龙争虎斗 a fight between a dragon and a tiger

    龙心凤肝 rare dishes(dragon's heart and phoenix's liver)

    龙凤呈祥 prosperity brought by dragon and phoenix in an extremely good fortune

    画龙点睛 a finishing touch

    卧虎藏龙 crouching tiger, hidden dragon

    生龙活虎 full of life and energy

    望子成龙 hold high hopes for one's child

    乘龙快婿 a son-in-law of high rank

    鲤鱼跃龙门 carp over the goal can be transformed into a dragon

    二月二龙抬头 Dragon Headsraising Day

    端午节赛龙舟 Dragon Boat Festival

    耍龙灯 dragon lantern dancing

  一.不是“颜色”的颜色

  black art  魔术（不是“黑色艺术”）

  blue jacket  水手；水兵（不是“蓝色夹克”）

  brown study  空想（不是“棕色的研究”）

  golden opinions  极高的评价（不是“金色观点”）

  grey hairs  老人（不是“灰白的头发”）

  grey sister  修女（不是“灰色的妹妹”）

  green horn  没有经验的人（不是“绿色触角”）

  red light  危险信号（不是“红色灯光”）

  red meat  牛肉；羊肉（不是“红肉”）

  silver tongue  说话流利（不是“银色的舌头”）

  white feather  懦夫（不是“白色羽毛”）

  二.不是“动物”的动物

  bell the cat  舍己为人（不是“给猫挂铃”）

  cry wolf  虚张声势（不是“对狼大叫”）

  dog days  三伏天（不是“狗天”）

  dog ear  书的折角（不是“狗耳朵”）

  eat crow  被迫认输（不是“吃乌鸦”）

  goose flesh  起鸡皮疙瘩（不是“鹅肉”）

  horse sense  常识（不是“马的意识”）

  white elephant  沉重的负担（不是“白象”）

  rain cats and dogs  下倾盆大雨（不是“下猫狗雨”）

  talk turkey  直率的说（不是“谈论火鸡”）

  I am a freshman. These days, some bank clerks come to school to encourage students to apply for a credit card which can overdraw. Many of my classmates have credit cards. They prefer to pay via credit cards when they buy books, electronic products, or even daily necessities. They say it’s convenient and it saves them the trouble of taking large amount of cash. And they can get rewards based on the annual consumption. But I think it is to encourage people to consume, students should not follow the fashion. How do you think about the credit card?

                               Yours,

                               Nanny

　　Eating Yuanxiao

　　吃元宵

　　Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty. Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling. It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a dessert.

　　元宵是元宵节的特色食品。据说，元宵是因汉武帝时期的一位名叫元宵的宫女而得名。元宵是一种带馅儿的甜食，是由糯米粉加上甜的馅料制成。元宵节就是因此食品得名。元宵的烹制方法非常简单，将元宵倒入装满沸水的锅中煮几分钟就可以了。

　　Guessing lantern riddles

　　猜灯谜

　　"Guessing lantern riddles"is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

　　猜灯谜也是元宵节活动的一个基本组成部分。灯笼的所有者将谜语写在一张纸条上，然后将纸条展示在灯笼上。如果赏灯者猜出谜语，就将纸条取出，然后找灯笼所有者确认答案。打对的话，他们就可以领取一份小礼品。这个活动起源于宋朝(960——1279)。猜灯谜活动极富情趣和智慧，因此在全社会广受欢迎。

　　Watch fireworks

　　看烟火

　　In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.

　　元宵节的白天会有舞龙舞狮、划旱船、扭秧歌、踩高跷。而在晚上，除了各种大型灯会，灿烂的焰火也是一幅美丽的画卷。很多家庭在春节时会留下一部分烟花等着元宵节放。有的地方政府甚至会组织焰火晚会。当新年的第一轮圆月升上夜空时，人们都会因燃放的烟火和空中的明月而兴奋。

1. number one 最重要的人(或事物)；最好的人(或事物)

Many people consider themselves number one, the most important person.

