翻译题目
为了让人们更好地记住年份，我们的祖先用12只动物来代表年份。即“十二生肖”(Chinese Zodiac)。每一年由一种动物代表，每隔12年进行一个循环，从鼠开始，以猪为结尾。每一种动物还有其独特的文化内涵(cultural connotation).例如，牛年出生的人据说“勤奋、冷静、可靠”，虎年出生的人则“强大、勇敢、但又急躁”。十二生肖在亚洲的其他国家，如韩国和日本也很流行。
表达难点
1.第1句中的“为了让人们更好地记住年份”，如果直译成in order to make people remember the years more easily.表达不够地道，有中国式英语的感觉。“让人们”是汉语中约定俗成的表达，翻译时可“省译”，此处表达为to order to remember即可。“即‘十二生肖’”可紧跟上文，用which引导的非限制性定语从句来表达。
2.第2句中的“每隔12年进行一个循环”可以用every 12 years comes in a circle表达，主语every 12 years为整体念的单数名词。“从鼠开始，以猪为结尾”用现在分词短语beginning with Rat and ending with Pig来表达，作“循环”的后置定语。
3.第4句中的“牛年出生的”宜处理成后置定语，用分词短语bornin the Year of Ox来表达。“据说……”译为 is said to…。
4.翻译最后一句时，先译出主干(The Chinese Zodiac remains popular)。地点状语“在亚洲的其他国家”用介词短语 in other Asian countries 来表达。
参考译文
In order to remember the years more easily, our ancestors used twelve animals to represent the years, which is called the "Chinese Zodiac". Every year is represented by an animal and every 12 years comes in a circle beginning with Rat and ending with Pig. Each animal has its unique cultural connotations. For example, a person born in the Year of Ox is said to be hard working, calm, and reliable, while the person born in the Year of Tiger is powerful, brave, and impatient. The Chinese Zodiac remains popular as well in other Asian countries, such as Korea and Japan.
