For most, the Brazilian journey begins in Rio de Janeiro4. One of the world’s great cities, Rio has developed a highly advanced culture of pleasure. It revolves around the famous beaches of Copacabana, and is fueled by the music of samba 5 and the athleticism of soccer. This hedonism reaches its climax every February or March, during the Carnival — five days of revelry, unrivaled by any other party on the globe. Rio de Janeiro state is blessed with some of the country’s best beaches. Inland, the coastal mountains rise rapidly from lush, green, tropical forest, culminating in spectacular peaks. The mountains are punctuated by national parks where you can enjoy Brazil’s best hiking and climbing.

　　The Amazon jungles are the world’s largest tropical rainforest, fed by the world’s largest river, and home to the richest and most diverse ecosystem on earth — a nature lover’s ultimate fantasy! Though threatened by rapid deforestation, the rainforest still offers years of exploration for the adventurous traveler.

　　Wherever you go in Brazil, you’ll see Brazilians at their beaches playing. The beach is the national passion. Fortunately, with over 8, 000 km of coastline, there are an incredible number of superb beaches, so you should have little problem finding your own tropical hideaway.

　　Brazil may not be the paradise on Earth that many travelers once imagined, but it is a land of often unimaginable beauty. There are still stretches of unexplored rainforest, islands with pristine tropical beaches, and endless rivers. And there are the people themselves, who delight the visitor with their energy, fantasy and joy.

　　閱讀自測

　　Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions:

　　1. His words bordered_______ rudeness.

　　2. The feminine talk revolved mostly_______ clothes, bargains and small scandals.

　　3. He is blessed_______ good health.

　　4. The science fair culminated _______ the awarding of prizes.

　　5. He delighted the audience_______ his performance.

　　Ⅱ. Answer the question in your own words :

　　Why is Rio de Janeiro so attractive to travelers?

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. on 2 . around 3. with 4. in 5 . with

　　Ⅱ. Because it has developed a highly advanced culture of pleasure , with beautiful beaches, samba , soccer, annual carnivals and national parks.

　　參考譯文

　　人間天堂———巴西

　　世 界上沒有哪一個國家能像巴西那樣激發整個西方世界的想象力。數百年來, 巴西象 征著原始的熱帶天堂。從狂歡節上人們狂放的激情到深色亞馬遜河浩瀚的領域, 巴西是一 個神話般的國度。

　　巴西疆土寬廣, 約占南美洲一半的面積, 與美國的面積( 不包括阿拉斯加) 大致相同。 除厄瓜多爾和智利之外, 巴西與南美其他國家皆有接壤。通過40 年國內人口的遷徙和增 長, 巴西現在已發展成為一個城市化國家。每5 個巴西人中就有4 個生活在城市里。巴西 的圣保羅市有一千七百多萬居民, 是世界上人口密度第二大的城市。巴西的人口集中在大 西洋沿岸, 而這個國家的大部分國土上仍然人煙稀少, 難以接近, 其中就包括浩瀚的亞馬遜 河流域。

　　對于大多數人來說, 巴西之旅應從里約熱內盧開始。作為一個世界性的大城市, 里約 熱內盧已孕育出高度發達的享樂文化。這種文化以科帕卡巴那的著名海灘為中心, 并伴以 桑巴舞的音樂和巴西足球。這一享樂在每年的2 月或3 月狂歡節的時候達到高潮, 連續五 天盡情歡樂, 世界上任何一次聚會與之相比都會黯然失色。里約熱內盧州擁有巴西一些最好 的海灘。而在陸地上, 海岸邊的高山在茂盛、翠綠的熱帶森林中驟然而起, 形成了一排排 壯觀的山峰。高山之間點綴著一些國家公園, 在這些公園里你可以享受到巴西最好的徒步 旅行和爬山。

　　亞馬遜叢林是世界上最大的熱帶雨林, 這些叢林受到世界最大河流的滋養, 具有地球上 最為豐富和最多樣化的生態系統, 整個就是大自然熱愛者想象中的天堂! 盡管森林受到快速 退化的威脅, 但是這些熱帶雨林仍然能為喜歡冒險的旅行者提供長時間的探險機會。

　　無論你在巴西哪個地方, 你都會看到在海灘上嬉戲的巴西人的身影。海灘是整個巴西 民族的至愛。幸運的是, 在巴西八千多公里的海岸線上, 漂亮海灘的數目之多令人難以想 象, 因此, 要找到一個你自己的熱帶棲身之處并不是什么難事。

　　巴西可能并不是許多旅行者想象中的那個地球上的天堂, 但巴西卻具有令人難以想象 的美景。這里仍有大片未經勘探的雨林、擁有原始熱帶海灘的島嶼以及無數條河流。還有 巴西人民, 他們的活力、想象力和歡樂給參觀者帶來了無盡的快樂。