E-Concussion

A Holiday for Boat Racing
Sue: Ready to go, Dan?
Dan: OK! What part of Taipei are you going to show me today?
Sue: How about the Bitan Bridge?
Dan: Sure! Is that a good spot for sightseeing??

Sue: Well, there’s a dragon boat race today.
Dan: Today is the Dragon Boat Festival?
Sue: There’s no doubt about it!
Dan: But isn’t it on May 5th??

Sue: Yes, of the lunar calendar, which happens to be today!
Dan: Great! I‘ve always been fascinated with dragon boats!
Sue: I glad it strikes your fancy!
Dan: Yeah, let’s head out!

The Wise Man
Sue: We can get to Bitan just by taking the green line.
Dan: That sounds easy.
Sue: Can you tell that the MRT is unusually crowded today?
Dan: Yeah, I bet everyone’s going to see the race!

Sue: What do you know about this holiday?
Dan: It’s to honor a man from ancient China, right?
Sue: Right, a poet named Chu Yuan.
Dan: Did he fight off enemies or something?

Sue: No he committed suicide on May 5th, by jumping the river!
Dan: What you must be yanking my chain.
Sue: No! He was a wise man and a patriot.
Dan: I see…He must have been a great man.

Lucky Eggs
Sue: I can’t believe the other boat won!
Dan: Yeah, they showed very good sportsmanship.
Sue: What are all those people doing there?
Dan: Let go see what the fuss in all about.

Sue: It’s a bunch of kids playing around.
Dan: They’re all holding eggs!
Sue: Oh, they want to make the egg stand on its own.
Dan: What’s the point of that?

Sue: If its stands at noon today, you’ll be lucky for the rest of the year!
Dan: Cool! What other customs are there?
Sue: Children are also given fragrant sachets to prevent evil.
Dan: How interesting!

A popular Tradition
Sue: Now let’s go enjoy the most popular tradition.
Dan: What’s that?
Sue: Eating rice dumplings!
Dan: Is it that odd-shaped thing being sold over there?

Sue: Yes, it’s steamed rice wrapped in leaves.
Dan: just rice? Is there any filling?
Sue: Yes… peanuts, meat, or also red beans inside sweet ones.
Dan: What’s the story behind rice dumplings?

Sue: After Chu Yan died, they were thrown in the river for the fish.
Dan: To keep fish from chewing up his body?
Sue: How did you know that?
Dan: Oh! I just took a wild guess!


poet : one who writes verses of lasting artistic value possessing both beauty of thought and grace of language
patriot : one who loves and supports his government or native country
yank: . to jerk or pull quickly
fuss: confusion, disorder
fragrant: sweet-smelling
sachet: a small bag or packet
you must be yanking my chain:你一定是在捉弄我吧