【正文】 ture, “mandarin duck” is considered as the love bird. The mandarin duck is a kind of bird living in water. One male mandarin duck and one female mandarin duck always live together and play on water. They live a happy and free life. Therefore, “mandarin duck” in Chinese culture is the symbol of affectionate couples living a happy life. People believe that affectionate couples will turn into mandarin ducks after death and will acpany with each other forever. In ancient China, a girl may give her lover a cloth bag with a pair of mandarin ducks embroidered on it. Nowadays, groom and bride like to use mandarin duck quilts for their wedding. However, in English culture, “mandarin duck” has no such symbolic meaning and it is only a kind of bird. Animal words with rich connotations in EnglishSome animal words may have rich connotations in English, while the same animal words in Chinese have no concerned connotations.In English, the best oyster always keeps its shells closed tightly. Therefore, oyster is a symbol of a man of few words in English culture. Such as “as close as an oyster”, “as dumb as an oyster” and “he seldom says anything, he is a regular oyster”. However, Chinese people seldom see oyster and they do not have such connotation.In English culture, “cat” has plentiful meanings. In the English mythology, cat can even affect the change of the weather, as the saying goes, “to rain cats and dogs” and “the cat has a gale of wind in her tail”. There are many phrases and sayings, such as “old cat” (an old woman with bad temper), “cat’s paw” (a person who is duped or deceived), “a cat in the pan” (a traitor), “bell the cat” (take risks for the public benefits), “cat burglar” (an extremely agile thief), and “l(fā)et the cat out of the bag” (to disclose the secret). It may be difficult for Chinese people to understand the above connotations. Chinese people have no such rich meanings of cat, they just consider cat as a docile and lovely animal.Beaver, a North American animal which is not widely known in China, has a unique technique and ability for creativity. Its constant activity, its habit of building plex houses, its skill and ingenuity have earned himself the name “eager beaver”. Therefore, “beaver” stands for an active and studious man. In metaphor, an eager beaver is a person who is anxious to get something done, hardworking and somewhat impatient. This word sometimes has a slightly derogatory connotation. In Chinese culture, beaver is just an animal and it can not stand for any connotation.3. The Causes of Discrepancy in the Connotation between English and Chinese Animal WordsIn Chinese and English, the phenomena that the referential meanings of the same animal are totally identical while their connotations are different usually occur. As Chinese people and English people live in different cultural backgrounds for a long time, naturally, animal words are endowed with different connotations. ReligionReligion is a cultural phenomenon and has a great influence on people’s life. In Western countries, Christianity is the dominant religion influencing people’s life and thinking for hundreds of years. The Bible is deeply rooted in people’s mind. For example, “A lion in the road” and “beard the lion in his den”. Lions are mentioned in the Bible for their strength, boldness and ferocity. English people believe in Christianity and often go to church to pray. In English church, there is no food for mice to eat and mice are always hungry. Therefore, “as poor as a church mouse” can be used to show poverty. In China, Buddha is the dominant religion influencing people’s life for over a thousand of years. Chinese people hold that Buddha can control everything in the world. In Buddhism, “dragon” is the symbol of power and success. There are many Chinese connotations of animal directly related with Buddhism. For example, “佛口蛇心” (a Buddha’s mouth but a viper’s heart). HistoryIn Chinese history, “dragon” is a totem image. In Chinese mythology, “dragon” is a kind of mythic animal which has scales, claws and legs and which can fly in the sky, swim in the sea and create cloud and rain. In thousands of years of history, “dragon” was considered as a symbol of imperial power.In Western mythology, “dragon” is a huge lizard with wings, scales and a long tail。 she kept muttering like a magpie. In addition, the Westerners usually use “magpie” to pare to the condition of chaos or a great mass, such as “a magpie collection”, “to magpie together”, etc. (Chen Wenbo, 1982)“Whale” is a kind of large animal. The Westerners pay their attention to its merits and profits. In English culture, “whale” implies great benefit. “A whale of chance” means a very good chance, and “a whale on skating” means a person who is good at skating. However, what whale impresses Chinese is its strong appetite. In Chinese culture, “whale” has a derogatory sense, such as “蠶食鯨吞” (nibble away like a silkworm or swallow like a whale).In Chinese traditional culture, phoenix is a supernatural bird. It symbolizes a queen and stands for luckiness. People like it and believe that it can bring them luckiness. However, in English culture, phoenix stands for immaculacy or renascence (李青, 2001). It is considered as an immoral bird. Phoenix symbolizes a new start or a long life. For instance, “religion, like a phoenix, has been resurrected from the ashes of the war”. Animal words with similar connotationsDifferent animal words may have similar cultural connotations in English and Chinese, namely, people use different animal words to express similar meanings. Even though the animal words are different, they may have similar connotations.“Tiger” is always replaced by “l(fā)ion” in English. For example, “a lion in the way” (a roadblocking tiger), “beard the lion in his den” (go deep into tiger cave), “put one’s head in th