新概念美音版第三冊 Lesson 8 A famous monastery 著名的修道院

Lesson 8 A famous monastery 著名的修道院
         
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然後回答以下問題。
What are the St. Bernard dogs used for?

    The Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. At 2,473 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. The famous monastery of St. Bernard, witch was founded in eleventh century, lies about a mile away. For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass. These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs even in Roman times. Now that a tunnel ahs been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty. Despite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot.
    During the summer months, the monastery is very busy, for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars. As there are so many people about, the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. In winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different. The temperature drops to -- 30 o and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. The monks prefer winter to summer of they have more privacy. The dogs have greater freedom, too, for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter. These young people, who love the peace of mountains, always receive a warm welcome at St. Bernard's monastery.

New words and expressions 生詞和短語

     monastery
n.   寺院，修道院

     St. Bernard
     聖伯納德

     pass
n.   關隘

     watchdog
n.   看門狗

     rashly
adj. 莽撞地，冒失地

     enclosure
n.   圍場，圈地

     monk
n.   和尚

     privacy
n.   清靜，隱居

     skier
n.   滑雪者

     Easter
n.   複活節

參考譯文

    聖伯納德大山口連接著瑞士與意大利，海拔2,473O米，是歐洲最高的山口。11世紀建造的著名的聖伯納德修道院位於離山口1英裏遠的地方。幾百年來，聖伯納德修道院馴養狗拯救了許多翻越這道山口的旅遊者的生命。那些最先從亞洲引進的狗，待人友好，早在羅馬時代就給人當看門狗了。如今由於山裏開挖了隧道，翻越山口已不那麽危險了。但每年還要派狗到雪山地裏去幫助那些遇到困難的旅遊者，盡管修通了隧道，但仍有一些人想冒險徒步跨越聖伯納德山口。
    夏天的幾個月裏，修道院十分忙碌，因為有成千上萬的人駕車通過山口，順道來修道院參觀。由於來人太多，狗被關在專門的圍欄裏。然而到了冬天，修道院裏的生活則是另一番景象。氣溫下降到零下30度，試圖跨越山口的人寥寥無幾。修道士們喜歡冬天，而不太喜歡夏天。因為在冬天，他們可以更多地過無人打擾的生活。狗也比較自由，被放出圍欄，四處遛達。冬天常來修道院參觀的隻有一批批滑雪者。他們在聖誕節或複活節到那兒去。這些熱愛高山清靜環境的年輕人每年都受到聖伯納德道院的熱烈歡迎。