2017年12月大學英語四級翻譯練習：筷子

　請將下面這段話翻譯成英文：

　　中國人使用筷子就餐的方式在世界上獨樹一幟。有史記載用筷的歷史已有三千多年。筷子古時稱為箸，它看似簡單，但卻同時具有夾、撥、挑、扒、拌、撮、戳、撕等多種功能。中國民間視筷子為吉祥之物，如婚俗中將筷子隱喻為快生貴子的祝福等。與使用刀叉以及手抓的 方式不同，成雙結(jié)對的筷子含有“和為貴“的意蘊。西方人贊譽筷子是古老的東方文明。

　　與其他民族一樣，中國最初的食用方法也是“以手奉飯”，也就是用手抓，或用手撕，至于使用筷子、叉、刀、匙等進餐用具，則都是較晚的方法。其中，筷子是中國進餐習俗中的一絕，至今已有數(shù)千年的歷史。

　　筷子是日常生活中經(jīng)常用到的一種進餐工具，也是中國人進餐時的必備用具。古代稱為“箸”，今俗稱筷子。中國人什么時候開始使用筷子進餐的，已經(jīng)無從查起。最初的記載是在2000年前所編輯的一本叫做《禮記》的書中。

　　參考翻譯:

　　Chinese Chopsticks The Chinese way of eating with chopsticks is unique in the world. The recorded history of chopsticks started more than three thousand years ago. Chopsticks were named zhu in ancient Chinese. They look deceptively simple to use, but possess multi-various functions, such as clamping, turning over, lifting up, raking, stirring, scooping, poking, tearing, and so on. Chopsticks were taken as an auspicious mascot by ordinary people in ancient China. For example, the partial tone of chopsticks is often used by people as a metaphor at weddings to indicate a blessing or benediction for the couple to have a baby soon. Unlike using a knife and fork or one’s own hands, a pair of chopsticks also implies the meaning of “Harmony is what matters”. Chopsticks are highly praised by Westerners as a hallmark of ancient oriental civilization.

　　Similar to people of other nationalities, ancient Chinese people grasped or tore food with their bare hands at the beginning. Chopsticks, forks, knives and spoons were used much later, of which chopsticks, with a history of thousands of years, are a wonder of Chinese dining utensils.

　　Chopsticks are the dining utensils most frequently used in Chinese people’s daily life. In ancient china, they were called zhu. When the Chinese began to use chopsticks as an eating instrument is anybody’s guess. They were first mentioned in writing in Liji(The Book of Rites), a work compiled some 2000 years ago.