常春藤解析英語 57 和平的武裝國家──瑞士

Switzerland: Armed and Peaceful　和平的武裝國家──瑞士

by Jerri Graham

Switzerland may be known for its high-quality chocolates and precision timepieces, but there is more to this landlocked country than sweets and watches.

Switzerland's 7.5 million citizens have managed to avoid the wars and conflicts of other nations. In fact, the country has vowed that it will never get involved in an armed conflict. However, for its own defense, Switzerland still has a strong military with an arsenal of the most technologically advanced equipment available.

Known as the Swiss Armed Forces, Switzerland's military consists of a regular army and air force and a militia made up of everyday citizens with a willingness to fight for their homeland. The backbone of the Swiss army is the country's able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 19 and 31 who are required to serve as part-time soldiers. Women also serve voluntarily in the military.

In many countries, getting troops ready for action can take weeks or months. The Swiss, however, require all males to keep a rifle, ammunition, and a uniform in their homes. As a result, within 12 hours, the entire Swiss army can be ready to take on any task.

Furthermore, Switzerland has enough room in bomb shelters for every citizen, and the country's bridges and tunnels have explosives on them so they can be destroyed in case of invasion. Though Switzerland is neutral, its proximity to many major wars in the past has taught the nation to be prepared.

Switzerland may remain on the outside of the world's military conflicts, but this tiny country isn't all about peace. The Swiss are ready to defend themselves should the need arise.

1. Which of the following is a true statement about Switzerland?

(A) It's only famous for its chocolates and watches.

(B) It has been involved in many major wars in the past.

(C) Like male citizens, females are forced to serve in the army.

(D) Over five million people make their home in the country.

2. The official name of the army in Switzerland is _____.

(A) the Army of Switzerland

(B) the Swiss Army

(C) the Armed Switzerland

(D) the Swiss Armed Forces

3. How long does it take to mobilize the Swiss army?

(A) Less than a day.

(B) 24 hours.

(C) Two weeks.

(D) Less than three weeks but more than two.

單字小鋪

1. armed a. 武裝的

2. precision a. 精密的 & n. 精確性

3. timepiece n. 鐘表

4. landlocked a. 內(nèi)陸的

5. vow vt. 發(fā)誓

vow + that 子句/to V　　發(fā)誓(做)……

6. defense n. 防御

7. arsenal n. 儲藏的武器

8. technologically adv. 技術(shù)上地

9. militia n. 國民軍

10. everyday a. 平常的;日常的

everyday citizen　　平民

everyday life　　日常生活

11. willingness n. 樂意，心甘情愿

12. backbone n. 基礎(chǔ)，骨干

13. able-bodied a. 身體健全的

14. rifle n. 來復(fù)槍

15. ammunition n. 彈藥

16. bomb shelter n. 防空洞

17. explosive n. 炸藥

18. invasion n. 侵略

19. neutral a. 中立的

20. defend vt. 保衛(wèi)

文法一點靈

* The Swiss are ready to defend themselves should the need arise.

= The Swiss are ready to defend themselves if the need should arise.

注意:

在假設(shè)語氣的 if 子句中，若有表『萬一』的助動詞 should、過去完成式的助動詞 had，及 be 動詞過去式的 were 出現(xiàn)時，可將上述詞類往前移至主詞前，而將 if 省略，其句型如下：

If + S + should + V, 主要子句

= Should + S + V, 主要子句

例: If it should rain, we would cancel the outdoor concert.

= Should it rain, we would cancel the outdoor concert.

(萬一下雨的話，我們將取消這場戶外音樂會。)

If + S + had + 過去分詞, 主要子句

= Had + S + 過去分詞, 主要子句

例: If I had known you were a vegetarian, I wouldn't have cooked this pork for you.

= Had I known you were a vegetarian, I wouldn't have cooked this pork for you.

(如果我當(dāng)時知道你吃素的話，就不會煮豬肉給你吃了。)

If + S + were..., 主要子句

= Were + S +..., 主要子句

例: If Nina were a little taller, she could be a model.

= Were Nina a little taller, she could be a model.

(假如妮娜再高一點，她就可以當(dāng)模特兒了。)

精解字詞詞組

1. be known for sth　　因……(事物)聞名

= be famous for sth

be known as + 身分　　被稱為……;眾所皆知的……

= be famous as + 身分

例: This auto manufacturer is known for making excellent cars.

(這家汽車制造商以生產(chǎn)優(yōu)質(zhì)汽車聞名。)

例: Our town is known as the center of the cattle industry in this country.

(本鎮(zhèn)是全國眾所周知的牧牛業(yè)中心。)

2. high-quality a. 高質(zhì)量的

of high quality　　高質(zhì)量的

例: That shop only sells things of very high quality.

(那家店只販賣高質(zhì)量的商品。)

3. manage to V　　設(shè)法做(到)……

例: Sue managed to save enough money to send her parents on a European vacation.

(蘇設(shè)法存夠了錢送她父母去歐洲渡假。)

4. conflict n. 沖突

in conflict with...　　與……沖突∕矛盾

例: His words are in direct conflict with his actions.

(他的言行不一。)

5. get/be involved in...　　涉及∕卷入……

例: Tiffany got involved in a relationship with her old boyfriend.

