《新版新概念英语第三册(英音)Lesson (08)》歌词

[00:00:00] Lesson 8 A famous Monastery

[00:00:15] the great st bernard pass connects switzerland to italy.

[00:00:21] at 2470 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in europe.

[00:00:28] the famous monastery of st bernard, which was founded in the eleventh century, lies about a mile away.

[00:00:37] for hundreds of years, st bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous pass.

[00:00:44] these friendly dogs, which were first brought from asia, were used as watch-dogs even in roman times.

[00:00:53] now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains, the pass is less dangerous, but each year,

[00:00:59] the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty.

[00:01:06] despite the new tunnel, there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the pass on foot.

[00:01:15] during the summer months, the monastery is very busy,for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the pass in cars,

[00:01:25] as there are so many people about, the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure.

[00:01:32] in winter, however, life at the monastery is quite different.

[00:01:37] the temperature drops to -30 and very few people attempt to cross the pass.

[00:01:45] the monks prefer winter to summer for they have more privacy.

[00:01:50] the dogs have greater freedom, too,for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure.

[00:01:58] the only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at christmas and easter.

[00:02:06] these young people, who love the peace of the mountains, always receive a warm welcome at st bernard's monastery.