1. 2007年央视春晚是全中国老百姓不可或缺的大餐。看下面这段新闻，瞧瞧如何用英语表达“春晚”？
Performers were crossing their fingers going into the penultimate dress rehearsal of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on Tuesday. With the festival eve looming, nerves are starting to strain.
As the most prestigious showcase for China's top performers, the Spring Festival Gala has no shortage of established acts queueing up to appear. But the gala always reserves some spots for the unknowns and the up-and-coming to make their national breakthroughs.
由报道可知，“春晚”相应的英文表达是“Spring Festival Gala”。“Gala”在此指“欢快的庆祝活动”，有时也可做形容词“庆祝的，奢侈的”，如：a gala ball（庆祝舞会）；the gala life of the very rich（大富翁们奢侈的生活）。
大家再来回顾几个常见的节日用语：
春节 The Spring Festival
农历 lunar calendar
正月 lunar January
除夕 New Year's Eve; eve of lunar New Year
元宵节 The Lantern Festival
糖果盘 candy tray
守岁 staying-up
2. 自小我们就知道“十二生肖”的故事，可是，如今向老外讲什么是“十二生肖”，怎么比登天还难？什么猪啊、狗啊、老虎啊，绕了半天弯儿，越讲他越糊涂。别急，下面这段文字或许能帮您解燃眉之急。
It is said Buddha (the ultimate Emperor for the whole universe in Chinese legend) once called together all the animals on the earth for an important meeting. Only twelve animals turned up: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. The rat, being the smartest, jumped on top of the ox to be the first one to arrive.
As a reward, the Buddha gave each animal a year in the cycle and declared that anyone born in that year would resemble the animal in some way. In addition, each two hours of the day is also governed by one animal. The hours of 11pm to 1:00 am is by Rat, from 1 am to 3 am by Ox and so on. Six elements of the planet: wood, fire, air, water, gold and earth are also integrated into the animal Zodiac signs.
在上述介绍里，您可能会看到“zodiac”一词，其实啊，它就是让老外了解“十二生肖”的契机所在。“十二生肖”相应的英文表达是“the Chinese Zodiac”。
“Zodiac”一词来自希腊语“zodiakos”（动物园），在希腊人眼中，星座是由各种不同的动物形成，这也是十二个星座名称的由来。由此，中国本土化的“zodiac”——the Chinese Zodiac——自然就是指“十二生肖”了。
3. 其实，不用解释想必您也知道，只因是60年不遇的“金猪年”，2007年才会迎来新一波的婴儿潮。再熟悉一下吧，看看“金猪年”相应的英文表达。
A baby boom is about to hit parts of Asia, as couples try to ensure their newborns get a happy, wealthy life by starting off in the Year of the Pig.
This Chinese lunar new year, which starts on February 18, is believed to be an especially auspicious "golden pig year " which only comes around every 60 years.
有说法认为，2007年是60年不遇的“金猪年”，是个难得的吉利年份。大多数夫妇为给孩子讨个好彩头，都选择在猪年生宝宝，希望生肖猪能保佑“猪宝宝”一生殷实无忧。
由报道可知,“金猪年”相应的英文表达是“golden pig year”，也可写做“the Year of the (golden) Pig”。
顺便提一下，生肖“猪”有时也可用“board”来形容。此外，可爱的小猪猪一般用“piggy”或“piglet”来表达。
3. 每年春运高峰，票贩子的生意总是红红火火，不少旅客为了顺利返乡，只能忍气吞声备受票贩子的盘剥。记一下吧，看看所谓的“倒爷”或“黄牛”如何用英文来表达。记的同时，心底也祝愿，但愿有那么一天，“黄牛、票贩子”将永远成为历史。
Fan Deliang, 25, a television editor, bought a ticket through one of his college classmates.
If Fan could not book a ticket, he would probably go to the scalpers and try his luck. When even the scalpers fail, he would have to buy a plane ticket, which is generally two times the price of a train berth ticket.
