参考答案

正确答案：

The Chinese knot., originaliy invented by the craftsmen, has become an elegant and colorful art and craft over hundreds of years improvement. In ancient times, it was used to record events, but nowadays it is mainly functioning as decoration. "Knot" signifies love, marriage and reunion in Chinese. Often used as gift exchange and decoration, Chinese knot is believed to bring good luck as well as ward off evil spirits. The handicraft has been passed down from one generation to another and now enjoys more and more popularity both at home and abroad.
难点注释
1．第一句的句子主干是：中国结已经成为一种优雅多彩的艺术和工艺。“最初是由手工艺人发明的”可以译作后置定 语补充说明“中国结”，“经过数百年不断的改进”可译为时间状语。其中，“不断的改进”可以减译“不断的”，直接译 为improvement，因为“不断的”是一个加强语气的词；“一种优雅多彩的艺术和工艺”中的“优雅多彩”可以用 elegant and colorful来表示。
2．第四句中“作为礼物交换或用作饰品”是为了“祈求好运和避邪”，因此可译为0ften used as gift exchange and decoration，Chinese knot is believed to bring good luck as well as ward off evil spirits．
3．最后一句中，句子的重心在后面，因此可以选择弱化处理成being passed down from one generation to another，也 可以将其处理成两个并列结构has been passed down from one generation to another and now enjoys…，为使句子 结构更清晰，第二种译法更佳。此外，“这种形式的手工艺”就是指中国结这种手工艺，故可直接译为The handicraft．