一篇英语带翻译的小短文

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but most Christians observe Christmas on December 25 On this day, many go to church, where they take part in special religious services During the Christmas season, they also exchange gifts and decorate their homes with holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, an early English phrase that means Mass of Christ The story of Christmas comes chiefly from the Gospels of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew in the New Testament

The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians

Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god-Marduk Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days

The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans

The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits) The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles Again the masters and slaves would exchange places

"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians thought it an abomination to honor the pagan god The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia

Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas

The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas

The birth of Jesus had a story: In Nazareth, a city of Galilee The virgin's name was Mary was betrothed to Joseph Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit Joseph her husband was minded to put her away secretly While he thought about these things, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him did not be afraid to take Mary as wife And Mary will bring forth a Son, and he shall call his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins

Before Jesus births, Joseph and Mary came to Quirnius was governing Syria So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city Joseph also went up out of Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn

And that, Christmas is the feast of the nativity of Jesus, is on 25th, December every year But nobody knows the actual birthday of Jesus And the Christmas has become popular when Christmas cards appeared in 1846 and the concept of a jolly Santa Claus was first made popular in nineteenth Century

The custom of giving gifts to relatives and friends on a special day in winter probably began in ancient Rome and northern Europe In these regions, people gave each other small presents as part of their year-end celebrations

In the 1800's, two more Christmas customs became popular--decorating Christmas trees and sending Christmas cards to relatives and friends Many well-known Christmas carols, including ``Silent Night" and ``Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," were composed during this period In the United States and other countries, Santa Claus replaced Saint Nicholas as the symbol of gift giving

The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas This tradition began in the early Christian church In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name It was frequently used as a holy symbol

“圣诞节”这个名称是“基督弥撒”的缩写。弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。耶诞节是一个宗教节。我们把它当作耶稣的诞辰来庆祝，因而又名耶诞节。这一天，世界所有的基督教会都举行特别的礼拜仪式。但是有很多圣诞节的欢庆活动和宗教并无半点关联。交换礼物，寄圣诞卡，这都使圣诞节成为一个普天同庆的日子。

圣诞节是基督教世界最大的节日。4世纪初，1月6日是罗马帝国东部各教会纪念耶稣降生和受洗的双重节日、称为“主显节”Epiphany，亦称“显现节”即上帝通过耶稣向世人显示自己。当时只有耶路撒冷的教会例外，那里只纪念耶稣的诞生而不纪念耶稣的受洗。

后来历史学家们在罗马基督徒习用的日历中发现公元 354年12月25日页内记录着：“基督降生在犹大的伯利恒。”经过研究，一般认为12月25日作为圣诞节可能开始于公元336年的罗马教会。12月25日原来是波斯太阳神（即光明之神）密特拉（Mithra）的诞辰，是一个异教徒节日，同时太阳神也是罗马国教众神之一。这一天又是罗马历书的冬至节，崇拜太阳神的异教徒都把这一天当作春天的希望，万物复苏的开始。可能由于这个原因，罗马教会才选择这一天作为圣诞节。这是教会初期力图把异教徒的风俗习惯基督教化的措施之一。后来，虽然大多数教会都接受12月25日为圣诞节，但又因为各地教会使用的历书不同，具体日期不能统一，于是就把12月24日到第二年的1月6日定为圣诞节节期（Christmas Tide），各地教会可以根据当地具体情况在这段节期之内庆祝圣诞节

瑞克是个好人。他做的生日蛋糕在商店里。他的蛋糕是

很大的而且价格也不错,因此,许多人买他的蛋糕。他和很多顾客都成了朋友。他们都很喜欢他。一天晚上,他想回家了,但是他的许多老客户进来。瑞克微笑:“我很抱歉。这是今天太晚了。如果你需要蛋糕,请明天再来。"他们一个拿出一蛋糕不错,对他说:“你做了许多很好的蛋糕给我们。这生日蛋糕是给你的。生日快乐,瑞克。”

1风和太阳(The Wind And The Sun)

One day the wind said to the sun, “Look at that man walking along the road I can get his cloak off more quickly than you can”

“We will see about that,” said the sun “I will let you try first”

So the wind tried to make the man take off his cloak He blew and blew, but the man only pulled his cloak more closely around himself

“I give up,” said the wind at last “I cannot get his cloak off” Then the sun tried He shone as hard as he could The man soon became hot and took off his cloak

(有一天风跟太阳说: “看看那个沿着路上走的人我可以比你快让他把披风脱下来)

(“我们等着看吧,”太阳说, “我让你先试)

(因此风尝试让那个人把披风脱下来他用力地吹,可是那个人把披风拉得更紧)

(“我放弃了,”风最后说, “我无法让他把披风脱下来”然后由太阳试试看他尽可能地晒他不久,那个人很热就把披风脱下来了)

