温迪：哦，原因真的有很多。卢浮宫是世界上最大的宫殿之一，也是法国国王前居所，而且还是最辉煌的地方之一。
Mary： They have a massive selection of art， too。 Both ancient and modern。
玛丽：那里还收藏有大量的艺术精品，古代的和现代的都有。
Wendy： Exactly。 What more can you ask for in a museum？ It has Oriental antiquities， Egyptian antiquities， Greek and Roman antiquities， sculpture from the Middle Ages to modern times， furniture and objects of art and paintings representing all the European schools。
温迪：真是这样。博物馆里的东西应有尽有。那里有来自东方、埃及、希腊以及罗马的古董文物，有从中世纪到现代的雕刻品、家具和艺术品，还有欧洲各流派的绘画作品。
Mary： It’s a very old building， too。 The first Louvre was a fortress built at the beginning of the 13 century by Philip II to defend the Seine below Paris against the Normans and English。
玛丽：它也是一座非常古老的建筑。卢浮宫最初是在13世纪由菲利普二世建起的城堡，用来防御巴黎塞纳河下游的。
Wendy： Yes and then， in 1564 Catherine de Medicis had her architect， Philibert delorme， build a little chateau in a neighboring field to the west called the Tuileries。 These were joined together to make a big royal residence。
温迪：是的，但后来到了1564年，王后凯瑟琳？德？美第奇让她的建筑师菲利波特？迪罗门在西边的邻近地建了一个小宫殿叫做杜伊勒里宫，这些合在一起就构成了一个大型的皇家居所。
Mary： After that， in the 17th century Louis XIII and his minister Richelieu extended Lescot’s west wing northward by adding the majestically domed Pavillon del’Horloge， or Clock Pavillion by Jacques Lemercier。
玛丽：此后，17世纪路易十三和他的大臣科尔波特的圆顶钟塔，也叫做时钟长廊，向北扩建了建筑师勒柯修建的西翼，设计者是雅克雷蒙西式。
Wendy： Then， under Louis XIV and his minister Colbert， the Cour Carree， a great square curt， was constructed by Louis Le Vau。
温迪：后来，路易十四和他的大臣科尔波特又任命路易勒沃建了一个巨大的方形庭院，即卡利庭。
Mary： So many changes！ It must look completely different now to how it looked originally。 Later on， Napoleon I began a wing parallel to that of Henry IV along the Seine。 Napoleon III finished the wing， thus closing the great quadrilateral。
玛丽：这么多的改建啊！它现在的样子肯定跟最初完全不一样。后来，拿破仑一世开始加建一条长廊，与亨利四世沿塞纳河建造的长廊平行。拿破仑三世完成了这一翼的加建，至此卢浮宫四大翼的建筑群体全部完工。
Wendy： The quadrilateral shape is what makes it special。 I think one of the most innovative additions was the great glass pyramid。
温迪：正是这四翼的外形使得卢浮宫独具一格。我认为其中最富有创意的亮点要数巨型的玻璃金字塔。
Mary： I agree。 It was built by the Chinese－American architect。 I。M。 Pei and opened in 1989。 Initially， some people thought it was very strange idea。
玛丽：我也这么认为。它是由美籍华人建筑师贝聿铭设计的，于1989年开放。最初有些人认为这个设计理念很怪。
Wendy： Well， it has proved to be very effective in accommodating all of the visitors， I think it looks good too。
温迪：但后来证明这个设计有效地吸引了各方游客，我也认为它很不错。
Windmills and Tulips
风车与郁金香的国度
提起荷兰你会想起什么？是天才画家凡高笔下那一团团如火焰般炽烈的向日葵？还是那迎风摇曳、令人迷醉的郁金香？抑或是转动在蓝天白云之下、诉说着古老故事的风车？荷兰虽是一个童话般的小小国度，但却拥有众多享誉世界的文化名片。正是这些不可复制的名片为荷兰赢得了无数的美誉：“欧洲的后花园”“童话王国”“风车之国”。
Realize Holland and Cultural Icons of Holland认识荷兰及其文化符
1认识荷兰
Holland is a name in common usage given to a region in the western part of the Netherlands。 The term Holland is also frequently used to refer to the whole of the Netherlands。 This usage is generally accepted but nevertheless unofficial and disliked by many Dutch people in the other parts of the Netherlands。
From the 10th century to the 16th century， Holland proper was a unified political region， a county ruled by the Count of Holland。 By the 17th century， Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power， dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic。
Today， the former County of Holland consists of the two Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland， which together include the Netherlands’ three largest cities： country capital Amsterdam； seat of government， The Hague； and Rotterdam， home of Europe’s largest port。
The predominance of Holland in the Netherlands has resulted in regionalism on the part of the other provinces。 This is a reaction to the perceived threat that Holland poses to the identities and local cultures of the other provinces。
Holland tends to be associated with a particular image。 The stereotypical image of Holland is an artificial amalgam of tulips， windmills， clogs， cheese and traditional dress （klederdracht）。 As is the case with many stereotypes， this is far from the truth and reality of life in Holland。 This can at least in part be explained by the active exploitation of these stereotypes in promotions of Holland and the Netherlands。 In fact only in a few of the more traditional villages， such as Volendam and locations in the Zaan area， are the different costumes with wooden shoes still worn by some inhabitants。
2荷兰文化符号的表达方式
Tulips 郁金香—National Flower 国花
Windmills风车
Wooden Shoes木鞋
Wooden shoes are a holdover from Holland’s agricultural roots。 In the days before plastic and rubber became mainstream， wood was a cheap， readily available material for making strong， waterproof shoes that were perfect for working long days in the fields。
Cheese奶酪
The Dutch are known for being fond of their cheese。 After all， every postcard from the Netherlands that doesn’t feature tulips seems to be of a piece of cheese。 In fact， the Dutch are such famous cheese－eaters that they are known abroad as “cheese－heads”。
National Anthem国歌
The Dutch national anthem is supposedly the world’s oldest， but it’s also one of the strangest。 It’s basically just a short autobiographical summary of Prince William of Orange， as sung by himself。
Bicycle自行车