相声(cross talk)是一种中国曲艺(Quyi)表演艺术，它起源于华北地区的民间说唱曲艺，在明朝即已盛行。大多数的相声来自于我们的日常生活。还有一些改编自民间笑话、历史人物、事件和文字游戏。最著名的相声表演艺术家有马三立、侯宝林、马季、姜昆等。相声在一代又一代表演者的努力下，一直是深受知识分子和平民喜爱的国民艺术。

　　参考答案:

　　Cross talk is one of Chinese Quyi performing arts.It originated from the folk vocal art and has enjoyed a popularity since the Ming Dynasty.Most of the cross talks come from our daily life.There are also some adapted from folk jokes,historical figures,events and word games.The best-known performers are Ma Sanli,Hou Baolin,Ma Ji,Jiang Kun,etc.Cross talk has been a national art popular among both highbrows and lowbrows with the efforts of performers generation after generation.

　　1.它起源于华北地区的民间说唱曲艺，在明朝即已盛行：“起源于”可译为originate from, originate可构成以下词组：originate in/from (起源于)、originate with(发生)。“民间说唱曲艺”可译为folk vocal art;“盛行”可用名词popularity表示，即译为enjoy a popularity,同时也可以使用动词prevail表示。

　　2.还有一些改编自民间笑话、历史人物、事件和文字游戏：“改编自”可译为adapt from。在实际翻译中，要注意区别adapt与其形近词adopt(采取;收养)的拼写。“历史人物”可译为historical figures。