演說題目：讓我們來聊聊中國的12生肖！
世界上有四分之一的人口很注重中國的12生肖，即使你不信它，你最好還是了解一下它是如何運作的。在這場生動有趣富含知識的演講中，曉嵐向我們分享了如何了解中國古代傳統文化的小技巧，以及你的生肖代表著什麼呢？Have you ever been asked by your Chinese friend, "What is your zodiac sign?" Don't think they are making small talk. If you say, "I'm a Monkey," they immediately know you are either 24, 36, 48 or 60 years old.
你有沒有被中國朋友問過 「你的生肖是什麼？」 不要以為他們只是寒暄，如果你說：「我屬猴」他們馬上就可以知道你多大年紀。
Asking a zodiac sign is a polite way of asking your age.By revealing your zodiac sign, you are also being evaluated.
問生肖是問年齡的禮貌方式。知道了你的生肖，還可以對你進行評估。
Judgments are being made about your fortune or misfortune, your personality, career prospects and how you will do in a given year. If you share you and your partner's animal signs, they will paint a picture in their mind about your private life.
可以預測你幸運與否、你的性格、職業前景、接下來一年的運勢走向。如果你分享了你和愛人的生肖，甚至可以想像你的私人生活。
Maybe you don't believe in the Chinese zodiac. As a quarter of the world population is influenced by it,you'd be wise to do something about that.
也許你不相信中國的生肖，但是鑑於全球四分之一的人受它的影響，你最好還是知道一些相關的知識。
So what is the Chinese zodiac, exactly? Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac, the signs divided into 12 months. The Chinese zodiac is different.
到底什麼是中國的生肖呢？大多數西方人聽說過希臘羅馬12星座。這些星座把一年分成12個月。中國生肖不同。
It's a 12-year cycle labeled with animals, starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig, and has no association with constellations.
中國生肖是以動物命名的，一個12年的循環。以鼠開始，以豬結尾。它們與星座沒有任何聯繫。
For example, if you were born in 1975, you are a Rabbit. Can you see your zodiac sign there? Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework based on yin and yang, the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals.
比如你出生在1975年，你就屬兔。大家可以看到自己的生肖麼？中國的老祖先以陰陽、五行和12生肖為基礎，建立了一套非常複雜的理論框架。
Over thousands of years, this popular culture has affected people's major decisions, such as naming, marriage, giving birth and attitude towards each other. And some of the implications are quite amazing.
千百年來，這種流行文化影響著人們的大部分決定，比如起名、婚介、生產甚至對彼此的態度。其中一些涵義令人稱奇。
The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others. So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies, because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families.
中國人相信某些生肖與其它生肖比較好相處。所以夫婦選擇特定的年份生孩子，因為他們相信特定的生肖組合，會讓家族更加繁榮。
We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations. I'm a Pig; I should have perfect romance with Tigers, Goats and Rabbits. Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies.
甚至談戀愛的時候也會參考生肖。我屬豬，我最好的戀愛對象是屬虎，羊和兔的人。中國人相信有些生肖天生相剋。
As a Pig, I need to be careful with a Snake. Raise your hand if you are a Snake. Let's have a chat later.We believe some animals are luckier than the others, such as the Dragon.
對於屬豬的人來說我要小心屬蛇的人。各位屬蛇的人請舉手。我一會有話跟你們說。我們相信有些生肖更加好運，比如生肖龍。
Unlike the Western tradition,the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power, strength and wealth. It's everyone's dream to have a Dragon baby. Jack Ma's parents must have been very proud.
不同於西方傳統，中國龍是權力、力量和財富的象徵。每個人都希望有一個龍寶寶。馬雲的父母就非常自豪。
And they are not the only ones. In 2012, the Year of the Dragon, the birthrate in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased by five percent. That means another one million more babies.
這種現象非常普遍。2012年是龍年，中國香港和臺灣的嬰兒出生率提高了5%。比正常多出了一百萬新生兒。
With a traditional preference to baby boys, the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100. When those Dragon boys grow up, they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets.
加之生男孩的傾向明顯，那年的男女比例為120:100。當屬龍的男孩長大， 他們會面臨更加激烈的婚姻和職場挑戰。
According to the BBC and the Chinese government's press release, January 2015 saw a peak of Cesarean sections. Why?
根據BBC和中國政府的官方消息，2015年1月迎來了剖腹產的高潮。為什麼？
That was the last month for the Year of the Horse. It's not because they like horses so much, it's because they try to avoid having unlucky Goat babies.
因為這是馬年的最後一個月。並不是大家喜歡生肖馬，而是大家儘量避免不祥的屬羊的孩子。
If you are a Goat, please don't feel bad. Those are Goat babies. They don't look like losers to me.
如果你屬羊，也不要傷心，這些都是屬羊的人。我可不覺得他們是失敗者。
Tiger is another undesirable animal, due to its volatile temperament. Many Chinese regions saw a sharp decline of birthrate during those years.
還有一個不受歡迎的生肖是虎，也許和它的喜怒無常有關。在不受歡迎生肖的年份，中國很多地區的嬰兒出生率都有明顯下降。
Perhaps one should consider zodiac in reverse, as those Tiger and Goat babies will face much less competition. Maybe they are the lucky ones.
也許對於生肖我們應該逆向思維，因為虎寶寶和羊寶寶將會面臨最少的競爭，也許他們才是最幸運的。
I went through the Forbes top 300 richest people in the world, and it's interesting to see the most undesirable two animals, the Goat and Tiger, are at the top of the chart, even higher than the Dragon.
我調查了世界福布斯財富榜 前300位的生肖 有趣的是 屬最不受歡迎的羊和虎的人數反而排在前兩位，甚至高於龍。
So maybe we should consider, maybe it's much better to have less competition.One last but interesting point: many Chinese people make their investment decisions based on the zodiac sign index.
也許我們應該考慮減輕競爭壓力才是更好的選擇。最後一個有趣的事情是很多中國人依據生肖圖作為索引進行投資。
Although the belief and tradition of the zodiac sign has been over thousands of years,the trend of using it in making major decisions did not really happen until the past few decades.
儘管生肖的信仰和傳統由來已久，使用生肖作重大決定的風潮近幾十年才開始出現。
Our ancestors were very busy surviving poverty, drought, famine, riot, disease and civil war.
我們的祖先忙於戰勝貧窮、乾旱、饑荒、動亂、疾病甚至國內戰爭。
And finally, Chinese people have the time, wealth and technology to create an ideal life they've always wanted. The collective decision made by 1.3 billion people has caused the fluctuation in economics
終於中國人有時間，有財富和技可以過上他們夢想中的生活。13億人做出的集體決定足以在經濟上掀起巨大的波瀾，
and demand on everything, from health care and education to property and consumer goods.
足以改變很多事情的走向無論是醫療還是教育領域，無論是財產還是消費品方面。
As China plays such an important role in the global economy and geopolitics, the decisions made based on the zodiac and other Chinese traditions end up impacting everyone around the world.
隨著中國在全球經濟和地域政治中 扮演越來越重要的角色， 基於生肖 和其他中國傳統而作出的決定 將會最終影響世界上的每一個人。
Are there any Monkeys here? 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. Monkeys are clever, curious, creative and mischievous.Thank you.
在座的有屬猴的嗎？2016年是猴年，猴意味著聰明、好奇、創造力和頑皮。謝謝。
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