Reporting on a historic religious site

You must know very well about Journey to the West. This is a story related to Buddhism. Now let’s enjoy the most moving plot in it.

Today we will read a passage about a temple, which is also closely related to Buddhism.

Do you know any historic religious sites in China? Have you even visited any of these sites?Do you know which Buddhist temple is the oldest in China? Where is it located? Have you ever heard any stories about it?

The oldest Buddhist temple in China is the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan Province.

What will you write about if you want to tell other people about a historic religious site?

The things that need to be covered include, where the site is located, when it was set up, why it was set up, who set it up and its importance in history.

Read the article about the oldest temple in China. Skim the text and answer the following questions:

What is the name of the temple?

Where is the temple located? The White Horse Temple.

It is located in Luoyang, Henan Province in the east central part of China.

Why is it called the White Horse Temple?

To remind people of the white horse that the Buddhist readings and images had traveled on from India.

Divide the article into several parts and give the main idea for each part.

Part 1 (Paragraph 1) brief introduction of the White Horse Temple

Part 2 (Paragraphs 2-5) the story behind the temple

Part 3 (Paragraph 6) the architecture of the White Horse Temple

Part 4 (Paragraphs 7-9) the importance of the White Horse Temple

Did you know about the White Horse Temple before reading this article? If yes, what did you know? If not, what do you think of the temple now?

Which historic religious site would you choose to write about?

How are you going to find information out about the site?

Language points

1. interpret: verb [T]

<1> to decide what the intended meaning of something is:

It's difficult to interpret these statistics without knowing how they were obtained.

在不知道这些统计数字怎样获得的情况下是难以解释的。

interpretation  noun [C or U]

an explanation or opinion of what something means:

It is difficult for many people to accept a literal interpretation of the Bible.

对许多人来说接受圣经的字面解释是很难的。

interpreter  noun [C]

a noted interpreter 一个著名的口译者

2. instruct: verb [T + to infinitive] to order or tell someone to do something, especially in a formal way:

The police have been instructed to patrol the building and surrounding area.

警察被命令在这幢大楼和周围的地区巡逻。

instruction    noun [C usually plural]

The police who broke into the house were only acting on/under instructions.

闯进这所房子的警察只是按指令行事。

instructions    plural noun

They need clear instructions on what to do next.

关于下一步做什么他们需要明确的说明。

3. behalf: nounon behalf of sb/on sb's behalf representing; instead of:

Please don't leave on my behalf (= because of me).

请不要因为我离开。

4. centre: noun [C]

<1> the middle point or part:

the town centre

市中心

centre UK, US center  verb [T]

to put something in the middle of an area:

Centre all the headings in this document.

把所有的标题放在文件的中心。

centre around/on sth phrasal verb

to have something as the main subject of discussion or interest:

The discussion centred around reducing waste.

讨论集中在减少废物上。

5. extension  noun [C or U]

We're building an extension to/on our house.

我们正在对房子进行扩建。

extend (REACH)   verb [T; I usually + adverb or preposition]

The Sahara Desert extends (= reaches) for miles.

撒哈拉沙漠绵延好几英里。

The pub has recently extended its opening hours (= made them longer).

酒馆最近延长了营业时间。

6. circumstance: noun

<1> [C usually plural] a fact or event that makes a situation the way it is:

Under no circumstances should you (= You must not) approach the man.

你在任何情况下决不能接近这个人。

<2 > [U] FORMAL events that change your life, over which you have no control:

They were victims of circumstance.

他们是命运的牺牲者。

<3> circumstances how much money someone has:

By now she was alone and living in reduced circumstances (= with little money).

到现在为止 , 她都是一个人生活在穷困中。