翻译题目
就餐时，围桌共食是中国人的一种传统。与西方人把鲜花放餐桌中央不同的是，中国人把菜肴放餐桌中央供大家一起享用。这种风俗体现了食物在中华文明史上的重要地位。更重要的是，这种方式促进了就餐者之间的交流。通常在一餐饭之后，朋友之间的关系更加紧密，生意合作伙伴也加深了相互了解。有时人们还会为客人或长辈夹菜，以示尊重。
表达难点
1.第1句中的“围桌共食是中国人的一种传统”如果直译为forChinese People, sitting together…is a tradition会因主语太长而显得句子头重脚轻。宜将原句处理为用比作形式主语的句型译出，以平衡结构，表达为 It is a tradition for Chinese people, when dinning, to sit around…。时间状语“就餐时”表达为 when dinning，以插人语形式放在Chinese people后面，逻辑关系强。
2.第2句中的“与……不同的是”可套用结构different from…。“供大家一起享用”表目的，故译为目的状语从句so that people could share them together.
3.第4句中的“更重要的是”表达为what is more important (is that)。翻译“这种方式”时，宜增译“就餐”，使意思更明确，故译为this way of dinning.“就餐者之间的”处理成后置定语，表达为among dinners.
4.最后一句的“以示尊重”表目的，故将其处理成状语，用不定式短语to show respect for them来表达。
参考译文
It is a tradition for Chinese people, when dinning, to sit around the table and share the same dishes. Different from that the westerners place flowers at the center of the dining table, the Chinese place dishes in the middle so that people could share them together. This custom reflecte the importance of food in Chinese civilization. What is more important, this way of dinning fecilitates the communication among diners. Usually, after a dinner, the relationships between friends get closer and the business partners deepen their mutual understanding. People would sometimes put the food into the bowls of the guests or the elders to show respect for them.
