What is your zodiac(生肖) animal?
According to the Chinese lunar calendar(农历), 12
animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac.
Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly
popular among western people.
The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture.
People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the
personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the
Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.
Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When
people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their
question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure
out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.
Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many
countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the
Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar(野猪)takes the place of a
pig and the Vietnamese(越南的)zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.
But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were
chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor(玉皇大帝)invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New
Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each
one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but
the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in
first place.
1.The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence
the _____ of every person
born in that year.
A.appearance B.personality C.hobby D.education
2.“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to
find out a person’s______.
A.age B.name C.job D.weight
3.In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac
animal:_______
A.wild boar B.rabbit C.dragon D.pig
4.According to the last paragraph, we know that ____
was the first animal to arrive.
A.ox B.rat C.pig D.cat