1. 西安在汉代被称为长安，取长治久安之意。长安是著名的“丝绸之路”(the Silk Road) 的起点。西安是陕西省省会，也是西北地区政治、经济和文化的中心。它是西北各省通往西南、中原及华东的门户与交通枢纽。现在，西安已经建立起了门类齐全的、庞大的工业体系，成为西北地区最大的现代化工业城市。优越的地理位置使西安成为中西部最大的商贸中心。（155词）

Xi'an was once called “Chang'an” in the Han Dynasty. The connotation of this name is “permanent peace”. Xi'an marked the starting point of the world famous Silk Road. As the capital of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an is the political, economic and cultural center in the northwestern region of china. As a transportation junction, it provides a link of communication between Northwestern provinces and Central and East China. Up to date, as a complete and vast industrial system has been established in Xi'an, it has been changed into the largest modern industrial city in the northwest of China. With its geographical advantages, Xi'an has become the biggest commercial center in the Midwest of China.

2. 根据政府资助的调查显示，在过去十年中，数千所学校停止了公共外语教学。对于一个需要更多的多语种专业人士来推进其全球贸易和外交的国家来说，这真是个沮丧的消息。但是另有一个完全相反的形势让教育工作者和政策制定者议论纷纷，这就是全美的学校都急冲冲地提供汉语教学。中国政府正向世界各地输送汉语老师，并支付了他们的部分工资。（156词）

According to a government-financed survey，thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade. This is a dismal news for a nation that needs more multilingual professionals to conduct its global business and diplomacy. But another contrary trend has made educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world and paying part of their salaries.

3. 京剧表演艺术的“虚拟”(virtuality)主要有两方面，一方面是动作的虚拟，一方面是环境的虚拟。动作的虚拟，如骑马，舞台上并没有马，演员并不真的骑马，而是由演员拿一根马鞭，由圆场、转身、挥鞭、勒马等一系列动作来表现他策马急行(gallop)。环境的虚拟，如行船，舞台上既没有水也没有船，而是由演员拿一支船桨，通过表演，使观众“看到”他在水上行船。

The virtuality of the performance of Beijing opera can be divided into two aspects,one is the virtuality of movement,while the other is the virtuality of settings.Virtual movement refers to imitating ACTions onstage. For example, an ACTor cannot ride a real horse on the stage, but he can hold a whip and imitate the movement of galloping by walking around the stage, turning the body, wielding the whip, and pulling the reins. A virtual setting means creating an imagined environment onstage. An ACTor, for example, usually takes an oar and, through ACTions, makes the audience “see” the rowing of a boat on water.

4. 中国瓷器莹然可玩，沉静的色彩，透明的胎体，优雅的图案，精巧的形状，都是一代代瓷器艺人追求的目标。青铜器（bronze ware），陶器，瓷器都是中国人喜爱之物，但风格各有不同。瓷器没有陶器的古朴，却多了一些细腻；没有青铜器那样肃穆，却多了一种轻巧和优雅。瓷器可说是中国文化的名片，这个名片凝聚着中国文化的信息，也体现了中国人的审美（aesthetic）追求。

Chinese porcelain is cherished for its serene color, crystal paste, graceful designs, and ingenious form—a quest of generations of porcelain craftspeople. Bronze ware, pottery and porcelain are all popular with the Chinese people, though their styles vary widely. Pottery is simple and unsophisticated, while bronze ware suggests solemnity, but porcelain is the most exquisite and elegant. Porcelain can be regarded as the calling card of Chinese culture. This calling card represents the crystallization of Chinese culture and the embodiment of the aesthetic pursuit of the Chinese people.

5. 中国画画的是想象中的空间，也是一种精神境界。中国古代画家喜欢画梅、兰、竹、菊“四君子”，并不是因为这些花木比其他花木美，而是因为人们认为他们是人的高贵品格的象征。郑板桥是清代中期一位有很高成就画家，善画兰、竹、石。比如他的一幅“墨竹图”（Ink Bamboo），用水墨创造了潇洒的境界，画中有一种卓尔不群的清晰气息。（150字）

Chinese paintings depict an imagined world as well as a spiritual world. Ancient Chinese painters loved to paint plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, which have been renowned in Chinese culture as “the four gentlemen.”This is not because these plants are considered any better than the others, but they are believed to represent the noble charACTer of human beings. Zheng Banqiao was a prestigious and highy accomplished mid-Qing-dynasty artist who excelled in painting orchids, bamboo and rocks. In his famous painting, Ink Bamboo, for example, he created an elegant yet unrestrained composition, with a remarkably fresh atmosphere.

6. 孔子关于人的学说有两个核心的概念,一个是 “仁(ren)”，一个是 “礼(li)”。孔子的学生樊迟问什么是“仁”，孔子回答说：“爱人”。这是孔子对“仁”的最重要的解释。“爱人”是一种普遍的爱。孔子又强调爱人作为一种普遍的道德原则，必须由爱自己的父母开始。孔子不相信一个不爱自己父母的人能去爱普天下的人。所以孔子说“孝悌(filial piety and fraternal duty)”是“仁之本”。（157字）

Ren and li are the two core concepts of Confucius’ doctrine about people. When his students Fan Chi inquired him about the definition of ren, Confucius replied, “It is love for people.” This is Confucius’ most important interpretation of ren. Love for people is universal love. Confucius furthur emphasized that, as one universally accepted moral principle, this kind of love should “begin with the love for one’s parents.” He believes that no one can love people in general if they do not even love their own parents. That is why Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty” as the essence of ren.

7. 根据政府资助的调查显示，在过去十年中，数千所学校停止了公共外语教学。对于一个需要更多的多语种专业人士来推进其全球贸易和外交的国家来说，这真是个沮丧的消息。但是另有一个完全相反的形势让教育工作者和政策制定者议论纷纷，这就是全美的学校都急冲冲地提供汉语教学。中国政府正向世界各地输送汉语老师，并支付了他们的部分工资。（156词）

According to a government-financed survey，thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade. This is a dismal news for a nation that needs more multilingual professionals to conduct its global business and diplomacy. But another contrary trend has made educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world and paying part of their salaries.

8. 环境保护是中国的一项基本国策。防治环境污染和生态破坏以及合理开发利用自然资源关系到国家的全局利益和长远发展。《中华人民共和国宪法》（the Constitution of the People's Republic of China）规定：“国家保护和改善生活环境和生态环境，防治污染和其他公害。”“国家保障自然资源的合理利用，保护珍贵的动物和植物。禁止任何组织或者个人用任何手段侵占或者破坏自然资源。”(150词)

Environmental protection is one of China's basic state policies. The prevention and control of environmental pollution and ecological destruction and the rational exploitation and utilization of natural resources are of vital importance to the country's overall interests and long-term development. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates, “The state protects and improves the living environment and the ecological environment, and prevents and remedies pollution and other public hazards,” and “The state ensures the rational use of natural resources and protects rare animals and plants. The appropriation or damage of natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.”