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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Speak Shenzhen -> 
Explore Yemen
    2018-06-25  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

James Baquet

Yemen is an Arabic-speaking, Islamic country in the Middle East. It is a mid-sized country (49th out of 196 in area, 50th out of 195 in population) on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. In that peninsula, only Saudi Arabia (which lies to Yemen’s north) is larger (by far — over four times larger). Oman lies to its east; the Red Sea is to the west, and the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south. With a 2,000-kilometer coastline, the territory of Yemen includes more than 200 islands. The largest of these, Socotra, lies in the Arabian Sea, and is in dispute between the governments of Yemen and Somalia.

Sana’a, the capital designated in the constitution, has been under the control of rebels since early 2015. Since then the country’s fourth-largest city, Aden, has been the de facto capital.

You may have heard of the visit of the exotic Queen of Sheba, whom the Bible says brought opulent gifts to King Solomon, and plied him with riddles to test his wisdom before returning home. Well, that home is believed to have been the Kingdom of Saba, once located in what is now Yemen. Her name has become a byword for a wealthy and — let’s face it — arrogant woman. When a friend puts on airs, we might scold her by saying, “Oh, look who thinks she’s the Queen of Sheba!”

The remote location of Yemen — requiring either a desert crossing or a sea journey — has made it a difficult area for outside empires to administer. At last, the British and Ottoman Empires divided it in the early 20th century. Northern Yemen emerged from World War I as an independent kingdom and became the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. South Yemen remained under British control until 1967, when it became independent. North and south merged to become the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

A developing country, Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. It has been called a “kleptocracy” due to its high level of corruption. The political and social situation has been unstable since 2011, when street protests broke out against poverty, unemployment and corruption. Unrest and even civil war have continued since then.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. expensive, in a showy way

2. pretends to be better than others

3. haughty, conceited, egotistical

4. questions requiring ingenuity to answer

5. bribery in government

6. people who take up arms against a government

7. asked persistently

8. strange or foreign in appearance

9. government run by thieves

10. phrase used proverbially

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