危地马拉的彩色小镇

重庆 袁 泉

主题语境：人文风情 篇幅：353词 建议用时：6分钟

1Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó,in the highlands of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, in deep, varied hues of blues and greens; interspersed with red and yellow to form complex patterns and designs.

2Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5000 people, most of them indigenous（当地的）and dependent on agricultural work. As agriculture began to dry up here, decline for the town and poverty for many of its families came. To deal with poverty and stimulate economic growth through tourism, a small but mighty group of laborers, artisans,domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.

3The project was initially to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors, in an effort to change the hillside town into a work of art.“We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community,”said the project's executive director Stephany Blanco.“A range of designs were created so that families can choose designs for their houses that are representative of the family.”

4One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue blouse, atraditional blouse which has been worn prominently by local women since the 16th century.That deep sky blue was chosen as the primary color for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in sunset and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive.As for the designs that would be used,they would also find inspiration in local culture,symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, Mayan-styled butterflies and the national bird of Guatemala.

5Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful.“At first, the idea of the project left many unsure about participating,but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,”Melissa Whitbeck said.“The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality of people's life. It uplifts people's moods and encourages them to be proud of where they come from.”

Reading

Check

Detail

1.What problem did Santa Catarina Palopó face?

A.A labor shortage.

B.Poor economic conditions.

C.A rapid increase in population.

D.Outdated agricultural technology.

Detail

2.What is the project about?

A.Building art galleries in Guatemala.

B.Creating job opportunities for local artisans.

C.Developing local tourism by selling artworks.

D.Transforming the town into a cultural destination.

Detail

3.What is the inspiration of the primary color for the project?

A.The nearby lake.

B.Mayan-styled butterflies.

C.A type of traditional clothing.

D.A national bird of Guatemala.

Inference

4.What was Melissa's attitude towards the project?

A.Positive.

B.Uncaring.

C.Ambiguous.

D.Disapproving.

Language

Study

Ⅰ.Text-centered chunks

intersperse with 用……点缀着

dry up 干涸

in an effort to 试图做……

a range of 一系列……

as for 至于

be proud of 为……感到自豪

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence in the text

One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue blouse, a traditional blouse which has been worn prominently by local women since the 16th century. 该地区最具代表性的特色之一是蓝色衬衫，自16 世纪以来，当地妇女一直穿着这种传统上衣。

【点石成金】本句中的which引导的是一个定语从句，which在从句中作主语。