1、Topic 1 文化概述在中国五千年的文明史上，中国人有无数的发明和创造，如汉字、中医、丝绸、瓷器(porcelain)、指南针、造纸术、印刷术和火药(gunpowder)。这些独特的发明和创造是中国人对世界文明的伟大贡献，证明中华民族是一个富于原创性的民族。与此同时，中国人又有一种开放的胸怀，欢迎远方来的朋友，并以极高的热情吸收和包容外来的文化。大唐盛世和明代郑和七下西洋都表明，中华文明具有开放性和包容性。Over a history of 5 000 years, Chinese people have produced numerous inventions. These unique
2、inventions, including Chinese characters, traditional Chinese medicine, silk, porcelain, compass, papermaking, printing and gunpowder, are significant contributions Chinese made to the global civilization, proving that the Chinese nation is full of creativity. In the meanwhile, the Chinese people ha
3、ve always kept an open mind toward foreign friends and absorbed foreign cultures with great enthusiasm. Both the prosperity of Tang Dynasty and Zheng Hes seven long voyages to the West Seas in Ming Dynasty demonstrate the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese culture.Topic 2 四大发明说到中国古代的科技文明，就不能不说四大发
4、明（the Four Great Inventions） 。人们普遍认为，指南针、火药(gunpowder)、造纸术和印刷术的发明对中国古代的政治、经济、文化的发展产生了巨大的推动作用；并且，这些发明经由各种途径传至西方，也影响着世界的文明进程。从历史发展的角度来看，中国古代的四大发明是为人类社会生活带来革命性变化的科学发明，这是中国人对世界文明的伟大贡献。中国的四大发明在人类科学文化史上留下了灿烂的一页，推动了人类历史的前进。When it comes to science and technology in ancient China, the Four Great Inventions,
5、 including compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing, should always be discussed. It is commonly believed that the Four Great Inventions have promoted the development of politics, economy and culture of ancient China dramatically; moreover, these inventions have a great impact on the civilization
6、 of the world since they have been introduced into the Western world in various ways. From the perspective of historical development, the Four Great Inventions of ancient China are scientific inventions that bring revolutionary changes to the social life of human beings, which are great contribution
7、s Chinese made to the civilization of the world. The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are brilliant in the history of human science and culture and promote the progress of human history.Topic 3 长 城说到中国文化，不得不提到长城。从公元前 7 世纪到公元 16 世纪，在大约 2 200 年的时间里，先后有 19 个朝代修建过长城，所修的长城累计有 10 万千米以上。主要的长城修建工程是在秦代
8、、汉代和明代。现今存有遗迹的主要是明长城，从东边人海口的山海关( Shanhai Pass)开始，一直到沙漠深处的嘉峪关 (Jiayu Pass)，全长 6 700 千米。长城是世界历史上最伟大的工程，其建造时间之长、参与人数之多、工程难度之大，在世界上无出其右。When it comes to Chinese culture, the Great Wall is the one that will be definitely referred to. From the 7th century BC to the 16th century, through about 2 200 years,
9、 the Great Wall was built in 19 dynasties and reached a length of more than 100 000 kilometers. Major construction was carried out in Qin, Han and Ming Dynasties. The Great Wall we visit nowadays is mainly the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, stretching 6 700 kilometers from Shanhai Pass on the eastern s
10、eashore to Jiayu Pass in the depth of desert. The Great Wall is the greatest project in the historyof the world for its unparalleled span of construction, number of labors and difficulty.Topic 4 移民现象现在，很多人选择在国外生活，这引起了人们极大的关注。越来越多的人，特别是大量知识分子 (intellectual)，移民到美国、英国和加拿大等发达国家。并且，很多在国外学习和工作的人都在为“绿卡”而奋斗
11、。造成这种现象的原因有很多，其中，追求高质量的生活是关键。再者，这些人中大多数人移居国外是想让孩子在那儿接受良好的教育。此外，一些人只是想体验他们所喜欢的异域文化。以上这些就是造成他们决定移居他国的原因。Nowadays many people choose to live in a foreign country, which has aroused great concern. More and more people, especially plenty of intellectuals, migrate to some developed countries, such as Amer
12、ica, Britain and Canada. In addition, there are still many people studying and working in foreign countries struggling for green cards. There are many reasons accounting for this phenomenon. Among all these factors, pursuing high-quality life plays a critical role. Moreover, most of them migrate to
