任务四 首字母填空
根据短文内容及首字母提示，填写所缺单词，使其意思完整。
The Song of Counting the Nines
In China, winter can be long and freezing, but ancient Chinese people found a wise and interesting (1) m to pass the time. This tradition is called “Shu Jiu”, or “Counting the Nines”. It is a (2) c created(创造) by ancient Chinese to track the coldest 81 days of winter. While singing the Song of Counting the Nines, people look (3) f to the arrival of spring.
Counting the nines (4) b on the Winter Solstice(冬至). From this day, people start to count nine days as one “nine”. There are nine “nines” in total. The song describes the changes in nature during each period. For example, the first verse(歌曲的段落) says, “During the first and second nines, (5) h your hands.” This means the weather is so cold that you should keep your hands in your pockets. (6) A verse goes, “In the third and fourth nines, the river ice is thick
enough for walking.” Children in ancient times might have played on the (7) f rivers. And after the ninth nine, cattle start walking in the fields, meaning the farming season has begun.
Every year when winter comes, my grandmother would say, “Today we enter the first nine.” This traditional song is like a bridge. It (8) c us with the lives and wisdom of ancient people. It tells us that (9) e in the coldest time, there is a rhythm to life and a promise that spring will finally (10) r. “Shu Jiu” is more than a calendar; it represents hope and patience.