请将下面这段话翻译成英文:
小年(the Little New Year)比农历新年早一个星期,也称祭灶节(the Kitchen God Festival )。灶神监察家家户户的道德品质。春节最特别的传统,就是小年时 烧一张灶神(Kitchen God)像,送灶神的灵魂上天汇报这个家庭过去一年中的作为。之后,人们在火炉旁张贴新的灶神像,迎接灶神归来。接下来一年,灶神会监督并保护这家人。由于灶神和农历新年有密切联系,使得灶神节被称为小年。现在 尽管在小年这天祭祀灶神的家庭少了,但是很多传统节日活动仍然很流行。
参考翻译:
The Little New Year, which falls about a week beforethe Lunar New Year, is also known as the KitchenGod Festival. The Kitchen God oversees the moraltrait of each household. As one of the mostdistinctive traditions of the Spring Festival, a paperimage of the Kitchen God is burned on Little New Year, dispatching the god's spirit to Heaven toreport on the family's conduct over the past year. The Kitchen God is then welcomed back bypasting a new paper image of him beside the stove. Then the Kitchen God will oversee andprotect the household in the following year. The close association of the Kitchen God with theLunar New Year has resulted in the Kitchen God Festival being called the Little New Year. Although very few families still make sacrifices to the Kitchen God on this day, many traditionalfestival activities are still very popular.
翻译技巧点拨:
1.监察:使用oversee一词来表达,意为监督,审查。
2.家家户户:可译为each household.
3.灶神像:可译为a paper image of the Kitchen God.
4.使得……:可译为result in,也可译为lead to.
5.祭祀:可译为make sacrifices或offer sacrifices.
6.传统节日活动:即traditional festival activities.