countries. It is a holiday of love and romance usually by exchanging valentines or love tokens between lovers. There are different origins regarding the festival. One legend goes that the Romans put a priest named Saint Valentine into prison for refusing to believe in the Roman gods. On February 14, Valentine was put to death not only because he was Christian, but also because he had cured the jailer's daughter of blindness. The night before he was executed he wrote her a farewell letter signed \your Valentine\Later, February 14 became a holiday for people to show affection for their loved ones. Today, people celebrate Valentine's Day in different
ways, sending greeting cards and flowers, giving chocolate or other gifts, or joining in romantic dinners. The holiday has now become popular all over the world. In China the festival is also becoming increasingly popular with young people.
翻译：美洲和欧洲各国都会庆祝2月14日的情人节。这是一个充满爱情和浪漫的节日，恋人之间通常都会交换情人卡和爱情信物。关于这个节日的起源有着不同的说法。一个传说是罗马人把一个叫圣瓦伦丁的神父关进了监狱，因为他拒绝相信罗马神。2月14日那天，瓦伦丁被处死，不仅因为他是基督徒，而且因为他曾治愈了一位监狱看守双目失明的女儿。他在被处死的前一天晚上给她写了一封署名“你的瓦伦丁”的告别信。后来，2月14日就成了一个人们可以为他们的情人展示感情的节日。现在，人们以不同的方式庆祝情人节，他们发送贺卡、鲜花，赠送巧克力或其他礼品，或共进浪漫的晚餐。现在这个节日已流行世界各地。在中国，这个节日也正越来越受年轻人的欢迎。
原文：农历七月初七是中国的七夕节，是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日。一些大的商家每年都
举办不同的活动，年轻人也送礼物给他们的情人。因此，七夕节被认为是中国的“情人节”。七夕节来自牛
郎与织女的传说。相传，每年的这个夜晚，天上的织女都会与牛郎相会。所以，在七夕的夜晚，人们可以看到牛郎织女在银河相会。姑娘们也会在这一天晚上向天上的织女乞求智慧，以获得美满姻缘。但随着时代的变迁，这些活动正在消失，唯有标志着忠贞爱情的牛郎织女的传说一直流传民间。
翻译：July 7th on the Chinese calendar is Chinese Qixi Festival, the most romantic of all the traditional Chinese holidays. Every year, some big businesses organize various
activities, and young people send gifts to their lovers. As a result, the Qixi Festival is considered to be Chinese \Valentine's Day\The Qixi Festival is derived from the
legend of Cowherd and Weaving Maid. The legend holds that on this particular night every year the Weaving Maid in heaven meets with Cowherd. So, people can see Cowherd and Weaving Maid meeting in the Milky Way on the night of Qixi. On this night, girls would also beg Weaving Maid for some wisdom for a happy marriage. But,
with the changing of times, these activities are diminishing. All that remains is the
legend of Cowherd and Weaving Maid, a sign of faithful love, continuously circulated among the folk. Unit 5
原文：The Age of Discovery, also called the Age of Exploration, is a historical period of European global exploration that started in the early 15th century and continued until the 18th century. It is usually regarded as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era, in the context of emerging western imperialism and economic competition between European kingdoms seeking wealth through the establishment of trade routes and colonies. Among many great explorers during this period, the most outstanding one was Christopher Columbus since he discovered the New World. European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, with the contact between the Old and New Worlds producing the exchange: a wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, culture, and so forth. This represented one of the most significant global events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in history. European exploration allowed the global mapping of the world, resulting in a new world-view and distant civilizations acknowledging each other.
