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Outstanding Egg-Standing 神奇不倒蛋：端午限定？

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Every year on Dragon Boat Festival, Taiwanese people celebrate with races, rice dumplings, and one rather peculiar activity – egg standing. The curious ___1___ of making an egg stand vertically is actually a long-running tradition. The custom comes from an ancient Chinese belief that the sun’s “yang” force is at its ___2___ around the summer solstice, ___3___ Dragon Boat Festival takes place. The force is said to be powerful enough to make eggs stand. On the summer solstice in 2005, residents of Chiayi County balanced an astounding 1,972 eggs, ___4___ a new Guinness World Record.

每年到了端午节，为了庆祝佳节台湾民间也会有许多应节活动：划龙舟、包粽子、还有一个较不寻常的习俗──立蛋。其实这个把蛋垂直立起的有趣习俗流传已久，相传在中国古老的传说里，接近夏至、特别是在端午节当天，太阳的「阳气」最强，足以让鸡蛋站立起来。2005年的夏至，嘉义县的居民一共立了1972颗蛋，刷新金氏世界纪录。

In the West, the “egg-balancing” tradition takes place on the spring equinox. Egg standing ___5___ explain that the Earth’s orbit and the sun’s pull of gravity are ___6___ aligned on this day, allowing people to perform such crazy feats of skill.

在西方，立蛋仪式于春分举行。立蛋专家的说法为：春分那天，太阳引力与地心引力会刚好平齐并相互拉扯，让大家能演出如此神乎其技的特技。

While all of this sounds quite plausible, egg standing enthusiasts conveniently ___7___ to mention one little detail – that eggs can, in fact, stand vertically on any day of the year! The myth simply makes its believers psychologically ___8___ to failure, as unsuccessful attempts on another day will be blamed on the “incorrect alignment of the elements.” Actually, all that is needed to accomplish this feat is a pair of ___9___ hands and patience. So, the next time you want to partake in this fun tradition, don’t wait. Just ___10__ an egg and get balancing!

虽然这些理论乍听之下都煞有其事，不过立蛋迷却很「自然」地漏掉不提这个小细节：事实上，365天里的任一天里，蛋都能够站立起来。坚信蛋「只会在特定的某一天立起来」这样迷思的人，因为心理障碍的缘故，让他们在其它日子里立蛋时容易失败并把失败的原因归咎于引力角度不对……等因素。其实把蛋立起来的秘诀不过是一双稳健的手与耐心罢了。所以，下次你想参与这个有趣的习俗时，不用再等到端午节，直接拿颗蛋来立吧！

−by Anita Wong

Vocabulary

单词发音

vertically [ˋvɝtɪk!ɪ] adv. 垂直地；直立地

astounding [əˋstaʊndɪŋ] adj. 令人惊奇的，令人震惊的

plausible [ˋplɔzəb!] adj. 貌似真实的，貌似有理的

myth [mɪθ] n. 神话; 〔许多人相信但不真实的〕荒诞传说﹐无根据的观念

partake [pɑrˋtek] v.【书】参加，参与[（+in）]

More Information

单词发音

peculiar [pɪˋkjuljɚ] adj. 奇怪的；罕见的

solstice [ˋsɑlstɪs] n. 至; 至日〔一年中最长或最短的一天〕

equinox [ˋikwə͵nɑks] n. 昼夜平分时（春分或秋分）

orbit [ˋɔrbɪt] n.（天体等的）运行轨道

gravity [ˋgrævətɪ] n. 引力；地心吸力

align [əˋlaɪn] v. 排成直线

alignment [əˋlaɪnmənt] n. 排列成行; 排成直线; 组合

vulnerable [ˋvʌlnərəb!] adj. 脆弱的

World Record: Fastest Time to Balance a Dozen Eggs

Answer