Located in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia is a small island country with a rich culture that shows heavy African, English and French influences. Come take a closer look at the nation who's motto is "The Land, The People, The Light."
座落在加勒比海的聖露西亞是一個蕞爾島國，豐富的文化展現其深受非洲、英國與法國的影響。讓我們一同來深度探索這個座右銘為「土地、人民與陽光」的國家。
PHOTO: COURTESY OFO ALAN MERTNER
A closer look 說古論今
Saint Lucia is a small, mountainous island with many volcanoes, which puts it at risk of volcanic eruptions along with the hurricanes which pass through regularly.
The original inhabitants were Arawak native Americans who were gradually replaced by Caribs between 800-1000. The island was visited by Spaniards around 1500, and while the English, French and Dutch all made an effort to establish an outpost on the island, they were consistently defeated by the Caribs.
France eventually claimed the island in 1635 and England in 1664. The two countries exchanged control of Saint Lucia in treaties a total of 14 times. The natural harbor in the modern capital of Castries and the ideal climate for planting sugar cane made it a tempting prize.
Britain finally won steady control of Saint Lucia in 1815, and the island slowly gained control over its own affairs and won full independence from Britain in 1979.
The pillars of the Saint Lucian economy are banking and tourism, and exports include bananas, coconuts and citrus fruits. It has one of the most diverse manufacturing sectors in the region, producing or assembling everything from textiles to computer components.
Over 90 percent of Saint Lucians are descendents of Africans, though there are mixed people and a small number of white European descendents on the island. While English is the official language, around nine out of 10 people can also speak a dialect of French.
聖露西亞為多山的小島，境內多火山，有火山爆發的風險，颶風也時有所聞。
當地原住民為美洲的阿拉瓦克人，但西元八○○到一○○○年逐漸被加勒比人取代。西班牙人約在西元一五○○年來到這座島，英國、法國與荷蘭也曾試圖在此建立前哨站，但都被加勒比人擊退。
法國在一六三五年取得當地管轄權，英國在一六六四年統治該國。英法兩國締約交換聖露西亞管制權達十四次。現代化首都卡斯翠的自然港口與適宜種植甘蔗的理想氣候，都讓聖露西亞成為覬覦對象。
英國於一八一五年獲得聖露西亞管轄權。聖露西亞隨後逐漸取得自治權，在一九七九年完全脫離英國獨立。
聖露西亞的經濟支柱為金融業與旅遊業，並出口香蕉、椰子與柑橘等水果。聖露西亞是加勒比海區製造業最多元的國家之一，生產或裝配的物件從紡織品到電腦零件應有盡有。
雖然聖露西亞種族結構多元，且有一小群白種歐裔人民，但逾九成皆為非裔族群。英語雖是官方語言，但約九成民眾都會說法語方言。
（翻譯︰賴美君）
A LOOK AT CONTEXT 思前想後猜字義
1. My mother stays awake until midnight so consistently, that I've only seen her go to bed earlier on one occasion.
Consistently means ...
a. almost never.
b. irreguarly.
c. regularly.
d. indiscriminately.
2. The harbor in Kaohsiung keeps ships safe from choppy waters and hidden rocks. Many ships use it each day.
A harbor is ...
a. an area of deep water which shelters ships.
b. a zone of freezing water which covers ships.
c. a division of dirty water which sinks ships.
d. a stream of water which runs downhill.
3. The pillars that stood in the temple were placed carefully to hold up the roof.
A pillar is ...
a. a roof tile.
b. an ancient pile of wood.
c. a bitter type of salt.
d. a column that supports a building.
4. This country's textile industry uses mostly cotton to make shirts, and hats. They don't use wool or other materials very much.
Textiles are ...
a. cloth or fabric for making clothes.
b. gloves or jacket which can't be worn.
c. things that can be used to plant cotton.
d. an archaic kind of writing utensil.
WHO KNEW? 你知道嗎?
Taiwan re-established diplomatic ties with Saint Lucia on May 2 this year, and the topic attracted much attention in the Taiwanese media. Saint Lucia became Taiwan's 25th diplomatic ally. By formally establishing ties with Taiwan, Saint Lucia was also forced to cut ties with the People's Republic of China, which accused Saint Lucia of "brutal interference in China's internal affairs."
There seemed to be a few reasons for Saint Lucia's decision. First, an election brought John Compton back into the office of prime minister. Compton had held the office between 1984 and 1996 and recognized Taiwan's government during that time. Further, ties with China did not bring much economic improvement. Taiwan has promised to help Saint Lucia develop different fruit and vegetable strains, improve tourism and livestock industries and build information technology centers.
台灣在五月二日與聖露西亞重新建交，此一消息引起媒體關注。聖露西亞成為台灣第二十五個邦交國。由於聖露西亞正式與台灣建交，中國遂與之斷交，並指控聖露西亞「粗暴干涉中國內政」。
聖露西亞的決議基於諸多理由。首先，約翰．康普頓在大選中獲勝，重掌總理一職。康普頓曾於一九八四年至一九九六年擔任總理，在當時與我國建立外交關係。此外，聖國後來與中國建交並未獲得太多經濟效益。台灣承諾協助聖露西亞發展蔬果品種，改善觀光與畜產業，並打造IT產業中心。
ABOUT SANT LUCIA 國家概況
Size: 620 km2, or about 1/58 the size of Taiwan
Location: Caribbean Sea
Border countries: None
Capital: Castries
Population: 160,765
Language: English (official), French patois
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar = NT$12.5
面積︰六百二十平方公里，約台灣的五十八分之一
位置︰加勒比海
鄰國︰無
首都︰卡斯翠
人口︰十六萬零七百六十五人
語言︰英語（官方語言），法語方言
政體︰議會式民主
貨幣︰一東加勒比海幣等於新台幣十二點五元
FLAG 國旗
According to the Saint Lucian government, the blue on the flag stands for fidelity and the sky and water surrounding the island. The gold triangle represents prosperity and the sun, while the black and white triangles represent the influence of black and white culture in Saint Lucia.
根據聖露西亞政府的資料，國旗上的藍色代表對國家的忠貞，以及環繞全島的藍天海水。金三角象徵國家繁榮與陽光，黑白兩個三角則代表當地受到黑白裔文化的影響。
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? 現在那裡幾點?
Saint Lucia is 12 hours behind Taiwan. If it is 5pm in Taiwan, it is 5am in Saint Lucia.
聖露西亞較台灣晚十二小時。假如台灣現在是傍晚五點，聖露西亞就是清晨五點。
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