13、some foreign countries with a view to making their children Receive good education there. Besides, some people just want to experience the foreign culture they like. All these above factors contribute to their choice to migrate to another country.Topic 5 中国汉字近年来，随着经济的快速增长，中国的国际影响力提升了，世界上学汉字的人也多了起来。这
14、套独特的符号系统积淀了丰富的历史文化内容，西方人在学汉字的过程中甚至能体会到这个东方民族的微妙心灵。如今在中国，汉字也越来越受到人们的重视。人们发现，这一文字符号包含着丰富的文化内涵和审美意蕴，在科技飞速发展的今天，反而越来越显示出它的光彩。古老的文字在现代的文化生活中焕发出新的魅力。With its rapid economic development in recent years, Chinas international influence has greatly increased, so the number of Chinese character learners across
15、 the world has been on the rise. This unique symbol system accumulates the rich historical and cultural content in it. When Western people learn Chinese characters, they may even understand the delicate thoughts of this oriental nation. Nowadays, great importance is attached to Chinese characters in
16、 China. It is found that the glamour of these character symbols with rich cultural and aesthetic connotation is greatly shown especially in the current society with rapid scientific development. These ancient characters are revitalized in modern civilization.Topic 6 郑和下西洋公元 1405 年 7 月 11 日，地球蓝色的海洋上出
17、现了一支庞大的船队，前后有 208 艘船，这是有史以来最大的一支船队，船上所载的各类人员有 27 500 多人，也是有史以来最多的航海人员。船队由一位叫郑和的人统帅。船队带着中国这个古老国家的瓷器、丝绸、茶叶等数不尽的珍奇，穿越南海、马六甲海峡( the Strait of Malacca)，横跨印度洋，到达亚洲、非洲的很多国家。在此后的 28 年间，郑和一共六次下西洋，随船人员共计 10 万多人，访问了 30 多个国家。On July 11, 1405, a huge fleet consisting of 208 ships appeared on the blue sea of the
18、earth. It was the greatest fleet with more than 27 500 crews that the world had ever seen. The Commander of this fleet was Zheng He. Carrying porcelain, silk, tea and other numerous Treasures from China, a country with a long history, the fleet passed through the South China Sea and the Strait of Ma
19、lacca, traversed the Indian Ocean and arrived at many countries in Asia and Africa. Over the next 28 years, Zheng He led six more fleets with crew members adding up to more than 100 000 people, and visited more than 30 countries.Topic 7 中国艺术中国人创造了很多独特的艺术形式，如纯净的瓷器，千古传诵的唐诗(Tang poetry)，以演员表演为中心的京剧等。这些
20、艺术形式呈现了中国人的心灵世界，显现了中国人独特的美感，成为展示中国人生命力和创造力的窗口，具有永恒的魅力。中国人将艺术当作提升生活品质、慰藉( soothe)心灵的媒介，艺术是中国人人生哲学的延伸。中国的艺术传统是一部记载着中国人生活品位和美感世界的活的图画，反映出中国人的优雅心态。The Chinese have created many unique forms of art, such as pure porcelain, enduring Tang poetry and actor-centered Peking Opera, etc. These art forms with et
21、ernal charm reveal the inner world of the Chinese people, demonstrate their unique sense of aesthetics and become the windows that show the vitality and creativity of Chinese people. The Chinese regard art as a way to enhance the quality of life and to soothe the mind. Art is an extension of the Chi
22、nese philosophy of life. Chinese art tradition is a vivid picture of Chinese peoples lifestyle and aesthetics, reflecting Chinese elegance.Topic 8 中国园林中国人建造园林有两干多年的历史，主要有皇家园林(imperial garden)、寺院园林和私家园林。现存的皇家园林，如北京颐和园，都是举世闻名的园林。中国的佛教和道教寺院也多建有园林，如杭州灵隐寺。在这中间，私家园林独具风味。今天，在江南(South“the Yangtze River)和长江沿
23、岸的苏州、扬州等地所见的私家园林，多是明清两代留下的，它们如同一幅幅山水画( the landscape painting)，展现出独特的魅力。中国园林艺术有丰富独特的创造，是理解中华民族美感特点的一个重要领域.Chinese people started to build gardens more than 2 000 years ago, mainly including three styles of garden: the imperial garden, the temple garden and the private garden. The extant imperial gar
24、dens today, such as the Summer Palace in Beijing, are world-famous gardens. Many gardens were also built in Chinas Buddhist and Taoist temples, such as the Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. While among the Chinese gardens, the private gardens have a unique ambience. Scattered in South of the Yangtze River
25、 and Suzhou, Yangzhou and other places along the Yangtze River, the private gardens are mostly legacies from Ming and Qing Dynasties. They resemble the landscape paintings with distinctive charm. Rich and unique creativity could be found in Chinese gardens, which is an important field to understand
