Question

    How did Chinese people choose the 12 animals of the zodiac (生肖)?

There are many stories1.the Chinese zodiac. In one of the most2. stories, the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝）wanted to pick 12 animals to keep his palace safe. He ordered all the animals to have a 3.to run to the palace. The first 12 animals to4. at the palace were the winners.  They then became part of our calendar.

5. , the real history behind the Chinese zodiac is much harder to find. Some say the zodiac came from animals6. were important in people’s lives at the time. Some of the animals were ones that people7.at home, such as the chicken and the pig. Others were animals they loved such as the tiger and the monkey. Others say that ancient Chinese people chose the 12 animals according to animals’ habits. This is because people not8.used the zodiac to stand for different years, but also used them to tell time.

9. animal stands for one shichen, or two hours. It is said that during each shichen, its corresponding ( 相 应 的 ) animal would be active. For example, the mouse stands for the period of time from 11 pm to 1 am10.this is the time when mice would go out to look for food. Do you think our ancient Chinese are full of wisdom(智慧)?

Answer

1.about

2.famous/well-known/popular

3.race/competition

4.arrive

5.However

6.that/which

7.kept/raised/fed/had

8.only

9.One/Each/Every/An

10.because

【解析】

这篇短文主要讲述了生肖是怎样选出来，本文讲述了关于生肖的几个传说。

1.

句意：关于十二生肖有许多故事。

根据文中“In one of the most ________ stories, the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝）wanted to pick 12 animals to keep his palace safe.”可知，这里是关于十二生肖的故事。这里用介词about。故答案为about。

2.

句意：在一个最著名/最著名/最流行的故事中，玉皇大帝想要挑选12只动物来保护他的宫殿安全。

One of+the+形容词最高级+名词复数，表示……最之一；这里是最著名的/最受欢迎的。famous/well-known形容词，出名的，著名的；popular形容词，受欢迎的。故答案为famous/well-known/popular。

3.

句意：他命令所有的动物举行一场赛跑去宫殿。

根据“The first 12 animals to __________ at the palace were the winners.”前十二名跑到宫殿的动物是获胜者。可知，这里是举行一场赛跑的比赛。race/competition名词，比赛。故答案为race/competition。

4.

句意：第一批到达宫殿的12只动物是获胜者。

根据“They then became part of our calendar.”及“were the winners.”可知，这里是前12名到达的动物。arrive动词，到达。这里是动词不定式做后置定语，修饰animals。故答案为arrive。

5.

句意：然而，中国十二生肖背后的真实历史却很难找到。

根据“the real history behind the Chinese zodiac is much harder to find.”可知，这里是表示转折关系用however副词，然而。故答案为However。

6.

句意：有人说十二生肖来自当时对人们生活很重要的动物。

这里是定语从句，先行词是animals，是物，关系词用that/which，在这里是做主语。故答案为that/which。

7.

句意：有些动物是人们在家里饲养/喂养的动物，如鸡和猪。

根据下文“such as the chicken and the pig”可知，这里是说人们在家里养的动物。keep相当于raise和feed都是“饲养”的意思。主语的谓语动词是过去时态，从句也用过去式，keep/raise/feed/have的过去式是 kept/raised/fed/had。故答案为kept/raised/fed/had。

8.

句意：这是因为人们不仅用十二生肖来代表不同的年份，而且还用十二生肖来表示时间。

根据下文“but also used them to tell time.”可知，这里是不仅……而且……；not only…but also…不仅……而且……。故答案为only。

9.

句意：一只/每只动物代表一个时辰。

根据下文“For example, the mouse stands for the period of time from 11 pm to 1 am ____10____ this is the time when mice would go out to look for food.”可知，这里是每个动物/一个动物，这里用“One/Each/Every/Ananimal”来表示。故答案为One/Each/Every/An。

10.

句意：例如，老鼠代表晚上11点到凌晨1点的时间段，因为这段时间是老鼠外出觅食的时间。

根据“this is the time when mice would go out to look for food.”可知，这里是表示原因，用because连词，因为。故答案为because。