1. 胡同是北京特有的一种古老的城市小巷,在世界上是独一无二的。北京胡同已有800多年的历史,纵横交错于皇城周围。胡同不仅是城市的交通脉络,更是百姓的生活场所。作为北京历史和文化发展的舞台,它见证了历史的变迁(vicissitudes)和风貌,留下了许多社会生活的印记,保留了原汁原味的(authentic)老北京民俗风情。要想真正了解、体味胡同,最好的办法就是亲自去走走、看看。那些古老的胡同,犹如滋味醇厚的佳肴,应当细细咀嚼、慢慢品味。
参考译文：
Hutong is an ancient city alleyway unique to Beijing. You cant find it elsewhere in the world. The history of the Beijing hutong can be traced back to more than 800 years ago, when crisscrossing hutongs surrounded the Forbidden City. Hutongs are not only traffic lanes of the city but also places where people live. Hutongs have been an arena for Beijings historical and cultural development, witnessing vicissitudes and features of the history, leaving many traces of social life, and preserving authentic folk customs of ancient Beijing. The best way to truly understand and experience hutongs is to take a walk in them and have a look personally. The ancient hutongs are like delicious delicacies which should be chewed and tasted slowly and carefully.
2.春节是中国最重要的节日,根据传统习惯,每年农历十二月二十四日在门上、墙上和窗户上粘贴年画是庆祝的开始。这些年画能够表达人们的欢乐和对来年的期待。传统的年画主要运用亮丽的色彩和强烈的对比,描述当地人的生活和习俗。著名的年画如“胖娃娃(Chubby Baby)”“五谷丰登(Abundant Harvest of All Food Crops)”以及“年年有余(Surplus Every Year)”已经在中国流行了数百年。但是在今天,这些年画已经很难在上海这样的大城市找到,上海曾经还是年画生产和消费兴旺的地方。一些人认为,年画的消失不可避免。
参考译文：
The Spring Festival, China's most important festival, begins its annual celebrations with the posting of New Year pictures on the doors, walls and windows on the 24th day of the 12th month in the lunar calendar according to tradition. The New Year pictures can convey people's delight and expectations for the coming new year. Traditional New Year pictures mainly feature local people's life and customs with intense colors and strong contrasts. Famous pictures like “Chubby Baby”, “Abundant Harvest of All Food Crops” and “Surplus Every Year” have been prevailing across China for hundreds of years. Nonetheless, today, these pictures can hardly be found in some modern metropolises like Shanghai, which was once a prosperous place for New Year picture manufacture and consumption. Some think that the disappearance of New Year pictures is unavoidable.
3. 中国传统画家的目标在于不仅要描绘主体的外观,还要捕捉其内在本质——活力、生命力和精神。他们用最经济的手段——毛笔和墨水——实现了这一点。为了实现这一目标,中国传统画家往往拒绝使用彩色。如同喜欢拍摄黑白作品的摄影师,中国传统艺术家认为彩色会分散注意力。他们还拒绝使用具有多变性的光和影。与之相反,他们依靠笔墨留下的不可磨灭的(indelible)痕迹——线条。中国传统画家之所以精通这种绘画技术,原因可能在于他们前期的书法(calligraphy)训练。
参考译文：
This is the aim of traditional Chinese painters: not only to describe the outer appearance of a subject but also to capture its inner essence—its energy, life force and spirit. They achieve this with the most economical means: brushes and ink. In order to reach this goal, they tend to reject the use of color. Like photographers who prefer to work in black and white, traditional Chinese artists regard color as the distraction. They also reject the use of light and shadow, which have changeable qualities. Instead, they rely on the line—the indelible mark of the brush and the ink. The reason why traditional Chinese painters can master this skill likely lies in their previous practice of calligraphy.
4. 承德避暑山庄是中国四大名园之一,也是保存最大最完好的帝王宫苑之一。过去,这里是清朝皇帝避暑和狩猎的地方,也被用来举办武术比赛和接待全国各地的少数民族精英。避暑山庄位于河北承德市,占地564万平方米,几乎是承德市区一半的面积。避暑山庄于1703年康熙当政时开始修建,1792年乾隆当政时竣工。乾隆皇帝在这里处理政治、军事、民族和外交等国家大事,避暑山庄因此成为除北京之外的另一个政治中心。避暑山庄及周边庙宇于1994年被列入世界遗产名录。
参考译文：
The Mountain Resort in Chengde is one of the four most famous Chinese gardens and one of the largest and best-preserved imperial gardens. It used to be a summer resort and hunting ground for emperors of the Qing Dynasty and was also used to organize martial arts competitions and receive elites of ethnic groups from around China. The Mountain Resort is located in the city of Chengde in Hebei Province, covering an area of 5.64 million square meters, almost half the area of Chengde’s urban area. Construction of the Mountain Resort began in 1703 under the rule of the Emperor Kangxi and was completed in 1792 under the rule of the Emperor Qianlong. It was another political center apart from Beijing for the Emperor Qianlong who would stay here to deal with state affairs such as political, military, ethnic, and diplomatic ones. The Mountain Resort in Chengde and the surrounding temples were placed on the World Heritage List in 19944.
5,故宫,又名紫禁城,是明清24位皇帝统治中国近500年的地方。它位于北京市中心,在天安门城楼的北侧,形状为长方形。南北长约960米,东西宽约750米,面积约为72万平方米,总建筑面积约 15万平方米。故宫是世界上现存规模最大、保存最完好的古代木构宫殿。它分为外朝和内廷两部分,外朝是皇帝上朝处理国家大事的地方,内廷是皇帝和皇室的居住地。1987年,故宫被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化遗产。
参考译文：
The Imperial Palace, also called the Forbidden City, was the palace where the 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ruled China for nearly 500 years. The Imperial Palace is located in the center of Beijing, on the northern side of the Tian’anmen Square, rectangular in shape, about 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meters or so wide from east to west, with an area of around 720 000 square meters and a total floor area of about 150 000 square meters. It’s the world’s biggest and best-preserved palace made of wood in existence. The Imperial Palace is divided into two parts: the outer court and the inner court. The outer court was the place where the emperors handled state affairs, while the inner court was the living quarters of the emperors and the imperial family. In 1987, the Imperial Palace was listed by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as one of the World Heritage sites.
