话题原文：

　　请将下面这段话翻译成英文：

　　汉朝建于公元前202年，是中国历史上存在时间最长的朝代之一，分为西汉与东汉两个阶段。汉朝被称为黄金时代，在经济、文化、艺术和科技等各个方面均创造了辉煌的文明。汉朝奠定了汉民族的民族文化，西汉所尊崇的儒家思想(Confucianism)成为中国的主流思想。在西汉时期，商业贸易蓬勃发展，丝绸之路(the Silk Road)的开辟就是一个重要的经济成就。技术进步也是汉朝的重要成就，中国两个伟大发明，造纸和瓷器(porcelain)是在这一时期发展起来的。220年东汉灭亡，汉朝统治结束。

　　参考译文：

　　Han Dynasty, founded in 202 BC, was one of thelongest dynasties in Chinese history. It was dividedinto two periods: the Western Han Dynasty and theEastern Han Dynasty. Considered a golden age, HanDynasty created a glorious civilization in variousaspects, including economy, culture, art as well as science and technology, etc. Han Dynasty laida foundation for the ethnic culture of the Han Nationality, and Confucianism respected by theWestern Han Dynasty became the mainstream ideology of China. Business and tradeflourished during the Western Han Dynasty, with the opening of the Silk Road as an importanteconomic achievement.Technological advances were also great achievement in this period. Itwas during this time that two great Chinese inventions, papermaking and porcelain, weredeveloped. In 220, the Eastern Han Dynasty collapsed and the ruling of Han Dynasty ended.

　　1.第一句话中有三个短句，为避免译成英文时句子显得冗长，可处理为两个独立的句子。第一个短句“建于公元前202年”译成founded in 202 BC，作插入语。“分为西汉与东汉两个阶段”独立成句，增译主语it，用以指代汉朝。

　　2.“汉朝被称为黄金时代”译为considered a golden age，用过去分词短语作状语，代替状语从句，这样显得句式简洁而又灵活。

　　3.第四句“在西汉时期…”由两个短句组成，可将“商业贸易蓬勃发展”作为句子主干，将“丝绸之路的开辟是…”处理成with引导的介宾结构，作伴随状语，即译成with the opening up of the Silk Road as an importanteconomic achievement。

　　4.“技术进步也是汉朝的重要成就”这一句话较长，可拆译成两个句子。“中国两个伟大发明是在这一时期…”可用强调句It was...that...表达。