8 A famous monastery

The Great St. Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy.

圣伯纳德大山口连接着瑞士与意大利。

At 2, 473 metres, it is the highest mountain pass in Europe.

海拔2.473米,是欧洲最高的山口。

The famous monastery of St. Bernard, which was founded in the eleventh century, lies about a mile away.

11世纪建造的著名的圣伯纳德修道院位于离山口1英里远的地方。

For hundreds of years, St. Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass.

几百年来,圣伯纳德修道院驯养的狗拯救了许多翻越这道山口的旅游者的生命。

These friendly dogs, which were first brought from Asia, were used as watchdogs even in Roman times.

这些最先从亚洲引进的狗,待人友好,早在罗马时代就给人当看门狗了。

Now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains, the Pass is less dangerous, but each year, the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty.

如今由于在山里开挖了隧道，翻越山口已不那么危险了。但每年还要派狗到雪地里去帮助那些遇到困难的旅游者。