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Bhutan It's as close as man can come to the imaginary Shangri-La, and as
far into the reaches of the earth as man can go, but Bhutan is, as it was.
It's a rare experience; rare because this small Asian kingdom tucked away
high in the Himalayas is so beautiful. It is Switzerland with jungles and
wild elephants, a Switzerland not of gnomes counting money in banks
but of boy "lamas" chanting "sutras" to the Buddha.
Yaks, rather than cable-cars, carry people over the steep mountain passes.
The population is small -- about a million; about one-sixth the number
crowded into the valleys of the slightly smaller European country -- and
almost without exception of handsome appearance. The people smile
charmingly at the few strangers they meet, perhaps because they are so
used to finding each other pleasing in thoughts and looks.
Bhutanese encounter only a few strangers, if any, because it is just since
September 1974 that the government has allowed tourists to enter. Even so, only a few travellers are admitted each year, and only, as a rule, in small
supervised groups for ten days or less. Mountain climbing expeditions
aren't welcome, nor single travellers not part of an officially approved
group. So only a few hundred outsiders have had the chance to see this
exquisite country.
The few who have been allowed have seen Bhutan at a rare moment in
its history. For centuries the country slept in isolation. Its mountains,
nearly twice as high as the Alps, discouraged casual visitors. Its passes
are guarded by fortresses, its people have made a national sport of archery.
What need, indeed, had the world for Bhutan ? It was better left as a
dreamland, a remote refuge, an image of inaccessibility.
Bhutan can still hardly be considered accessible, but circumstances
have changed. Tibetan China to its north and east, India to its south and
west, have both become major powers, eyeing each other nervously over
the fence of the Himalayas. Furthermore, no place in the world now can
close off the whispers and shouts of the outside world. Like Japan in the
19th century, this country, whose isolation allowed it to remain feudal for
centuries, has decided to bring itself into the modern world in its own way,
before change is forced upon it. And so visitors to Bhutan are seeing a
country that is still picturesquely feudal making delicate advances -- one
hopes they are advances -- into the late 20th century.
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1. |
The opening sentence about Bhutan conjures up an image of |
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(A) |
a hostile country |
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(B) |
an imaginary world. |
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(C) |
a romantic land. |
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(D) |
a dull country. |
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2. |
To be able to visit Bhutan is a rare experience mainly because |
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(A) |
it is so much like Switzerland. |
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(B) |
it is a very beautiful and pleasant country. |
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(C) |
the people do not like strangers. |
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(D) |
we can see boy "lamas" chanting "sutras". |
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3. |
Which sentence about Bhutan is false ? |
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(A) |
It is situated in the Himalayan mountains. |
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(B) |
It has many steep mountain passes. |
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(C) |
It is smaller than Switzerland. |
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(D) |
Its population is about one-sixth that of Switzerland. |
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4. |
There is a suggestion in the second paragraph that Bhutanese |
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(A) |
think a great deal about their appearance. |
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(B) |
are good-looking and good-natured. |
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(C) |
are especially charming to strangers. |
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(D) |
would like to meet more travellers. |
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5. |
Since September 1974 |
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(A) |
no tourists can visit Bhutan. |
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(B) |
only single travellers can visit Bhutan |
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(C) |
only small supervised groups can visit Bhutan. |
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(D) |
mountain climbing expeditions are welcome. |
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6. |
"For centuries the country slept in
isolation." The use of the word "slept" in this context suggests that
Bhutan |
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(A) |
had a lazy population. |
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(B) |
had a bad government. |
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(C) |
did not welcome strangers. |
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(D) |
did not advance or develop. |
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7. |
Which of these reasons for Bhutan's
isolation in the past is not suggested by the writers ? |
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(A) |
Its high mountains dissuaded people from visiting it. |
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(B) |
It was too well guarded against invasions by other
nations. |
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(C) |
Its people thought that the world had nothing to offer
it. |
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(D) |
The world was not very interested in it. |
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8. |
Today, Bhutan can still be considered |
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(A) |
a country that is slow in making changes. |
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(B) |
an unchanged country. |
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(C) |
completely unaffected by the modern world. |
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(D) |
to be like Japan. |
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9. |
Bhutan "has decided to bring itself into the
modern world in its own way, before change is forced upon it". This
sentence contains a note of |
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(A) |
optimism |
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(B) |
pessimism. |
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(C) |
preparedness. |
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(D) |
doom. |
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10. |
From the passage we can gather that the
writers |
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(A) |
are critical of Bhutan's isolation. |
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(B) |
are strongly in favour of discouraging visitors to
Bhutan. |
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(C) |
think that the world is better off without Bhutan. |
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(D) |
would like Bhutan to keep all its good qualities as it
adapts to change. |
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