剪纸

剪纸(paper cutting)是中国最为流行的传统民间艺术形式之一。 Paper cutting is one of China’s most popular traditional folk arts. 中国剪纸有一千五百多年的历史,在明朝和清朝时期(the Ming and Qing Dynasties)特别流行。 Chinese paper cutting has a history of more than 1,500 years.It was widespread particularly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. 人们常用剪纸美化居家环境。特别是在春节和婚庆期间,剪纸被用来装饰门窗和房间,以增加喜庆的气氛。 People often beautify their homes with paper cuttings. During the Spring Festival and wedding celebrations, in particular, paper cuttings are used to decorate doors, windows and rooms in order to enhance the joyous atmosphere. 剪纸最常用的颜色是红色,象征健康和兴旺。 The color most frequently used in paper cutting is red, which symbolizes health and prosperity. 中国剪纸在世界各地很受欢迎,经常被用作馈赠外国友人的礼物。 Chinese paper cutting is very popular around the world and it is often given as a present to foreign friends. Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival. 中国新年是中国最重要的传统节日,在中国也被称为春节。 New Year celebrations run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the lunar calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. 新年的庆祝活动从除夕开始一直延续到元宵节(the Lantern Festival),即从农历(lunar calendar)最后一个月的最后一天至新年第一个月的第十五天。 Customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese New Year vary widely from place to place. However, New Year’s Eve is usually an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. 各地欢度春节的习俗和传统有很大差异,但通常每个家庭都会在除夕夜团聚,一起吃年夜饭。 It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house in order to sweep away ill fortune and to bring in good luck. 为驱厄运、迎好运,家家户户都会进行大扫除。 And doors will be decorated with red couplets with themes of health, wealth and good luck. 人们还会在门上粘贴红色的对联(couplets),对联的主题为健康、发财和好运。 Other activities include lighting firecrackers, giving money in red envelopes, and visiting relatives and friends. 其他的活动还有放鞭炮、发红包和探亲访友等。 关于吃月饼这个传统的来历有两个传说。 There are two legends which claim to explain the tradition of eating mooncakes. 一个是唐朝的神话故事,说的是当时地球被10个太阳包围着。 One Tang Dynasty myth holds that the Earth once had 10 suns circling it. 有一天10个太阳同时出现在天空中,巨大的热量几乎把地球烤焦了。 One day all 10 suns appeared at once, scorching the planet with their heat. 多亏一位名叫后羿的神箭手射下了9个太阳,地球才被保住。 It was thanks to a skillful archer named Hou Yi that the Earth was saved. He shot down all but one of the suns. 为了奖励后羿,王母娘娘赐给后羿一种长生不老药,但是王母警告他必须正当使用。As his reward, the Heavenly Queen Mother gave Hou Yi the Elixir of Immortality, but she warned him that he must use it wisely. 然而后羿没有理会王母娘娘的警告,他被名利冲昏了头脑,变成了一个暴君。 Hou Yi ignored her advice and, corrupted by fame and fortune, became a tyrannical leader. 后羿美丽的妻子嫦娥对他的暴行再也不能袖手旁观,于是她偷走了后羿的长生不老药,飞到月亮上逃避后羿的狂怒。 Chang-Er, his beautiful wife, could no longer stand by and watch him abuse his power so she stole his Elixir and fled to the moon to escape his angry wrath. 从此就有了关于月宫仙子嫦娥,这个月亮上的美丽女人的传说。 And thus began the legend of the beautiful woman in the moon, the Moon Fairy. 澳门,南海之滨一颗闪耀的明珠,以她的风采、沧桑和辉煌,更以1999年12月20 日这个不同寻常的日子,吸引着全世界的目光。 A shining pearl on the coast of South China, Macao attracts the world’s attention for her charm, history of great events and glory, especially for the unusual date of December 20, 1999. 自古以来,澳门就是中国的领土,中华儿女世世代代在这里繁衍生息。 Macao has been the territory of China ever since the ancient times. The Chinese people have been living and working there for generations 早在80年代,世纪伟人邓小平就提出了"一国两制"的伟大构想。 Early in the 80s, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, one of the great figures of the century, put forward the bold concept of "One Country, Two Systems". 1997年7月1日,中华人民共和国恢复对香港行使主权。 On July 1,1997, the People’s Republic of China resumed her sovereignty over Hong Kong. 今年,澳门又将彻底结束外国管治,回到祖国怀抱,这是中华民族的又一件历史盛事,它标志着中国人民向着祖国统一的伟大目标又迈出了重大的步。澳门的明天一定会更好美好。 This year, Macao will completely get rid of the foreign regime and return to motherland. This is another great historical event for the Chinese people. It symbolizes another big step for the Chinese people on their way towards the great goal of the country’s reunification. Macao’s future is sure to be even brighter. 中国将进一步发展经济、扩大开放,这对海外企业(enterprises)意味着更多的商机。China will develop its economy further and open itself wider to the outside world, which offers more business opportunities to overseas enterprises. 改革开放以来,中国企业与海外企业一直积极开展经济技术合作,并取得了巨大成就。Since China’s reform and opening up, Chinese enterprises have been cooperating with overseas enterprises in terms of economy and technology, and have scored great achievement. 海外企业不仅帮助了中国企业的成长,而且也在合作中获得了收益。 