很多人认为他们自己就是最好的，是最重要的一个人。

2. look out for/ take care of number one 先为自己着想，照顾自己的利益，为自己打算

one and only

绝无仅有的；独一无二的；有名的

They are always looking out for number one and taking care of number one. It is as if they are the one and only person on Earth.

他们总是先为自己着想，只关心自己的利益，就好像他们是地球上唯一的人。

3. pull a fast one 欺骗， 捣鬼

Jim only won the game because he pulled a fast one on his opponent.

吉姆因为跟对手耍了手段，才贏了比賽。

4. one in a million 百万分之一，凤毛麟角，百里挑一，佼佼者

She's one in a million.

她是个百里挑一的人。

5. at one time 同时，曾经

At one time we met frequently.

我们过去常见面。

6. roll up into one 合为一体；兼于一身

She is a great person -- kind, thoughtful and intelligent -- all good qualities rolled up into one.

她是个很优秀的女人——善良、体贴、聪慧——集所有可贵品质于一身。

7. one good turn deserves another. 善须善报；要以德报德；好人应得好报

If he does you a favor, you should do him a favor. One good turn deserves another.

如果他帮你的忙，那么你就应帮他的忙，以德报德嘛。

8. be/go back to square one 退回起点，从头再来

His papers were lost in the accident, so he had to go back to square one with the work.

他的论文在这次事故中弄丢了，只得从头再写。

    例句：We've made certain arrangements so that there can be flowers of different colors all year round.

    我们已做了精心的安排，以使一年四季都有不同颜色的花朵开放。

    2. the seven year itch 七年之痒

    例句：Is there so-called the seven year itch between two friends?

    朋友之间有没有所谓的“七年之痒”呢？

    3. put years on 使某人觉得（显得）老些

    例句：Being tired and unhappy put years on him.

    由于劳累和心情不好，他苍老了很多。

    4. be light years away from something 遥不可及，或指两个事物截然不同、差别很大

    例句：Righteous punishment is a thousand light years away from revenge.

    公正的惩罚跟报复可差得十万八千里。

    5. getting on in years 上了年纪

    例句：He is a person who is getting on in years.

    他是个上了年岁的人。

    6. ring in the new year 新年前夕喜迎新年

    例句：We ring in the New Year with the church bells.

    随着教堂的钟声，我们迎来了新年。

    I do not know who wrote those words, but I have always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want to make it. We can take the mysterious, hazy future and carve out of it anything that we can imagine, just as a sculptor carves a statue from a shapeless stone.

    我不知道是谁写的，可我很喜欢这句话，它提醒我们未来是由自己创造的。我们可以把神秘、不可知的未来塑造成我们想象中的任何模样，犹如雕刻家将未成形的石头刻成雕像。

    We are all in the position of the farmer. If we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest. If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.

    我们每个人都像是农夫。洒下良种将有丰收，播下劣种或生满野草便将毁去收成。没有耕耘则会一无所获。

    I want the future to be better than the past. I don't want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled. We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend the remainder of our lives.

    我希望未来比过去更加美好，希望未来不会沾染历史的错误与过失。我们都应举目向前，因我们的余生要用未来书写。

    The past is gone and static. Nothing we can do will change it. The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will affect it. Each day brings with it new frontiers, in our homes and in our business, if we only recognize them. We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor.

    往昔已逝，静如止水；我们无法再作改变。而前方的未来正生机勃勃；我们所做的每一件事都将会影响着它。只要我们认识到这些，无论是在家中还是在工作上，每天我们的面前都会展现出新的天地。在人类致力开拓的每一片领域上，我们正站在进步的起跑点。

    1. Favoring red comes from worship of the sun

    喜欢红色来自太阳崇拜

    The Chinese regard the color red as the symbol of happiness, success, luck, faith and growth. They like red very much, which comes from worship of the Sun. In traditional Chinese weddings, there are double Xi characters in red, red scarves, red flowers and the bride wears a red coat.

    中国人将红色看做是幸福、成功、好运、忠诚和繁荣的象征。他们很喜欢红色，其实是由于对太阳的崇拜。在传统中国婚礼上，有红色的“囍”字、红色的丝带、红花和新娘的红衣。

    2. The wedding ceremony shows harmony between nature and people

    婚礼传达出“天人合一”的思想

    A marriage is not only a merger of the couple; traditionally, it symbolizes the merger of two families. So the wedding ceremony should reflect the holiness of marriage, drawing the attention of relatives and friends. There is harmony between nature and the people inside.

