牡丹（peony）花色艳丽，形象高雅，象征着和平与繁荣，因而在中国被称为“花中之王”。中国许多地方都培育和种植牡丹。千百年来，创作了许多诗歌和绘画赞美牡丹。唐代时期，牡丹在皇家园林普遍种植并被誉为国花，因而特别风行。十世纪时，洛阳古城成为牡丹栽培中心，而且这一地位一直保持到今天。现在，成千上万的国内外游客蜂拥到洛阳参加一年一度的牡丹节，欣赏洛阳牡丹的独特之美，同时探索九朝古都的历史。

参考译文

Symbolizing peace and prosperity, the peony is called “the king of flowers” in China for its splendid color and graceful image. The peony is cultivated and planted in many areas of China. Many poems and paintings in praise of the peony have been created over thousands of years. In the Tang Dynasty, peonies were widely planted in royal gardens with the name of “the national flower”. Therefore, peonies became the fashion at that time. The ancient city, Luoyang, became a center for peony cultivation in the 10th century and has maintained its status up to today. Nowadays, tens of thousands visitors from home and abroad swarm into Luoyang with the purpose of participating in the annual festival of peony. They can appreciate the unique beauty of the flowers while exploring the history of this ancient capital of nine dynasties.

词汇难点

艳丽  bright；splendid

高雅  graceful；elegant

象征  symbolize

繁荣  prosperity

赞美  praise

皇家园林  royal gardens

国花  the national flower

栽培中心  cultivating center; center for cultivation

涌向  swarm into；pour into

表达难点

第一句：本句由三部分组成，“花色艳丽，形象高雅”可以用for来引导作为“被称为”的原因状语，而“象征着和平与繁荣”可以处理为伴随状语“symbolizing…”，“花中之王”可译为“the king/queen of flowers”。

第二句：本句为简单句，因为牡丹是被种植的，所以使用被动语态表达。

第三句：本句为无主句，翻译时可以添加主语使用主动语态——“人们创作了许多诗歌和绘画”，也可以用被动语态——“许多诗歌和绘画被创作出来”；句中“赞美牡丹”可用介词短语in praise of作后置定语。

第四句：本句包含多个谓语动词，翻译时可以根据意思拆分为两个句子，用Therefore来表达意思上的衔接。

第五句：本句可共用一个主语“洛阳古城”，再用and来连接两个并列谓语“成为”和“保持（地位）”，“牡丹栽培中心”可表达为a center for peony cultivation。

第六句：本句句子较长，可以从“欣赏”处拆分为两句来翻译，第一小句可以用with the purpose of连接前后两个动词表示目的。第二句可用while连接句子表示“同时”，“一年一度”可用annual表示，“九朝古都”可以用this ancient capital of nine dynasties表示或者处理为定语从句which is known as the capital of nine dynasties。