英语播客 A Cup of English Italy.

Last week we learned a little about Germany. Today, we will learn about a country that is close by, Italy. You probably know already that this country of sixty million people has been a major(our) influence on Western civilization. So, what is Italy famous for? The Roman Empire, the Renaissance, music, food, cars, and motorbikes. Mainland Italy consists of a peninsula that lies in the Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea to the east. It shares its northern boarder with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. Sardinia and Sicily are two very large islands amoung about seventy much smaller ones that belong to Italy. Rome, its capital, was the seat of the Roman Empire, from about 400 BC, for 800 years. The influence and power of Rome stretched to the north of Britain, the Iberian peninsula in the west, to Egypt and North Africa, and as far as the Persian Gulf. In AD 313 Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, which Christianized the empire. The Visigoths, an east Germanic tribe, invaded Italy repeatedly from the north. Other invaders followed including the Franks and the Normans. Italy became a divided country of powerful states, the strongest being Florence, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa. The Renaissance came about in Florence, bringing a revival of art, music, literature, and science. Napoleon conquered most of Italy, but, finally in 1861 Italy became unified. It is a mountainous, fertile land which has crop and hydro-electric resources. It has marble and oil in the south, but its main industries are car manufacturing and tourism. 30 million visitors come every year to the lakes, mountains, and well maintained historical buildings for inspiration, and to learn about this historically influential country.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: tribe, a seat of power, fertile, influential.

1. The Native American tribe that lived in this area was the Wenatchi tribe.

2. The seat of power in England is London.

3. The soil in Canada is so fertile; it is rich and black.

4. The Renaissance was an influential period for Western Europe.