【正文】 target audiences are users of translation texts. The significant concept in“skopos theory”is“recipient”or“target addressee”, which decides the aim of a translation action. A qualified or acceptable translation should accord with recipients mons sense, expectations, thinking mode and reading habits in a specific culture. The source text is no longer the center in the process of translating but an open entity that provides partial or all information. The predominant rule of skopos theory is that skopos of the translation action determinates processes of any translation. The translation’s standards should be of adequacy rather than of equivalence. Adequacy means that the target text should conform to all translation briefs. Compared with traditional linguistic translation theories, as the core theory in functional translation theories, skopos theory declares that translation is an intentional intercultural action and munication. Based on the analysis of the source text, translation should aim to achieve the expected functions in the target culture and optimal translation strategies according to contextual factors. So it broke limitations of tradition“equivalence”value, made translation more flexible and gave more initiatives. And it provides excellent guidance for pragmatic translation. It opens a new perspective for translation theories and studies of translation practices, and provides the theory basis for those translations that violate some translation criteria but are proved to be successful by practices. For example, traditionally, a translation is good if it is loyal to the source text. Compared with other translation theories, it pays more attention to translation brief, target readers and target culture and takes translation studies into crosscultural munication, which broadens the way of linguistics translation mode and is of great help to domestic translation studies. 4. Functions of Scenic Spot Names and Thier Translation Principles In this section,we focus on the characteristics and functions of scenic spot names. An analysis is made on the features of Chinese scenic spot names in language itself culture and style. When rendering the scenic spot names into English, the translator should take account of the characteristics of Chinese as well as western reader’s reading habits and expectation. The Characteristics of Scenic Spot Names Tourism resource always has two parts: one part is natural tourism resource, such as Danxia landform in Zhangye, rugged mountains in Zhangjiajie and graceful water in Guilin, etc。 and in turn, both of them are subordinate to the skopos rule. Arguments on Skopos Theory According to skopos theory, any translation should firstly ply with the skopos rule, namely the intended purpose predominates the whole process of translation. And one of the most important factors that determine translation skopos is the receiver of the target text with their own knowledge background, special expectations for translation texts and munication needs. Each translation aims to given receivers. So each translation is generated with a given intention and for target receivers and it should serve the intention. (Nord, 1997, p. 12) “The source text is just an offer of partial or all information for target audiences and translators will express it with another language under new culture background, rather than the transcoding of words or sentences from one language into another” (SnellHornby, 1995, p. 46). Skopos theory emphasizes translation intentions. Translation intentions determine translation strategies and approaches that are applied to produce a functionally adequate result. The result is the target text, which Vermeer calls “translatum”. Arguments on skopos theory are as follows: Translation is a purposeful, municative, processable and crosscultural interaction based on the source text. In the process of translating, different participants play different roles. Clients as the initiator of translation action determinate the translation purpose and translation brief。 Christinae Nord further studied this theory and introduced it in all round way in English for the first time so that it has drawn great attention in translation field. Definition of Skopos Theory Hans J. Vermeer gives the explanation of skopos theory in Skopos and Commission in Translational Action as follows: All forms of translation action are a kind of human actions, including translation itself. every action has its intention. As a technical term of a translation, the Greek word ‘skopos’ refers to a translation intention. (Vermeer, 1989, p. 221) Dictionary of Translation Studies gives its definition of skopos theory in such way: Skopos theory is put forward by Reiss and Vermeer as a translation approach in the late 1970s. It emphasizes two translation aspectsinteractional and pragmatic. And it debates that translation functions and purposes determine the shape of the target text. An interaction is decided by its aim and they vary with its recipients. (Schaffner, 1997, p. 124) From these above definitions given by scholars and Dictionaary of Transalation Studies, it is found that skopos theory deems translation as a specific form of purposeful human action and rather than a process of trapscoding. And the Greek word “skopos” is borrowed to describe the purpose of a translation, especially pragmatic translations. Three Rules of Skopos Theory and Their Relationship Basic rules of skopos theory include the skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule: 1. The skopos rule: that is, the predominating rule of the theory. It stipulates that a translation is decided by its purpose (Nord, 2001, pp. 2730). Each translation text is generated for a given skopos and gives serves to the skopos. 2. The coherence rule: that is, intratextual coherence. It states that a translation should be a