(蒂芬妮和她的前男友糾纏不清。)

6. consist of...　　由……所組成

= be made up of...

= be composed of...

例: Tom's English class consists of students from 13 different countries.

(湯姆的英文班由來自十三個不同國家的學(xué)生組成。)

7. serve as...　　擔(dān)任……;充當(dāng)……

例: You've got to be kidding! This coffee machine serves as the entire break area?

(你一定是在開玩笑!放一臺咖啡機就叫作休息區(qū)?)

8. voluntarily adv. 志愿地

voluntary a. 志愿的

例: I voluntarily gave up smoking long before the town banned it.

(我在本鎮(zhèn)禁止吸煙前，早就已經(jīng)自動戒煙了。)

9. As a result, S + V　　結(jié)果∕因此，……

as a result of...　　由于……

例: As a result of your actions, we're awarding you a medal for heroism.

(因為你的作為，我們決定頒發(fā)英勇獎?wù)陆o你。)

10. take on...　　開始從事……;承擔(dān)……(工作、責(zé)任等)

例: Because I have more free time, I have taken on new projects.

(因為我現(xiàn)在有較多空閑時間，所以開始承接新項目。)

11. in case of...　　萬一……

例: In case of a fire, head calmly and quickly for the exits.

(萬一發(fā)生火災(zāi)，冷靜且迅速地向逃生門移動。)

12. proximity n.(距離)接近，鄰近(其后與介詞 to 并用)

in close proximity to...　　非?？拷?hellip;…

例: I can't believe Jeff built his house in close proximity to a dump.

(我不敢相信杰夫把自己的房子就蓋在垃圾場旁邊。)

13. arise vi. 發(fā)生，產(chǎn)生

三態(tài)為：arise, arose, arisen。

例: A new difficulty arose when we tried to solve the problem.

(當(dāng)我們試著解決問題時，新的問題又發(fā)生了。)

14. mobilize vt. 動員，調(diào)動

例: The fire department quickly mobilized all their men after the terrorist attack.

(恐怖攻擊發(fā)生后，消防局很快就全員出動了。)

中文翻譯&標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案

瑞士的高級巧克力與精密鐘表或許很有名，但除了糖果與手表，這個內(nèi)陸國家還有更多值得了解的地方。

七百五十萬瑞士公民都設(shè)法避免戰(zhàn)爭或與其它國家發(fā)生沖突。事實上，該國曾立誓永不涉入任何武裝沖突。不過，為了自衛(wèi)，瑞士擁有強大的軍隊與最高科技的先進(jìn)武器裝備。

瑞士的軍隊被稱為瑞士武裝部隊，包括正規(guī)陸軍、空軍和樂于保家衛(wèi)國的平民組成的國民軍。瑞士的軍事主力是該國 19 到 31 歲的健全男性公民，他們必須擔(dān)任兼職軍人的工作。女性也在軍隊里服志愿役。

在許多國家，集結(jié)部隊出任務(wù)可能需要數(shù)周或數(shù)月的時間。然而，在瑞士，所有男性均被要求在家中備有來復(fù)槍、彈藥和一套制服。因此，在 12 個小時內(nèi)，整個瑞士軍隊便能整裝待發(fā)出任務(wù)。而且，瑞士擁有足夠容納每位市民的防空洞，全國的橋梁與隧道都裝有炸藥，萬一有敵人入侵，隨時都能引爆加以摧毀。雖然瑞士是中立國，她在過去鄰近許多發(fā)生重大戰(zhàn)爭國家的經(jīng)驗中，學(xué)習(xí)到要隨時做好準(zhǔn)備。

瑞士或許將自己置身世上任何軍事沖突之外，但這個小國并不只有平靜祥和。萬一有需要時，瑞士人早已做好萬全準(zhǔn)備保衛(wèi)國家。

1. 關(guān)于瑞士，下列敘述何者正確?

(A) 她有名的只有巧克力和手表。

(B) 她過去曾卷入許多重大戰(zhàn)爭中。

(C) 如同男性公民一樣，女性被迫從軍。

(D) 超過五百萬人定居在該國。

題解: 根據(jù)本文第一段，瑞士的巧克力與手表雖然有名，但并非唯一，而綜觀全文，可知瑞士并未卷入任何戰(zhàn)爭中，再者，第三段中提到女性在軍隊里服志愿役，由此可知，(A)、(B)、(C) 均為錯誤敘述;在第二段中，則提到瑞士有七百五十萬公民，故知 (D) 為正選。

2. 瑞士軍隊的正式名稱為 _____。

(A) the Army of Switzerland

(B) the Swiss Army

(C) the Armed Switzerland

(D) the Swiss Armed Forces

題解: 根據(jù)第三段，瑞士的軍力被稱為瑞士武裝部隊(the Swiss Armed Forces)，故選 (D)。

3. 動員瑞士軍隊需要多久的時間?

(A) 不到一天。

(B) 24 小時。

(C) 兩周。

(D) 少于三周但多于兩周。

題解: 根據(jù)第四段，在 12 個小時內(nèi)，整個瑞士軍隊便能整裝待發(fā)出任務(wù)，故選 (A)。

標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案: 1. (D)　2. (D)　3. (A)