高中英语人教版高二下05

[11:45.31]it comes as no surprise that it rains quite a lot,just as in England and Wales.
[11:52.57]The population of the Republic of Ireland is thought to be about three million.
[11:58.73]Of those,over one million live in Dublin.
[12:03.49]Ireland has a young population,with 44% of the population under the age of 25.
[12:11.64]There are two official languages in Ireland:
[12:15.90]Irish,which is the national language,and English,
[12:21.67]which is the language of the majority of the population.
[12:26.42]Until the early nineteenth century,almost everyone in Ireland spoke Irish.
[12:32.88]The change to English happened quickly.
[12:36.74]By 1891 more than 85% of the population spoke English.
[12:43.40]Since Ireland became independent,
[12:47.16]the Irish government has recognised that if nothing is done,
[12:52.41]this part of Irish culture will disappear.
[12:56.65]A growing number of schools teach in the Irish language
[13:01.69]and radio and TV programmes have helped nearly 20% of the Irish people
[13:08.53]to develop language skills in both languages.
[13:13.29]The earliest Irish art is found carved on monuments dating from 2,500 - 2,000 BC.
[13:22.66]The large,typical Irish stone crosses,seen across the country,
[13:28.91]date from the ninth and tenth centuries.
[13:33.06]Although Irish culture mostly developed under the wings of Great Britain,
[13:38.81]it has a quality of its own.
[13:42.36]It rings with magic and there is a dark and mysterious feeling to it.
[13:48.24]The many castles that are found everywhere around Ireland add to that idea.
[13:54.40]There is for example the famous Blarney Castle,
[13:59.68]which is known for the story of the Blarney Stone.
[14:04.54]The Stone is believed to have come from Scotland,
[14:09.27]where in early times it was used by kings because of its magic powers.
[14:15.20]One day the King of Ireland saved an old woman from drowning.
[14:20.26]The old lady turned out to be a witch.
[14:24.10]To thank the king,she told him the secret of the Stone.
[14:29.15]The spell of the Blarney Stoneis
[14:33.12]that you can become fluent in English in return for kissing the Stone.