TED：学学怎么用地道英语介绍中国12生肖，你也行！（附视频&演讲稿）
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关注世界上四分之一的人关注中国的生肖。就算你不相信生肖，也最好知道它是如何运作的。
今天和大家分享一个关于Chinese zodiac sign 中国生肖属相的精彩演讲。
该演讲难度偏低，演讲者发音有中式英语的特点。练习听力、补充词汇都是不错的选择。只有6分钟。
值此新春佳节，绝对可以让你在介绍传统中国十二生肖的时候有充分的词汇积累和句式可以用。
在这个有趣而内容丰富的演讲中，薛晓兰分享了一些有助于了解古代传统的技巧及为什么生肖可以影响个人性格，职业，婚姻走向和接下来一年的运势。你的生肖有着什么涵义呢？
如果坚持要练习听力的同学，可以不看字幕试一试，毕竟不是很难。
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=z0318s6xox8&width=500&height=375&auto=0
演讲者也提出了一个有趣的观点，羊意味着软弱，老虎因为脾气暴躁，都不被看好，那一年份的小孩出生率会明显下降，反过来想想，正因为同一年出生的孩子少，那么这些孩子长大以后面临的竞争不就更少了吗？
也许正因为这样，他们反而能更多地获得成功的机会。比尔盖茨、乔布斯可都是属虎的哦。
Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend,
" What is your zodiac sign? "
Don't think they are making small talk.
If you say, " I'm a Monkey, "
they immediately know
you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
(Laughter)
Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.
By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated.
Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune,
your personality, career prospects
and how you will do in a given year.
If you share you and your partner's animal signs,
they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life.
Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac.
As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it,
you'd be wise to do something about that.
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly?
Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac,
the signs divided into 12 months.
The Chinese zodiac is different.
It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals,
starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig,
and has no association with constellations.
For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit.
Can you see your zodiac sign there?
Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework
based on inner yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals.
Over thousands of years,
this popular culture has affected people's major decisions,
such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other.
And some of the implications are quite amazing.
The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others.
So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies,
because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals
can give prosperity to families.
We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations.
I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits.
Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.
As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake.
Raise your hand if you are a Snake.
Let's have a chat later.
(Laughter)
We believe some animals are luckier than the others,
such as the Dragon.
Unlike the Western tradition,
the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth.
It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby.
Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.
And they are not the only ones.
In 2012, the Year of the Dragon,
the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
increased by five percent.
That means another one million more babies.
With a traditional preference to baby boys,
the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100.
When those Dragon boys grow up,
they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.
According to the BBC and the Chinese government's press release,
January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections.
Why?
That was the last month for the Year of the Horse.
It's not because they like horses so much,
it's because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.
(Laughter)
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad.
Those are Goat babies.
They don't look like losers to me.
(Laughter)
Tiger is another undesirable animal,
due to its volatile temperament.
Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate
during those years.
Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse,
as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition.
Maybe they are the lucky ones.
I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world,
and it's interesting to see
the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger,
are at the top of the chart,
even higher than the Dragon.
So maybe we should consider,
maybe it's much better to have less competition.
One last but interesting point:
many Chinese people make their investment decisions
based on the zodiac sign index.
Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign
has been over thousands of years,
the trend of using it in making major decisions
did not really happen until the past few decades.
Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought,
famine, riot, disease and civil war.
And finally, Chinese people have the time, wealth and technology
to create an ideal life they've always wanted.
The collective decision made by 1. 3 billion people
has caused the fluctuation in economics and demand on everything,
from health care and education to property and consumer goods.
As China plays such an important role in the global economy and geopolitics,
the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions
end up impacting everyone around the world.
Are there any Monkeys here?
2016 is the Year of the Monkey.
Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.
Thank you.
只要把属相一说出来，瞬间暴露年龄。看看，在这一点上，咱们的传统的十二生肖就是那么科学。虽然现在比较流行十二星座，我小时候还是经常读到很多文字，属相一样可以预示运势，性格，事业，还有来年的运程等。
貌似平日里关心生肖属相的人少了，然而一到人生的关键时刻，世界各地的华夏子孙还是会找出来掂量一下。
特别是像生孩子这件事件，只要那年遇到孕妇扎堆，产科人满为患，那肯定是赶上某个生肖里的“大咖年”了，类似龙年这种。
因为中国人相信有的属相就是要更幸运一些。这么看来挑年份生娃也是能理解的。演讲里还提到，马云就属龙，多有说服力吧。
事情真的是这样吗？扎堆出生的宝宝虽然赶上了好的属相，但是换个角度想一下，他们以后面对的竞争也会更激烈啊，求学，择业，择偶都是压力。
反之，人们不太偏好的“虎宝、“羊宝“获得了更宽松的环境。
根据薛女士对全球前300的富翁进行统计，排在前两位的就是属虎和属羊的。这个佐证的科学性还是要吐一下槽。
难道意思是因为华人中的属虎的和属羊的人少，所以对全球其他的富翁没有威胁吗。没准哦，咱们华夏民族太强了。
事实上，因为中国人对生肖的各种偏好，从而影响我们的诸多决定，包括消费和投资这些。
所以说传统的生肖文化影响着中国甚至全球的经济状况和需求也不为过。
特别是在全球化日益加剧，中国经济腾飞，这种影响是世界范围的。
又回到前面的挑年份粉生宝宝，那一年的婴儿用品，奶粉必然火上加火；可以预知的是，接下来几年的早教市场也会需求旺盛，等等等等。
所以，关注中国文化是可以起到推动全球经济的效果的，那是在为整个人类做贡献呢。矮马，姐有点太膨胀了。还是先看视频，学好英语，再传播中国文化吧。
最后再提一下演讲者薛晓岚女士。最初她想要推广中文是因为自己出生在英国的孩子学习中文非常费力，于是薛女士利用自己的技术知识，结合中文的特点，创新的摸索出一套帮助西方人学习中文的方法。就是希望去实践自己的想法，希望可以帮到更多人。好吧，继续加油！
来源：搜狐教育/米国读书；编辑整理：掌中看米国
编者按：SNN近期会推荐部分教育类、新闻知识、双语新闻文章，也希望大家推荐和投稿 SNNnewsUS@gmail.com
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