本书着重介绍了沙特阿拉伯、埃及、迪拜等阿拉伯国家的历史、地理、媒体、经济、教育、婚俗、舞蹈、音乐、服饰及烹饪等方面的内容，旨在为英语爱好者提供一个了解阿拉伯国家的平台。

姜克银，教授，浙江大学文学博士，美国哈佛大学博士后，现任宁夏大学阿拉伯学院副院长，宁夏大学中国阿拉伯国家研究院研究人员，阿拉伯国家研究省部共建协同创新中心研究人员。长期从事外国语言文学、话语与文化等领域的教学与科研工作。出版专著2部，在国内外学术期刊上发表学术论文20余篇。

季春燕，副教授。2000年于宁夏大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业毕业后留校，从事大学公共英语的教学和研究。2006年获得英语语言文学专业应用语言学方向硕士研究生学位。

Unit 1
History of Saudi Arabia 

WarmUp Questions

1Which Arab country do you like to go to travel or study or live in? Do you know anything about its history? 2What do you know about the history of Saudi Arabia?3Do you know the location of the Kingdom Center? What do you know about its history? 
Text

History is the soul of a nation, to know something about a nation, know its history first The history of Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Middle East in terms of area, an ancient trade center, as a state, begins with its foundation in 1932 by Abdul Aziz alSaud, although the history of what was to become Saudi Arabia goes back to the beginnings of human habitation in Arabia up to 20000 years ago Brief History of Saudi Arabiahttp://wwwsaudiembassynet/about/countryinformation/history/Saudi Arabia traces its roots back to the earliest civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula Over the centuries, the peninsula has played an important role in history as an ancient trade centerSince King Abdul Aziz alSaud established the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, its transformation has been astonishing In a few short decades, the Kingdom has turned itself from a desert nation to a modern, sophisticated state and a major player on the international stageEarly HistoryThe first concrete evidence of human presence in the Arabian Peninsula dates back 15000 to 20000 years Bands of huntergatherers roamed the land, living off wild animals and plantsAs the European ice cap melted during the last Ice Age, some 15000 years ago, the climate in the peninsula became dry Vast plains once covered with lush grasslands gave way to scrubland and deserts, and wild animals vanished River systems also disappeared This climate change forced humans to move into the lush mountain valleys and oases No longer able to survive as huntergatherers, they had to develop another means of survival As a result, agriculture developed—first in Mesopotamia, then the Nile River Valley and eventually spreading across the Middle EastThe development of agriculture brought other advancesPottery allowed farmers to store food Animals, including goats, cattle, sheep, horses and camels, were domesticated, and people abandoned hunting altogether These advances made intensive farming possible In turn, settlements became more permanent, leading to the foundations of what we call civilizationlanguage, writing, political systems, art and architecture An Ancient Trade CenterLocated between the two great centers of civilization, the Nile River Valley and Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula was the crossroads of the ancient world Trade was crucial to the areas development Caravan routes became trade arteries that made life possible in the sparsely populated peninsula The people of the peninsula developed a complex network of trade routes to transport agricultural goods highly sought after in Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley and the Mediterranean Basin These items included almonds from Taif, dates from the oases, and aromatics such as frankincense and myrrh from the Tihama plain Spices were also important trade items They were shipped across the Arabian Sea from India and then transported by caravan The huge caravans traveled from what is now Oman and Yemen, along the great trade routes running through Saudi Arabias Asir Province and then through Makkah and Madinah, eventually arriving at the urban centers of the north and westThe people of the Arabian Peninsula remained largely untouched by the political turmoil in Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley and the eastern Mediterranean Their goods and services were in great demand regardless of which power was dominant at that moment—Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece or Rome In addition, the peninsulas great expanse of desert formed a natural barrier that protected it from invasion by powerful neighbors The First Saudi StateIn the early 18th century, Shaikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, a scholar and reformer who believes in Islam, began advocating a return to the original form of Islam Abdul Wahhab was initially persecuted by local religious scholars and leaders who viewed his teachings as a threat to their power bases He sought protection in the town of Diriyah, which was ruled by Muhammad bin SaudMuhammad bin Abdul Wahhab and Muhammad bin Saud formed an agreement to dedicate themselves to restoring the pure teachings of Islam to the Muslim community In that spirit, bin Saud established the First Saudi State, which prospered under the spiritual guidance of bin Abdul Wahhab, known simply as the SheikhBy 1788, the Saudi State ruled over the entire central plateau known as the Najd By the early 19th century, its rule extended to most of the Arabian Peninsula, including Makkah and Madinah The popularity and success of the AlSaud rulers aroused the suspicion of the Ottoman Empire, the dominant power in the Middle East and North Africa at the time In 1818, the Ottomans dispatched a large expeditionary force armed with modern artillery to the western region of Arabia The Ottoman army besieged Diriyah, which by now had grown into one of the largest cities in the peninsula Ottoman forces leveled the city with field guns and made it permanently uninhabitable by ruining the wells and uprooting date palmsModern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Its EconomyThe young AbdulAziz was determined to regain his patrimony from the AlRashid family, which had taken over Riyadh and established a governor and garrison there In 1902, AbdulAziz, — accompanied by only 40 followers — staged a daring night march into Riyadh to retake the city garrison known as the Masmak Fortress This legendary event marks the beginning of the formation of the modern Saudi state After establishing Riyadh as his headquarters, AbdulAziz captured all of the Hijaz, including Makkah and Madinah, in 1924 to 1925 In the process, he united warring tribes into one nationOn September 23, 1932, the country was named as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an Islamic state with Arabic as its national language and the Holy Quran as its constitutionWhen the modern Kingdom was established, the Arabian Peninsula was an agricultural society depending on farming and commerceespecially date exports and tradegenerated by pilgrims coming to Makkah and Madinah The discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 1938 changed that Soon after World War II, steady oil exports provided the funds to build a basic infrastructure of roads, airports, seaports, schools and hospitals While the economy largely depended on oil revenues, Saudi leaders resolved to bring about basic improvements in the countrys economic structure with the objective to diversify the economy away from oil into other fields Achievement of such an economic transformation required deliberate planning and careful implementation of a development program with clearly defined objectives The quest for economic development and growth began in earnest with the introduction of the First Development Plan in 1970 by MOEP, Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi ArabiaThis triggered a series of ongoing fiveyear development plans to build a modern economy capable of producing consumer and industrial goods that previously had been imported The first phase of this process was to establish an infrastructure that could support a modern economic base and allow industry and commerce to flourish The next was to develop the human resources necessary to help bring about the planned economic transformation Finally, the focus could shift to economic diversification, including expansion of the industrial, agricultural and other sectors, an expansion that is now well advancedThe establishment of the physical infrastructure was accomplished in stages during the first three development plans As the infrastructure was taking shape, the government launched a major effort to expand the industrial base This was done along two separate, but parallel, courses One aimed at the expansion of the countrys oil industry and the other at establishing a modern nonoil industrial sector In addition to optimizing revenues from Saudi oil production, the modern oil industry plays an equally important role in the development of the nonoil industrial sector by providing the raw materials and feedstock that facilitate the growthThroughout the course of the development plans, Saudi Arabias steady but dramatic industrial and economic transformation has been accomplished through the careful guidance and active support of the government Today, Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest developing countries in the world
New Words

trace ［treIs］v to go back over again追溯（由来）；上溯；回溯
monotheistic ［