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[0:42] Chinese Paper-Cutting Art: Meanings and Applications

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This article introduces the origins, meanings, and festive applications of Chinese paper-cutting art, describing how it serves as a traditional handicraft symbolizing happiness and hope, with decorative and cultural significance during the Lunar New Year and other festivals.

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In China, the handicraft of paper cuts carries people's good wishes. Lucky sayings or patterns are cut on red paper, symbolizing happiness and hope for the future. The tradition of paper cutting has been passed down through generations and is especially popular during festivals, particularly the Lunar New Year. This delicate art form not only decorates homes but also reflects cultural beliefs and aesthetic values. Handicraft

Paper cuts often record the happy moments in life or imagine a better life for the coming year. The patterns can range from simple shapes to intricate designs, each telling a story or expressing a wish. The paper cuts of the food character are considered the most popular, as they symbolize prosperity and abundance. People often paste these cuts on windows, doors, or furniture, making them an integral part of festive celebrations. Lucky, Recording, Imagining, Furniture

The above is the listening content related to beginner-level English reading practice—one short English passage a day—collected by Xiao Wu, an editor at qicai.com. I hope you gain something from it!

Listening Comprehension

furniture
noun
1. furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
e.g. they had too much furniture for the small apartment
there was only one piece of furniture in the room
Synonym: piece of furniturearticle of furniture
lucky
adj
1. presaging or likely to bring good luck
e.g. a favorable time to ask for a raise
lucky stars
a prosperous moment to make a decision
Synonym: goldenfavorablefavourableprosperous
2. occurring by chance
e.g. a lucky escape
a lucky guess
3. having or bringing good fortune
e.g. my lucky day
a lucky man
handicraft
noun
1. a craft that requires skillful hands
2. a work produced by hand labor
Synonym: handcrafthandiworkhandwork
recording
noun
1. the act of making a record (especially an audio record)
e.g. she watched the recording from a sound-proof booth
Synonym: transcription
2. a signal that encodes something (e.g., picture or sound) that has been recorded
3. a storage device on which information (sounds or images) have been recorded
imagining