Famous for its hospitality, Armenia is a unique nation at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Some even speculate the Garden of Eden was located here. Come take a closer look at Armenia.
以人民友善著稱的亞美尼亞，是位於歐亞交界的獨特國家。有人甚至懷疑昔日伊甸園就位於此。讓我們一起來深度探索亞美尼亞。
A closer look 說古論今
PHOTO: AP
Armenia is a land-locked country located in Eurasia's Southern Caucasus mountain range. The terrain is mountainous, summers are hot and dry (reaching 36oC) and winters are snowy and as cold as -10oC. The long autumns are marked by colorful foliage.
Armenia has been a center of civilization since antiquity, and people have been living there and trading tools and metals since at least 6,000BC. The Armenian Empire was one of the strongest in the region during it's heyday around 50BC, but the country has also been invaded and conquered by Greeks, Romans, the Ottoman Turks, Russia and others.
Christianity is central to the country's identity (over 93 percent are church members). Armenia was the first nation to make Christianity the state religion in 301, and legend holds that an early Armenian leader, Hayk, was a great great grandson of Noah.
PHOTO: AFP
Ottoman Turkey ruled Armenia until the end of World War One, when the victors drew new borders. Turkey rejected Armenian borders and fought the Turkish-Armenian War in 1920, taking half of the territory. The Soviet Union invaded what was left and Armenia did not regain independence until 1991.
Since independence, Armenia has switched to a market economy and seeks parliamentary style democracy, but elections are not yet considered fair by international observers.
Favorite Armenian sports include soccer, chess, boxing and hockey. The cuisine, influenced heavily by Russia and the Middle East, features stews, breads, fish, grilled meat and pastries.
亞美尼亞是位於歐亞大陸南高加索山脈的內陸國。地勢多山，夏季炎熱乾燥（可達三十六度），冬季多雪，寒冷的氣溫可達攝氏零下十度。漫長的秋季以色彩繽紛的樹葉聞名。
亞美尼亞自古以來即為文明中心，人民至少在西元前六千年即長居此地，從事工具與金屬貿易。亞美尼亞帝國約在西元前五十年的全盛時期時，是當地最強大的富國之一，不過陸續遭希臘、羅馬、鄂圖曼土耳其、俄國與其他國家侵略征服。
基督教是亞美尼亞國家認同的核心（逾93%人民為教會成員）。西元三○一年，亞美尼亞成為世上第一個將基督教列為國教的國家。傳說中，亞美尼亞早期的一位領袖哈伊克，即為諾亞第五代子孫。
鄂圖曼土耳其統治亞美尼亞至第一次世界大戰為止，戰勝各國劃定新國界。土耳其不滿與亞美尼亞間的國界劃分，在一九二○年發動土亞戰爭，取得半邊疆土。蘇聯入侵另一半的疆土，亞美尼亞人直至一九九一年才獲獨立。
亞美尼亞獨立後，轉型市場經濟，採行議會形式的民主，但國際觀察家認為迄今的選舉並不公平。
亞美尼亞人最愛的體育項目為足球、下棋、拳擊與曲棍球。深受俄國與中東影響的飲食特色為燉菜、麵包、魚類、烤肉與酥皮點心。 （翻譯：賴美君）
A LOOK AT CONTEXT
1. The foliage on the trees in autumn is bright orange, yellow, brown and green though simply green in the summer.
Foliage means . . .
a. tree branches.
b. tree roots
c. plant or tree leaves.
d. tree trunks.
2. Since antiquity, Daoism has been a strong influence in China.
Antiquity means . . .
a. the modern era.
b. ancient times.
c. any time period.
d. a future era.
3. You cannot bring plants, wild animals or soil across the border into another country.
A border is ...
a. the line that divides two countries.
b. a line that cuts through a capital city.
c. something illegal to carry.
d. a kind of wild animal.
4. The government used to own all companies, but now we have a market economy and the companies are privately owned.
A market economy is . . .
a. an economy where the government runs industry.
b. an industry which the government
takes taxes from.
c. a company with close a relationship
to the government.
d. an economy where private individuals
run industry.
ANSWERS: 1. c 2. b 3. a 4 . d
WHO KNEW 你知道嗎
Armenian weddings have some unique practices. The process starts when the man and his family visit the woman's house to ask her father's permission to wed. If the father agrees, the man gives his future bride a promise ring and her family begins planning for the engagement party, which her family must organize and pay for. The two families will then celebrate with a bottle of Armenian cognac. At the engagement party, a priest prays with the couple and blesses them, and the couple exchanges wedding rings that are worn on the right hand. After about one year, the formal wedding takes place, where the rings are switched to the left hand. Planning and paying for the wedding is the groom's responsibility, unlike traditions in most European countries.
亞美尼亞的婚禮流程獨樹一幟。首先，男方要在家人陪同下到女方家徵詢其父親同意。假如女方父親贊成，男方就要給準新娘一只定情戒，女方家屬則要開始籌畫訂婚宴，由女方統籌付款。雙方要開一瓶亞美尼亞的白蘭地來慶祝。訂婚宴上，神父會與新人一起禱告，給予祝福，再由新人交換婚戒，戴在右手。一年後舉行正式婚禮時，新人要把婚戒移至左手。婚禮的籌畫與花費皆由男方負擔，不同於多數歐洲國家的傳統。
WHAT TIME 現在那裡幾點
The time in Armenia is currently three hours behind Taiwan. If it is 3:15pm in Taipei, it is 12:15pm in Yerevan.
亞美尼亞目前時間比台灣晚三小時。假如台灣現在是下午三點十五分，葉里溫就是中午十二點十五分。
ABOUT ARMENIA
Size: 29,800 km2; or about 80 percent of Taiwan's size
Location: Eurasia
Border countries: Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran
Capital: Yerevan
Population: Around 3.2 million
Languages: Armenian
Government: Unitary republic
Currency: Armenian Drams; NT$1 = about 11 Armenian Drams
面積：兩萬九千八百平方公里，約為台灣面積的80%
位置：歐亞大陸
鄰國：土耳其、喬治亞、亞塞拜然與伊朗
首都：葉里溫
人口：約三百二十萬人
語言：亞美尼亞語
政體：單一共和國
貨幣：亞美尼亞德拉姆；新台幣一元約為十一亞美尼亞德拉姆
FLAG 國旗
The Armenian constitution says that the red sybolizes the Armenian Highland, the peoples' struggle for survival, maintaining the Christian faith and Armenia's independence and freedom. The blue represents the will to live under peaceful skies. The orange represents the talent and hard-working nature of the people.
亞美尼亞憲法明定，紅色象徵亞美尼亞高地與人民求生奮鬥，維護基督信仰與亞美尼亞獨立自由的努力。藍色象徵和平天空下的求生意志。橘色代表人民的天賦與勤勉天性。
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