26、Chinese aesthetics.Topic 9 中国诗歌中国是诗的国度。尤其到了唐代，中国古典诗歌进人了全盛时期( heyday)。唐代近三百年间，涌现出了大批优秀诗人和杰出的诗歌作品。唐代诗歌数量极大，题材广泛，意象 (image)和风格多样化，出现了大量思想性和艺术性完美结合的作品。唐诗是中国人的千古绝唱。唐代的伟大诗人不胜枚举，其中李白、杜甫、王维因其诗歌所蕴含的中国文化的意味和情趣而最具代表性。China is a country of poetry. Especially in Tang Dynasty, Chinese classical poetry reached its
27、 Heyday. During the nearly three-hundred-year reign of Tang Dynasty, large numbers of excellent poets and outstanding poems mushroomed. Poetry of Tang Dynasty featured large quantities, wide themes and diversified images and styles, and many masterpieces with perfect combination of great thoughts an
28、d artistry emerged. Poetry of Tang Dynasty is Chinese eternal legacies. Li Bai, Du Fu and Wang Wei are the representatives of great poets of Tang Dynasty due to the unique meaning and temperament of Chinese culture in their poems.Topic 10 茶馆文化中国很多地区依然保留着传统的茶馆文化，尤其是在四川省的省会成都，茶馆遍布城市的各个角落：路边、桥下、公园里，甚至寺
29、院和其他历史景点。泡茶馆（relaxing in teahouse）是当地市民最喜欢的消遣方式之一。工作日的下午三点钟，茶馆里往往人满为患。当地人坐在古色古香的竹椅里，所用的茶具本身可能也是古董。服务人员托着一大堆茶具急匆匆地跑来跑去，将长嘴壶（long-spout kettle）里倒出来的水注满茶杯，为顾客冲泡最优质的茶叶。Traditional teahouse culture still exists in many parts of China, especially in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Teahouses are
30、everywhere: on the sides of roads, under bridges, in the parks and even inside temples and other historical sites. Relaxing in teahouse is one of the favorite pastimes of the locals in Chengdu. A teahouse full to the brim-at three oclock on a workday afternoon-is nothing out of the ordinary. Locals
31、sit on quaint bamboo chairs and drink from traditional tea sets that could well be antiques in their own right. Teahouse waiters scurry around with trays of tea sets, and top up tea cups with hot water poured from long-spout kettles to brew up the high-quality tea for tea drinkers.Topic 11 京剧角色“生、旦、
32、净、丑”是京剧中的角色分类。 “生”是男性正面角色， “旦”是女性正面角色，“净”是性格鲜明的男性配角(supporting role)， “丑”是幽默滑稽或反面角色。每种角色又有表明身份的险谱( facial make-up)、扮相(costume)等，只要演员一上场，你一看便知。在人的脸上涂上某种颜色以象征这个人的性格和品质、角色和命运，是京剧的一大特点，也是理解剧情的关键。简单地讲，红脸含有褒义，代表忠勇 (valor)；黑脸为中性，代表猛(vigor)智；黄脸和白脸含贬义，代表凶诈。Sheng, dan, jing, chou refer to different types of r
33、oles in Peking Opera. Sheng is the positive male role, dan is the positive female role, while jing is a supporting male role with a distinctive character and chou is the clown or a negative character. Each type of role has its own facial make-up and costume that expose its identity as soon as he/she
34、 appears on the stage. One major characteristic of Peking Opera is the color painted on the face of a character that shows personality, quality, role and fate. It is also the key to understanding the plot. To put it simply, red is appreciative, standing for loyalty and valor; black represents a neut
35、ral role, representing vigor and wisdom; yellow and white both suggest cunning, negative characters.Topic 12 羊羊是一种本性温顺（docile） 、易于管理的动物。从岩画（rock painting）上原始人镌刻的形态各异的羊形象中，我们可以看出人类与羊的亲善、和谐关系。羊为人们的生活或祭祀而牺牲，是“有义 personal loyalty 之物” 。羔羊似乎懂得母亲的艰辛与不易，所以吃奶时是跪着的。羔羊的“跪乳”被人们赋予了“孝顺”和“懂礼”的意义。据文献记载，人们很早就把羊的美德视为
36、人的道德准则和榜样，这反映了人们对羊的精神感受和对羊的秉性的人格化概括。The sheep is an animal that is docile in nature and easy to manage. From the sheep images of various shapes on the rock paintings carved by primitive men, we can see the good and harmonious relationship between human beings and sheep. Sheep sacrifice their lives f
37、or peoples living or worship, and therefore are deemed as embracing personal loyalty. The lamb seems to know the hardship of its mother, sucking the breast on bent knees. Such behavior is considered by people to have symbolic meanings of filial piety and courtesy. According to the documents, people
