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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Speak Shenzhen -> 
Saudi Arabia: Experience to discover
    2018-03-08  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

James Baquet

Saudi Arabia occupies most of the large, mostly dry area called the Arabian Peninsula, which is located between Africa and Asia proper. Geologically, the peninsula is considered a subcontinent of Asia. It contains all or part of nine Middle Eastern countries, though Saudi Arabia is the largest country by area and population located entirely on the peninsula. (Iraq has a larger population, but most of that is in the eastern portion of the country, off the peninsula.)

It is bordered by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait to the north (west to east); Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east (north to south, though much of the eastern side of the country lies on the Persian Gulf); Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. The entire western seaboard lies on the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia is the only country to have both a Red Sea and a Persian Gulf coast. Nevertheless, the country is primarily desert and arid mountains.

Saudi Arabia was created in 1932 out of four smaller countries by the scion of the House of Saud. That founder, Ibn Saud was, among his other accomplishments, husband to 22 wives and father to 45 sons and unnumbered daughters. He is also said to have about 1,000 grandchildren, though some of those are posthumous. His name (and that of his house) is contained in the adjectival form “Saudi,” indicating that the country belongs to the House of Saud, which rules it as hereditary absolute monarchs.

It is a conservative Islamic state — not surprising, as two of Islam’s holiest places, Mecca (birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and a site of pilgrimage for all Muslims) and Medina (where the Prophet is buried), are located within its borders.

Thus Saudi Arabia is sometimes called “the Land of the Two Holy Mosques.” An ultraconservative religious movement, the Wahhabi, has spread far beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders, partly due to the wealth generated by the oil first discovered under Ibn Saud’s rule in 1938.

Today Saudi Arabia has nearly 29 million people, about 9 million of which are foreign workers. The official language is Arabic.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. dry

2. used as an adjective

3. kings (etc.) with no one controlling them

4. religious buildings of Islam

5. passed from parent to child

6. descendant, heir

7. from the science that studies the earth’s physical history

8. place where land and sea meet

9. very traditional

10. occurring after one’s death

 

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