翻译训练
①中国长城是中国古代为抵御敌人的侵袭而修筑的伟大工程。它位于中国北部，全长约8851.8公里。它始建于2000多年前的春秋时期(the Spring and Autumn Period)，秦始皇统一中国之后联成万里长城。汉、明两代(the Han and Ming Dynasties)又曾大规模修筑，因此它是世界上修建时间最长的一项古代工程。长城是人类文明史上最伟大的筑工程之一，被列为世界八大奇迹之一和世界文化遗产(heritage)。
②假日经济（Holiday Economy）是在节假日期间的一种全民消费行为，十分有助于中国的经济增长。假日经济是伴随有中国特的“黄金周”所出现的一种社会现象。由于人们生活观念的改变，更多人会选择利用七天的假期去旅游、购物、娱乐。全民消费刺激了旅游、零售、交通、影院、展览、体育和其他相关产业。这种经济模式既有益于人民也有利于国家。
③孔子学院（Confucius Institute）是中国在世界各地设立的教育和文化交流机构。推广汉语、传播中国文化是设立该机构的目的。孔子学院最重要的一项工作就是给世界各地的汉语学习者提供标准的教材以及正规的汉语学习渠道。全球首家孔子学院于2004年在韩国首尔(Seoul)成立，目前已遍布106个国家。孔子学院有力地推动了中国文化与各国文化的交流与融合(integration)。
④中国面临的最严峻的挑战之一就是人口老龄化(aging population)。专家称在未来四十年内，中国老年人口将接近5亿，占据人口总数的三分之一。这无疑给中国经济增长带来了巨大的压力，但这也意味着更
多的商机。人口老龄化将为养老院(nursing home)行业的发展带来良好的前景。据粗略统计，5亿老年人每月至少能为养老院行业带来5000元的经济效益。
⑤网上购物(online shopping)是中国近几年来日益流行的新型购物方式。人们在购物网站搜索自己想要的物品，在网上发出电子订单并付款。卖家则通过快递公司送货上门。网上购物的主要人最初是大学生和白领，现在大多数的网民是(netizen)都有过网购的经历。过去十年来，购物网站的数量也有了大幅增加，所售商品也日益丰富。有人认为方便和低价是网上购物迅速发展的重要原因。
⑥乒乓球(table tennis)是中国的国球，是一种世界流行的体育项目。20世纪60年代，中国选手赢得了世界乒乓球比赛的大部分冠军，因此中国在该项运动中占有统治性的地位。乒乓球的起源有许多不同的说法，最流行、最被广泛认可的一种说法就是乒乓球在1900年起源于英国。在英语中，它也被称为“Ping Pong”，因为在打击时会发出“Ping Pong”的声音。在1988年的奥运会上，它被列为正式的比赛项目。
英语四级技巧⑦筷子起源于中国，大多数是用木头或者竹子制作的。最早的筷子是用骨头或者玉(jade)制成的。在春秋时期(the Spring and Autumn Period)又出现了铜制和铁制的筷子。在古代，富裕人家用玉或金子做筷子，来显示富有。很多帝王使用银制的筷子检查饮食是否被投毒。筷子在传统上还是新娘的嫁妆(dowry)，因为“筷
子”的汉语读音听起来很像“快得儿子”。
⑧汉字源于远古时期对自然景物的简单描摹，如树木、河水、山川、人物等。这些描摹实际上就是象形文字(pictogram)的萌芽。甲骨文(Oracles)是刻在龟壳和兽骨上的古老文字，是汉字最早的形式。汉字的创造和应用对中华文明的发展起到了重要作用。汉字对世界文明的发展也产生了深远的影响。例如，日本、朝鲜等国家的文字都是在汉字的基础上创造的。
⑨公务员热（craze for civil servant jobs）是指越来越多的人参加政府机构招聘考试（recruitment examinations）的社会现象。据报道，近几年每年的报考人数都超过百万，平均每个岗位有50-60名竞争者，最热门的职位能达到5000：1。报考公务员的主要是大学毕业生。他们认为公务员工作轻松稳定，收入较高，社会地位也高。另外，就业难问题也是促使他们做出该选择的另一个原因。
⑩刺绣(embroidery)是中国的民间传统手工艺之一，有超过两千年的历史。刺绣就是用针线在织物上绣上(embroider)各种装饰性的图案。中国刺绣与养蚕业(sericulture)紧密相连，中国是世界上最早使用蚕丝的国家。刺绣的用途主要包括生活和艺术装饰，如服装、床上用品(bedclothes)、台布和舞台装饰。刺绣在国外也享有很高的声誉，是中国文化艺术的杰出代表之一。
①The Great W all of China is a great project in ancient China constructed to defend against the attacks of enemies. It locates in the northern part of China and stretches for 8,851.8 kilometers. First
built in the Spring and Autumn Period over 2,000 years ago, it was united to become the “the W all of10,000 li”after Qin Shi Huang unified China. The Han and Ming Dynasties saw extensive re-buildings and maintenance of the Great Wall. Thus it is an ancient project which consumed the longest time in the world. As one of the greatest constructions in the history of human civilization, the Great Wall has been listed as one of the Eight Wonders of the World and a world cultural heritage site.
