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Lesson 5The Seven Wonders of Taiwan

• Reading Selection

• Vocabulary for Production

• Vocabulary for Recognition

• Idiomatic Expressions

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The ancient2 Greeks made a list of the seven wonders of the world. Those wonders were the tallest, biggest, and most magnificent3 sights4 in the world at that time.

Reading Selection

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What might a list of the seven wonders of Taiwan include? The more you travel in Taiwan, the more you realize that you could make such a list. Surely it would begin with the newest wonder of them all － Taipei 101.

Reading Selection

Taking its name from the number of stories5 it rises above ground level, it ranks today as one of the tallest buildings in the world.

The National Palace Museum in suburban6 Taipei is also one of the wonders of Taiwan. The oldest artifacts in its collection7 are pieces of prehistoric* pottery8 over 5,000 years old.

The museum has the largest collection of Chinese artifacts in the world, some 700,000 items in all.

To view them all, one would need almost twelve years.

Another of Taiwan’s wonders located in Taipei surely is Yangmingshan National Park.

It is not the largest national park in Taiwan, nor is it the one with the highest mountains. Still, it is amazing that it locates so close to the island’s largest city.

Here, instead of traffic, pollution9, and noise, one finds 1,359 species of plants and 168 species of butterflies.

On the east coast of Taiwan is another of Taiwan’s wonders, Taroko Gorge.

Sometimes called Taiwan’s Little Grand Canyon10, the gorge is a 19-kilometer-long, deep, and narrow canyon that was carved11 through solid12 mountain walls by a rushing white-water river.

Two of Taiwan’s seven wonders are in the central part of the island.

One is Sun Moon Lake, the largest natural body of water in Taiwan.

But the lake is known less for its size than for its beautiful setting13.

It is surrounded by tea plantations14 and mountains that gradually rise to the highest point on the island, Yushan.

The other wonder of central Taiwan is the little narrow-gauge* railway that carries passengers from Chiayi on the west coast up to the mountain resort15 of Alishan.

Building the railway was a major engineering achievement.

The little red passenger train passes through 64 tunnels16, crosses 96 bridges, and climbs from the subtropical* plain17 to the alpine* forests above in just 72 kilometers.

It takes only a few hours to go from Taipei’s high-tech* environment18 to Kenting’s white, sandy beaches.

That is why Kenting National Park should be listed as one of Taiwan’s seven wonders.

When you lie on the beach here and gaze19 at the blue Pacific Ocean beyond, you have to remind yourself that you’re still in modern fast-paced* Taiwan, not in Phuket or Bali.

The beach at Kenting is a good place to sit and think about Taiwan’s seven wonders.

If you were going to add the eighth wonder to the list, what might it be?

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1. gorge英解　 a narrow opening, usually with a stream,

　　　 between hills or mountains中解　 n. [C] （山）峽；峽谷The tourists rode a boat on the swiftly moving

water down through the gorge.

Vocabulary for Production

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2. ancient英解　 belonging to times long ago中解　 adj. 古老的The ancient Great Wall of China was built

more than 2,000 years ago.

3. magnificent英解　 very large and wonderful中解　 adj. 壯麗的；宏偉的There is a magnificent view of central Taiwan from the top of Yushan.

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4. sight英解　 something grand and worth seeing中解　 n. [C] 景色；景象The Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay is a magnificent sight.

5. story英解　 a floor or level of a building中解　 n. [C] [ 美 ] （建築物的）層；樓The elevators in Taipei 101 take visitors to the 89th story of the building.

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6. suburban英解　 of the outer areas of a city far from 　　　 downtown中解　 adj. 郊區的；近郊的suburb n. （城市周圍的）近郊住宅區（或村、

鎮）suburbanize v. 變成郊區；變成市郊Suburban neighborhoods are usually quieter

and less crowded than the downtown area.

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7. collection英解　 a group of objects that have been

gathered 　　　 together中解　 n. [C] 收藏品；蒐集的東西Tony is always looking for new stamps to

add to his stamp collection.

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8. pottery英解　 pots or dishes, usually made of clay or

a 　　　 similar material中解　 n. [U] 陶器All early civilizations made some kind of pottery because pots and dishes were daily necessities.

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9. pollution英解　 the state or fact of a clean place being 　　　 made dirty中解　 n. [U] 汙染pollute v. 汙染；弄髒polluted adj. 受汙染的Pollution is a serious problem in certain part

s of the world today.

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10. canyon英解　 a deep gorge中解　 n. [C] （既長又深，谷底常有溪流的）峽

谷The Grand Canyon of Arizona is one of the largest canyons in the world.

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11. carve英解　 to form by cutting away material from

a 　　　 piece of wood or stone中解　 vt. 刻；雕刻carving n. 雕刻品；雕刻物carved adj. 雕刻的Jimmy is very skillful with a knife and

carves lovely little dolls out of wood.

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12. solid英解　 not in the form of a liquid or a gas中解　 adj. 固體的The Earth is a solid mass, while our Sun is mainly gas.

13. setting英解　 surroundings中解　 n. [C] 環境；背景The beautiful setting of this hotel attracts lots

of tourists to visit here.

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14. plantation英解　 a large area of ground planted with tea, 　　　 cotton, sugar, etc.中解　 n. [C] 農園；大農場Plantations of rubber trees in Malaysia used to

be an important source of rubber.

15. resort英解　 a place that people visit on vacation中解　 n. [C] 常去休閒度假之處；名勝Many Taiwan residents go to resorts in

Southeast Asia to enjoy seaside vacations.

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16. tunnel英解　 an underground passage through a 　　　 mountain or under water中解　 n. [C] 隧道；地道New highway tunnels have shortened the

driving distance between Taipei and Ilan.

17. plain英解　 a large area of level country中解　 n. [C] 平原；曠野The western plains of Taiwan contain most

of the island’s major cities.

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18. environment英解　 surroundings中解　 n. [C] 環境；四周狀況environmental adj. 環境的；有關環境 （保

護）的Many people think that the countryside is a healthier environment to raise children than the city.

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19. gaze英解　 to look at someone or something for a

long 　　　 time, giving it all your attention often 　　　 without realizing you are doing so中解　 vi. 凝視；注視；盯Your five-year-old son lay on the bed gazing

up at the ceiling.

gaze中解　 n. 凝視Willy met Ann’s gaze at the party last night.

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Vocabulary for Recognition

1. prehistoric英解　 very old (before history was

recorded)

中解　 adj. 有文字歷史記載以前的；史前的

2. narrow-gauge英解　 of railway tracks that are closer 　　　 together than regular tracks中解　 adj. 窄軌的

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3. subtropical英解　 of an area near the hottest parts of

the 　　　 world中解　 adj. 亞熱帶的

4. alpine英解　 mountainous, as in the Alps of 　　　 Switzerland中解　 adj. 高山的；高山生長的

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5. high-tech英解　 [high-technology] most advanced of

developed (electronics, machines, etc.)

中解　 adj. 高科技的

6. fast-paced英解　 moving quickly中解　 adj. 步調快速的

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Idiomatic Expressions

1. make a list of英解　 to write down a set of things, numbers, 　　　 names, etc. so that one can remember or

　　　 check them中解　列表Sally and her fiancé are making a list of the guests they are going to invite to their

wedding.

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2. take its name from英解　 to be named after中解　由……來命名The Empire State Building takes its name from the nickname of New York State, the Empire State.

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3. be surrounded by英解　 to have a lot of particular type of

people 　　　 or things near sb./sth.中解　被……環繞；被……包圍Rain is always surrounded by his loyal fans and the press whenever he comes to

Taiwan.