小暑，在今年的阳历7月6日。“暑”指炎热，“小”指热的程度。小暑的意思就是全国的天气开始炎热，作物开始疯长。
Minor Heat (xiaoshu) falls on July 6 in the Gregorian calendar this year. Shu means heat, while xiao is an adjective in Chinese indicating the small extent the heat reaches. From the day of the Minor Heat, the weather gets hotter across China, and crops all over the country grow faster and stronger.
南方的梅雨季节即将结束，而人们常说的一年中最热的“三伏天”就要开始了。很多地方在这天有吃饺子的习俗，人们希望借助饺子开胃，在夏天有个好胃口。
The Plum rain, or “mold rain” season in some parts of southern China, is about to end, while everything under the sun prepares to welcome the hottest summer days. In many places of China, people eat dumplings on this day in hopes of a good appetite during summer.
小暑时节是大吃西瓜的好日子!你知道怎么才能挑到水分多、味道甜的西瓜吗?有三个好方法：第一，摸瓜皮，表皮滑滑的是成熟的，发涩的是生瓜。第二，听声音，用手指轻轻弹拍，声音清脆的是熟瓜。第三，看瓜蒂，成熟的西瓜瓜蒂会枯萎，如果瓜蒂还是绿绿的，说明这个瓜还没完全成熟。
Apart from this, days around the Minor Heat mark the perfect time of year to go on watermelon binges! Do you know how to pick the most watery and sweetest watermelons? Here are three tips: first, touch the rind. The ones with a smooth rind are totally ripe while those which don’t feel smooth might not yet be ripe enough to be eaten. Second, listen to the sound. Tap the watermelon gently and listen for a clear sound. Third, pay attention to the stems. The ones which are totally ripe will have withered stems instead of green ones.
池塘里荷花开了，花朵有白、粉红、深红等颜色，在骄阳下朵朵绽开，引来蜻蜓驻足，为炎炎夏日奉献了一抹可爱的景致。荷花出污泥而不染，自古以来深受国人喜爱。荷花和绿叶不仅是一道美景，它那肥大的地下茎，就是我们餐桌上最爱吃的蔬菜之一：藕。
Lotus flowers, from snow white to pink and dark red ones, bloom under the burning sun in the ponds,while dragonflies alight on top of them from time to time, creating a most adorable scene in summer. Chinese people from ancient times have appreciated this graceful flower as it comes out of the dirty mud, yet always remains unsoiled. Lotus flowers and their big round green leaves are not only a delight to the eye; they also produce one of the favorite vegetables on Chinese dining tables: lotus roots.
室外，蟋蟀穴居，常栖息于土穴里、草丛间。天气变炎热以后，蟋蟀鸣叫得最欢的。室内，小暑时节雨水多，房间里的衣服、书籍、食物、家具容易受潮发霉。当天气晴好、艳阳高照时，可趁机赶紧把家里的衣物拿出来晒晒太阳。
Outdoors, crickets which usually live underground in holes or in the grass stridulate the loudest in the wilderness during scorching weather. Indoors, as there’s plenty of rain at this time from south to north, it’s easy for clothes, books, food or furniture to go moldy, so it’s highly important to air them when the sun rides high in the sky.
酷暑是孩子们的最爱，这时候他们有了足够的理由吃冷饮和水果，而且可以拥有一个长长的暑假。
Hot summer is always the favorite season of children as they have enough reasons to enjoy ice cream to the fullest, to eat different kinds of fruit and above all, to have a long summer holiday!
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