[al:新概念英语（三）] [ar:MP3 同步字幕版（英音）] [ti:A Famous Monastery] [by:更多学习内容，请到chazidian.com搜索“新概念”] [00:01.51]Lesson 8 [00:03.09]A famous monastery [00:11.49]What are the St.Bernard dogs used for? [00:16.75]The Great St.Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy. [00:21.61]At 2,473 metres,it is the highest mountain pass in Europe. [00:28.79]The famous monastery of St.Bernard, [00:31.71]which was founded in the eleventh century,lies about a mile away. [00:37.48]For hundreds of years, [00:38.90]St.Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass. [00:45.06]These friendly dogs,which were first brought from Asia, [00:49.20]were used as watchdogs even in Roman times. [00:53.39]Now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains,the Pass is less dangerous, [00:58.92]but each year,the dogs are still sent out into the snow [01:03.08]whenever a traveller is in difficulty. [01:06.16]Despite the new tunnel, [01:07.93]there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot. [01:14.13]During the summer months,the monastery is very busy, [01:18.30]for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars. [01:24.18]As there are so many people about,the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure. [01:30.24]In winter,however,life at the monastery is quite different. [01:35.13]The temperature drops to -30 degrees, [01:38.73]and very few people attempt to cross the Pass. [01:42.74]The monks prefer winter to summer for they have more privacy. [01:47.68]The dogs have greater freedom,too, [01:50.39]for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure. [01:54.26]The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers [01:59.50]who go there at Christmas and Easter. [02:02.74]These young people, [02:04.34]who love the peace of the mountains, [02:06.56]always receive a warm welcome at St.Bernard's monastery.