翻译：大发现年代，也被称为大勘探年代，是欧洲进行全球勘查的一个历史时期，始于15世纪初并一直持续到18世纪。这一时期通常被认为是中世纪和近代之间的桥梁，当时西方帝国主义刚兴起，欧洲各王国之间正在经济上互相竞争，他们想通过建立贸易路线和殖民地来寻找财富。在这一时期众多伟大的探险家中，最杰出的是克里斯托弗?哥伦布，因为他发现了新大陆。欧洲的海外扩张导致了殖民帝国的崛起，旧大陆与新大陆的接触也促成了两边的互相交换：大量的植物、动物、食物、文化等得到迁移。这代表了历史上生态、农业和文化在全球范围内最重大的活动之一。欧洲大勘探让绘制全球性的世界地图成为可能，从而使人们看到一个新的世界与古老的文明正遥相呼应。
原文：丝绸之路（Silk Road）是我国古代一条连接中国和欧亚大陆的交通线路，由于这条商路以丝绸贸易为主，故称\丝绸之路\。作为国际贸易的通道和文化交流的桥梁， 丝绸之路有效地促进了东西方经济文化交流和发展，对世界文明进程有着深远影响。当前，在新的历史条件下，我国提出了\一带一路\（即\丝绸之路经济带\和\世纪海上丝绸之路\）的战略构想。\一带一路\以合作共赢为核心，强调相关各国的互利共赢和共同发展。这一战略一经提出即受到沿线各国的积极响应。
翻译：The Silk Road is a traffic route in the ancient times connecting China and Eurasia. This trade route focuses on the trade of silk, hence the name \
As an international trade channel and a bridge of cultural exchanges, the Silk Road
effectively improved the economic and cultural exchanges and development between
the East and the West, exerting a profound impact on the progress of the world civilization. Nowadays, under the new historical circumstances, our country
proposes the strategy of \One Belt, One Road\namely the Silk Road Economic Belt
and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road). The strategy of \Belt, One Road\focuses on cooperation and mutual benefits, emphasizing mutual benefits, win-win, as well as common development of the related countries. Once proposed, the strategy has received positive responses from the related countries along the road.
Unit 6
原文：Minimalism (极简主义) is about getting rid of excess stuff and keeping only what you need. Minimalist living, in simplest terms, is to live with as less as possible,
mentally and physically until you achieve peace of mind. Results that ensue are less
stress, more time, and increased happiness. Minimalists like to say that they're living more meaningfully, more deliberately, and that the minimalist lifestyle allows them to
focus on what's more important in life: friends, hobbies, travel, experiences. Of course, minimalism doesn't mean there's anything inherently wrong with owning
material possessions. Today's problem seems to be that we tend to give too much meaning to our things, often forsaking our health, our relationships, our passions, our
personal growth, and our desire to contribute beyond ourselves. In addition to its application in people's daily life, minimalism also finds application in many creative disciplines, including art, architecture, design, dance, film making, theater, music, fashion, photography and literature.
翻译：极简主义是指去掉多余的，仅保留需要的部分。用最简单的话来说，极简的生活方式，就是生活得越简单越好，直到获得心灵的平静，这种简单既是精神上的，也是身体上的。这样的生活方式会减轻压力，带来更多自由时间，并增强幸福感。极简主义者会说，他们生活得更有意义了，更从容了，极简的生活方式让他们着眼于生活中更重要的事物：朋友、爱好、旅游和体验。当然，极简主义并不意味着拥有物质财富从本质上来讲有什么不对。现在的问题似乎在于，我们往往太重视所拥有的东西，而常常抛弃了健康、人与人之间的关系、我们的热情、个人成长，以及帮助他人的愿望。极简主义除了在我们的日常生活中可以得到应用，还存在于很多创意领域，包括艺术、建筑、设计、舞蹈、电影、戏剧、音乐、时尚、摄影和
文学等。
原文：国民幸福指数（National Happiness Index，NHI）是衡量人们幸福感的一种指数，也是衡量一个国家或地区经济发展、居民生活与幸福水平的指标工具。随着中国经济的高速增长，中国政府越来越重视人民群众生活质量和幸福指数的提升。政府注重改善民生，努力改善人民群众的经济状况，满足人民
群众日益增长的物质文化需求。当前，中国政府提倡释放改革红利，让人民群众得到更多实惠。所有这些都将有效促进我国国民幸福指数不断提升。
翻译：National Happiness Index (NHI) is an index that measures how happy people are. It is also a tool that measures the levels of economic development and people's livelihood and happiness in a country or region. With the fast growth of Chinese economy, the Chinese government has been paying more and more attention to people's living quality and the increase of happiness index. The government stresses improvement of its people's livelihood, striving to improve their economic conditions and meet their growing material and cultural needs. Currently, the Chinese government advocates the unleashing of more reform dividends, with the aim of offering more real benefits to its people. All these measures will combine to
effectively increase the NHI of our people. Unit 7
原文：The color and style of a wedding gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. For example, in Western cultures brides often choose a
white wedding dress, while in China the traditional wedding dress is in red. Though white has become the most preferred color for wedding gowns across the world today, this was not a widespread trend before the Victorian era. White became a popular option in 1840, when Queen Victoria wore a white gown at her wedding. The official wedding photograph was widely published, and many brides chose white to become the followers of the Queen. Many people believed that the color white symbolized virginity, though this was not the original intention. As far as the style is concerned, wedding dresses were once typically short in the front with a longer train
in the back. This tendency continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs.
