✶ 喜馬拉雅山腳下的神祕國度 ── 不丹(上) Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

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踏入這個位在西藏與印度之間的神秘國度吧。

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行遍天下

Step inside this mysterious kingdom.

        Sitting between Tibet and India is a magical country called Bhutan, aka “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” This name comes from the wild thunderstorms that strike its valleys from the peaks of the Himalayas. But if that’s all you’ve heard about this country, you haven’t heard anything yet.

        Most of Bhutan’s early history has been lost due to a fire that destroyed many historical records in the ancient capital of Punakha in 1827. However, it is known that Bhutanese culture and history have been greatly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, which was introduced in the seventh century.

Until the 17th century, Bhutan was made up of several minor kingdoms, which fought with one another. A Tibetan military leader and lama, Ngawang Namgyal, united the country and built many strong fortresses to help protect the kingdom. To this day, these fortresses, called dzongs, serve as the centers of religion and government.

        In 1972, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced Gross National Happiness, a replacement for Gross Domestic Product, to measure the happiness and well-being of the nation. This measure also emphasizes environmental protection and cultural preservation efforts.

 

        1.     kingdom [ˋkɪŋdəm] n. 王國
The king and his soldiers fought off the enemies to protect his kingdom.
國王和他的士兵們擊退了敵人以保護王國。
                * fight off...　　抵抗∕擊退……

★     2.     peak [pik] n. 山頂；巔峰
Helen felt a sense of achievement when she reached the peak of the mountain.
海倫抵達山頂時覺得很有成就感。

        3.     be made up of...　　由……組成
The class is made up of 35 students.
這個班級由三十五位學生組成。

★     4.     unite [juˋnaɪt] vt. 使統一；使團結
The coach tried to unite the team by giving the players a pep talk.
教練想藉由給球員們激勵的談話來使球隊團結起來。
               * a pep talk　　鼓舞士氣的談話，激勵性的談話

        5.     serve as...　　當作……
This book can serve as a guide to help you learn how to cook.
這本書可以用作一個助你學習烹飪的指南。

        6.     replacement [rɪˋplesmənt] n. 替代者∕品
The plastic box is a replacement for my laundry basket.
這個塑膠箱是我的洗衣籃的替代品。

        7.     measure [ˋmɛʒɚ] vt. 測量 & n. 措施
This machine can measure your blood pressure.
這臺機器可以測量你的血壓。

The government took many measures to deal with the environmental problems.
政府採取許多措施來處理環境問題。

        8.     emphasize [ˋɛmfə͵saɪz] vt. 重視，強調
The English teacher emphasized the importance of increasing one’s vocabulary.
這位英文老師強調了增加字彙量的重要性。

    ►    mysterious [mɪsˋtɪrɪəs] a. 神祕的
    ►    aka　　亦稱為，又叫作（為 also known as 的縮寫）
    ►    thunderstorm [ˋθʌndɚ͵stɔrm] n. 大雷暴∕雷雨
    ►    Tibetan Buddhism [tɪˋbɛtən ˋbʊdɪzəm n. 藏傳佛教
    ►    lama [ˋlɑmə] n. 喇嘛（西藏和蒙古的佛教僧侶）
    ►    fortress [ˋfɔrtrɪs] n. 堡壘，要塞
    ►    Gross National Happiness (GNH)　　國民幸福總值
           Gross Domestic Product (GDP)　　國內生產總值
           gross [ gros ] a. 總的，全部的
    ►    well-being [ˋwɛlˋbiɪŋ] n. 健康；安樂
    ►    preservation [͵prɛzɚˋveʃən] n. 保存，保護

請依句意在空格內填入適當的字詞

1.     科學家做了許多實驗以測量這個新藥的效果。
        The scientists did many experiments to ________ the effectiveness of the new drug.

2.     這家小公司由一個老闆、一位祕書和兩位員工組成。
        This small company is _____________ a boss, a secretary, and two employees.

3.     要找到接替湯姆的人很困難。 
        It would be difficult to find a ___________ for Tom.

 

答案: 1. measure　2. made up of　3. replacement

　　不丹是一個位在西藏與印度之間的奇妙國度，也稱作「雷龍之地」。這個稱號源自於從喜馬拉雅山的山頂擊到山谷間的猛烈雷暴。但如果你只聽過這些有關這個國家的事情，那你根本什麼都還沒聽過呢。

　　在 1827 年，發生於古代首都普納卡的一場大火破壞了許多歷史紀錄，因此不丹早期大多數的歷史都消失了。然而，眾所周知的是不丹的文化和歷史都深受藏傳佛教影響，這個宗教於七世紀時傳入不丹。

　　到十七世紀，不丹由許多互相爭鬥的小國組成。一位來自西藏的軍隊首領兼喇嘛 ── 夏仲阿旺朗傑 ── 統一了不丹並建造許多堅固的碉堡以協助保衛國家。現今，這些被稱作「宗堡」的碉堡仍用作政教中心。

　　1972 年，不丹國王吉格梅．辛格．旺楚克採用了「國民幸福總值」以取代「國內生產毛額」，來衡量國家的幸福快樂。這項措施也強調環境保育和文化保存的努力。

 

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