本期主题【筷子】

　　Chopsticks, with a history of thousands of years, are unique traditional Chinese dining utensils. They were called "zhu" in ancient China and the name of "Kuai Zi" began to be used in Ming Dynasty. Chopsticks are usually made of bamboo. Some are made of wood, ivory, metals or other materials. Their upper parts are square and lower parts round, or they are all round with thicker upper parts and thinner lower parts. Whatever their shapes are, they are used in pairs and the pair must be identical to each other. chopsticks are the necessary dining utensils in Chinese people's daily life, the invention of which fully delays the intelligence of Chinese people.

　　参考翻译:

　　筷子(chopsticks)是中国传统的独具特色的进食工具(dining utensils)，至今已有数千年的历史。筷子在古代被称为“箸”，大约从明朝开始才有了“筷子”的称呼。筷子多为竹子制成，也有用木头、象牙(ivory)、金属或其他材料制作而成。它要么上方下圆，要么上下全圆而上粗下细。不管其形状如何，筷子必须是成对使用的，并且两只筷子的大小长短要相同。筷子是中国人日常生活的必备工具，它的发明充分反映了中国人民的智慧。

　　1.第一句的主干结构为“筷子是进食工具至今已有数千年的历史”可使用插入语的形式，进行补充说明，使用 with ahistory of...进行翻译。

　　2.第二句“筷子在古代…”中包含时间状语“在古代”，因此句子的时态应为过去时。

　　3.在“它要么上方下圆…上粗下细”一句中，“上下”主要指的是筷子的上半部分、下半部分，使用upper part和lower part来表达;“上方下圆”英译时可以分享系动词are，译作upper parts are square and lower parts round，避免重复;“上下全圆”可译作句子的主干，后跟介词短语with thicker upper parts and thinner lower parts说明“上粗下细”的形状。

　　4.“不管其形状如何”在翻译时使用“whatever+n.(their shapes)+be动词”结构，相当于状语从句nomatter what their shapes are;“大小长短要相同”没有直译成 be of the same size and height，而译为be identical to each other,后者的译法更加优美。

　　5.最后一句中“它的发明…”可使用which引导的非限制性定语从句结构，对前一句进行进一步的说明。