端午节

端午节为农历的五月五日。虽然关于这个节日的由来有很多的说法，但被广为接受的一种说法是为了纪念战国时期的屈原。他为人正直，为楚国的安定与繁荣做出了巨大的贡献，深受人们的爱戴，但终被邪恶和充满嫉妒的官吏的谗言所陷害 （frame），遭罢官去职。屈原在流放途中，听闻楚国被秦国打败的消息，他万念俱灰，于五月五日这一天投汨罗江而亡。据说当地的百姓闻讯后纷纷划船来打捞他的尸体，这后来演变成人们在端午节这天赛龙舟的习俗。后来人们又将糯米 （sticky rice）投入江中，避免鱼虾啃咬屈原的身体，这也可能是粽子的起源。

翻译点拨

1. 被广为接受的一种说法是为了纪念战国时期的屈原：翻译为the widely accepted one is to commemorate Qu Yuan, who lived in the Warring States Period。其中，为了避免与前面的“说法”重复，因而采用了名词性替代词one。

2. 罢官去职：也就是“被解聘，被开除”，这里可以用固定表达be dismissed from。be fired也可以表示“被开除，被免职”，但是这一表达较为口语化。

3. 万念俱灰：也就是“陷入绝望”，故而译为fall into despair。

4. 打捞：翻译为retrieve。

5. 是……的起源：翻译为serve as the source of。

参考译文

The Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. While there are many stories telling about its origin, the widely accepted one is to commemorate Qu Yuan, who lived in the Warring States Period. He conducted himself uprightly and brought peace and prosperity to the Chu State so that he was much loved by the people. However, when a dishonest and jealous official framed Qu Yuan, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Hearing that his country had been defeated by Qin State when he was in exile, he fell into despair and threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is said that the local people who heard the news raced out in their boats to retrieve his body and this evolved to be the origin of dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival later. Afterwards, people dropped sticky rice into the river so that the fish and shrimps would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body. This might serve as the source of zongzi.

知识小贴士

端午节又称为端阳节，为每年的农历五月初五。在湖北、湖南、贵州、四川一带，端午节又分为大端午与小端午。小端午为每年农历五月初五，大端午为每年农历五月十五日。端午节起源于中国，最初是人们以各种活动祛病防疫的节日，后因传说爱国诗人屈原在这一天死去，这一天也成了中国人纪念屈原的节日。部分地区也有端午节是为了纪念伍子胥、曹娥等不同说法。全国各地庆祝端午节的方式和活动很多，其中以赛龙舟、吃粽子、在家门口挂艾草（wormwood）等较为常见。在文化逐渐多元、信息日益丰富的今天，端午节等中国传统节日面临着不少挑战，这迫切需要人们保护中国的传统文化。