20101119 The Famous Caves of Jeita Grotto (1)

The Famous Caves of Jeita Grotto(親身體驗夢遊仙境)

Discover the fantastic world beneath the earth in Lebanon

Like a trip down Alice in Wonderland's famous rabbit hole, a journey into the mystical world of Jeita Grotto reveals beauty, fantasy and mystery! Lebanon's renowned limestone caves – located about 20 kilometers from Beirut–are known for their enormous size and amazing formations. The spectacular Jeita Grotto cave complex consists of two levels, which comprise the longest cave structure in the Middle East.

The rediscovery

Scientists believe people lived in the caves during prehistoric times, but a modern discovery of them wasn't made until 1836. One day, American missionary William Thomson walked approximately 50 meters into the lower level before an underground river prevented him from going further. Before turning back, he shot his gun into the air, and the echoes from the shot told him that he had stumbled across a massive cavern.

The first official exploration of the lower caves began in 1873 and continued even when they were finally opened to the public in 1958. Later that year, the ongoing exploration resulted in the discovery of the upper caves. To celebrate the grand opening of the upper level in 1969, a musical concert was held within one of the cavern's enormous rooms.

myst- 神秘的

mystical adj. 神秘的

eg: Mystical stories about fairies in the woods seem to appeal to kids.

=> 有關樹林中小精靈的神祕故事似乎能吸引小朋友的注意力

eg: In the movie, the sisters visited the mystical castle and got trapped there.

=> 在電影中這對姊妹去了這神秘的城堡，而且被困在那裏

pre- 在...之前

historic adj. 在歷史上有重大意義的

prehistoric adj. 史前的/在有文字記載之前的

=> the time before the written history

eg: The prehistoric paintings are well preserved in the museum.

=> 這些史前的繪畫完好的保存在博物館中

prehistoric adj. 老掉牙的(有些戲謔的成份)

eg: Dad's prehistoric car still runs.

=> 爸爸那部老掉牙的車子還是可以行駛

stumble v. 絆倒

stumble across 偶然遇見/碰巧發現

=> accidently discovery something

eg: I stumbled across my high school English teacher yesterday at the MRT station.

=> 我昨天在捷運站巧遇我的高中的英文老師

eg: The divers stumbled across a shipwreck while diving around the remote island.

=> 這些潛水者在這偏遠的海島潛水時碰巧發現一艘沉船的殘骸

grotto n. 洞穴/石室

=> small cave

renowned adj. 有名的/有聲譽的

limestone n. 石灰岩/石灰石

eg: limestone cave 石灰岩洞

missionary n. 傳教士

=> a person who travel to a foreign country in order to spread their religion

massive

=> enormous/huge

cavern

=> cave

grand opening

=> first official opening

//== Chat room ==//

soft opening 試賣階段開幕

grand opening 開幕典禮

=> 一家店開始營業後往往會舉行一個grand opening

=> 但是grand opening不一定是在開張的第一天舉辦

=> 很多的店家會先soft opening(試賣階段)，

=> 所謂的soft opening是試賣的階段

=> 業者會先低調營業先熟悉市場再花幾個禮拜的時間做調整

=> 等一切都上軌道之後才舉辦一個隆重的grand opening

//== More Information ==//

What is the difference between a cave and a cavern? A cave is a large hole underground, or in the side of a hill mountain. Officially, a cave must be large enough that some portion of its interior will not receive direct sunlight. A cavern is a specific type of cave that forms when some of the caves rock (usually limestone) is dissolved by water.