清明是我国二十四节气(the twenty-four solar terms )之一，一般是在每年的4月4日至6日前后。人们庆祝清明节大约始于东周时代，距今已有两千五百多年的历史。清明过后，气温逐渐上升，雨水也增多，表明了这是农民开始安排农耕活动的关键时期。同时，清明也是郊游的大好时节，人们去户外踏青，并开展一系列消遣和体育活动。更重要的是，清明时节也是一个纪念祖先和已故亲人的日子。
参考译文：
Qingming
Qingming is one of the twenty-four solar terms in China, typically falling on April 4-6 each year. The celebration for the Qingming Festival can be traced back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, with a history of over 2,500 years. After Qingming time, the temperature begins to rise up and rainfall increases, indicating that it is the crucial time for the farmers to arrange their farming activities accordingly. Meanwhile, it is the high time for spring outing, when people go out for fresh air, kinds of recreations and sports activities. More importantly, Qingming is also a period to honour and to pay respect to one's deceased ancestors and family members.
词句点拨
1.始于:可译为trace back to，表示“始于，可追溯到”。
2.表明了这是农民开始安排农耕活动的关键时期:该句较长，其译文可采用现在分词作伴随状语的结构，即indicating that it is the crucial time for the farmers to arrange their farming activities accordingly。accordingly 用 作副词，通常置于句尾，意为“照着做;相应地”。根据对上下文的理解，可在此句的翻译中加入accordingly,用于解释某件事发生的原因和结果。我们在翻译时要注意句式的变化，以避免英语译文的单调乏味。
3.开展一系列消遣和体育活动:此处的“消遣和体育活动”与前面的踏青可调整成并列结构，故“开展”可省略不译。
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