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1、U 2 Listening 1A Student PresentationTeacher: OK, class, lets get started with the first presentation. Sompel has prepared a short presentation about his home country of Bhutan. Go ahead, Sompel.Sompel: Thanks. Um, hi, everybody! You know that my name is Sompel, but you may not know that Im from Bhu
2、tan. Bhutan is a small country high in the Himalaya Mountainsbetween Indiaand China. In our language, Bhutan is known as Druk Yul, which in English is land, land of the thunder dragon. The dragon is even displayed on our flag. For many years, my country was isolated from the world, partly due to its
3、 geography its surrounded by high mountainsbut also because of government policies.Our government had always been a, an absolute monarchy, I mean, government headed by a king with unlimited power. Anyway, until very recently, Bhutan had no electricity, no cars or trucks, no telephones, and no postal
4、 service. You may be surprised to learn that in Bhutan people have only had television since 1999. It was the last country on Earth to get it. You may be wondering: Why did Bhutan reject the modern world for so long? Well, the government was trying to protect the people from negative influences such
5、 as high crime rates, youth violence, and pollution. But the king has admitted that the policy of isolation had many negative consequences. For example, the education system definitely fell behind. Some people never learned to read and write. Then, one of our kings began opening up Bhutan to the out
6、side world, and our current king has continued the process. There are new roads, schools, and health clinics. The king doesnt want to open up the country all at once to the outside world and risk ruining it. He wants our countrys development to be guided by, now let me think, oh, yes, Gross National
7、 Happiness.Teacher: Sompel, sorry to interrupt, before you continue, could you define Gross National Happiness for the class, please?Sompel: Um, sure. How should I put it? Well, youve probably heard of Gross National Product, which is a phrase that refers to the dollar value of all the goods and ser
8、vices produced by a country over a period of time. Its one way of measuring a countrys success. But Gross National Happiness is different. Actually, one of our kings invented the phrase Gross National Happiness. Its the approach the country takes to the domestic development of Bhutanto help make sur
9、e that the people are always happy with their lives and with the country. There are four parts, um, four “pillars”, to this approach: good government, sustainable development, environmental protection, and cultural preservation. So, for good government, the king puts the needs of the country first.
10、In fact, even though the people love him, he gave away most of his power to the people in 2006. Thats when the country transitioned to democracy. The king still has an important role, but he no longer has absolute power. Real power belongs to the people and the officials that we elect. Sustainable d
11、evelopment means that we help our country grow without damaging the environment. And the pillar of environmental protection is closely related to sustainable development, too. Agriculture is veryimportant in Bhutan, and we are trying to find new ways to farm without hurting the environment. Also, th
12、e government wants to keep 68 percent of the land covered in forests. Cultural preservation the last pillaris a challenge though. Half of Bhutans population is in their twenties or younger, and the government anticipates that some young people will get involved with gangs, crime, or drugs, for examp
13、le. The government has banned television channels that they think are harmful. Even so, youth gangs are growing. Theft, which was not very common before, is also rising. On the other hand, there is a positive side to all of the changes.In a mountainous country such as Bhutan, communication technolog
14、iesfor instance, mobile phones and the Internet allow people to communicate more easily than ever before. And it seems that the arts are really moving ahead. Twenty years ago Bhutan had never produced a movie, but these days we produce over 20 a year. And some movies have even displayed the difficul
15、ties that Bhutan has had with the challenges of the modern world. These types of movies are important. They can help us explore the contradictions that have come with our changing culture.Teacher: Sompel, how do you view Bhutans future?Sompel: Well Im hopeful about Bhutans future, and Im glad that t
16、he approach of Gross National Happiness is helping to make sure that we dont lose our beautiful environment and the best parts ofour ancient culture.Sompel: Um, sure. How should I put it? Well, youve probably heard of Gross National Product, which is a phrase that refers to the dollar value of all the goods and services produced by a country over a period of time. Its one way of measuring a countrys success. But Gross Natio
