Articulate, ambitious and affectionate - maybe a little timid - but overall very lucky. These are some of the characteristics usually associated with people born in the Year of the Rabbit.

And as we wave goodbyeto the Year of the Tiger, it's luck that feng shui experts are hoping rabbits will bring to 2011. Newspapers and websites in China and around the world are full of predictions about what's in store for the rabbit year.

So what can we expect? First up is Hong Kong astrologer Anthony Cheng's forecast for our love lives:

"The Year of the Rabbit is an auspicious time for marriages, so I would expect to see a lot of people taking the plunge, including famous people," he told AFP.

But he also warned that "The Year of the Rabbit will see a lot of unusualromantic relationships, including extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences".

Moving on to money matters, the Financial Times has analysed what the rabbit year will mean for people investing in China. It expects the first part of 2011 to be a "scared rabbit", meaning a "bumpy, grumpy market". But summer should see a "strong rally" from Chinese stocks with the tiger long gone.

Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA publishes a light-hearted 'Feng Shui Index' which says the coming year brings many "hopportunities" for investors.

And while most of the predictions focus on how the Year of the Rabbit will affect our financial and romantic lives, what about the rabbits themselves?

Reports in the UK say that we'll be seeing a lot more of our long-eared friends in the coming year – on the dinner table.

Sales of rabbit are up over 300% on January last year, with TV celebrity chefs such as Nigella Lawson popularising dishes like baked rabbit and even one with a name as dry as the meat itself: "cute stew".

• ambitious [æm´biʃəs]   a.有雄心的；热望的   (初中英语单词)
• rabbit [´ræbit]   n.兔子，野兔   (初中英语单词)
• plunge [plʌndʒ]   v.插进 n.投入；冲击   (初中英语单词)
• unusual [ʌn´ju:ʒuəl]   a.不平常的；异常的   (初中英语单词)
• romantic [rəu´mæntik]   a.传奇(式)的；浪漫的   (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• affect [ə´fekt]   vt.影响；感动；假装   (初中英语单词)
• affectionate [ə´fekʃənit]   a.亲爱的   (高中英语单词)
• seeing [si:iŋ]   see的现在分词 n.视觉   (高中英语单词)
• articulate [ɑ:´tikjulit]   a.口齿清楚的 v.连接   (英语六级单词)
• forecast [´fɔ:kɑ:st]   vt.&n.预测；预报   (英语六级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ]   a.迷人的 n.捕获物   (英语六级单词)
• celebrity [si´lebriti]   n.名声；名人   (英语六级单词)