1. 中秋節(jié)為每年的農(nóng)歷（lunar calendar）八月十五日，是中國僅次于春節(jié)的第二大傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。這一天是家人團聚的日子，月亮是中秋節(jié)慶祝的主題。全家人聚在一起品嘗美味的月餅，觀賞象征豐裕 (abundance)、和諧和幸運的圓月。中秋節(jié)也被認為是一個豐收的節(jié)日，因為秋季是收獲的季節(jié)，各種水果、蔬菜和糧食作物都在此時成熟。許多動人的傳說也與中秋節(jié)有關(guān)，如“嫦娥奔月”

Celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th mouth of the lunar calendar, Mid-Autumn Festival is an important traditional festival in China, next only to Spring Festival. It is a day of family reunion. The moon is the theme of celebrations. Family members get together to taste delicious moon cakes and enjoy the full moon ---- a symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Mid-Autumn Festival is also considered as a harvest festival, because autumn is a season of harvest when various fruits, vegetables and crops are ripe. Many touching legends are also associated with Mid-Autumn Festival, such as “Chang’s flight to the moon”.

2. 乒乓球（table tennis）是中國的國球，是一種世界流行的體育項目。20世紀60年代以來，中國選手贏得了世界乒乓球比賽的大部分冠軍，因此中國在該項運動中占統(tǒng)治性的 (dominant) 地位。乒乓球的起源有許多不同的說法 (versions)，最流行、最廣泛認可的一種說法就是乒乓球在1900年起源于英國。在英語中，它也被稱為“Ping Pong”，因為在打擊時會發(fā)出“Ping Pong”的聲音，在1988年的奧運會上，它被列為正式的比賽項目。

Table tennis, the national ball game of China, is a sport event popular around the world. Since the 1960s, Chinese players have won a great majority of champions in the world table tennis competitions. Thus China plays a dominant role in the event. There are various versions concerning the origin of table tennis, among which the most popular and widest accepted is that it originated in Britain in 1900. Table tennis is also called as “Ping Pong” in English because of the sound of “Ping Pong” in hitting the ball. In the 1988 Olympics, table tennis became a formal Olympic event.

3. 故宮（the Forbidden City）雄偉、壯麗，是中國古建筑藝術(shù)的顛峰之作。其規(guī)模和獨具特色的風(fēng)格享譽 (enjoy fame) 世界。故宮內(nèi)保存著大量珍貴、稀有的古物 (antique)，它們對研究明、清兩代歷史和藝術(shù)具有十分重要的意義。1925年故宮改名為故宮博物院 (Palace Museum)，并為世界上最大的博物館之一。新中國成立后，人民政府投入了大量的資金對故宮進行保護和維修。它現(xiàn)在是北京最受歡迎的旅游景點之一。

The Forbidden City, grand and magnificent, represents the highest peak of ancient Chinese architecture and enjoys worldwide fame for its scale and unique style. Preserved here are a large number of rare and precious antiques, which are of great significance to the study of Ming and Qing history and the arts of past dynasties. In 1925, the Forbidden City was renamed Palace Museum and became one of the largest museums in the world. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the national government has spent large sums on the protection and maintenance of the Forbidden City. At present, it is one of the most popular tourism sites in Beijing.

4. 中國書法 (Chinese calligraphy) 是一門古老的漢字書寫藝術(shù)。它是中國最高的藝術(shù)形式。書法是在潔白的紙上，靠毛筆 (brush) 的運動留下水墨印跡。它不僅表現(xiàn)了線條和結(jié)構(gòu)的美，也能傳達書寫者的觀念、思維和精神。漢字與中國書法緊密相連，是中國書法中的重要因素。中國書法已經(jīng)成為一個民族符號，代表了博大精深的中國文化和漢族文化的永恒 (eternal) 魅力。

Chinese calligraphy, an ancient art of writing Chinese characters, is one of the highest forms of art in China. Calligraphy refers to the black mark of ink on white paper made by the movement of brush. It not only shows the beauty of line and structure, but conveys concepts, thoughts and sprits of its writer. As one essential element in calligraphy, Chinese character is closely related to the art/ Chinese calligraphy. It has become a symbol of our nation, which represents the broad and profound Chinese culture and the eternal charm of the Han nationality culture.

