景泰蓝是驰名中外的传统工艺，集青铜艺术，瓷器和雕刻诸种工艺制作技巧于一身，是一门道地的北京绝活。它是收藏家收藏的佳品，又是人们居家使用的精美物品。 page .172, para .7
Spring Festival(or Chinese New Year)is the most important traditional festival in China.People celebrate it with lanterns and streamers,no matter where they live, in the countryside or in the city.New Year pictures are an indispensable part of this celebration for each and every household.People put up New Year Pictures in their homes to enhance the lively festive atmosphere.
春节是中国最重要的传统节日，一到春节，无论城市农村，人们都要张灯结彩庆贺，张贴年画，是家家户户春节必不可少的节目。人们用年画将家里布置得热热闹闹，增添过年的气氛。 page .172, para .8
Most New Year pictures feature designs symbolizing good fortune,auspiciousness（吉利）and festivity.A popular New Year picture entitled Surplus in Successive Years depicts a cute plump baby holding a big carp（鲤鱼）in his arms and a bouquet of lotus flowers in his hand.”Fish”and”surplus”in Chinese have the same pronunciation (yu).Through the homophony（同音异义）of the two words, people express their wishes for affluent（富裕的） lives.
年画在内容上多表现为祝福，吉祥和喜庆之意。如一幅广为流传的年画《连年有鱼》，画一个可爱的胖娃娃，，怀里抱着一条大鲤鱼，手里拿着一束莲花。“鱼” 和 “余”在汉字中读音相同，通过谐音，以表示生活富足，年年有余。 10.Unit22 page207,para.2
It is widely acknowledged that from Ming and Qing dynasties onwards,there are eight major schools of cuisine based on regional cooking.they came from Shandong,Sichuan,Guangdong,Fujian,Jiangsu, Zhejiang,Hunan,and Anhui provinces.In addition to these traditional cuisines,the culinary industry in China has undergone great changes,as almost every place has its own local specialties,and the different cuisines gather in big cities such as Beijing.
说起中国饮食，明清以来，公认的有八大菜系，这它们分别是：鲁菜,川菜，粤菜，闽菜，苏菜，浙菜，湘菜，和徽菜。除了这些传统菜系，当今中国，美食地图发生了很大的变化，几乎全国各地都有自己的拿手菜，在北京这样的大城市汇聚了各种地方名菜。 11.Unit23 page215,para.1
Tea is a wonderful beverage originally produced in China about 4000 years ago.During the Tang Dynasty,Japanese monks introduced tea seeds to Japan,and by combining tea with Zen Buddhism,created the world-famous Japanese tea ceremony.In the 17th century,the Dutch took to Europe the Chinese habit of tea drinking,which then became a tradition
of the Europeans.In England in particular,people developed the custom of afternoon tea.Prior to the 19th century,all the tea in the world was grown in China,and even the English word “tea” was a transliteration（音译）of the pronunciation of “tea” in the Fujian dialect of China.Tea is an important contribution of the Chinese people to the world.
茶，这一美妙的饮品原产地在中国。 四千多年前，中国人就开始有饮茶的习惯。唐代时，日本的僧人从中国引入茶种，与同时引入的禅宗思想相结合，形成了闻名世界的日本茶道。17 世纪时荷兰人将中国人饮茶的习惯带到欧洲，进而形成了欧洲人喝茶的传统。尤其在英国，下午茶的习俗由此而生。 在19世纪之前，世界各地饮用的茶叶都来自中国。英文中茶叶译为tea,就是根据中文的音译（福建方言“茶”的读音）。茶，是中国人对世界的重要贡献。
IV. Short Answer questions
1. How did the ancient Silk Road influence Chinese culture?/ What is the significance of the ancient Silk Road?
The Silk Road functioned not only as a trade route,but also as a bridge that linked the ancient civilizations of China,India,the Mesopotamian plains,Egypt,and Greece.It also helped to promote the exchange of science and technology between east and west.The Silk Road served as the main channel for ancient China to open up to the outside world, as well as for fresh impulses from other cultures to enter the country,which contributed a significant share to the shaping of Chinese culture.
丝绸之路不仅是一条古代通商的道路，它更是连接古代中华文明，印度文明，埃及文明，希腊文明和美索不达米亚文明的纽带。它也为东西方的科学技术交流起到了促进作用。丝绸之路是古老的中国走向世界，接受世界其他地方文明营养的主要通道。中国文化性格的塑造与丝绸之路息息相关。
2. What does filial “piety” mean according to Confucius（孔子认为孝是什么意思？）?
Confucius regarded “filial piety and fraternal duty” as the essence of ren. The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) quotes Confucius as saying,“The greatest love for people is the love of one’s parents.” 孔子把“孝与兄弟的责任”视为仁的本质。中庸援引孔子的话：“人最伟大的爱是父母的爱。”
How do you understand it（你是怎么理解的？）?
I think filial piety is the basis of being a man, and parents are the most important people in the world. Our life is given by our parents, and we should always be grateful to our parents.
我认为孝顺是成为人的基础，父母是世界上最重要的人。我们的生命是由父母给予的，我们应该永远感激我们的父母。