②Holiday Economy, a term to describe the nation-wide consumption during holidays, contributes significantly to Chinese economic growth. It is a social phenomenon accompanying the “Golden Week”, a seven-day long holiday with Chinese characteristics. Owing to the changes of people’s life notion, an increasing number of people are choosing to travel, shop, and relax during the seven-day holiday. The nation-wide consumption boosted tourism, retail, transportation, cinemas, exhibitions, sports and other related industries, thereby benefiting both people and the country.
③Confucius Institute is an institute of education and cultural communication established by China all over the world. Its aim is to promote Chinese language and spread Chinese culture. The most important task of Confucius institute is to provide standard textbooks and a formal channel to learn Chinese for learners all over the world. The first Confucius Institute opened in 2004 in Seoul, South K
orea. At present, it has been established in 106 countries. Confucius Institute has greatly promoted the exchange and integration of cultures between China and the rest of the world.
④Aging population is one of the most severe challenges in China. According to the experts, within four decades, China will have nearly 500 million elderly people, which accounts for one third of the total population. Such a situation will undoubtedly put huge pressure on the economic growth of China, but it also means more business opportunities. The fast-growing numbers of elderly people will bring a very good prospect for the industry of nursing homes. Based on rough statistics, half a billion elderly people can at least bring the industry an economic benefit of 500 billion every month.
⑤Online shopping is a new shopping mode increasingly popular in China in recent years. People search for goods they want in shopping websites, then make electronic orders and pay online. The sellers deliver commodities to customers’homes via the express company. The major groups who shopped online were primarily university students and white collars. At present, the great majority of netizens have the experience of shopping online. In the last decade, the numoer of shopping websites has increased tremendously and the commodities sold online become more colorful by the day. Some people hold that convenience and low price are important reasons for the rapid development of online shopping.
⑥Table tennis, the national ball game of China, is a sport event popular around the world. Since the 1960s, Chinese players have won a great majority of champions in the world table tennis competitions. Thus China plays a dominant role in the event. There are various versions concerning the origin of table tennis, among which the most popular and widest accepted is that it originated in Britain in 1900. Table tennis is also called as “Ping Pong” in English because of the sound of “Ping Pong” in hitting the ball. In the 1988 0lympics, table tennis became a formal Olympic event.
⑦Chopsticks, which originated in China, are mainly made of wood or bamboo. The earliest chopsticks were made of bone or jade. During the Spring and Autumn Period, copper and iron chopsticks came into being. In ancient times, the rich used jade or gold chopsticks to display their wealth, while many emperors used silver chopsticks to see if their food was poisoned. Chopsticks are traditionally placed in brides’dowries, too，for the pronunciation of “Chopsticks” in Chinese sounds quite like “get a son soon”.
⑧Chinese characters began in ancient time as simple drawings of natural objects-trees, rivers, mountains and hills, human beings, etc. These drawings are actually the buds of “pictograms”. Oracles, the ancient characters carved onto tortoise shells and beast bones, are the earliest form of Chinese characters. The creation and use of the Chinese characters have played a significant role n
ot only in the development of Chinese civilization, but in that of the world civilization. For example, the characters of some countries, like Japan and Korea, were created on the basis of the Chinese characters.
⑨The Craze for civil servant jobs refers to the social phenomenon that an increasing number of Chinese take part in recruitment examinations of government institutions. It is reported that the number of registered applicants each year is over one million, with 5060 candidates competing for one vacancy on average. The ratio of the hottest position can arrive at 5000:1. The registered applicants are mainly university graduates. They think the civil servant jobs are rather easy and stable with high income and social status. In addition, another reason for their choice is the difficulty in finding jobs.
⑩Embroidery, one of the traditional folk arts and crafts in China, has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is made by embroidering various decorating patterns on fabrics with needle and thread. Chinese embroidery is closely connected with sericulture, as China is the first country in the world to use silk. Embroidery is mainly used in life and art decoration, such as clothes, bedclothes, table cloth and stage decoration. As one of the outstanding representatives of Chinese culture and art, embroidery enjoys a high reputation overseas.