    婚姻不仅是一对新人的结合，按照传统，婚姻也象征着两个家庭的结合。因此婚礼要能体现出婚姻的神圣，要能够吸引亲朋好友来参加。这里面有“天人合一”的思想。

    Inviting relatives and friends to the wedding symbolizes the formality and the relationships between people. During a marriage, two families become in-laws. The ceremony reflects the importance and family status of the parents.

    邀请亲朋好友来参加婚礼体现着人与人之间的关系和礼节。在婚姻中，双方的家庭结为“亲家”。婚礼体现了家长在家庭中的地位和重要性。

    After the ceremony, the bride and the groom usually burn money and food as offerings to the gods. As the fire consumes the offerings accompanied by the sound of firecrackers, god accepts the gift, indicating that there is harmony between nature and people.

    婚礼之后，新郎和新娘通常会烧纸钱和食物来祭祀祖先。伴着鞭炮的声音，火苗将祭品烧给祖先们，这象征着人与自然的和谐。

    3. The sound of musical instruments in the wedding is usually loud to express the voice of the people. The sound should be loud enough to let nature know, and it also demonstrates the importance of the marriage.

    婚礼上奏乐的声音通常很响，响到足以让自然“听到”，同时也证明婚姻的重要性。

    4. The food the bride eats has cultural significance

    新娘吃的食物也是一种文化象征

    In traditional weddings, the bride usually has red dates, peanuts, longans and melon seeds. The meaning is evident in the Chinese pronunciation of these four foods. When they are said together, it sounds like "Have a baby soon."

    传统婚礼上，新娘一般会吃红枣、花生、桂圆和瓜子。其中的象征意义可以从这四种食物的读音中看出。当这四种食物放在一起读时就是“早生贵子”。

• 冬至：Winter Solstice

“solstice” 这个词我们不太看到，因为它的意思很特别，表示“the time of either the longest day in the year (about June 22) or the shortest day in the year (about December 22)”。这么看来，这个词的用武之地似乎局限性很大了。基本上也就用在“Winter Solstice”（冬至）以及“Summer Solstice”（夏至）之处。

• 冬至这天有啥传统习俗？

Winter Solstice is a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion.

冬至是家族团聚的一天。在这天，中国南方的家庭会包汤圆、吃汤圆，以象征团圆的意思。不过在中国北方，似乎更多的人会吃饺子。比如说会有“冬至到，吃水饺”这样的谚语。

• 中国人为什么比较重视冬至？

其实，但从中国文化方面讲，“冬至”这个日子还可以翻译成“Dongzhi Festival”，中国人为什么都比较重视这个节气呢？

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in.

原来还是和“阴阳”相关啊。人们认为，过了这一天，白昼一天比一天长了，是一个节气循环的开始，“阳”气逐渐回升，因此也算是个吉利的日子啦。

    物价直线上升，这样子下去，我们锅里可没什么东西煮饭。

　　None of you keyhole. 不准偷看。

　　You don't seem to be quite yourself today. 你今天看起来不大对劲。

　　Do you have any money on you？ 你身上带钱了吗？

　　What is your major？ 你学什么专业？

　　My girlfriend and I broke up. 我和我的女朋友吹了。

　　It was something that happens once in the blue moon. 这是千载难逢的事。

　　I'll kick you out. 我将炒你鱿鱼。

　　I have to be late and keep my date waiting. 我不喜欢迟到而让别人久等。

　　There is nobody by that name working here. 这里没有这个人。

　　He neither drinks nor smokes. 他既不喝酒也不抽烟。

　　He pushes his luck. 他太贪心了。

　　Nuts! 呸；胡说；混蛋！

　　I can't make both ends meet. 我上个月接不到下个月，缺钱。

　　It is of high quality. 它质量上乘。

　　Dead end. 死胡同。

　　Would you mind making less noise. 能不能小 声点