如何用英文向外国朋友介绍中国春节.doc

如何用英文向外国朋友介绍中国春节 　　如果你在春节的时候一不小心撞上个老外、而恰好他好学、你热心，那是不是怎么也得给外国同胞介绍一下咱中国的习俗、春节的来历呢？以下文章就是为这种情况备上的。 　　怎么向老外介绍中国春节？ 　　What does the holiday mean? 　　这个节日有什么含义吗？ 　　The term pass year is used for the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). The word Year in Chinese characters used to mean a horrible beast. To combat the beast, the Chinese hang good luck wishes on red paper on the door and use fireworks in the belief that the beast fears red and fire. This tradition in many ways resemble the Western belief of using garlic and crosses to fight vampires。 　　中文中“过年”这个词组用以表示对春节(中国新年)的庆祝。“年”这个字在中文里是一种恐怖的怪兽。因为“年”害怕红色和火，所以中国人会在门上悬挂“春联”写上美好祝福，并放鞭炮来赶跑它。这个传统有点类似西方人用大蒜和十字架吓跑吸血鬼的传统。 　　Why New Year is so special? 　　为什么新年那么特别呢？ 　　The Chinese zodiac features 12 animals in the sequence of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This year is the year of Tiger. Each animal represents a different personality. According to legend, people held a conference with all the animals, informing them that they would pick the 12 to represent the zodiac. However, in spite of bEing fast, the cat was not picked as its then-close friend, the rat, did not wake it. This action sparked off a rivalry that continues till this day。 中国的十二生肖代表了十二种动物，他们的顺序是：鼠、牛、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗和猪。今年是虎年。每一种动物有他们自己的“性格”。根据传说，人们当初和动物们开了一个会，最先到会的动物们就可以进入十二生肖。而身为猫最好的朋友，老鼠却没有把猫叫醒去开会。因此，它们之间的战争一直持续到今天。 　　What do people do? 　　那人们在新年都干啥呢？ 　　Eat, eat again, and then eat some more! As the old Chinese saying goes: food is everything。 　　吃、接着吃、再吃更多东西！就跟一句中国古话说的那样：食物即一切。(沪江小编：这算是哪门子“中国古话”！？) 　　The tradition is to have different main courses everyday from the 1st day of the New Year to the 15th day of the New Year, from Jiao Zi (dumplings)， noodles, spring rolls, sticky rice cakes, and Tang Yuan (stuffed rice balls). Besides culinary satisfaction, each food has a meaning as well: for instance, Jiao Zi looks like gold, implying a wealthy year ahead。 　　传统就是，从新年第一天开始直到正月十五，每天都要吃不同的主菜。