20090703 -- The Iberian Peninsula (2)

The Iberian Peninsula

Catalonia, Spain
One of the most unique regions in all of the Iberian Peninsula is Catalonia, Spain, with its own culture, cuisine, and language - Catalan. Located along Spain's northeastern coastline, Catalonia consists of four provinces, including the regional capital city of Barcelona. At one time, around 1,000 castles stood in Catalonia. Though many now lie in ruins, several of the remaining castles still stand around Barcelona. One such piece of history is Montjuic Castle, a medieval castle that houses two museums and offers impressive views of the city and harbor below.

No trip to Barcelona is complete without seeing La Sagrada Familia, the city's awe-inspiring church that has been under construction since 1882. Barcelona's favorite son and famous architecture, Antoni Gaudi directed the project for 40 years, until his death in 1926. With construction ongoing, it is hoped that the church will be completed in time for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death in 2026.

"The pride of Spain"
Don't leave Catalonia without sampling Spain's legendary ham, Jamon lberico de Bellota. The ham is produced mainly Iberian black pigs whose diet consists mostly of acorns, which give the meat its rich, nutty flavor.


province n. 省
eg: Quebec is a largely Frence-speaking province in eastern Canada.

medieval adj. 中世紀的
-> 1000 - 1500 AD
eg: While Sam was in Europe, he toured several villages that dated back to medieval times.

awe 敬畏
insipiring 振奮人心的
awe-inspiring adj. 令人敬畏的/令人讚嘆的
eg: Beethoven wrote some of the most awe-inspiring music of all time.
eg: The awe-inspiring view of Niagara Falls amazes coutless visitors.
eg: We sat on the beach to admire the awe-inspiring sunset.

ongoing adj. 正在進行中/前進的
=> keep going on
eg: The project is ongoing and may not be finished for another year.
eg: Negotiations between the bus company and the union are ongoing.
eg: The experiment is part of onging research of human behavior.

favorite son 因成就驚人而被景仰的同胞/同鄉
favorite daughtor
eg: Yao-Ming, favorite son of China, is now playing for the Houston Rockets.

favorite son 那一黨推出的政黨候選人

acorn n. 橡實

//== Grammer on the go ==//

One such piece of history is Montjuic Castle.
-> One of this kind of history is Montjuic Castle.
-> An example of this kind of castle is Montjuic Castle.

such adj.
-> of this kind

eg: Bradley believes there is no such thing as a free lunch; everything comes with a price.
eg: We need a secretary who can speak English, Chinese, and Japanese; where can we find such a person?

//== Chat room ==//

stay put 留在原地
on the go 到處奔波
-> going from place to place and you're really busy
-> If you have a lot of different places that you have to go to today.
Today you are on the go.
eg: His boss always keeps him on the go.
eg: I'm staying put this year. I don't have money to travel.

go it alone 自己來/自己動手
-> go by myself

go all out 毫不保留放手一搏
-> not put a lot of efforts to the trip

go-getter 積極進取的人
-> A person who has a lot of energy and wants to succeed at doing something