英语博客(A cup of English):Afghanistan

Beginners.

We are continuing with our study of countries of the world with Afghanistan. As you know, it is in the news all the time, and has been for quite a few years. Let's try to understand why, and to learn a little more about the country. Afghanistan is located in the central part of South Asia. To the West is Iran, to the Southeast is Pakistan, and towards the North are Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, with China to the East. It is what we call 'landlocked'. That means that it has no access to the sea. Most of its territory is mountainous, called the Hindu Kush area, with the highest peak, called Nowshak, reaching  7,485m. The land quality and shape is also very varied¹. Some mountains are very steep with narrow gorges² and valleys, and others are more like plateaus. A very famous route through the mountains that was used as part of the Spice Route, is the Khyber Pass. The Northern Plains are very fertile and used for agriculture. The South, however, is dry and desert-like. The main rivers are the Amu Darya and the Oxus. There are also hydro-electric dams, but because of political problems, they have not been fully³ used for a while.

Advanced.

Historically, Afghanistan has had a life of turmoil⁴. It's location has made it susceptible⁵ to invasion, and that is exactly what has happened throughout its history. Because it has been used as an important passage between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, it has come under the control of wealthy and aggressive nations. The first settlers were Indo-Europeans, called the Aryans, who settled in the area about 4000 years ago. It became part of the Persian empire in the sixth century. Alexander the Great from Greece conquered Persia, followed by several other peoples. Khorasan, the original name of Afghanistan, was taken by Arabs in 7th century and from then on it adopted Islam as its oficial religion.The Turks invaded in the 10th century, and then the Mongols in the 13th century. Its prosperity was attractive to its aggressors. In the 18th century Khorasan was ruled by both the Moghuls of India and the Safavids of Persia, but in 1747 the Afghans revolted and separated themselves. Finally, it won independence from British involvement in 1919.

Afghanistan is an Islamic State that has a transitional government. In 1979 the Soviet⁶ Union invaded Afghanistan. They had planted a Soviet friendly government but met resistance from the population. The occupation continued for 10 years with the toll⁷ of 1 million Afghan lives. The opposing militia⁸, the Muhajideen  were supported by the USA and its allies. When the Soviets⁹ pulled out, the civil war followed. Then, the Taliban, a group sponsored by Pakistan, became their present occupier and aggressor. After the September 11th attacks, the U.S invaded Afghanistan with the aim of squashing Taliban terrorist activity.

This war ravaged¹⁰ nation is the focus of world attention. With untapped resources of oil and gas, and a strong sense of national identity, there is hope that the people of Afghanistan can regain¹¹ independence and reach their true potential.

 

1 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

2 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

9 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

10 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。