外媒：中国夫妇扎堆马年怀孕避免生“羊娃”_BEC初级作文

外媒：中国夫妇扎堆马年怀孕避免生“羊娃”

It’s unclear how the Year of the Sheep came to acquire its bad reputation.

没有人清楚羊年霉运的臭名是从哪里得来的。

Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac has it virtues and faults. The undisputed favorite is the dragon, often followed by the tiger and the horse — an energetic animal closely associated with success, according to Chinese sayings.

中国的十二生肖各有其优缺点。龙、虎和马的属相最受欢迎，据中国民间说法，这三种力量型的动物往往都与成功密切相关。

Even rats (considered clever and agile) and snakes (which look like mini-dragons) are considered lucky. But sheep have fewer advantageous qualities, according to some interpretations.

就连属鼠（常被认为机灵聪明）还有属蛇（看着像小龙）都被认为是幸运的属相。但就一些生肖的解读，羊的优点却少之甚少。

Those born in sheep years are thought of as passive, loyal, generous and kind. Some of those virtues may be wonderful in an ideal world, but not so useful in the dog-eat-dog real world.

羊年生人消极被动、忠诚老实、善良大方。这些性格特质生活在理想的世界里或许是美好的，但在竞争激烈的现实世界中却没什么用途。

“It’s an unfair and outdated superstition,” said Dong Mengzhi, 74, honorary president of Beijing's Folk Literature and Art Society. “But it's a convenient way for many to explain an unpredictable world.”