Galicia探寻古老城市——加利西亚

2023-10-05赖丽霞

疯狂英语·新阅版 2023年8期

赖丽霞

1 For centuries， the main way to Galicia，Spain’s northwesterncorner， was on foot. Poorroads meant that， until a decade or two ago， thedrive from Madrid took nine hours. Recent improvementshave cut the trip to the closest Galiciancity， Ourense， to about five.

2 Now the journey can be made in two hours and 15 minutes thanks to Galicia’s firstconnection with Spain’s highspeedrailway network. Next year the line should be extendedto Santiago， the regional capital， and A Coruña， Galicia’s biggest city.“Cinderella can nowtravel in a bigger and more comfortable car，”said Ourense’s mayor， Gonzalo Pérez J’come，using his nickname for his city， which he says is treated like an unloved stepchild. No onewants to be left out of the system. Spain has the biggest high?speed rail network in theworld after China’s， but Mr J’come doubts whether the new extension will bring dra⁃matic changes.

3 Spaniards have long been leaving poorer rural areas for better opportunities in richercities. Mr J’come notes that Zamora， another poorer rural area in Spain， has gained weekendtourists but continued to lose population since their arrival in 2015.

4 In any case， Galicia has been doing well. It once meant isolation and poverty andwas called“the end of the world”. So many Galicians moved to Latin America， so Galicianmeans“Spaniard”there. But GDP per person， 66% of the national average in 1955， is now92% of it.

Reading Check

1. Compared to a decade or two ago， how many hours are saved from Madrid to Ourense by train now？

A. Nine hours.

B. Six hours and 45 minutes.

C. Five hours.

D. Two hours and 15 minutes.

2. What does the underlined word“Cinderella”refer to in paragraph 2？

A. A Galician city.

B. A comfortable car.

C. An unloved stepchild.

D. Galician people.

3. What can we learn about Galicia？

A. It has gained weekend tourists since 2015.

B. Its GDP per person is still at a very low level.

C. It was once regarded as isolation and poverty.

D. It has no changes even with modern trains there.

语篇解码

本文主要介绍了位于西班牙西北角的加利西亚。以前因为交通不便，加利西亚旅游业发展困难，现在加利西亚终于通了高铁，旅客去加利西亚更加方便了。

语言学习

Ⅰ. 语料荟萃

Ⅱ. 语句分析

Spain has the biggest highspeedrail network in the world after China’s， but MrJ’come doubts whether the new extension will bring dramatic changes. 西班牙拥有仅次于中国的世界上最大的高铁网络，但哈科梅先生怀疑新的铁路扩建是否会带来巨大的变化。

【點石成金】本句是一个并列句。but表转折，doubts后跟了一个whether引导的宾语从句。

语言运用

Ⅰ. 例句仿写

1. 他母亲不会在那里，但他父亲也许会去。

His mother won’t be there，____________________.

2. 他不敢肯定她是否会遵守诺言。

He________________________she will keep her word.

Ⅱ. 写作实践

假定你是李华，你的新西兰朋友Jim发来电子邮件，告诉你他将于今年暑假来中国旅游，希望你推荐一个景点。请你给他回一封电子邮件，要点如下：

1. 推荐的景点；

2. 交通状况；

3. 推荐的旅行方式。