Hello 大家好，新的一期 Weekend English Club 更新了。这一期我们来聊聊位于欧洲的 The Alps 阿尔卑斯山脉。相信大家对于阿尔卑斯山的名字都不陌生，那对于背后的历史文化大家又了解多少呢？

八月份接下来的几周我们都不会更新，因为我们要去放一个小小的暑假！下一次更新会在九月份。Hope you enjoy the summer :) 

Hello and welcome to the 16th episode of Weekend English Club. Today I will talk about the Alps, a mountain range in the north of Italy. The Alps are some of the most famous mountains in Europe, and I think they have a very interesting history and culture. They are most famous for their relationship to Italy, but they actually touch a few other countries as well, including France, Monaco, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. The tallest peak of the Alps is the Mont Blanc, a beautiful mountain on the French-Italian border.

The Alps are the natural border of northern Italy, and they have always defended Italy from outside enemies. The ancient Roman Empire also relied on the mountains to protect them, and one of the most famous people to cross the mountains into Italy was general Hannibal. He was a great general who managed to cross the Alps with a large army and elephants which he used for war, more than 2000 years ago. He almost defeated the Roman Empire and because of this became one of the most famous generals in European history. The Alps are very large, so crossing them on foot is very difficult. In the year 1800 the French general Napoleon also managed to cross the Alps into Italy with 40.000 men, just like Hannibal once did, and Napoleon managed to then conquer most of Italy. The Alps became a famous subject for stories and art, and many mountain climbers were drawn to their natural beauty.

There are a few places where you can cross the Alps on foot, and these were used for trade for a long time. This has always been difficult however, and in our modern times a few tunnels were built under the mountains to make traveling between countries much easier.

The Alps have their own cultural traditions, and practices such as farming, cheese making and woodworking are still popular in the villages there. Nowadays tourism is also a big thing in the Alps, mostly for winter sports such as skiing. More than 120 million tourists per year visit the Alps, making it one of the most popular winter sports destinations in the world.

• The Alps：阿尔卑斯山脉

• Relationship：关系

• Touch：接触，触及

• Defend：：防御

• Rely on：依靠；依赖

• Cross：穿越，横渡

• General：将军，上将

• Defeat：击败，战胜

• Be drawn to：被...所吸引

• A few：一些；几个

• Tunnels：隧道；地下道

• Destination：目的地

主播：Daniel

校对：nan_nan