A famous monastery
原文
Lesson 8
A famous monastery
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,
which was founded in the 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 has 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 degrees,
and very few people attempt to cross the Pass.
The monks prefer winter to summer for 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 the mountains,
always receive a warm welcome at St.Bernard's monastery.
译文
第8课
一座著名的修道院
圣伯纳德犬是用来做什么的？
大圣伯纳德山口（Great St. Bernard Pass）将瑞士与意大利连接起来。
海拔2,473米，它是欧洲最高的山口。
著名的圣伯纳德修道院
这座修道院建于十一世纪，坐落在约一英里外。
几个世纪以来，圣伯纳德犬一直拯救着那些穿越危险山口的旅行者的生命。
这些友好的狗狗最初是从亚洲引进的。
甚至在罗马时代，它们就被用作看门狗。
既然已经修建了一条穿山隧道，山口的危险性就降低了，
但每当有旅行者遇到困难时，这些狗仍会被派往雪地救援。
尽管有了这条新隧道，
仍然有一些人贸然尝试徒步穿越这个山口。
在夏季，这座修道院非常繁忙。
因为这里有成千上万的人开车穿过山口前来参观。
由于周围人太多，这些狗必须被关在专门的围栏里。
然而，在冬天，修道院的生活却大不相同了。
气温降到了零下30度。
而且，很少有人试图穿越这个山口。
僧侣们更喜欢冬天，因为那时他们更清静。
这些狗也拥有更大的自由。
因为它们被允许在围栏外四处走动。
冬天里，唯一经常造访这座修道院的人是一群滑雪者——他们会在圣诞节和复活节期间来到这里。
这些年轻人，
他们热爱山间的宁静，
在圣伯纳德修道院总是受到热情的欢迎。