2 THE NEWSPAPER 报 纸

Nowadays the newspaper possesses considerable value Everybody should read it It supplies us with a variety of news every day It tells us the political situation of the world If we form the habit of reading the newspaper, we shall (will) get enough knowledge to cope with our circumstances

现今报纸拥有极大的价值，人人都应该看它。它每天提供我们各种类类的消息。它告诉我们世界政治局势。如果我们养成看报的习惯，我们就能得到足够的知识来因应我们的环境。学生虽然每天须做功课，但他们至少应该匀出一两个小时来看报。哪些，他们不但能增加知识而且也能赶上时代。总而言之，看报对学生很有益处。

3 MY DAILY LIFE 我的日常生活

Though my daily life is extremely monotonous, I try hard to adapt myself to it Why Because I intend to be a good student I wish to render service to my country

I get up at six o’clock every day After I wash my face and brush my teeth, I begin to review my lessons I go to school at seven o’clock

After school is over, I return home We usually have supper at seven o’clock

Then I begin to do my homework I want to finish it before I go to bed

虽然我的日常生活十分单调，但我却竭力设法去适应它。为什么？因为我打算做一个好学生，希望将来为国家服务。

我每天六点起床、洗脸刷牙后，就开始复习功课，七点钟我就去上学。

放学后，我就回家了。我们通常在七点钟吃晚餐，之后我就开始做家庭作业，希望在睡觉前把它做完。

4 A MODEL STUDENT 模范学生

Do you mind being called a bad student Of course not So far as I know, everybody intends to be (become) a model student

However, to be a model student is by no means an easy thing First, he must do his best to obtain knowledge A man without sufficient knowledge will not succeed Secondly, he must remember to improve his health Only a strong man can do great tasks Thirdly, he should receive moral education If his conduct is not good, no one will consider making friends with him

你价意被称为坏学生吗？当然不。就我所知，每个人都打算做模范学生。

然而，做模范学生却不容易。第一，他必须尽力获得知识（求知）。一个没有足够知识的人是不会成功的。第二，他必须记住促进健康。只有强壮的人才能做大事。第三，他应该接受道德教育。如果他品行不好，没有人会考虑和他交朋友的。

5 HOW TO GET HAPPINESS 如何获得快乐

There is no doubt that happiness is the most precious thing in the world Without it, life will be empty and meaningless If you wish to know how to get happiness, you must pay attention to the following two points

First, health is the secret of happiness (the key to happiness) Only a strong man can enjoy the pleasure of life

Secondly, happiness consists in contentment A man who is dissatisfied with his present condition is always in distress

无疑的快乐是世界上最宝贵的东西。没有它，人生将是空虚的而且毫无意义的。如果你希望知道如何获得快乐，你须注意下面两点。

健康是快乐的要诀。唯有身体强壮的人才能享受人生的乐趣。

快乐在于知足。一个不满于现状的人终是处在痛苦之中

“浪漫”的英文：romantic

romantic 读法 英 [rəʊˈmæntɪk]   美 [roʊˈmæntɪk]  

1、作形容词的意思是：浪漫主义的;浪漫的，谈情说爱的，多情的，风流的，香艳的;空想的，虚构的，怪诞的，想入非非的，不实际的，难实行的（计划等）;传奇（式）的，小说般的，情节离奇的

2、作名词的意思是：富于浪漫气息的人;浪漫主义作家[画家等]，浪漫派诗人[艺术家];浪漫思想[行为]

短语：

1、romantic love 浪漫爱情

2、romantic movement 浪漫主义运动（十八世纪末及十九世纪初西欧掀起的文学艺术运动）

3、new romantic 新浪漫；新浪漫主义

一、romantic的相关词语：romance

romance 读法 英 [rə(ʊ)'mæns; 'rəʊmæns]  美 [ro'mæns] 

1、n 传奇；浪漫史；风流韵事；冒险故事

2、vi 虚构；渲染；写传奇

短语：

1、Romance language 罗曼语

2、romance 浪漫史

二、romance的词义辨析：

story, tale, fiction, fable, romance这组词都有“小说，故事”的意思，其区别是：

1、story 指篇幅较短，常包含一系列情节或事件，口述或书写成文的故事。

2、tale 常可与story换用，指以事实为中心作叙述的故事，也指古代流传下来的传说故事或神话故事。

3、fiction 指部分或全部虚构的短篇、中篇、长篇小说，也指传奇故事，是小说的总称。

4、fable 指短小而寓有教育意义的虚构故事。故事的主人公多为拟人化的动物或非动物之类。也作传说解。

5、romance 系novel早期的代用词，泛指具有强烈神话和传奇色彩的故事，现指爱情故事。