美国有线新闻 CNN 沙特35年来首次解禁电影院 首批影院明年3月开业

沙特35年来首次解禁电影院 首批影院明年3月开业

What is the largest country in the world without a river?

Saudi Arabia, Greenland, Australia, or Iran?

Though it's situated¹ between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf², Saudi Arabia does not have a river running through it.

AZUZ: It also doesn't have any movie theaters, or at least it won't until next year when commercial theaters will be granted licenses³ to open up.

They've been banned for 35 years in the conservative Muslim country. But the change is part of a series of reforms taking place in the kingdom. The nation's crown prince has promised to destroy what he calls extremist ideologies⁴ and return Saudi Arabia to a, quote, more moderate Islam.

Part of the decision is economic, as Saudi Arabia tries to reduce its dependence⁵ on oil. Movie theaters could create jobs and encourage Saudis to spend more money at home rather than vacation in nearby countries that have more entertainment options.

Some Saudi religious leaders oppose this idea. One cleric has called theaters a depravity and suggested they could hurt the kingdom's morals.

The first cinemas are expected to open their doors in March.

Moving west from Saudi Arabia to the African country of Nigeria. It's had a number of success stories in the Olympic Games, like when its soccer team won gold in 1996. But Nigeria has never won a medal or even competed in the Winter Olympics.

Next February, three athletes representing Nigeria are set to compete in bobsledding. This is the first bobsled for any African country. The women have already qualified⁶ and say they're ecstatic.

1 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

4 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

5 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。