大凡到过乡下过年的人,都会被那隆隆的鞭炮声感动。中国人发明的火药是伟大的,但我认为,发明了爆竹,更伟大。据传说,在古代燃放爆竹是为了驱魔避邪,赶走怪兽除夕;而今天,在春节燃放爆竹,已远远超出了这个意义。办年货的那段时间,在乡下,商店里最热卖的,不是水果,也不是饼干,而 Most people who have been to the countryside in the New Year will be touched by the rumbling firecrackers. The gunpowder invented by the Chinese is great, but I think that inventing the firecracker is even greater. According to legend, firecrackers were fired in ancient times to exorcise evil spirits and drive away monsters on New Year’s Eve. Today, firing of firecrackers in the Spring Festival has gone far beyond this point. During the New Year period, in the countryside, the best sellers in the shops were not fruits or biscuits.