中国春节风俗习惯 第5期:中国新年习俗(1)

 　　Hello and welcome to the special Chinese new year's edition of discovering China.

　　大家好，欢迎来到发现中国的新年特别版。

　　I'm Alina Wang and I'm Ben Hedges, and today we'll be taking you through some of the most important traditions of Chinese new year and historical background.

　　我是爱丽娜· 王，我是本· 赫奇斯，今天我们将带你领略一些最重要的中国新年的传统和历史背景。

　　We will look at some of the legends behind Chinese new year and how to celebrate it.

　　我们将看看中国新年背后的一些传说和如何庆祝它。

　　Here in the US and Chinese across the world.

　　在美国和世界各地的中国人。

　　The Chinese have specific way to celebrate their new year.

　　中国人用特殊的方式来庆祝新年。

　　If you walk down the street in Chinatown during Chinese New Year, you see a variety of ancient traditions such as red banners, firecrackers and lion dance performances, streets are filled with lively celebration.

　　如果你在中国新年期间走上唐人街，你会看到各种各样的古老传统，如红色横幅，鞭炮和舞狮表演，街道上充满了活泼的庆祝活动。

　　However, legend has said that the new year has not always been a time of festivity.

　　然而，传说新年并非一直是欢庆的日子。

　　An Asian Chinese story told a chilly¹ start to this festive² holiday, it begins with an ancient Chinese beast called Nian.

　　一个亚洲的中国故事讲诉了这个喜庆节日的寒冷起源，它始于一个叫“年”的中国古代怪兽。

　　Every New Year Nian would rise from swelling³ in the sea to ravage⁴ Chinese village in livestock⁵ and hurting people.

　　每一年新年，“年”会从上涨的海里出来，在中国村庄里肆虐牲畜、伤害人类。

　　The villages soon found out from a wise gray-haired old man that the only way to scare the beast away was to set off firecrackers and light lamps and to hang red banners on each door.

　　明智的村庄很快从一位头发花白的老人那里得知，吓跑野兽的唯一方法是放鞭炮，点灯和在每个门上挂红色横幅。

　　As the story goes, this was the beginning of a tradition that would last thousands of years.

　　据说，这就是将持续数千年传统的开始，。

　　So this story leads to the creation of many of other traditions for celebrating Chinese New Year, let's take a look at some of these traditions.

　　这个故事产生了许多其它的为庆祝中国新年的传统，让我们来看看其中的一些传统。

　　We're gonna try now tells us why firecrackers are so important to kick off the new year celebrations.

　　现在我们要试着讲述鞭炮为什么在新年庆祝活动中如此重要。

　　For many Chinese, New Year celebrations will not be the same without firecrackers.

　　对许多中国人来说，新年庆祝活动没有鞭炮是大不一样的。

　　These tradition originates from ancient China as a Chinese was the first to invent gunpowder⁶ as early as during the ninth century.

　　这些传统源于中国古代，作为中国第一个发明火药早在九世纪期间。

　　It was believed that ghost, bad spirits and even the legendary⁷ monster called Nian that came out attack people during a new year were afraid of loud noises, so the Ancient Chinese would fill bamboo stems with gunpowder to make smell explosions to drive away Nian, evil spirits and bad luck.

　　据说鬼魂、恶灵甚至传说中的怪兽“年”，“年”攻击人在新的一年害怕噪音，所以中国古代竹茎充满火药气味爆炸赶走年，恶灵，坏运气。

　　Another popular traditional belief was that the noise from the firecrackers would awaken⁸ the sleeping dragon that fly across the sky, bringing plentiful⁹ rain for their crops.

　　另一个流行的传统信仰是鞭炮的声音唤醒了沉睡的龙，它飞过天空，给庄稼带来充足的雨水。

　　Today in most countries for safety issues, it is illegal for individuals to light firecrackers, but these tradition persist to make it safe and enjoyable for the public.

　　今天在大多数国家，由于安全问题，个人放鞭炮是违法的，但是这些传统依旧在安全的愉悦着大众。

　　Various Chinese organizations have organized firecrackers celebrations a spot at the annual cultural activities.

　　各式各样的中国组织在一年一度的文化活动上组织鞭炮庆祝活动。

　　Since 2000, the Chinese-American community in New York City has been organizing the annual Chinatown Lunar New Year firecrackers ceremony that attracts more than 200,000 visitors.

　　自2000年以来，纽约华人社区组织了年度唐人街春节鞭炮仪式，吸引了超过20万游客。

1 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

2 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

3 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

4 ravage   

vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废

参考例句：

• Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
• For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

9 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。