The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Today Art Museum have recently unveiled a zodiac design competition for the upcoming Year of the Goat, inviting global artists and designers to bring their unique aesthetic to this old Chinese cultural entity.
北京市文化局和今日美术馆最近启动了“2015年羊年吉庆生肖设计大赛”，面向全球的艺术家和设计大师征集“羊”年生肖形象作品。

 
The Chinese Zodiac, or Sheng Xiao(生肖), is based on a twelve-year cycle(12年一轮回), with each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. It is calculated(计算) according to(根据) the Chinese lunar calendar(阴历).
 
The year in which a person is born is represented by one of 12 animals in the zodiac: rat(鼠), ox(牛), tiger(虎), rabbit(兔), dragon(龙), snake(蛇), horse(马), goat(羊), monkey(猴), rooster(鸡), dog(狗) and pig(猪).
 
Sun Bo, an official with the culture bureau, expects to discover a participation(参与) of international designers(设计师) into the competition(比赛) to promote(推广) the culture of the Chinese Zodiac far and wide.

重点词汇Key Words:

生肖 shēng xiào
Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese Zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao, is based on a twelve year cycle, each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. These animal signs are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. It is calculated according to Chinese lunar calendar . You can use the tool on the right to search for your Chinese zodiac. 

推广 tuī guǎng
promote/promotion/generalize/extension/popularization
"推" means "push", and "广" means "far and wide". The word means "popularize" or "spread", and it can be used as a verb and a noun.

• v. eg. 推广科研成果
       popularize research results
• n. eg. The company had a promotion event, and a lot of goods were sold.
       公司有一个推广活动, 出售了大量的商品.

根据... gēn jù
according to.../on the basis of....

eg. 根据最可靠的消息，事实如下。
     According to the best available information, the facts are these.

     根据法律，所有餐厅都必须在店外明示用餐价格。
     By law all restaurants must display their prices outside.

比赛 bǐ sài
match/competition/tounament/contest/compete

• n. eg. 他没有接住球，比赛输了。
        He missed the catch and the match was lost.
• v. eg.  孩子们比赛到池子的另一端。
        The children compete against each other to reach the other end of the pool.