5. 無論中國人走到哪里，都不會改掉喝茶的習(xí)慣。茶最先由中國人發(fā)現(xiàn)，它是中國人生活中不可或缺的 (indispensable) 組成部分。有一句中國諺語將基本的日常必需品（basic daily necessities）稱為柴、米、油、鹽、醬、醋、茶。一千多年以來，飲茶的習(xí)俗已經(jīng)在中國人心中根深蒂固（ingrained）。唐朝時，一個名叫陸羽的人寫了世界上第一部關(guān)于茶的著作——《茶經(jīng)》（Book of Tea），這部書有助于在中國推廣 (popularize) 飲茶藝術(shù)。

Whenever the Chinese go, the custom of drinking tea follows. Tea was first discovered by the Chinese and it is an indispensable part of the life of the Chinese. A Chinese saying identifies the basic daily necessities as fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. The custom of drinking tea has been ingrained in the Chinese for over a thousand years. In Tang Dynasty, a man named Lu Yu created the first compendium (摘要，綱要) in the world on tea, Book of Tea. This work helped to popularize the art of tea drinking all across China.

6. 中國面臨的最嚴重的挑戰(zhàn)之一就是人口老齡化（aging population）.專家稱在未來四十年內(nèi)，中國老齡人口將接近5億，占據(jù) (account for ) 人口總數(shù)的三分之一。這無疑給中國經(jīng)濟增長帶了巨大的壓力，但這也意味著更多的商機。人口老齡化將為養(yǎng)老院（nursing home）行業(yè)的發(fā)展帶來良好的前景。據(jù)粗略統(tǒng)計，5億老年人每月至少能為養(yǎng)老院行業(yè)帶來5000億元的經(jīng)濟效益。

Aging population is one of the most severe challenges in China. According to the experts, within four decades, China will have nearly 500 million elderly people, which accounts for one third of the total population. Such a situation will undoubtedly put huge pressure on the economic growth of China, but it also means more business opportunities. The fast-growing numbers of elderly people will bring a very good prospect for the industry of nursing homes. Based on rough statistics, half a billion elderly people can at least bring the industry an economic benefit of 500 billion every month.

7. 網(wǎng)上購物（online shopping）是中國近幾年日益流行的新型購物方式。人們在購物網(wǎng)站搜索自己想要的物品，在網(wǎng)上發(fā)出電子定單并付款，賣家則通過快遞公司送貨 (commodity) 上門。網(wǎng)上購物的主要人群最初是大學(xué)生和白領(lǐng)，現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)的網(wǎng)民（netizen）都有過網(wǎng)購的經(jīng)歷。過去十年來，購物網(wǎng)站的數(shù)量也有了大幅增加，所售商品也日益豐富。有人認為方便和低價是網(wǎng)上購物迅速發(fā)展的重要原因。

Online shopping is a new shopping mode increasingly popular in China in recent years. People search for goods they want in shopping websites, then make electronic orders and pay online. The sellers deliver commodities to customers’ homes via express company. The major groups who shopped on line were primarily university students and white collars. At present, the great majority of netizens have the experience of shopping online. In the last decade, the number of shopping websites has increased tremendously and the commodities sold online become more colorful by the day. Some people hold that convenience and low price are important reasons for the rapid development of online shopping.

8. 中國人的境外奢侈品消費 (overseas luxury consumption of Chinese) 指的是越來越多富裕的中國人到境外購買奢侈品的現(xiàn)象。隨著財富的增加，中國消費者會追求更多的高端 (high-end) 商品。世界上1/4的奢侈品是中國人消費的，中國是全球第二大奢侈品消費國。但是中國奢侈品消費中有6成是在國外實現(xiàn)的，奢侈品消費是出境游 (outbound tourism) 的一個重要組成部分。造成這一現(xiàn)象的原因是境外的奢侈品價格較低、品質(zhì)較高和產(chǎn)品豐富。

Overseas luxury consumption of Chinese refers to the phenomenon that an increasing number of rich Chinese purchase luxuries abroad. With growing wealth, Chinese consumers are pursuing more high-end products. Chinese consume a quarter of luxuries of the world, making China the second largest luxury consumption country worldwide. But 60 of Chinese luxuries are bought from foreign countries. Luxury consumption is one important part of outbound tourism. Factors contributing to the phenomenon are lower price, higher quality and more varieties of overseas luxuries.