四级段落翻译

Before the compass was invented, most people identified the direction at sea, only depending upon the position of the sun and stars. If it was cloudy or rainy, people would lose the direction in this way. It was the compass, invented by the Chinese people, that solved this problem. The compass is the instrument used for indicating direction. As early as the Warring States Period(475BC-221BC),the Chinese discovered that a magnet could be applied to indicate the south and north, and a direction-indicating instrument sinan was made on the basis of this feature. In the Song Dynasty, people created a proper compass called luopan. The invention of the compass had an epoch-making influence on navigation, thereby opening up a new era in the history of international navigation.
The decoration and design of doors and windows was a fixture in classical Chinese architecture. Doors and windows were symbolic curtains separating heaven and earth in traditional Chinese architecture. Opening these curtains created an allimportantly harmonious link between heaven and earth. The latticework of diverse and elaborate designs that characterizes the traditional doors and windows has exerted a far-reaching influence on Chinese architectural ornamentation. In ancient times, one’s house usually told much about the owner’s status, and wealth. As a result, when a person had a house built for him or her, he or she paid much attention to its architecture. In some window latticework you may still find thin lyrics, or even calligraphy and paintings, which implies that literary families once lived in the houses.

（二）曲艺是各种说唱艺术的总称，是由古代 民间的口头文学和说唱艺术发展演变形成的。 它的主要艺术手段是用带有表演动作的说和唱 来叙述故事、表达思想感想、反映社会生活。 其中最为人们所喜闻乐见的曲艺形式是相声。 中国的相声是以语言为主要表演手段的一种喜 剧性曲艺艺术，它是在古代笑话和民间笑话的 基础上发展起来的。现代的相声，是 100 多年 前在北京和天津地区产生的。相声说的内容， 大多数是我们生活中的事情。
(六)在中国古典建筑中，门窗的装饰设计是不 可缺少的部分。古人认为，门窗是天与地分开 的一道屏障，当这道屏障被打开时，天地之间 的和谐就实现了。传统门窗上精心设计、各式 各样的格子图案对中国建筑装饰有着深远的影 响。古代房屋体现了房屋主人的审美情趣、身 份地位和财富。因此古人建筑房屋时都特别考 究。有的花窗上薄薄一层的金箔至今仍然清晰 可见。金箔显示了主人昔日的尊贵。有的则刻 有诗词书画，暗示主人是书香门第。
(三)中国画是用毛笔、墨及颜料，在宣纸或绢 上画出的画。中国画与中医、京剧一起，被誉 为中国的“三大国粹”。中国画按内容分，主 要有人物、山水画、花鸟画三大类。战国时， 中国已经有了比较成熟的人物画，唐朝时达到 了顶峰。山水画是表现山川美景的画种。花鸟 画画的是自然界中的花卉、鸟兽、鱼虫。中国 画是诗、书、画、印相结合的艺术。因此，它 不仅能美化人们的生活，而且能给人们带来高 雅的情趣和艺术享受。
（一）在指南针发明以前，人们在茫茫大海上 航行，只能靠太阳和星星的位置辨认方向，如 果遇上雨天，就会迷失方向。是中国人发明的 指南针帮助人们解决这个难题。指南针是指示 方向的仪器。早在战国时期，中国人就发现了 磁石指示南北的特性，并根据这种特性制成了 指示方向的仪器——司南。到了宋代，人们制 成了“罗盘”。指南针的发明，给航海事业带 来了划时代的影响，世界航运史也由此翻开了 新的一页。
(四)1969年在中国西部甘肃省武威的一座东汉 古墓中，出土了一件珍贵的文物-铜奔马。这匹 青铜骏马，浑身布满了斑驳的铜绿。虽然铜奔 马只有34.5厘米高，但他强健饱满的身躯，显 得十分雄浑矫健。那奔腾的骏蹄、飞扬的长尾、 微微张开的口鼻，逼真地表现了骏马疾驰的形 象。更巧妙的是，它的右后蹄下踏着一只展翅 疾飞的龙雀，形象地表现出骏马奔腾的速度超 过了飞鸟，展现了快马飞奔蹄不沾土的雄姿， 反映了古代人民对骏马的喜爱。
In 1969, a galloping horse in bronze was unearthed in an Eastern Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD)tomb in Wuwei, Gansu Province in western China. The 34.5 cm-high bronze horse, covered with spots of verdigris, has a full and robust body. The prancing leg, flying tail, slightly dilated nostrils portray a galloping horse. What is ingenious about it is that one of its hind feet is stepping on a flying swallow. That means the galloping horse is faster than a flying swallow. This also shows the ancient people’s love for horses.
Folk art is a general term for all kinds of talking and singing arts. It derived from oral literature, the talking and singing performances of ancient people. It refers primarily to storytelling accentuated by body movements to tell stories, express feelings and reflect the social conditions. The most popular type of folk art is comic dialogue. The Chinese comic dialogue is a kind of folk art with the “comic” dialogue as the main form of performance. It evolved on the basis of ancient folk jokes. Comic dialogue of today originated in Beijing and Tianjin over a century ago. Most of the comic dialogue stories come from daily life.
(七)中国长城，世界奇迹之一，在1987年被联 合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。长城就像一条 巨龙，蜿蜒曲折，横跨沙漠、草原、高山和高 原，从东向西绵延6700公里。明长城是现存长 城中保存最完整、最坚固的一段。借鉴其他朝 代的经验，明长城的城墙上增设了更重要的军 事防御工事；在平坦地区的外城墙则挖壕沟， 使敌人不易接近。众所周知，长城是中国的瑰 宝，它既是战争时期伟大防御系统的体现，也 是建筑史上了不起的成就。
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 6700kilometers from east to west of China. The Ming Wall is the solidest and most complete one compared with walls in other dynasties. The Ming Dynasty drew the experience from the previous dynasties when they built the wall . More important military fortifications were added on the wall. In flat areas, outside the wall, wide moats were dug to make approach difficult. As we all know, the Great Wall is the treasure of China. It embodies the great systems of defense created during the time of the wars; moreover it indicates a great achievement in the history of architecture.