From the Andes mountains in the east to the Atacama desert in the north, Chile is full of geographic wonders. Just the shape of the country alone is enough to make you take a second glance. Read on to find out more about the country that clings to the west coast of South America.
從東邊的安地斯山脈到北方的阿達卡馬沙漠,
智利境內遍布地理奇觀。光是這個國家的形狀就夠你再看一眼了。讓我們一齊來探索這個倚著南美洲西岸的國家。
PHOTO: AP
A closer look 說古論今
Chile’s native population have been resisting outside rule for most of their history. The people, called the Mapuche, mostly lived in the central valley area of Chile. They fought off the Incas who invaded from the north, and later resisted the Spanish for over a century before Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1818. Even then, the Mapuche continued to resist the Chilean government and fight for control of their own lands. The political history of the area has finally become peaceful in the past 20 years. After the bloody rule of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte in the 1970s and 1980s, today Chile is controlled by its first woman president. The memory of Pinochet’s rule is painful even now. During the first six months of his rule, at least a thousand people were killed. Over the next sixteen years, two thousand more citizens were executed.
Chile’s geography stands out on the map. The country is 4,300km long, but only 430km wide at its widest point. It is framed by the Andes to the east, with its several dozen active volcanic peaks. At 7,000km-long, the Andes are the world’s longest mountain chain and the highest outside of Asia. To the north is the barren Atacam desert, considered by some to be the world’s driest desert. Some parts of the desert are so dry they seem to have never been rained upon. In the south, in Chilean Patagonia the country turns into an awesome array of glaciers, islands, lakes and mountains, creating some of the most overwhelming natural beauty on earth.
智利史上,原住民一直在抵抗外來政權。稱為「馬普切族」的智利原住民大多居住於中部河谷地帶。他們擊退試圖從北方入侵的印加人,隨後對抗西班牙人超過一世紀,終於在一八一八年宣布脫離西班牙獨立。即便如此,馬普切人仍繼續反抗智利政府,為控制他們自己的土地而抗爭。過去二十年來,智利的政治史終於歸於和平。歷經一九七○、八○年代皮諾契特將軍的血腥統治後,現今的智利是由史上首位女總統統治。即便是現在,皮諾契特的統治仍是人民苦痛的回憶。他開始掌權的前六個月,至少有一千人慘遭殺害。接下來的十六年,更有兩千多人遭到處決。
智利的地形在地圖上獨樹一幟。智利南北長四千三百公里,但東西最寬只有四百三十公里。智利東邊以安地斯山脈為界,數十座活火山綿延來去。安地斯山脈總長七千公里,是世界上最長的山脈,也是亞洲以外最高的山脈。智利北邊是貧瘠的阿達卡馬沙漠,有人認為它是全球最乾燥的沙漠,有些地方甚至還乾涸到從未下過一滴雨。智利南部的巴塔哥尼亞高原有著一系列美麗的冰河、島嶼、湖泊與山脈,創造了地表上最讓人嘆為觀止的自然美景。
(翻譯:賴美君)
WHO KNEW? 你知道嗎?
Chile claims several small islands as part of its territory, so it extends far out into the Pacific Ocean. Isla Robinson Crusoe was made famous by Daniel Defoe in his novel Robinson Crusoe.The novel is about the true story of a sailor who was stranded there for four years in 1704. Another of Chile’s islands, Easter Island, is 3,700km to the west of Chile. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. The native civilization is famous for large stone carvings of men called “moai.” Some believe that making moai may have used up most of the island’s resources, creating a crisis for the civilization that may eventually have forced the people living there to turn to cannibalism. There is no proof of this, but a traditional insult in the native language is “the flesh of your mother sticks in my teeth.”
智利領土內包含數座小島,領土向外延伸到太平洋。魯賓遜島因為丹尼爾.狄福的小說《魯賓遜漂流記》而聲名大噪。這本小說描述一七○四年一名水手受困這座島上四年的真實故事。另一座島「復活節島」位於智利本土西方三千七百公里,也是世上最遺世獨立的島嶼之一,當地的原始文明以稱為「moai」的巨型石雕像聞名。有人認為建造moai耗盡了島上大多資源,造成島上文明危機,終於迫使當地原住民轉以食人為生。這點並沒有實證,但當地原住民語中有一句傳統罵人的話︰「你母親的肉黏在我牙上」。
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE ? 現在那裡幾點?
Right now Chile is 12 hours behind Taiwan. That means if it is 8pm in Taiwan, it is 8am on the same day in Chile.
智利現在比台灣晚十二小時,假如台灣現在是晚上八點,智利就是同一日的早上八點。
ABOUT CHILE 國家概況
Size: 756,950km2
Location: Southern South America
Border countries: Argentina, Bolivia and Peru
Capital: Santiago
Population: Approximately 16 million
Languages: Spanish, Mapudungun, Aymara
Government: Republic
Currency: One Chilean peso is worth a little more than NT$15.
面積:七十五萬六千九百五十平方公里
位置:南美洲南部
鄰國:阿根廷、玻利維亞與秘魯
首都︰聖地牙哥
人口:約一千六百萬人
語言:西班牙語、Mapudungun語、Aymara語
政府:共和政體
貨幣:一智利披索略多於新台幣十五元
FLAG 國旗
The design of the Chilean flag was influenced by the US flag. You can see this in the red, white and blue sections of the flag, as well as the star. The star on Chile’s flag symbolizes a guide to progress and honor. The blue represents the sky and the white the snow on the Andes mountains. The red of the flag represents the blood spilled in the fight for Chile’s independence.
智利國旗的設計受到美國國旗影響,從國旗的紅、白、藍色與星星就可看出端倪。智利國旗上的星星象徵進步與榮耀的指引。藍色象徵蔚藍的天空,白色象徵安地斯山的皚皚白雪。國旗上的紅色則代表智利爭取獨立時所留的鮮血。
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
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