如梦如画 (Pictures of a Dream)
退休“花农”程敏之在她常坐的座位上坐下，点了一壶锡兰红茶（Ceylon black tea）和一份软软甜甜的芝士蛋糕（cheese cake)。她继续上回来时没读完的一本名人传记。
Google Translation: Retired Florist Chen Min sat down in her regular seat and ordered a pot of Ceylon black tea and a soft, sweet cheese cake. She continued to come back to read a biography of a celebrity.
My Edited Translation: The retired “flower grower” Chen Minzhi sat down in her regular seat and ordered a pot of Ceylon black tea and a piece of soft and sweet cheese cake. She continued to read the biography of a celebrity, which she had not finished reading.
虽然这里是中国农村一个名不见经传的小镇，也不地处沿海地区，不是那种可被人称为“巨镇”（super town）的地方，人们却照常可以享受到一些泊来品，像进口的红茶和咖啡。尤其在这个茶坊所在的这条静谧的街道上。这条街道有个不很浪漫的名字叫“横街”。街两旁的茶坊、咖啡厅和饭馆却爱起些浪漫的名字。比如这个茶坊，名叫“闲云书舍”。书舍却不卖书，也不借书，只伺候各色各式茶，求得是有品味的有闲阶层品茶和评茶。街上也有名字不很浪漫的商家，像“张老三饼摊”，因为“摊”主兼大厨的拿手菜是肉饼，十岁小孩巴掌大的肉饼，皮薄馅厚，那味道调的，按外国人的话，是“从另一个世界来的”。可谓大俗亦是大雅。
Google Translation: Although this is a small town in rural China, not in the coastal areas, not the kind of place known as the “super town”, people can still enjoy some of the park as usual, like Imported black tea and coffee. Especially in this tea house where the quiet streets. This street has a very romantic name is “cross street”. Street on both sides of the Chafang, coffee shops and restaurants are in love with some romantic names. For example, the tea house, called “Lonely book homes.” Books do not sell books, do not borrow books, only wait on all kinds of colored tea, seeking a taste of leisure class tea and tea comment. The street also has a name is not very romantic business, like “Zhang Lao three cake stalls” because “stall” master and chef’s specialty dish is the patty, ten-year-old child palm patty, thin filling thick, Tune, according to the words of foreigners, is “from another world.” Can be described as vulgar is Taiga.
My Edited Translation: Although this is an unknown small town in rural China, not in the coastal areas, nor a kind of place known as the “super town”, people can still enjoy some of the imports, such as Imported black tea and coffee. Especially, in this quiet street where the tea house resides. The street has an unromantic name called “Horizontal Street”. Yet, the shops such as tea-houses, cafes and restaurants on both sides of the street are in love with some romantic names. For example, this very tea house is named “Idle-Cloud Book House”. Despite a “Book House”, it does not sell books, nor lend books, only serves varieties of tea, It is seeking for evaluations and comments from the sensitive taste-budded leisure class. There is also not quite romantically named business, like “Zhang Lao-San Patty Stall” because the stall chef’s, who is also the owner, signature dish is patties, which are sized as a ten-year-old child’s palm, thinly wrapped, but fatly stuffed. The taste of the patties, as foreigners often like to say, is “heavenly”. As they say, the pinnacle of simple and plain is the elegance.
and more in simplified Chinese only
Regarding the above translations, I am poking fun of the Google Translator. I think that it is dong a fine job. To translate many common Chinese expressions and idioms to English is not an easy work. For example, “大俗亦是大雅“ （da su yi shi da ya): 大（big, large, huge, gigantic, very, etc); 俗（vulgar, common, plain, simple, etc); 亦是（also being…being, too); 雅（elegance), so, the phrase here literally says:”very(da) common, plain stuff is also very(da) elegant stuff”. Does it make sense?