话题原文：

　　人们说，真正的北京文化是胡同(hutong)和四合院(quadrangle courtyard)文化。它们比髙楼大吸引的海内外游客更多。现在，胡同已经成为北京文化的代表，因此对于想了解当地的历史文化的人来说，胡同是首选。胡同是蒙古词，意思是“水井”。在元朝，蒙古人髙度重视水，所以几乎每一个城市社区都围绕一口井设计。直到今天，人们仍然可以在胡同中找到枯井。每条小巷中都有故亊。在古代，它们的名宇是口口相传的，胡同里没有路标(signpost)。直到明、清两代， 胡同的名字才逐渐被书写下来。

　　参考翻译:

　　People say that the real culture of Beijing is theculture of hutong and quadrangle courtyards.Theyattract more tourists from home and abroad thanthe high-rise buildings and large mansions.Nowhutongs have become representatives of Beijing'sculture; thus it is the first choice for people who would like to learn about the local history andculture.Hutong is a Mongolian word meaning “well”.In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolians attachedgreat importance to water, so almost every community in the city was designed around awell.Until now, one can still find dry wells in hutongs. Where there is such a lane, there is astory.In ancient times,the names of them were passed from mouth to mouth among people;there were no signposts in hutongs.It was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that thenames of hutongs were written down gradually.

　　1.四合院：可译为quadrangle courtyard,也可以用courtyard house或者courtyard表达。

　　2.高楼大厦：此处可译为the high-rise buildings andlarge mansions,即“高层建筑和大厦”。

　　3.成为...的代表：可译为become representatives of。

　　4.首选：可译为first choice,而best choice则意为“最佳选择”。

　　5.高度重视：可译为attach great importance to。其中importance也可以用much修饰。

　　6.每条小巷中都有故亊：可译为Where there is such a lane, there is a story.地道，又与众不同。