中国文化如同围棋（go game），游戏规则简单明了，几下子就可以解释清楚，但真正玩起来后才逐渐领略到其中的奥妙。中文也是如此，表面看来中文没有动词变化（formal conjugation of verbs），也没有阴性、阳性词汇及单复数（inflections in gender and number）。讲述任何发生的事，只需冠上相应的时间副词即可，如刚才、昨天、明天等等。这让初学汉语的西方人兴奋，认为很幸运地躲过了如法文般难啃的动词时态变化。但当他们的汉语真正入门后，就会发现正因为游戏的规则太少，令外行更加无所适从。英语里有Chinese Puzzle一词，就是用来比喻晦涩难解的问题，而Chinese Boxes是意喻事情太复杂。若西方人听不明白别人的谈话时会说：“你简直是在讲中文。”
Chinese culture is like the go game, the rules of which are clear and simple and easy to follow, but until you begin to play it you do not see the mystery and complexity involved in it. The same is true of the Chinese language. It has no formal conjugation of verbs or inflections in gender and number. When you describe any event all you need to do is to provide the necessary adverbs indicating the time at which the event occurs, such as “just now”, “yesterday” and “tomorrow”. These grammatical phenomena made the beginner excited at first, thinking that he was lucky enough not to have to bother about such irregularities of verbs as in French. But it is not until he has gone far enough into it that he realizes that just because the Chinese language has too few rules the beginner often finds himself at a loss what to do. “Chinese Puzzle” in English is a synonym of a difficult problem, and “Chinese Box” refers to a problem that is too complex to solve. When a Westerner does not understand what you are talking about, he would say, “You are speaking Chinese.”
在整个春节期间，最重要的一天不是正月初一，而是除夕。只有除夕才有守岁的习俗，才能聆听新年钟声，燃放烟花爆竹(fireworks and firecrackers)，才有除旧迎新的意味；只有除夕才能最深刻地体现春节的最大主题“团圆”。试问一年中哪一天堪与除夕相比呢？所以才形成了中国一道独特的景观“春运”(spring transport peak)，即使身在天涯海角，也要在除夕之前赶回家与亲人团聚。
The most significant day of the Spring Festival holidays is the New Year’s Eve rather than the New Year’s Day. The ceremony of staying overnight to greet the New Year is observed only during the eve when people listen to the toll of the New Year bell, setting off fireworks and firecrackers, events that are imbued with the implications of “ringing out the old and ushering in the new”, when the theme of reunion is highlighted to the full. What a single day of the whole year can be compared with the New Year’s Eve in terms of significance? Just for this family reunion, people have created the unique spectacular of “spring transport peak” in China; even if one is so far away from home, he will try his best to rush back home before the New Year’s Eve.
年味变淡有其正常的和必然的原因：中国春节是与农耕文化、生产节律(farming cycle)紧密相连的；过完年，春耕(Spring ploughing)即将开始。这种生活距离我们（尤其是城市居民）毕竟是十分遥远，加上移风易俗和现代化通讯手段发达，人情味和年味自然被稀
释(dilute)了。此外，还有人认为，现在天天鸡鸭鱼肉，等于天天过年，那么过年还有什么意思呢？当今当人们已经丰衣足食时，应有更高理想和境界。当代人过年已越来越是一个精神的、情感的和文化的生活。
The thinning of the festival mood has its normal and inevitable causes: the Chinese Spring Festival is closely associated with farming culture and farming cycle. Spring ploughing starts soon after the Spring Festival. This lifestyle has moved far away from us, especially from city dwellers. On top of that, the dying-out of old customs and habits plus development of modern communication facilities, human feelings and festival mood have become diluted in a natural way. Besides, some believe nowadays we can dine and wine every day if we like, which seems as if we were spending a Spring Festival every day of the year. What, then, is the significance of the Lunar New Year? As we enjoy a rich and abundant life, we should aspire for higher ideals and a more elevated state of mind during the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is increasingly becoming, for contemporaries, a time for spiritual, emotional and cultural enjoyment rather than material entertainment.
回顾中国人提出并参与现代奥林匹克运动的百年历史，我们深深感悟到“国运兴，体育兴”的道理。坚持科学发展观，构建和谐社会的人文环境，为发展中国体育事业提供了更加优越的条件。作
