本書簡介
本書作者編寫目的是為學生提供一課外讀物，也供教師作介紹中國傳統風俗習慣的補充教材，故文字簡潔，篇幅短小，每篇附有彩色插圖，饒有趣味。其中的「終身大事」和「喪禮」可謂道盡中國人辦紅白二事的排場，而「廟會」「說書」等已湮沒的民間風俗又在書中重現眼前，故此書實在是一本上佳的消閒讀物。
本書於民國六十六年五月初版問世，迄今已達二十餘年。為了更能適應讀者的需要，現在特將本書內容酌加修訂。我們曾經廣徵將本書用作教材的教師們的意見，作為重要的參考。書中的疏漏、疵誤、有欠妥善以及過於繁難之處，都已儘量加以修正。相信修訂後的本書，不論用作教材或自修讀物，都可獲致更佳的效果。
中華民國教育部，在民國七十五一月二十六日公告國語注音符號第二式，自公告之日起正式使用。因立編譯館因而決定，所有由該館主編、使用羅馬拼音注音之中國語文讀物，一律改用國語注音符號第二式，所以本書生字的注音，除國語注音符號第一式照舊使用外，改用國語注音符號第二式，代替原來的耶魯拼音。
作者簡介
主編 國立編譯館
編審委員會 中國語文教材補充讀物編輯委員會
主任委員 何容
編輯小組 吳奚真、郭立誠、葉德明
繪圖者 曹俊彥、奚淞
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Perfect for intermediate students of Chinese who want to improve their reading skills and gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, this book presents stories from Chinese history followed by lists of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, sentence patterns, and slang. Each section ends with a series of simple exercises based on the readings. Because vocabulary has been ed from the 3,000 most frequently used characters in Chinese (from the Chinese Language Press Institute's list of 3,000 characters commonly used in newspapers), this reader is ideal for intermediate students of Chinese who are looking for authentic yet accessible reading materials in Chinese. Included also are appendices listing the 1000 Most Frequently Used Characters and dictionary-style entries for vocabulary. Full color illustrations and photographs throughout. Pronunciation of all annotations is given in both Chinese Phonetic Symbols and Yale Romanization. Grammatical designations follow the Dictionary of Spoken Chinese published by Yale University.