The roots of a culture and a popular tree run deep
客家桐花祭 向下扎根的文化與樹木
For many people, flowers bring happiness. That would make Taiwan's Hakka regions some of the happiest places on earth. This month, the areas are in the midst of the Tung blossom season. When the trees are blooming, the air is fragrant. Country roads are covered in white blossoms. The beautiful flowers are often referred to as "May Snow."
The Hakka Affairs Council holds a Hakka Tung Blossom Festival every spring. The festival began as a one-day event in 2002 to promote and preserve Taiwan's Hakka traditions.
Today, it is a month-long event. More than 14 cities and counties celebrate the festival, and millions of people visit every year. Festival-goers can enjoy Hakka music, art and food. They can walk along one of the 108 Tung blossom hiking trails. Most importantly, they can admire the tree that beautifully symbolizes Hakka culture.
Tung trees were brought to the island by the Japanese during their rule from 1895 to 1945. The trees were planted in the hills of Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli, home to many people in the Hakka community.
Info Cloud
root of the problem
Welcome back to Info Cloud, friends. Today we want to share with you some idioms about trees.
But not just trees in general, idioms about roots, the part of the tree you can't see deep in the ground.
Our first idiom uses that idea: the root of the problem. We use this phrase to mean the cause of something or the reason that something is an issue.
Amanda is always running late to class. The root of the problem is that she doesn't like her teacher.
Do you see how this idiom can show that there's a deeper issue, a root problem?
Not all root idioms have to do with problems. If an idea or concept has taken root, it means that it has begun to be accepted. When I was learning to sing, once the proper techniques had taken root, I really started to improve.
To put down roots generally means that somewhere has begun to feel like home and you have connections and a life in that place.
Anne Marie, do you feel like Asia is your home now?
Hmm. Well, with all of the great friends I have here, I definitely feel that I had begun to put down roots.
今天要跟大家介紹跟root有關的用語，首先，root有「根源」的涵義，root of the problem 就是問題的根源。Amanda is always late. The root of the problem is her attitude. Amanda 總是遲到，問題的根源是她的態度。
另外一個跟root of the problem 相當類似的用語是 root problem，也就是藏在表面底下真正的問題。如果你聽到有人用taken root來形容某種觀念或理念，那就代表這些觀念或理念已經普遍被人接受。The proper singing technique has taken root. He started to improve. 正確的歌唱技巧已經扎根了，他開始進步了。
最後，to put down roots 代表把一個地方當成家，在那邊定居。Anne Marie has put down roots in Asia. Anne Marie老師慢慢地在亞洲定居，把這邊當成家。
Language Lab
bloom v.
to produce flowers
- If you take good care of these plants, they will bloom in spring.
to change, grow, or develop fully
- Mr. Coleman is very honest to his customers, so his business bloomed quickly.
- The boy's artistic talent began to bloom thanks to his teacher's support.
fragrant adj.
/ˈfreɪgrənt/
having a pleasant and usually sweet smell
- The room smells fragrant because of the fresh flowers on the table.
- The bathroom always smells nice after I wash my hands with the fragrant soap.
- Paul likes to eat Thai food because he thinks Thai rice is very fragrant.
midst n.
/ˈmɪdst/
the middle area or part of something
- The river passes through the midst of the city.
admire v. 欣賞
to look at (something or someone) with enjoyment
- Melinda wasn’t interested in buying anything at the store, but she did stop to admire a few dresses.
Melinda 沒有打算在店裡買什麼，但是她有停下來欣賞幾件洋裝。
- The tourists weren’t able to admire the view from the cliff because it suddenly became foggy.
觀光客無法在懸崖上欣賞風景，因為突然起了霧。
to feel respect or approval for (someone or something) 佩服
- Although Jacqueline didn’t like her son’s decision to study in another country, she admired his courage.
Jacqueline 雖然不贊成她兒子到海外讀書，但是她很佩服他的勇氣。
- Henry admired the salesman’s honesty because he knew the other salesmen would have lied to him.
Henry 很欽佩那名業務員的誠實，因為他知道其他業務員絕對會對他說謊。
symbol n. 標誌
a letter, group of letters, character, or picture that is used instead of a word or group of words
- When Gary was travelling in a foreign country, he couldn’t read the signs, but he did recognize some of the symbols.
Gary 在海外旅行時，他雖然看不懂當地招牌上的字，但是他還是能認出幾個標誌。
an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality — often + of 象徵
- A red rose is a symbol for love.
紅色的玫瑰花是愛情的象徵。
symbolize v.象徵
to be a symbol of (something)
- The dove symbolizes peace.
鴿子象徵著和平。
- We wore green shirts to go clean the beach because green symbolizes environmental protection.
我們穿著綠色衣服去淨灘，因為綠色象徵著環境保護。
