英语听力精选进阶版 6049

（单词翻译）

When many people in the west think of China, the animal that they think of is the dragon. For them, the dragon is an aggressive monster that breathes fire. Many popular legends tell of how dragons killed brave knights¹ and ate beautiful maidens².

For Chinese people however, the dragon is not an evil³ monster. It's a cultural and spiritual symbol for prosperity⁵ and good luck. The dragon’s main task is to create harmony and bring rain. Dragons are celebrated⁶ in art and architecture, and of course the dragon dance is a very popular ritual⁴. Millions of Chinese have the word ‘long’, meaning dragon, as part of their name.

China isn't the only country to have the dragon as its symbol. Wales, one of the four countries in the UK, has a red dragon proudly displayed on its flag. The only other country in the world with a dragon on its flag is Bhutan, the tiny country between China and India.

Almost all countries in the world have an animal symbol to represent their country, and it is particularly obvious during sports. The English see lions as brave, proud animals and the England football team have three lions on the front of their football shirts.

Australia is famous for kangaroos, of course. The national rugby team is more commonly know as the Wallabies, a kind of small kangaroo. Similarly⁷, the South African team are known as the Springboks, a type of African antelope⁸, and the New Zealanders, whether playing sports or not, are commonly known as Kiwis. A kiwi is a native New Zealand bird that can't fly.

All countries are proud of their symbols, which they feel reflect national characteristics or the beauty and variety of their natural environments. Recently, a Shanghai professor claimed that using the dragon as a national symbol could make western countries have a negative view of China. But in an internet survey 90% of Chinese people wanted to keep the dragon, and as we are all familiar with that Chinese symbol, people in the west would no doubt want China to keep the dragon too.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

dragon 龙

aggressive monster 狰狞的猛兽       

legends 传说

knights 骑士 

maidens （未婚）女子

evil 邪恶；罪恶   

spiritual 精神（上）的

prosperity 繁荣 

harmony 和谐；和睦

architecture 建筑（学）     

ritual 礼仪；民俗     

proudly 自豪的   

flag 旗子

brave 勇敢的   

kangaroos 袋鼠

rugby 橄榄球    

antelope 羚羊   

characteristics 特点；特征

native 本土；当地的         

survey 统计；调查