Dragons can be friendly or fierce (凶狠), they can bring good luck or cause death, but onething issure——peopletalk aboutthem almost everywhere in the world.
In Chinese culture, dragons are generous and wise, althoughthey can be unpredictable. Thedragon was closely connectedtothe royalfamily: the emperor's robes (礼袍) have a symbol of a golddragon with five claws. Accordingto popular belief,if you were bornintheyear of the dragon, you are intelligent, brave, and a natural leader.
But in the west, dragons had a different reputation (名声). The very first text in English, theAnglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, tells the story of a Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, who fights and kills adangerous dragon but is himself killed in the fight. However, across the border in Wales, the reddragon which appears on the Welsh flag is a positive symbol, indicating strength and a sense of nationalidentity.
Why shouldthe dragon have a different characterin different parts ofthe world? Some expertsbelieve it is due to the animals thatthe myths grew out of.Inthe west,theidea ofthe dragonprobably camefromthe snake—an animal which people hated and were afraid of.
But in China, the idea of the dragon may have come fromthe alligator--a shy animal which lives inrivers, but whichis usually only seen whenthereis plenty of water--a good sign for agriculture(农业).So the Chinese dragon was a bringer of good fortune.
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将划线句子翻译成中文。
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阅读填词,每空一词。
In China, people think the dragon may have come from the ____ which is a shy animal. However, in the west, they think the dragon may come from the _____ that they hated and scared.
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Whatarethedifferencesbetween Chinese dragons and western dragons? (从文中找
出相关描述的英语单词或短语,每空至少一个。)
Chinese dragons:_____________Western dragons:___________.