英语听力精选进阶版 6253（在线收听）

Will the Rabbit Year Bring Wealth and Happiness?兔年能带给你财运和幸福吗？

Articulate, ambitious and affectionate - maybe a little timid - but overall very lucky. These are some of the characteristics usually associated with people born in the Year of the Rabbit.

And as we wave goodbye to the Year of the Tiger, it's luck that feng shui experts are hoping rabbits will bring to 2011. Newspapers and websites in China and around the world are full of predictions about what's in store for the rabbit year.

So what can we expect? First up is Hong Kong astrologer Anthony Cheng's forecast for our love lives:

"The Year of the Rabbit is an auspicious time for marriages, so I would expect to see a lot of people taking the plunge, including famous people," he told AFP.

A girl in a pink rabbit costume

What will the rabbit bring for you?

But he also warned that "The Year of the Rabbit will see a lot of unusual romantic relationships, including extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences".

Moving on to money matters, the Financial Times has analysed what the rabbit year will mean for people investing in China. It expects the first part of 2011 to be a "scared rabbit", meaning a "bumpy, grumpy market". But summer should see a "strong rally" from Chinese stocks with the tiger long gone.

Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA publishes a light-hearted 'Feng Shui Index' which says the coming year brings many "hopportunities" for investors.

And while most of the predictions focus on how the Year of the Rabbit will affect our financial and romantic lives, what about the rabbits themselves?

Reports in the UK say that we'll be seeing a lot more of our long-eared friends in the coming year – on the dinner table.

Sales of rabbit are up over 300% on January last year, with TV celebrity chefs such as Nigella Lawson popularising dishes like baked rabbit and even one with a name as dry as the meat itself: "cute stew".

Glossary 词汇表 

articulate

口齿伶俐、表达力强的

affectionate

可爱的

timid

胆小的，害羞的

characteristics

性格

wave goodbye to

告别、挥手告别

feng shui experts

风水大师

what's in store

将会发生的事情

first up

首先

astrologer

占星家

forecast

预测

auspicious

吉祥的

taking the plunge

冒这个险、赶这个大流

extra-marital affairs

婚外情

bumpy

颠簸的、困难重重的

grumpy

坏脾气的、这里指市场不好

strong rally

强劲反弹

brokerage

经纪公司

light-hearted

令人轻松愉快的

popularising

推广、普及

dry

干笑话的、挖苦的