报道中的范先生比较幸运，大学同学提前为他“搞”到了一张火车票。否则，他就只能求助“黄牛”购买高价火车票了，或是拿出高于卧铺车票两倍的价钱购买飞机票。
由报道可知，“票贩子”相应的英文表达是“（ticket）scalper”，指“以暴利为目的，转手倒卖车票、戏票、球票或电影票的人”。
此外，这里顺便再提两个和“倒票”很有关系的动词词组：“to buy out（买空）”和“to sell out（卖空）”。春运期间，“黄牛”们会通过各种关系抢先一步“买空”车票，等到旅客们到售票点时，车票自然是“卖空”了。
4. 春运回家，一票难求。对普通老百姓而言，最没办法的办法就是抢购一张“站票”了。“站票”怎么说？看看下面这篇题为“Track of my tears”（《辛酸的旅程》）的新闻报道：
Migrant workers, employees working outside their hometowns and students are the main body of passengers during Spring Festival.
Students and migrant workers are generally distributed in the cheaper hard-seat coaches, crowded with people who bought the standing-room tickets. These passengers stand, sit or even lie on the isle. Many take children with them.
报道说，春节返乡，学生和民工一般购买低价的硬座票，而硬座车厢里又挤满了只有站票的无座乘客。
显然，“站票”相应的英文表达是“standing-room ticket”。稍作提醒噢，直译而来的“standing ticket”绝对语义不通，词缀“-room”在此表示“space”（空间）。
顺便提一下，报道中的“hard seat”指的是“硬座”，相应的，“软座”则是“soft seat”，而“软卧”则可表示为“cushioned berth”。此外，为乘客订票的“订票点”可表达为“tickets-booking agency/office”。
5. 春节拜年，长辈要赐予晚辈压岁钱。根据民间的说法，压岁钱可以压住邪祟，因为“岁”与“祟”谐音，晚辈得到压岁钱就可以平平安安度过一岁。某种程度而言，“压岁钱”是中国特有的词汇，其英文表达至今尚无定论。暂看维基百科相关介绍。
A red envelope or red packet is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society. The name comes from the red envelope in which the money is contained.
Red envelopes are often presented on social and family occasions such as a wedding reception or a holiday such as Chinese New Year in which context it is also known as yāsuì qián.
根据维基百科，“压岁钱”是狭义而言的“红包”（red envelope），因此，“压岁钱”可表达为“red envelope”或“red-envelope money”。或者，罗嗦一点，“压岁钱”也可说成“money given to children as a Lunar New Year gift”。
6. 对于北京市民来说，今年春节的一大喜讯就是市政府关于烟花爆竹"禁改限"的实施。春节除夕至正月十五每天的七时至二十三时，市民可以燃放烟花爆竹喜庆佳节。
中国日报消息中有这样一句话："BANG!" Firecrackers will explode once again in Beijing, frightening away evil spirits on the New Year - and this time the fireworks are legal. After a 12-year ban because of safety concerns, the Chinese capital yesterday resumed the legal sale of traditional firecrackers before the lunar New Year and Spring Festival beginning January 29.
句中的firecrackers就是我们常说的"鞭炮"。firecracker是个合成词，cracker指"发出爆裂声的东西"，有时单独用也可表示"鞭炮"。cracker的动词形式是crack，如：The vase cracked when it dropped（花瓶掉下时打碎了），crack在句中用以强调"花瓶掉下时破裂的声音"。
Firecrackers常与词组set off连用，如：He set off the firecrackers at zero o'clock sharp.(零点整，他点燃了鞭炮)。此外，fireworks是我们所说的"烟花"。
另外，若在食品店看到cream cracker的字样，那可是我们经常吃的"奶油苏打饼干"！千万别搞错了。
7. charter flight: 包机
春节临近，海峡两岸吵得最热的一个词恐怕就是"包机"。1月20日上午10时30分，台湾"中华航空公司"的CI585号航班抵达上海浦东机场，顺利完成2006年春节包机的首飞任务。这是2006年沪台两地春节包机中，台湾航空公司首个飞抵上海的航班。华航客机是连续第３次担负上海航点的春节包机首飞任务。
请看报道：Taiwan's China Airlines charter flight 585 touched down at Shanghai's Pudong Airport at 10:34 am on Friday, signalling the first charter flight across the Taiwan Straits for this year's Spring Festival.
报道中的charter flight 意思是 "包机"， 也可写作 "chartered flight"。 Charter 一词常用来指代"简述某一团体的原则、 职能和组织的文件"，翻译为"宪章"，如联合国宪章"the Charter of the United Nations"。
但charter还有"包租"之意，可以指商业租赁飞机、船只或其它交通工具的契约或此种租赁的行为，尤特指被某一特殊群体专用。如single voyage charter（单程租船） "，daily charter（按日租船（机）契约）。