2012年专四作文真题：   

Direction：  The Dragon Boat Festival(端午节)is one of the important national festivals in China．

Write on ANSWER SHEET THREE a composition of about 200 words on the following topic：  

The Dragon Boat Festival  

First, you should tell what you know about the festival．   

Second, you should describe how you or other people usually observe the festival．  

 Marks will be awarded for content, organization，language and appropriateness．

Failure to follow the instructions may result in a loss of marks． 

 2012年英语专四考试作文题目：端午节  

The Dragon Boat Festival   

 The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. This festival is to commemorate the death of QU Yuan, an upright and honest poet and statesman who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.   

  The most important activity of this festival is the Dragon Boat races. It symbolizes people's attempts to rescue Qu Yuan. In the current period, these races also demonstrate the virtues of cooperation and teamwork.    

Besides, the festival has also been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice). Zong zi is made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. People who mourned the death of Qu threw Zong zi into the river to feed his ghost every year.  

    With the changes of the times, the memorial turns to be a time for protection from evil and disease for the rest of year. People will hang healthy herbs on the front door to clear the bad luck of the house. Although the significance of the festival might be different with the past, it still gives the observer an opportunity to glimpse a part of the rich Chinese cultural heritage.