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Text 1 Numbers and Omens
Cultural and background notes
1) The I Ching or Book of Changes
A compilation which records an ancient Chinese
system of divination. In the system, an oracle is cast by flipping coins or
more traditionally, by manipulating yarrow stalks. The oracle is one of 64 different
hexagrams. The hexagram itself is composed of two trigrams, each consisting
of three lines. Those lines are either straight (Yang) or broken (Yin).
2) Yin-Yang
Meaning much more than just female/male, Yin-Yang are the Chinese
terms for the basic polarities of the Universe. Yang is time, light, strong.
Yin is space, dark, weak. Yang is the direction upwards； Yin downwards. Yang
is the closed circle； Yin is the open angle. Yang is clockwise； Yin counter-clockwise.
Yang is hard, resistant and tense； Yin is soft, yielding and relaxed.
3) the five elements
Metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The following is
the productive cycle of the five elements in ancient Chinese philosophy.
Wood burns producing Fire.
Fire leaves behind Earth.
Earth is the source of Metal.
Metal liquefies into flowing liquid like Water.
Water then becomes the nourishment for the Wood.
4) Lao Tzu
Also called Tao Te Ching (literally, "the classic of the way
of virtue"), is attributed to Lao Tzu, though scholars disagree about his
actual existence. In its very poetic form, it teaches that there is a dynamic,
cosmic structure underlying everything that happens in the world. We humans
need to discover that Way (Tao), which is immanent in all aspects of the world,
not a rule imposed from without; and we need to fit into it, letting things
take their course, not exerting ourselves in opposition to it by trying to bend
things to our will.
Our naming (describing) of things always falls short of the way things are,
since things are not limited as our language presupposes. Even the Tao which
we are trying to talk about here eludes our words. The original polarity is
that of being and non-being, and it will be found to interplay throughout the
world, with non-being (emptiness, what is not) having as much significance as
does being (the fullness of things, what is). Thus the notion of the Tao recaptures
the earlier Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, the polarities running through
all things.
5) doing the sevens
Traditional Chinese funeral ceremony, traditionally lasts
over 49 days, the first seven days being the most important. Prayers are said
every seven days for 49 days if the family can afford it. If the family is in
poor circumstances, the period may be shortened to from 3 to 7 days. Usually,
it is the responsibility of the daughters to bear the funeral expenses. The
head of the family should be present for, at least the first and, possibly the
second, prayer ceremony. The number of ceremonies conducted is dependent on
the financial situation of the family. The head of the family should also be
present for the burial or the cremation.
6) ghost month
The seventh month of the lunar year when Ghost Festival is
celebrated. Just as Western people have Halloween for ghosts, Chinese people
also have a holiday to fete the departed spirits of the underworld - Ghost Festival.
It is a popular occasion celebrated throughout China on the 15th day of the
seventh lunar month. Historically, families offer sacrifices of the newly harvested
grain to departed ancestors on this day. The Chinese believe that the dead become
ghosts roaming between Heaven and earth. Spirits without descendants to care
for them are prayed to during Ghost Festival so that they may also enjoy the
warmth of life among the living. This custom, an extension of the traditional
Chinese ethic of "universal love."
Language notes
1) Many
foreign visitors can't help but exclaim that the Chinese are really creative
and can line numbers up so "auspiciously."
（许多外国游客赞叹不已，说中国人真有创造性，竟能够把数字排列得如此“吉祥”。）
To line sth up means to arrange or
organize sth.
e.g. He's lined up a live band for
the party.
2) Chinese
not only use numbers to appeal for good fortune, they also bring them out to
chew people out....
（中国人不仅用数字来求好运，而且还用数字骂人......）
To chew sb. out
means to speak angrily to sb.
e.g. He chewed out his secretary for being
late to work.
3）...and
a whole set of auspiciousness-attracting and evil-expelling habits took shape.
（......于是就形成了一整套祈福避祸的风俗习惯。）
To take shape means to take on a definite
form.
e.g. The plan is beginning to take
shape in my mind.
4) We often
say "three yang make good fortune" to describe the hope that misfortune will
be held at bay and good luck will follow.
（我们常说“三阳开泰"，以期远离凶险，万事亨通。）
To hold sb at bay
means to prevent (an enemy,
pursuers, etc) from coming near.
e.g.
I'm trying to hold my creditors at bay.