38、have long regarded this morality of sheep as a moral code and example for human beings, which is a reflection of peoples feeling toward sheep and a personalized summary of sheeps nature.Topic 13 联合国中文日联合国中文日是联合国语言日的一部分。根据传说，仓颉( Cang Jie)创造了中国最原始的象形文字( hieroglyph)。上苍因仓颉造字而感动，为其降下一场谷子雨，这就是“谷雨”(the Gra
39、in Rain)的由来。中文日因此被定在每年中国农历的“谷雨” ，以纪念汉字始祖仓颉。从2010 年开始，联合国每年都在中文日前后举行多种形式的庆祝活动。例如： 2014 年，纽约联合国总部以书画展、茶艺表演( tea-making performance)、歌曲演唱和书法讲座等形式庆祝中文日。The Chinese Language Day is part of the UN Language Days. According to legend, Cang Jie created the original hieroglyph used in China. The Heaven was mo
40、ved and rained grain in praise of him, which is the origin of the Grain Rain. As a result, the Chinese Language Day is set on the rain Rain according to the Chinese lunar calendar in memory of Cang Jie, the ancestor of the Chinese characters. Since 2010, the UN has been holding all kinds of celebrat
41、ing activities around this day every year. For example, in 2014, the UN Headquarters in New York celebrated this day with painting and calligraphy exhibitions, tea-making performances, singing performances, calligraphy lectures, etc.Topic 14 筷子筷子由两根长短相同的木棍组成，是中国的传统餐具( eating utensil)。筷子出现在三千多年前，它的出现
42、不仅是中国烹饪文化的变革，也是人类文明的标志。此外，筷子在烹饪技巧的发展过程中也起着推动作用。如今，筷子不仅是一种餐具，还成为一种独特的文化形式，对于我们来说，筷子可以作为艺术品来欣赏、研究和收藏。筷子虽小，但仍被世界上许多人所推崇。一项有趣的实验表明，当你在使用筷子的时候，许多关节和肌肉都会得到锻炼。Chopsticks, the traditional eating utensils in China, are a pair of equal length sticks.Chopsticks appeared more than three thousand years ago. The
43、appearance of chopsticks is not only a revolution of Chinese cuisine culture, but also a symbol of human civilization. Besides, chopsticks have promoted the development of cooking techniques. Today, chopsticks not only area kind of tableware, but also have become a unique culture form, coming in fro
44、nt of us as a work of art for appreciation, research and collection. Chopsticks are small, but they are adored by many people in the world. An interesting experiment shows that many joints and muscles can be exercised when you use chopsticks.Topic 15 风 筝风筝起源于中国，在这个国家，制作风筝的理想材料一应俱全：丝织品用来做帆，极具韧性的(high
45、-tensile-strength)丝线可以制作风筝线，轻盈的骨架则由韧性十足的竹子制成。据说，风筝是墨子和鲁班在公元前 5 世纪时发明的。在 13 世纪末期，马可波罗首次将与风筝有关的故事介绍到欧洲。尽管风筝最初只被看作是珍奇物品( curiosity)，但自 18 世纪开始，风筝被用作科研工具。现在，风筝节已经成为一种流行的娱乐形式，最为著名的就是中国的潍坊风筝节。Kites originated in China, where ideal materials for making kites were readily available: silk fabric for the sail
46、; high-tensile-strength silk thread for the flying string; and resilient bamboo for the light framework. It is said that kites were invented by Mo Zi and Lu Ban in the 5th century BC. Stories of kites were first introduced to Europe by Marco Polo in the late 13th century. Although kites were initial
47、ly regarded as curiosities, since the 18th century they have been used as a vehicle for scientific research. Now, kite festivals have become a popular form of entertainment, and the most famous one is Chinas Weifang Kite Festival.Topic 16 铜 鼓铜鼓（bronze drum）文化是远古时代在长江以南及东南亚的广大地区流行的一种典型文化代表。在古代，铜鼓多用于祭
48、神、征战和节日活动。在祭神时，它是神圣的法器（artifact ） ；征战时，它是号令军队振作士气的军乐 器；在节日里，它又成为最激动人心的打击乐器（ percussion instrument） 。铜鼓给人们带来的不仅是精神层面的东西，它还有重要的实用价值。许多少数民族依然保留着在传统节日及婚娶和丧葬等场合使用铜鼓的习俗，The bronze drum was a kind of typical culture popularized in the wide area of South of the Yangtze River in China and Southeast Asia in a
49、ncient times. More often than not, it was used on such occasions as sacrifice ceremonies to gods, launching ceremonies for the war and festival activities. It was sacred artifact on the sacrifice ceremonies, military musical instrument transmitting orders to soldiers and reviving the morale in the war, exciting percussion instrument in festivals. In addition to its spiritual content, the bronze drum also benefits people with its important value of practical use. Many minority groups still adopt the tradition of playing the bronze drums on the occasions of traditional festivals, weddi
