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Module 6 Reading The Monster of Lake Tianchi The "Monster of Lake Tianchi" in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin province, northeast China, is back in the news after several recent sightings. The director of a local tourist office, Meng Fanying, said the monster, which seemed to be black in colour, was ten metres from the edge of the lake during the most recent sighting. "It jumped out of the water like a seal—about 200 people on Changbai's western peak saw it," he said. Although no one really got a clear look at the mysterious creature, Xue Junlin, a local photographer, claimed that its head looked like a horse. In another recent sighting, a group of soldiers claim they saw an animal moving on the surface of the water. The soldiers, who were walking along the side of the lake, watched the creature swimming for about two minutes. "It was greenish-black and had a round head with 10-centimetre horns", one of the soldiers said. A third report came from Li Xiaohe, who was visiting the lake with his family. He claims to have seen a round black creature moving quickly through the water. After three or four hundred metres it dived into the water. Ten minutes later the monster appeared again and repeated the action. Mr Li Xiaohe said that he and his family were able to see the monster clearly because the weather was fine and the lake was calm. There have been reports of monsters in Lake Tianchi since the beginning of the last century, although no one has seen one close up. Some photos have been taken but they are not clear because it was too far away. Many people think the monster may be a distant cousin of the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. They also think that there might be similar creatures in other lakes around the world. Scientists, however, are sceptical. They say that the low-temperature lake is unlikely to be able to support such large living creatures. Lake Tianchi is the highest volcanic lake in the world. It is 2,189 metres high and covers an area of about ten square kilometres. In places it is more than 370 metres deep. Module 6 天池里的怪物 在最近几次露面后，中国东北吉林省长白山的“天池怪物”又成了新闻。据当地的旅游办公室主任孟凡迎介绍，最近有人看见怪物就在离湖边十米的地方，怪物的颜色似乎是黑色的。他说：“大约有两百多人从长白山的西峰看见过怪物，它像海豹一样跃出水面。”尽管谁也没有看清楚这神秘怪物的真面目，但当地一位摄影师薛俊林声称：怪物的头看起来像马头。 最近另有一次，一群战士证实：他们看见湖的水面上有东西在游动。正在湖边行走的战士看见怪物游弋了大约两分钟。其中一名战士说；“怪物的颜色浅绿带黑，圆形的头上有十厘米左右的角。” 又一次报导来自李小和，当时他和家人正在湖边游玩。他说他看见圆形黑色的东西在湖面快速游过三四百米后潜入水中。十分钟后，怪物再次出现，并重复了相同的动作。李小和先生说他和家人看清楚了怪物，因为当时天气好，湖水平静。 自上世纪初以来，一直就有关于天池怪物的报导，尽管还不曾有人近距离目睹过。虽然拍有怪物的一些照片，但由于距离太远，看起来模糊不清。许多人认为，天池里的怪物或许是苏格兰尼斯湖中怪物的远亲。他们还认为，在世界其他地方的湖泊中可能也有类似的怪物。然而，科学家们表示怀疑。他们说，温度低的湖中不可能存活如此大的生物。 天池是世界上最高的火山湖，海拔2，189米，面积有10平方公里，有的地方水深达370米。 Cultural Corner The Universal Dragon Dragons can be friendly or fierce, they can bring good luck or cause death and destruction, but one thing is sure— people talk about them almost everywhere in the world. For a creature that doesn't actually exist, that's quite something. In Chinese culture, dragons are generous and wise, although they can be unpredictable. The dragon was closely connected to the royal family: the emperor's robes have a symbol of a gold dragon with five claws. Other members of the royal family were allowed to wear dragon symbols, too, but with fewer claws and of a different colour. According to popular belief, if you were born in the year of the dragon, you are intelligent, brave, and a natural leader. But in the west, dragons had a different reputation. The very first text in English, the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, tells the story of a Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, who fights and kills a dangerous dragon but is himself killed in the fight. However, across the border in Wales, the red dragon which appears on the Welsh flag is a positive symbol, indicating strength and a sense of national identity. Why should the dragon have a different character in different parts of the world? Some experts believe it is due to the animals the myths grew out of. In the west, the idea of the dragon probably came from the snake—an animal which people hated and were afraid of. But in China, the idea of the dragon may have come from the alligator —a shy animal which lives in rivers, but which is usually only seen when there is plenty of water—a good sign for agriculture. So the Chinese dragon was a bringer of good fortune. |
