Reporting on a historic religious site
You must know very well about Journey to the West. This is a story related to Buddhism. Now let’s enjoy the most moving plot in it. Today we will read a passage about a temple, which is also closely related to Buddhism.
The oldest Buddhist temple in China is the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan Province.
What will you write about if you want to tell other people about a historic religious site?
The things that need to be covered include, where the site is located, when it was set up, why it was set up, who set it up and its importance in history.
Why is it called the White Horse Temple?
To remind people of the white horse that the Buddhist readings and images had traveled on from India.
Divide the article into several parts and give the main idea for each part.
Part 1 (Paragraph 1) brief introduction of the White Horse Temple Part 2 (Paragraphs 2-5) the story behind the temple
Part 3 (Paragraph 6) the architecture of the White Horse Temple Part 4 (Paragraphs 7-9) the importance of the White Horse Temple
Did you know about the White Horse Temple before reading this article? If yes, what did you know? If not, what do you think of the temple now?
Which historic religious site would you choose to write about? How are you going to find information out about the site?
centre around/on sth phrasal verb
to have something as the main subject of discussion or interest: 讨论集中在减少废物上。
The discussion centred around reducing waste. 5. extension noun [C or U] 我们正在对房子进行扩建。 We're building an extension to/on our house.
Read the article about the oldest temple in China. Skim the text and answer the following questions:
What is the name of the temple? The White Horse Temple. Where is the temple located? It is located in Luoyang, Henan Province in the east central part of China.
interpretation noun [C or U] an explanation or opinion of what something means:
对许多人来说接受圣经的字面解释 是很难的。 It is difficult for many people to accept a literal interpretation of the Bible.
警察被命令在这幢大楼和周围的地区巡逻。 The police have been instructed to patrol the building and surrounding area. instruction noun [C usually plural] 闯进这所房子的警察只是按指令行事。
interpreter noun [C] 一个著名的口译者 a noted interpreter 2. instruct: verb [T + to infinitive] to order or tell someone to do something, especially in a formal way:
extend (REACH) verb [T; I usually + adverb or preposition]
撒哈拉沙漠绵延好几英里。 The Sahara Desert extends (= reaches) for miles.
酒馆最近延长了营业时间。 The pub has recently extended its opening hours (= made them longer).
6. circumstance: noun <1> [C usually plural] a fact or event that makes a situation the way it is:
你在任何情况下决不能接近这个人。 Under no circumstances should you (= You must not) approach the man. <2 > [U] FORMAL events that change your life, over which you have no control:
他们是命运的牺牲者。 They were victims of circumstance.
<3> circumstances how much money someone has:
到现在为止,她都是一个人生活在穷困中。
By now she was alone and living in reduced circumstances (= with little money).
Do you know any historic religious sites in China? Have you even visited any of these sites? Do you know which Buddhist temple is the oldest in China? Where is it located? Have you ever heard any stos
1. interpret: verb [T]
<1> to decide what the intended meaning of something is: 在不知道这些统计数字怎样获得的 情况下是难以解释的。 It's difficult to interpret these statistics without knowing how they were obtained.
The police who broke into the house were only acting on/under instructions.
instructions plural noun
关于下一步做什么他们需要明确的说明。 They need clear instructions on what to do next. 3. behalf: noun on behalf of sb/on sb's behalf representing; instead of: 请不要因为我离开。 Please don't leave on my behalf (= because of me).
4. centre: noun [C] <1> the middle point or part: 市中心 the town centre centre UK, US center verb [T]
to put something in the middle of an area: 把所有的标题放在文件的中心。 Centre all the headings in this document.