【明報專訊】The Potala Palace (布達拉宮) has been given a bright new look. The massive religious site was painted by over 300 workers and volunteers, using 92 tonnes of paint during an annual renovation process.
Built over 1,300 years ago, the Potala Palace is the world's highest ancient palace. It is situated at an altitude of 3,700 metres above sea level on the Red Mountain, which is in the centre of Lhasa Valley, Tibet ( 西藏 ). The annual repainting of the palace is said to be a tradition that started about 300 years ago, which is aimed to protect the walls from rain in the summer. It is also meant to protect the ancient structure at low temperatures in winter.
The Potala Palace is painted in vibrant colours - red, white and yellow. It is said that the pigment formula was different from previous years. An animal glue was added in the pigment to increase the viscosity of the paint, and make it similar to the traditional formula.
(Source: Dailymail)
■Photo Story
Aerial footage shows Potala Palace with its newly painted red, white and yellow walls.
■English highway﹕Paint
"Paint" can be an uncountable noun or a verb.
e.g. The kid had spilt a can of yellow
paint on the floor during his
painting class.
■Quiz
Answer the following questions.
(Answers on next text)
1. Is the following sentence true or false?
The Potala Palace is repainted few times a year.
True / Fasle
2. How many colours is the Potala Palace painted in?
___________________________
3. Find in paragraph one a word that has a similar meaning to "large".
___________________________
4. In paragraph three, "pigment" refers to:
a. the materials used to paint the Potala Palace
b. the workers of the renovation project
c. the Potala Palace
d. Lhasa Valley in Tibet
■Glossary
renovation (n) 翻新
ancient (adj) 古老的
formula (n) 配方
viscosity (n) 黏性
[Smarties' Power English 第200期]
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