Miami Book Fair International 2011

Miami Book Fair International 2011

The “Miami Book Fair” is an excellent event that takes place every year in downtown Miami. It is a wonderful opportunity for readers to search for new and used book, comic novels and more. Not only are there books, but there are also live bands, food stands, live entertainment, plays and games for kids. At the “Miami Book Fair”, fair goers might see and listen to an author talk about his or her book and even ask him or her questions; therefore it is a great chance to interact with writers and artists that meet there. Writers come from all over the world to show off their work and get others’ points of view on their work. “Miami Book Fair” is a cultural exchange that allows fair goers to experiment different cultures first hand. For example China held a discussion session about its language and its culture; as well as, its traditional medicine and its philosophical thinking. Although the United States and China are on opposite sides of the world, through the “Miami Book Fair” both counties are able to interact and learn about each others’ cultures as a way of the opening of China to the world. In the “Miami Book Fair” Chinese parades were held that showed off the colorful, splendid and exotic traditions that can be found in China. Overall, the Miami Book Fair was a great place to go if you wanted to find great writing, art, and food from others countries, and diverse cultural expressions.

 秦始皇在

“Snow Flower”

Chapter: “Winter”

This chapter tells the difficult times that Lily, Snow Flower, and Snow Flower’s family had in the mountain during the winter time. Through the charter we might see how difficult it could be during winter time and the hard situations that ancient Chinese had to face. “Winter” also lets us see how Snow Flower's life was and how rude her husband was with her. It shows us how strong she  had to be in order to endure the death of her son and the loss of the one who she was pregnat with because the domestic violence that she suffered. Even through the bad times  Snow Flower  and Lily got the strength to keep going without complains and sharing everything. In a strange way, this chapter shows the love that fathers had for their sons and the kind of fear that they had to have a baby girl. The love that Lily had for Snow Flower is a feeling that is showed in this chapter, as well as how much she tried to keep Chinese’s customs about the place of everyone in the family. In conclusion “Winter” is a chapter that lets us see how people may act in bad times and shows us that real friendship keeps two persons together no matter how bad times may be.

Questions

Why the chapter is titled “Winter”?

Why did Snow Flower’s husband take his angry out on her?

How Snow Flower’s life would have been with such a cruel mother in law?

Why did Lily care so much for Snow Flower‘s son?

Why did the widows commit suicide after their husband’s death?

Words

Perish                  to die

Chirped             to make a short high sound like a bird or insect         

Despair              to have a feeling that you have no hope at all

Scuffed               to make a mark on a smooth surface

Warmth             to have a feeling of being warm

Sunken               to have a sunken eyes have fallen inward making some one look sick

Scavenged        to search for food

Scraps                small piece of paper, cloth etc

Frailer                 to be thin and weak

Begging             to ask for something in a way which shows you want

Scarce                  there is not enough of something

Adrift                  to be without binding or course

Carcass               the body of a dead animal

Uprooted           to pull up a plaint root out of the earth

Sorrow                an event or felling of great sadness