5)
...says that the only significance numbers have is what people ascribe
to them.
（李恒力认为数字和祸福并无任何联系，他们的意义是人们强加上去的。）
To ascribe sth to sb/sth means to
consider
sth to be caused by, written by or belonging to sb/sth.
e.g. He ascribed his failure to bad luck.
This play is usually ascribed to Shakespeare.
You can't ascribe the same meaning to both words.
6) They are
more wary of one, three, five, seven, and nine.
（他们对一、三、五、七、九等数字比较谨慎。）
To be wary of is to be cautious
of.
e.g.
She was wary of strangers.
7) Thus in
odd-numbered months holidays have been stipulated to help people get by.
（因此单月里定下了一些节日让人们来过。）
To get by is to
manage to
live.
e.g. How does he get by on such a small salary?
8)
When inquiring into the other's name and the "eight character
horoscope" of the other party....
（向女方“问名”或互换“生辰八字”时......）
To inquire into sth means to try to learn the
facts about sth.
e.g. We must inquire further
into the matter.
9) The
number of characters in the Chinese text would always have to add up to an even
number....
（所用字数也要凑成偶数......）
To add up to means to amount
to.
e.g. These numbers add up to 100.
10)
"...Thus
five fits in well with the idea of the ‘mean' always promoted by Confucian
scholars," he has written.
（......“因此‘五’正好符合儒家所提倡的‘中庸’思想”，他这样写道。）
To fit in with sth means to be in harmony
with sth.
e.g. Do these plans fit in with
your arrangements?
11) Six
is the largest number on a die, so wouldn't one win by coming up with two sixes?
（骰子上最大的数字是六，如果你掷出了两个六，不就赢了吗？）
To come up with sth means to find or
produce (an answer, a solution, etc).
e.g. She
came up with a new idea for increasing sales.
Text 2 Red Envelops
Information related to the text
ECHO magazine: Echo is a biweekly magazine of news, culture and entertainment
for a lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and gay readership.
Language notes
1）But
choosing a gift is an art in itself, and you can rack your brains and spend a
whole day shopping, and you still won't know if the other person will like it or
need it.
（但是选购礼物是一门艺术，你绞尽脑汁兜了一整天的商店，还是不知道买到手的东西别人喜欢不喜欢，需要不需要。）
To rack one's brains means to try very hard
to think of sth or recall sth.
e.g. We racked
our brains for an answer.
2) ...only
after dinner would it be pulled out and handed out to the small children.
（......饭后才把钱拉出来发给孩子们。）
To hand sth out (to sb) is to
distribute
sth (to sb).
e.g. Relief workers were handing out
emergency rations (to the survivors).
3) Ruan
Chang-jue reminds us that because red symbolizes the vitality of life, and all
mankind in early times had their magic ways to expel evil, it was by no means
unique to China....
（阮长珏提醒我们，由于红色象征生命力，而且早期人类都有各自驱邪的魔法，所以绝非中国独有......）
By no means means not at
all.
e.g. She is by no means poor: in fact, she's quite
rich.
4) ...who
can't help but lament that today "sending a red envelope" is synonymous with
giving a bribe.
（...痛心地说如今“送红包”成了贿赂的同义词。）
Be synonymous (with sth) means having
the same meaning.
e.g. Wealth is not necessarily
synonymous with generosity.
5) Some
Chinese have adapted to circumstances....
（有些中国人随机应变......）
To adapt (oneself) to sth
means to become
adjust to new conditions, etc.
e.g. She adapted herself quickly to the new climate.
6)
...hoping that after they get a red envelope and become a local god of wealth,
they will no longer tamper with the affairs of men.
（......希望他们拿到红包成为本地财神后，不再干预人间的事务。）
To tamper with sth
means to meddle or interfere
with sth.
e.g. Someone has been tampering
with the lock.
7)
...steakhouse may print a golden bull, to make a deeper impression on their
customers.
（......牛排餐厅也许会印一只金牛，给顾客留下深刻印象。）
To make an impression on sb means to have
a deep lasting effect on the mind or feeling of sb.
e.g. His first speech as president made a strong impression on his audience.
8) ...how
can a few piece of paper currency take the place of or outweigh the feeling in
one's heart?
（......几张纸币怎么能取代或重过一个人内心的情意呢？）
To take the place of sb/sth means to
replace sb/sth.
e.g. Nothing could take the place
of the family he had lost.
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