民将参加一次旅游并出国旅行。以前，村民们常年忙于农活，但现在他们有更多的时间和金钱来放松或娱乐。旅游在村民中已成为一种新趋势。看到这些惊人的变化，父亲说他一退休就回老家。至于我，我强烈支持他的想法。

Winter holiday is coming, many students are looking forward to a wonderful long vacation so that they are busy making a vacation plan. According to a survey, students who go traveling and do social practices during vacations increase greatly while those who stay at home decrease a lot.

寒假即将到来，许多学生都期待着一个美好的长假，因此他们正忙于制定假期计划。根据一项调查，在假期外出旅行和进行社交活动的学生人数大大增加，而呆在家里的学生人数则大大减少。

There are many reasons account for that. Firstly, with the fast development of economy, many people have become rich, which makes it possible for more students to go traveling. Also, modem transportation has made it easier for students to go out to travel. Secondly, the authorities of Chinese university have been encouraging their students to do social practices in the hope that college students would broaden their view to know more about the society and become more adaptable to the future work after they graduate.

原因有很多。首先，随着经济的快速发展，许多人变得富有，这使得更多的学生有可能去旅行。此外，现代交通使学生更容易外出旅行。其次，中国大学当局一直鼓励学生进行社会实践，希望大学生能够开阔视野，了解更多社会知识，并在毕业后更适应未来的工作。

In my opinion, it's good to let more students go out traveling or doing social practices during the vacations for they have become much mature to realize how to spend our vacations meaningfully and practically.

在我看来，让更多的学生在假期外出旅游或进行社交活动是很好的，因为他们已经非常成熟，能够意识到如何有意义地、切实地度过我们的假期。

Christmas arouses increasing attention year by year in China. Christmas cards become popular with students. People hold Christmas parties and exchange Christmas girts. A lot or TV and radio programs about Christmas are on. Meanwhile the Spring Festival is less appealing to youngsters. Thus some people wonder whether Christmas will replace the Spring Festival.

圣诞节在中国引起了越来越多的关注。圣诞卡受到学生的欢迎。人们举行圣诞派对，交换圣诞礼物。很多关于圣诞节的电视和广播节目都在播放。与此同时，春节对年轻人的吸引力降低了。因此，一些人怀疑圣诞节是否会取代春节。

This worry is fairly unnecessary. Why? One reason lies that Christmas only affects Christians, college students and joint-venture workers. Another reason is that Christmas is mostly celebrated in cities. Few people in countryside show extreme interest in this exotic festival. By contrast, the Spring Festival is the most influential traditional festival in every family.

这种担心完全没有必要。为什么？原因之一是圣诞节只影响基督徒、大学生和合资企业工人。另一个原因是圣诞节大多在城市庆祝。农村里很少有人对这个异国情调的节日表现出极大的兴趣。相比之下，春节是每个家庭中最具影响力的传统节日。

I think, it is natural that with increasing exchanges with the West, a lot of Western holidays have been gradually introduced into China. For us Chinese we should never neglect or even discard our own traditional festivals. For centuries Chinese have observed this traditional holiday to welcome the beginning of a new year. And we will treasure the Spring Festival forever.

我认为，随着与西方交流的增加，很多西方节日逐渐被引入中国，这是很自然的。对我们中国人来说，我们不应该忽视甚至抛弃自己的传统节日。几个世纪以来，中国人一直在庆祝这个传统节日，以迎接新的一年开始。我们将永远珍惜春节。

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

在中国，有关庆祝中国新年的地区习俗和传统差异很大。人们会倾其所有买礼物、装饰、材料、食物和衣服。这也是一个传统，每个家庭都会彻底打扫房子，扫除所有的霉运，希望为即将到来的好运让路。窗户和门将用红色剪纸和对联装饰，主题是“幸福”、“财富”和“长寿”。在中国除夕夜，晚餐是一场与家人的盛宴。食物包括猪、鸭、鸡和甜食。这家人将以鞭炮结束夜晚。第二天一早，孩子们会向父母问好，祝他们新年健康快乐，并收到红包。中国的新年传统是一种很好的方式，可以消除所有的怨恨，真诚地祝大家平安快乐。