Overseas enterprises have not only helped Chinese enterprises with their growth, but also benefited from the cooperation. 中国政府将继续提供有利的政策和条件,推动中国企业与国外企业进一步开展合作。Chinese government will continue to offer favorable policies and conditions to promote the further cooperation between Chinese and overseas enterprises. 狮舞(Lion Dance)是中国最广为流传的民间舞蹈之一。 The Lion Dance is one of the most widespread folk dances in China. 狮为百兽之首,在中国传统中,狮子被视为是能带来好运的吉祥物(mascot)。 The lion is the king of animals. In Chinese tradition, the lion is regarded as a mascot, which can bring good luck. 古人将狮子视作是勇敢和力量的化身,能驱赶邪恶、保护人类。 Ancient people regarded the lion as a symbol of braveness and strength, which could drive away evil and protect humans. 据记载,狮舞已拥有了2,000多年的历史。在唐代(the Tang Dynasty),狮舞就已经被引入了皇室。 The dance has a recorded history of more than 2,000 years. During the Tang Dynasty, the Lion Dance was already introduced into the royal family of the dynasty. 因此,舞狮成为元宵节(the Lantern Festival)和其他节日的习俗,人们以此来祈祷好运、平安和幸福。 Therefore, performing the lion dance at the Lantern Festival and other festive occasions became a custom where people could pray for good luck, safety and happiness. 端午节,又叫龙舟节,是为了纪念爱国诗人屈原。 The Duanwu Festival, also called the Dragon Boat Festival, is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. 屈原是一位忠诚和受人敬仰的大臣(minister),他给国家带来了和平和繁荣。但最后因为受到诽谤(vilify)而最终投河自尽。 Qu Yuan was a loyal and highly esteemed minister, who brought peace and prosperity to the state but ended up drowning himself in a river as a result of being vilified. 人们撑船到他自尽的地方,抛下粽子,希望鱼儿吃粽子,不要吃屈原的身躯。People got to the spot by boat and cast rice dumplings into the water, hoping that the fishes ate the dumplings instead of Qu Yuan’s body. 几千年来,端午节的特色在于吃粽子(rice dumplings)和赛龙舟,尤其是在一些河湖密布的南方省份。 For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by rice dumplings and dragon boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. 2013年6月20日,在中国各地,具估计60万儿童和他们的老师观看了有宇航员(astronaut)王亚平在距离地球300公里的上空所讲授的科学课。 On June 20, 2013, an estimated 600 thousand school children and their teachers across China watched a science lesson taught from 300km above the Earth by astronaut Wang Yaping. 王亚平与两个同事乘坐天宫一号实验舱(the Tiangon-1 laboratory module) 执行为期两周的任务。 Wang is aboard the Tiangong-1 laboratory module with two crewmates, for a two-week mission. 她在课上进行了一系列太空的物理演示。在有些演示中还对比了在地球上重力 (one-gravity)环境下同样的实验。 In her lessons, she showed a series of physics demonstrations in the space. In some demonstrations, she compared with the same experiment under the one-gravity environment on Earth. 这堂物理课不仅让孩子们享受了一堂知识与乐趣兼具的物理课,也显示了我国通信科技的前进。 The lesson has not only offered children a physics lesson with knowledge and interest, but also shows the advance in communication technology of China. 朝气蓬勃,充满活力,丰富多彩的上海是现代中国的缩影。虽然上海的文化遗迹不能与北京媲美,但是上海迷人的城市风貌,风格各异的万国建筑为这座城市注入了无限的魅力。今日之上海,已经成为享誉中外的国际大都市。 漫步在这座日新月异的现代大都市里,你会发现许多精彩的历史亮点,隐现在众多摩天大楼背后的是上海发展变化的轨迹。它们记述了上海自十九世纪末开埠以来,尤其是新中国成立以后,是如何迅猛发展的。 【参考译文】 Shanghai is a dynamic, diverse and stimulating city - the very epitome of modern China. Though Shanghai cannot rival Beijing in cultural heritage, its varied architectural styles and cosmopolitan feel give it a charm of its own. Today's Shanghai has become a world-famous international metropolis. A walk through this booming city reveals many glimpses of its colorful past. Hidden amongst the skyscrapers are remains of the original Shanghai. They keep on showing how Shanghai has been developing fast and enormously since its opening as a commercial port in the late 19th century, especially after the founding of new China. 近代以来,亚洲经历了曲折和艰难的发展历程。亚洲人们为改变自己的命运,始终以不屈的意志和艰辛的奋斗开辟前进道路。今天,人们所看到的亚洲发展成就,是勤劳智慧的亚洲人民不屈不挠、锲而不舍奋斗的结果。 亚洲人民深知,世界上没有放之四海而皆准的发展模式,也没有一成不变的发展道路,亚洲人民勇于变革创新,不断开拓进取,探索和开辟适应时代潮流,符合自身实际的发展道路,为经济社会发展打开了广阔前景。 【译文】 In modern times, Asia experienced twists and turns in its development. To change their destiny, the people of Asia have been forging ahead in an indomitable spirit and with hard struggle. Asia's development achievements today are the result of the persistent efforts of the industrious and talented Asian people. The people of Asia are fully aware that there is no ready model or unchanging path of development that is universally applicable. They never shy away from reform and innovation. Instead, they are committed to exploring and finding development paths that are in line with the trend of the times and their own situations, and have opened up bright prospects for economic and social development.