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THE LARGEST AND MOST POPULOUS
Asia is the largest of the continents of the world. It is larger than Africa, larger than either of the two Americas, and four times as large as Europe. Asia and Europe form a huge land mass. Indeed Europe is so much smaller than Asia that some geographers regard Europe as a peninsula of Asia.
Many geographers say that the Ural Mountains form the dividing line between Europe and Asia. Some think differently. But all geographers agree that Asia was once linked to North America. Or, to be more exact, Alaska was at one time connected with the tip of Siberia. The ancestors of American Indians, geographers say, were Asians. 30,000 years ago they went across the land bridge and settled down in new homes.
Only a small canal separates Africa from Asia. But before the Suez Canal was cut in 1869, Asia was also linked to Africa.
The highest point of the earth is in Asia. This is the peak of the Himalaya Mountains. It is over 8,848 metres high. At this altitude, the air is very thin and the weather is uncertain. So the climbing is very difficult. People take great pride in getting to that peak.
The world's great religions originated from Asia: Buddhism from India, Christianity from Palestine, Islam from Arabia. Today Buddhism and Islam are the principal religions of much of Asia.
Asia is also the most populous continent. China, the country with the largest population in the world, is in Asia. One half of the world's population are Asians.
A Chinese is an Asian, a Japanese is an Asian, and an Indian is an Asian. So is an Iranian, a Palestinian, an Iraqi, a Filipino, a Singaporean. A meeting of Asians is usually a large gathering. The Asian Games meet every four years, sometimes with as many as nations taking part.
There was a time when Asia led the world in civilization. Today most of the Asian countries are still developing countries. They are working very hard to catch up in science and technology. They must. They have little time to lose.
面积最大人口最多的洲
亚洲是世界第一大洲。它比非洲大，比北美洲大，也比南美洲大，它有四个欧洲那样大。亚洲和欧洲连成一片广大的陆地。与亚洲相比，欧洲确实太小，有些地理学家把欧洲看作亚洲的一个半岛。
许多地理学家认为，乌拉尔山脉是欧亚两洲的分界线。有些地理学家不这么想。但是地理学家一致认为，亚洲和北美洲曾经是连在一起的，或者更确切地说，阿拉斯加曾经和西伯利亚的东端（顶端）连在一起。地理学家们认为，美洲印第安人的祖先是亚洲人。三万年前，他们跨过连接两洲的地峡，在美洲建立了新居。
把亚洲和非洲分隔开来的不过是一条不大的运河，而在这条苏伊士运河1869年开凿之前，亚洲与非洲也是连在一起的。
地球的最高点在亚洲，这就是喜马拉雅山脉的顶峰，高8848米以上。在这样高度上，空气十分稀薄，气候变幻无常，因此攀登非常困难。人们以能登上这座山峰而感到自豪。
世界上的几大宗教起源于亚洲：佛教源于印度，基督教源于巴勒斯坦，伊斯兰教源于阿拉伯。今天，佛教和伊斯兰教是亚洲许多国家和地区的主要宗教。
亚洲又是人口最多的洲。中国，这个世界上人口最多的国家就是在亚洲。世界人口的一半是亚洲人。
中国人是亚洲人，日本人是亚洲人，印度人是亚洲人，伊朗人、巴勒斯坦人、伊拉克人、菲律宾人、新加坡人也是亚洲人。亚洲人的聚会往往是大型集会。亚运会每四年举行一次，参加的国家有时多达34个。
过去，亚洲的文明进程曾一度居世界领先地位。今天，亚洲多数国家仍然是发展中国家。这些国家的人民正在勤奋工作，以求在科学和技术方面赶上去。他们一定要赶上去。他们必须抓紧时间。
BACK FROM VACATION
A: Glad you're back. We missed you during the vacation. How have you been?
B: Fine, thanks. I had a wonderful time at home. I did quite a bit of reading. Did you have a good time at school?
A: We certainly did. We saw quite a few excellent films. During the Spring Festival we visited many places. We had a get-together with many old friends.
B: So we all had a fine vacation. And now we must get down to some good solid work.
度假归来
A：真高兴你回来了。你度假的时候我们都很想你。过得怎么样？
B：挺好的，谢谢。我在家过得可高兴啦，读了好多书。你们在学校过得也不错吧？
A：当然了。我们看了好几部非常好的电影。春节期间我们去了很多地方。我们还和很多老朋友一起搞了个联欢会。
B：这样看来我们都过了个不错的假期，现在我们必须着手做具体的事了。
