The Year of the Rat(鼠年 shǔ nián) is coming soon.

Many postal offices around the world have released commemorative stamps(纪念邮票 jìniàn yóupiào) for the approaching(到来 dàolái) Year of the Rat.

The Rat is the first of all Chinese zodiac animals(生肖 shēngxiào). In a Chinese myth, the Jade Emperor hosted a party, that aimed to set the order(顺序 shùnxù) of Zodiac animals on the lunar calendar by the animal's arrival time.

The Rat tricked the Ox into offering him a ride, but jumped down ahead of the Ox at the finish line. The Rat finished first; the Ox was relegated to second position of the Zodiac.

重点词汇 Key word:

全

    <adj. 形容词> complete
    E.g. Diàn suī xiǎo, dōngxi què hěn quán.
    店虽小,东西却很全。
    The store, though small, has a considerable variety of goods.

    <adj. 形容词> whole; entire; full
    E.g. Tāmen yǎnchūle quán jù.
    他们演出了全剧。
    They played it in full.

    <adv. 副词> all; without exception
    E.g. Dàjiā quán láile ma?
    大家全来了吗?
    Is everybody here?