翻译：婚纱礼服的颜色和款式可取决于婚礼参与者的宗教和文化。例如，在西方文化中新娘通常会选择白色的婚纱，而在中国，传统的结婚礼服是红色的。虽然白色已成为当今婚纱礼服在世界各地最受青睐的颜色，可是这在维多利亚时期之前并不是一个普遍的潮流。白色在1840年成为了一个受欢迎的选择，那年维多利亚女王在她的婚礼上穿了一件白色的礼服。官方的婚礼照片被广泛刊登后，很多新娘都仿效女王选择白色。很多人相信白色象征着童贞，尽管这不是她们选择白色的初衷。就款式而言，婚纱礼服曾一度是前面短短的、后面是长长的裙摆。这种趋势一直持续到20世纪60年代后期，那个时期全长裙边的设计
恢复了流行。
原文：中国是丝绸的故乡，因而有很多与丝绸相关的艺术，刺绣（embroidery）就是其中的一种。刺绣
是中国民间传统手工艺之一，至少有两、三千年的历史。从事刺绣的多为女子，因此刺绣又被称为\女红\
（women's needlework）。刺绣在中国受到了人们广泛的喜爱。刺绣可用来装饰衣物，如在衣服、被子、枕套（pillowcase）等物品上绣上美丽的图案，也可制作成特别的饰品（ornament）。中国有四大名绣: 苏州的苏绣、广东的粤绣、湖南的湘绣以及四川的蜀绣。各种绣法不仅风格有差异，主题也各有不同。在这其中，苏州的苏绣最负盛名。
翻译：China is home to silk, thereby having a variety of arts related to silk, one of which is embroidery. Embroidery, with at least two or three thousand years of history, is one of the Chinese traditional folk arts and crafts. Since most embroiderers are
women, it's also called \. Embroidery has been much-loved by the Chinese people. It can be used to beautify clothing and things. For example, clothes, quilts, pillowcases etc. can be embroidered with beautiful designs, or a piece of embroidery can be made for a special ornament. There are four most famous types of embroidery in China: Suxiu from Suzhou, Yuexiu from Guangdong, Xiangxiu from Hunan, and Shuxiu from Sichuan, each having its own style and theme. Among the four, Suzhou embroidery has enjoyed the highest reputation.
Unit 8
原文：The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration
of the environment. The organization was originally named the World Wildlife Fund in 1961. In 1986, it changed its name to World Wide Fund for Nature to better reflect the scope of its activities. With over five million supporters worldwide, it is the world's
largest independent conservation organization, working in more than 100 countries and supporting about 1,300 conservation and environmental projects. Its mission is to stop destroying the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which
humans live in harmony with nature. Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of oceans and coasts, forests, and freshwater. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change. They now need, above all, money to carry out its missions and handle conservation