上个周末，我的中国朋友小李邀请我去她家包饺子。她说这是中国北方过年的传统食物，也是朋友聚会常做的事情。我以前只吃过饺子，从来没包过，觉得又好奇又有点紧张。到了她家，我看到桌子上已经准备好了面团、饺子馅儿（里面有猪肉、白菜和葱）、擀面杖和小碗水。小李先给我示范：她拿一小块面团，用擀面杖把它擀成圆圆的薄皮儿，然后放一勺馅儿在皮儿中间，最后把皮儿对折，用巧妙的动作捏出漂亮的花边。我试着做第一个，皮儿擀得太厚了，馅儿放得太多，一捏，馅儿都挤出来了，弄得手上都是，样子也很难看。小李笑着说：“没关系，第一次都这样。少放点馅儿，慢慢捏。”我听了她的话，更小心地尝试。果然，第二个、第三个就好多了！虽然包得慢，样子也不如小李的精致，但我很开心。最后，我们把包好的饺子下锅煮。吃着自己亲手包的、热腾腾的饺子，我觉得特别香，也特别有成就感！
生词 (Shēngcí) & 语言点 (Yǔyándiǎn):
邀请 (yāoqǐng) - to invite
传统 (chuántǒng) - traditional
食物 (shíwù) - food
好奇 (hàoqí) - curious
紧张 (jǐnzhāng) - nervous
面团 (miàntuán) - dough
馅儿 (xiànr) - filling (for dumplings, buns etc.)
猪肉 (zhūròu) - pork
白菜 (báicài) - Chinese cabbage
葱 (cōng) - spring onion, scallion
擀面杖 (gǎnmiànzhàng) - rolling pin
示范 (shìfàn) - to demonstrate
擀 (gǎn) - to roll out (dough)
皮儿 (pír) - wrapper, skin (e.g., dumpling wrapper)
勺 (sháo) - spoon; spoonful
对折 (duìzhé) - to fold in half
巧妙 (qiǎomiào) - clever, ingenious, skillful
捏 (niē) - to pinch, to knead with fingers
花边 (huābiānr) - decorative edge, frill
厚 (hòu) - thick
挤 (jǐ) - to squeeze out
弄得 (nòng dé) - to make (something become a certain state, often messy)
难看 (nánkàn) - ugly, unsightly
不如 (bùrú) - not as good as
精致 (jīngzhì) - delicate, exquisite, refined
下锅 (xià guō) - to put into the pot (for cooking)
煮 (zhǔ) - to boil, to cook in water
亲手 (qīnshǒu) - with one's own hands, personally
热腾腾 (rèténgténg) - steaming hot
香 (xiāng) - fragrant, tasty, delicious
成就感 (chéngjiù gǎn) - sense of accomplishment
问题 (Wèntí):
小李为什么邀请“我”去她家包饺子？(Xiǎo Lǐ wèishéme yāoqǐng wǒ qù tā jiā bāo jiǎozi?) - Why did Xiao Li invite "me" to her home to make dumplings?
包饺子需要哪些基本材料？(Bāo jiǎozi xūyào nǎxiē jīběn cáiliào?) - What basic ingredients are needed to make dumplings?
“我”第一次包饺子遇到了什么困难？结果怎么样？(Wǒ dì yī cì bāo jiǎozi yù dàole shénme kùnnan? Jiéguǒ zěnmeyàng?) - What difficulties did "I" encounter when making dumplings for the first time? What was the result?
吃自己包的饺子时，“我”有什么感觉？(Chī zìjǐ bāo de jiǎozi shí, wǒ yǒu shénme gǎnjué?) - How did "I" feel when eating the dumplings I made myself?
