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吉林大学远程教育学院

    >>>>   Unit One
    >>>>   Unit Two
    >>>>   Unit Three
    >>>>   Unit Four
    >>>>   Unit Five
    >>>>   Unit Six
    >>>>   Unit Seven
    >>>>   Unit Eight
    >>>>   Unit Nine
    >>>>   Unit Ten
    >>>>   Unit Eleven
    >>>>   Unit Twelve
    >>>>   Unit Thirteen
    >>>>   Unit Fourteen
    >>>>   Unit Fifteen
    >>>>   Unit Sixteen
    >>>>   Unit Seventeen
    >>>>   Unit Eighteen
    >>>>   Unit Nineteen
    >>>>   Unit Twenty
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-one
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-two
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-three
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-four
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-five
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-six
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-seven
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-eight
    >>>>   Unit Twenty-nine
    >>>>   Unit Thirty

Information Related to the Text | Text | Questions about Text |

Information Related to the Text

1. Masada
Masada is a Jewish word meaning “mountain fortress”. The fortress of Masada was built on a rock which has cliffs that rise 427 meters from sea level. The top of the rock is 579 meters long and 198 meters wide. The only way to reach the top used to be a narrow winding trail that was easily defended. After King Herod, the chief builder of Masada, died, the fortress was occupied by the Romans. The Jewish rebels captured it by surprise in 66 A.D. The Romans then laid siege to the fortress for two years(72-73 A.D.) . To die free, the rebels killed one another in the terrible sacrifice at Masada. Later, it was disclosed that two women and five children survived the mass suicide.

Masada has become a historic shrine for Israel , the Jewish nation. It symbolizes the Jewish desire for freedom --- even at the cost of their lives.one of the initiation rites for new members of the Israeli army is a trip to Masada, a climb to the top, and a solemn ceremony in which recruits are reminded of the determination of the 960 Jewish patriots never to surrender. Such devotion to liberty is called “ the spirit of Masada” and each recruit swears an oath that “Masada will not fall again.”

2. King Herod and Jesus Christ
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Juda in the days of Herod the king. When Herod heard of the news that a child was to be born the king of Jews, he was troubled . He sent three wise men to search for the child, “ When you find them , bring me word, thus I may worship him also. The three wise men saw the star in the east, then they saw the child. Being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. After their departure, the angle of God came to Joseph ( the child’s father) saying, “ Arise, and take the young child and his mother , and flee into Egypt, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.