2015考研英语阅读日本之自身观_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读日本之自身观

　　If it does, where better to look than by the sea, chief pillar of national identity? Japan, though small in surface area, stretches far. To go from the northernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago to its farthest-flung southern rock is to travel from Norways North Cape to Rome. The surrounding seas have long been regarded as Japans protective armour, or sometimes its womb. Moreover, the oceans are a bountiful source of the nations food.

　　如若真要唤起大和民族的勇气，作为支撑民族认同感最重要的支柱，大海无可厚非最有能力达成此愿。日本的表面面积虽然不大，但是却延伸到很远。从日本列岛最北端到日本领土最南端的距离，相当于从挪威北角到罗马的距离那么远。日本人一直将环绕国土的大海看作是自己的铠甲，有时甚至将她看作是自己的发源地。直到1945年，日本从未受到过外敌入侵。并且，海洋也为大和民族供给了丰富的食材。

　　Yet the seas, and what Japan does with them, arealso the main sources of friction with the outsideworld. The trouble starts with the names: the Sea ofJapan is the East Sea to South Korea, and the EastSea of Korea to Pyongyang. Outlying islands are noless contentious, largely thanks to the memories ofpre-1945 Japanese aggression that they stir up. SoDokdo, occupied by South Korea, is claimed byJapan, which calls it Takeshima. Island disputes with China andRussia also fester. And then comes whaling and dolphin-slaying, where the cultural gap withmuch of the Western world appears at its widest. The Oshika peninsula, devastated by thetsunami, welcomes visitors by boasting of its two main industries, whaling and nuclear power.No wonder that even before the Fukushima nuclear crisis, its stunning scenery was not onmost foreign tourist itineraries.