作者：小雅和英美友人
Moon Gazing 赏月
Mom: Today is Mid-Autumn Festival.
妈妈：今天是中秋节。
Let's finish our mooncakes and admire the moon together.
咱们把月饼吃完，一起赏月吧。
赏月的“赏”用admire、appreciate这些表示欣赏的词，或者gaze-凝视都是可以的，西方人有stargazing-看星星的活动。
Look, over there!
看，那边！
Child: Wow! Mom, the moon is so beautiful today!
宝宝：哇！妈妈，今天的月亮好漂亮啊！
It's round and big.
又圆又大。
Mom: Yes! It's said that Chang'e and Jade Rabbit live on the moon.
妈妈：是啊！传说月亮上住着嫦娥和玉兔呢。
Child: Ah, it's too far away to see.
宝宝：啊，太远了，看不到。
Mom: Haha, yeah, the legend may not be true.
妈妈：哈哈，嗯，传说不一定是真哦。
When you grow up, maybe you can go to the moon and check.
等你长大以后，也许你可以去月球上看看。
Child: But the moon is so high - how can I go up there?
宝宝：可是月亮那么高，我怎么上去啊？
Mom: You forgot?
妈妈：你忘啦？
You can take a rocket or spaceship.
你可以坐火箭或是宇宙飞船啊。
Child: Right! I'll be an astronaut and go when the moon is the biggest.
宝宝：对啊！我要成为宇航员，挑月亮最大的时候去。
Mom: That's so cute.
妈妈：好可爱啊。
Do you know when the moon is at its biggest?
你知道什么时候月亮最大吗？
Child: It's big today.
宝宝：今天就很大啊。
Mom: Yes, because today is the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.
妈妈：是的，因为今天是阴历八月十五。
The full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival represents family reunion.
中秋节的满月象征着阖家团圆。
However, the moon is big and round on the 15th and 16th of each month, not just in August.
不过，不只是八月，每个月的十五、十六号，月亮都很大很圆呢。
Other than a big circle, what other shapes do you know the moon can have?
除了大大的圆，你知道月亮还有哪些形状吗？
Child: Like a banana!
宝宝：像香蕉一样！
Mom, why does the moon change?
妈妈，月亮为什么会变啊？
Mom: The moon itself doesn't change.
妈妈：月亮本身没有变化。
It's the shape of the moon we see changes.
是我们看到的月亮的形状会变化。
These changes are called the phases of the moon.
这些变化叫月相。
The phases change as the moon orbits Earth.
月亮围绕地球转动，就产生了月相。
Child: What phases of the moon can we see?
宝宝：我们能看到哪些月相呢？
Mom: On the third, fourth, 26th and 27th day of each lunar month, the moon looks like a banana.
妈妈：阴历每月初三、初四、廿六、廿七，月亮看起来像一只香蕉。
This phase of the moon is called a crescent moon.
这时候的月相叫蛾眉月。
On the 7th, 8th, 21st, and 22nd day of each month, when the moon looks like half of a circle, it’s called first quarter moon and last quarter moon.
每月初七、初八、廿一、廿二，月亮看起来像半圆形的时候，叫上弦月和下弦月。
On the 12th, 13th, 17th, and 18th day of each month, when the moon looks almost like a full circle, but not quite a full circle, it’s called a gibbous moon.
每月十二、十三、十七、十八，月亮接近圆形，但又不是圆形的时候，叫凸月。
Child: And the big and bright ball we see today is called a full moon.
宝宝：还有今天我们看到的又大又亮的球叫满月。
Mom: That's right!
妈妈：太对了！
Although it looks bright, the moon itself doesn't produce any light.
虽然月亮很亮，但是它本身并不发光。
What we see is the light of the sun reflected by the surface of the moon.
我们看到的是太阳照在月球表面反射回来的光。
Child: You said I shouldn't look straight at the sun.
宝宝：你说不能直接看太阳。
Can I look at the moon?
我能看月亮吗？
Mom: Yes, the moonlight isn't as blinding.
妈妈：能，月光没那么刺眼。
Do you want to gaze at the moon more?
你还想再看会儿月亮吗？
Child: No, I want to go back and draw different moons.
宝宝：不看啦，我想回去画几个不同的月亮。
Mom: Good idea! Let's go!
妈妈：好主意！咱们走!
本文配有跟读练习哦~
今天这篇文章有时令性
不是每天都能用到
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