雅思詞匯精講：與羊有關(guān)的故事習(xí)俗

　　作為人類最早飼養(yǎng)的動(dòng)物之一，羊在十二生肖排行第八。古人以“馬牛羊雞犬豕”為六畜，羊“榜”上有名，足以說(shuō)明其在中國(guó)人心目中的重要位置。

　　The bells rang in China’s Lunar New Year on Feb 19. And this Spring Festival we were celebrating the Year of the Sheep, the eighth of the 12-year animal cycle of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.

　　Both sheep and goats appear on cards and commercials greeting the Chinese new year. So what stories have you heard about the animal?

　　說(shuō)文解字篇

　　說(shuō)文解字：“羊”和“美”

　　“羊”和“美”只差一個(gè)“大”字。漢字中的“美”字，由“羊”和“大”兩個(gè)字組合而成。羊大為美，乃古人實(shí)用主義審美傾向的生動(dòng)體現(xiàn)。

　　Gentle and adorable, the animal has played an important role in the history of the Chinese language. Write the character da (big) underneath yang, and you get a new character mei, which is translated into “beauty” or “goodness”. To our ancestors, a big sheep or goat was probably more than “good”, given that food, especially meat, was in short supply.

　　說(shuō)文解字：“羊”和“鮮”

　　古時(shí)候，由于地理和交通的問(wèn)題，想能同時(shí)吃到羊和魚實(shí)屬不易。所以，當(dāng)這兩大美食碰撞到一起，“魚”和“羊”就組成了“鮮”字。聽(tīng)上去是不是有種口福不淺的趕腳?

　　It was said that in ancient China sheep, or goats, were rare in the southeastern region, while fish was rare in the northwestern inland region of China. If these two delicacies come together, yang on the right, and yu (fish) on the left, you get a new character xian, which means “fresh”.

　　神話故事篇

　　“羊城” 廣州的傳說(shuō)

　　廣州又被稱為“羊城”。相傳，很久以前，廣州鬧饑荒，大家好幾天沒(méi)米下鍋，有五位仙人騎著羊，帶著谷穗下凡至此，阻止了這場(chǎng)饑荒。不過(guò)仙人離去時(shí)，五頭羊卻扎堆變成石頭留了下來(lái)，成為了廣州的標(biāo)志。

　　City Guangzhou takes yang as its symbol. Legend says that in ancient China thousands of years ago, five fairies came down from heaven riding goats, and left good grain seeds for local people in order to stop the area from suffering a famine. It is said that the fairies flew away, but the goats turned into the stone sculptures which still stand in the city center today. Guangzhou is still called the “City of Goats”.

　　歪果仁眼中的“羊”

　　西方文化中，羊有著不一樣的象征意義，特別是在基督教的傳統(tǒng)中，小羊象征著天真無(wú)邪、平靜溫和以及十足的耐性。在西方的十二星座中，白羊座(3月21日~4月19日)位列十二星座之首，這段時(shí)間出生的人頗具耐性和好勝心，是天生的樂(lè)天派。

　　In Western cultures, and especially in the Christian tradition, the sheep has different meanings. The lamb is the symbol of innocence, peacefulness, and patience. The sign of Aries is also the first sign of the Zodiac. Anyone born between March 21 and April 19 is said to share those qualities.

　　羊年出生的小伙伴

　　羊年出生的人大多性格溫柔和順、心思細(xì)密、有耐力，遇到困難總能想辦法解決。不少人還相信屬羊的妹紙最是善良、會(huì)照顧人，是理想的賢內(nèi)助。

　　In China, those who were born under the zodiac sign of the sheep are also said to have certain good qualities. They are said to be considerate, sensitive, creative, daring, quick-witted, and are attracted to the mysterious. It is also said that they are able to find ways to deal with any situation, and are unafraid of hardship. Many people also believe that women born in the Year of the Sheep are kindhearted and supportive, and are ideal life partners.