Unit1

中国有一句话，叫“人贵有自知之明”。这个观念的 最早提出者是老子。老子在《道德经》里说“知人者智，自知者明”。有“自知之明”是指人应该对自己有正确的认识，了解自身的优点和缺点，清醒地知道自己能做什么。

As the Chinese saying goes, it is important to know oneself. The first person to put forward this idea was Laozi, who wrote in his book DaoDe jing :"A person who knows others is intelligent, but a person who knows himself is insightful." To know oneself is to have a corret understanding of oneself, including one's strengths and limitations, and to be clear-minded about what one can do.

我们把人的自知视为“贵”，可见做到“自知”是多么的不易。“自知之明”是一种人生哲学，也是一种品德。它可以帮助我们不断地修正自己，朝着更高的人生目标迈进。

we cherish this virtue so much precisely, because it is hard for people to know themselves. Knowing oneself is both part of a philosophy of life and a virtue that can improve oneself and attainment of a higher life goal.

Unit2

与父辈相比，现在的孩子在物质生活上要丰富得多，但在精神上则略有欠缺。他们不太可能和伙伴们一起玩，玩具取代伙伴成了他们最忠实的朋友。他们的父母从不缺钱给他们买各种贵重玩具。

Compared to their parents, children now do enjoy a far better material life, but their emotional life seems less satisfying. They are less likely to play with their peers, for toys have replaced their playments as their most loyal friends. Their parents can always afford to buy them all kinds of expensive toys.

这样的好处是：他们不再整天缠着父母，因为玩具和电子游戏减轻了他们的孤独感。但也有负面影响：沉迷于玩具和电子游戏会让孩子视力下降或者让他们不愿意与别人交流。这种现象应引起家长和学校的关注。

The good things about this is that they no longer pester their parents to play with them all day long, because toys and video games have lessened their feelings of loneliness. But there are alse negetive effects: The addiction to toys and video games may cause a child's eyesight to deteriorate or make them unwilling to communicate with others. The phenomenona should demand the attention of both parents and schools.

Unit3

在敦煌莫高窟，最著名的艺术杰作要数壁画“飞天”（ flying apsaras）。敦煌飞天是印度文化和中国文化共同孕育而成的。在印度，被称为“飞天”的空中飞行的天神（celestial beings）多出现在佛教石窟壁画（grotto mural）中，中国道教传统则把在空中飞行的天神称为“飞仙”（ flying immortals）。

In the Mogaocaves in Dunhuang, the murals with "flying apsaras" are one of the most well-known artistic masterpiece. The flying apsaras in Dunhuang are product of the intermixing of Indian and Chinese culture
In india, celestial beings called "flying apsaras" appear mostly in grotto mural, while in the Chinese Daoist tradition, flying celestial beings are known as "flying immortals"

魏晋南北朝时，佛教初传入中国，壁画中的飞仙开始被称为“飞天”。后来，随着佛教在中国的深入发展，佛教的飞天和道教的飞仙在艺术形象上相互融合。敦煌莫高窟的飞天是中国古代艺术家的杰作，是世界艺术史的奇迹。

During Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties, when the introduction of Buddhism in China was at an early stage, people began to call flying immortals in murals "flying apsaras". Later, with the development of Buddhism in China, the artistic images of Buddhist flying apsaras and Daoist flying immortals merged with each other.
The flying apsaras in Dunhuang grotto mural are most ingenious creation of ancient Chinese artists, and a miracle in the history of world art.

Unit4

目前，中国老年人口居世界第一，已经进入老龄化社会。而中国现在正处于社会转型期，建立一个完整的社会福利体系仍需很长的一段时间，因此中国的养老问题较为特殊。预计在今后半个世纪，家庭养老仍然是中国主流的养老模式。

Now, China, with the largest population of elderly people in the world, has become an ageing society. Meanwhile, China is alse a country undergoing social transition. It will be a long time before a sound social welfare system can be established, which means that China is in a unique situation when it comes to care of its ageing population. It is predicted that in the next 50 years, family care for the aged will still be the main way in China.

孝敬父母（filial piety）一直是中国传统伦理道德（ethics）的重要组成部分。在当今这样一个老龄化的社会中，弘扬孝道就显得更加重要，因为在鼓励人们对家里的老人提供日常照顾和情感慰藉方面，孝道仍将起关键性的作用

Filial piety has always been a significant part of traditional Chinese ethics. In today's ageing society, it will be all the more important to promote the virtue of filial piety, as it will continue to play a key role in encouraging people to take good care of their elderly family members by providing daily care and emotional support.

Unit5

女性是劳动力市场的重要组成部分。但是当前劳动就业中的性别歧视仍然存在，这与我国构建和谐社会的要求背道而驰。就劳动者而言，不能人尽其才，不仅造成人力资本投资的浪费，还会使她们对社会公正产生怀疑；

Women are an important part of the labour force.But gender discrimination in the job market still exists, and serves as a counter force to the building of a harmonious society. As far as employees are concerned, jobs that do not suit their talents will not noly give rise to a waste of the investment in human capital, but alse cause them to lose faith in social justice.

就用人单位而言，性别歧视不仅破坏人才选拔的程序，造成人才浪费，也会不利于人们正确理解何为正常运转的市场；就社会而言，性别歧视不仅干扰人力资源的正常流动，还会破坏就业市场的公平环境

As for employers, gender discrimination will not noly destroy the process of selecting talent, and waste talent, but also harm the perception of a people of a properly functioning market. On the level of society, gender discrimination not only disturb proper distribution of human resources, and damage a fair environment in the job market.

Unit6

春节是中国最重要的传统节日。但近年来，很多人都抱怨过年的气氛越来越淡，已经很难感受到记忆中过年的那种美好感觉了。事实上，春节在过去之所以显得重要，是因为只有到了春节人们才能享美食、穿新衣。

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional holiday in China. But in recent years, many people have complained that the celebratory atmostphere of lunar New Year is not as strong as it used to be, and it is hard for them to regain that wonderful feeling in their memories. In fact, in the past, it was only during the Spring Festival that people could enjoy delicious food and wear new clothes.This explains why the holiday was so important to Chinese people.

而随着中国经济的迅速发展，人们的物质生活越来越丰富，人们庆祝春节的方式也发生了一些变化。比如说，越来越多的人选择过年时外出旅游。但无论如何，对于中国人来说，春节的重要性是不可替代的。

But with whe rapid development of the Chinese economy and an increasingly rich material life, the ways in which Chinese people celebrate the Spring festival have changed. For intance, more and more people choose to travel during the Spring Festival. Nonetheless, for Chinese people, the Spring Festival play an irreplaceable role in their culture.

Unit7

中国是世界上自然灾害较为严重的国家之一。在和平时期，抢险救灾是中国军队的一项重要任务。中国军队是抢险救灾的突击力量，承担最紧急、最艰难、最危险的救援任务。中国军人都是抱着打仗的心态在救灾，甚至冒着生命危险抢救灾民。每当解放军抵达灾区，群众都热烈欢迎，感到无比欣慰。中国军队在历次灾难救援中表现出的组织性、专业性、高效性赢得了人民群众的信任和赞誉。

China is one of the countries that are most affected by natural disasters. In peace time, rescue and relief work is an important mission of the Chinese army. China's armed forces always form task forces of rescue and relief work, taking on the most urgent, most difficult and most dangerous jobs. Chinese army perform their rescue and relief work as if they were fighting a war, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives. whenever the People's liberation Army arrives at an area hit by a natural disaster, the local people will welcome them warmly and feel greatly relieved, The sense of organization, professionalism and efficiency they have displayed has helped them win the trust and praise of the public.