标签印度尼西亚下的文章

弗洛勒斯岛上的纳闽巴霍，印度尼西亚科莫多国家公园 Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia (© Thrithot/Adobe Stock)

Here there be dragons

Welcome to Komodo National Park, founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon—a monitor lizard that evolved in this insular environment to be much larger-'scale' than its fellows. Found only on the islands we see here—Komodo and Padar—and a handful of others nearby, it's the biggest lizard walking the Earth today. Not only walking but sprinting: Since adult Komodo dragons often prey on swift Timor deer, you'll sometimes see a dragon in a dead sprint after its would-be dinner, reaching up to 13 miles an hour.

这里有龙

欢迎来到科莫多国家公园，该公园成立于1980年，旨在保护科莫多巨蜥——一种在这个岛屿环境中进化的巨蜥，其“规模”要比同类大得多。只在我们看到的科莫多岛和帕达尔岛以及附近的其他一些岛屿上发现，它是今天地球上行走的最大的蜥蜴。不仅是步行，而且是短跑：由于成年科莫多龙经常捕食速度很快的帝汶鹿，你有时会看到一条龙在吃过晚餐后，以每小时13英里的速度在死气沉沉地短跑。

努沙杜瓦海岸与防波堤，印度尼西亚巴厘岛 Nusa Dua coast with breakwater, Bali, Indonesia (© Dkart/Getty Images)

The most wonderful day of the year. Period.

Er, comma—at least it seems like that's what we're seeing. And just like a comma breaks up a sentence, this structure called a breakwater interrupts the Pacific Ocean, punctuating waves with a crash before they can disturb this Bali beach. Whether its resemblance to a comma (or is that an apostrophe?) was intentional or not, it's a fine visual for today's syntactical celebration. That's correct: It's Grammar Day! (Note to hardline grammarians: We know punctuation—like a comma—isn't exactly grammar, but we're loosening the linguistical reins a bit in the generous spirit of Grammar Day. So put that red pen down, smartypants.)

If you're not inclined to decline verbs or dying to diagram a sentence, don't quit reading just yet. You might just think of grammar as the dos and don'ts taught in English textbooks—but a mere stuffy set of rules it ain't. Grammar is the ingredients of a language. Whenever we speak or even think, whether with prim-and-proper diction or in the most teacher-defying slang, our brains are using grammatical rules to translate firing neurons into words and phrases. Just how this happens is still a hot debate for linguists: Are these rules based on hardwired neural pathways or are they learned from a young age?

Well, however the brain works, we hope you brought yours today. Our quiz covers those wonderful, nitpicky grammar rules from school you doubtless remember so well. Sharpen your pencils!

一年中最美好的一天。句号。

呃，至少我们看到的是逗号。就像一个逗号打断了一个句子，这个被称为防波堤的结构打断了太平洋，在海浪冲击巴厘岛海滩之前，它以撞击声打断了海浪。它是否像逗号（或是撇号？）不管是有意还是无意，这都是今天句法庆祝的一个很好的视觉效果。没错，今天是语法日！（强硬派语法学家注意：我们知道像逗号这样的标点符号并不完全是语法，但我们在语法日的慷慨精神下稍微放松了对语言的控制。所以把那支红笔放下，聪明人。）

如果你不想拒绝动词，也不想画一个句子，那就暂时不要放弃阅读。你可能只是认为语法是英语课本上教的应该做的事和不应该做的事，但它不是一套乏味的规则。语法是语言的组成部分。每当我们说话或思考的时候，无论是用朴素得体的措辞，还是用最蔑视老师的俚语，我们的大脑都在利用语法规则将兴奋的神经元翻译成单词和短语。这究竟是如何发生的，对语言学家来说仍然是一个热门的争论：这些规则是基于硬连线的神经通路，还是从小就学会的？

好吧，不管大脑是怎么工作的，我们希望你今天能带上你的。我们的测验涵盖了学校里那些美妙的、挑剔的语法规则，你肯定记得很清楚。把你的铅笔削尖！

中爪哇省的婆罗浮屠，印度尼西亚 Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia (© Oleh Slobodeniuk/Getty Images)

A giant relic in Java

This photo shows the quiet, mist-shrouded wilderness surrounding the Buddhist temple known as Borobudur. The site is among the most-visited attractions on the island of Java, with devout practitioners making pilgrimages to the holy site and curious tourists coming to see the grandeur of the structure. With 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 sculpted relief panels, Borobudur was likely constructed in the 9th century and abandoned in the 14th as much of the Indonesian population converted from Buddhism and Hinduism to Islam.

Over time it became engulfed by the jungle, and only locals knew of its existence. In the early 1800s, the occupying British administration learned of the temple and sent a Dutch engineer and 200 workers to cut down trees, burn vegetation, and dig away the earth to reveal the monument. Borobudur was eventually restored and given preservation status under UNESCO guidelines.

Life in the nearby town of Muntilan and other Indonesian locales will be even more active than usual on August 17, as that date is Indonesia's Independence Day. The nation of islands at the crossroads of the Indian and Pacific oceans declared independence in 1945 and made the date a national holiday eight years later. The people of Indonesia were freeing themselves from three centuries of Dutch rule.

以阿贡火山为背景Sidemen山谷中的稻田，印度尼西亚巴厘岛 Rice fields in the Sidemen Valley, with Mount Agung in the background, Bali, Indonesia (© Jon Arnold/Danita Delimont)

Green fields of grain

We're looking down on the lush fields of the Sidemen Valley, sitting in the shadow of Bali's tallest mountain, Mount Agung. In May, this Indonesian province marks the end of the harvest season of a key staple—rice. Towns and villages are decorated with colorful flags, and farmers erect shrines to Dewi Sri, the rice goddess. Small, handmade straw dolls depicting the goddess are left here and there in further tribute. Before 'social distancing' entered the global vocabulary, people came together to share traditional food and indulge in fun and games, like water buffalo races through the streets. This year, to be sure, the celebrations will be more subdued, more private, though the gratitude for a bountiful harvest, we suspect, just as deeply felt.

Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia (© gorgeoussab/Shutterstock)

A lush, green escape

With the tourist season winding down and rainy season still forthcoming, September is an ideal time to visit Bali. If you’re lucky enough to go, plan a daytrip to the Tegallalang farming terraces in Ubud, where visitors can capture gorgeous photos of the landscape and get a unique glimpse into Balinese culture. The island of Bali has a rich tradition of agriculture, with an especially unique method of water management for rice farming. The irrigation system here, known as Subak, is recognized by UNESCO for its cultural significance. Water flows through temples and into the rice paddies, carved into the hillsides like steps. It's a tradition that dates back thousands of years, based on the Balinese philosophical principle of Tri Hita Karana, which refers to a relationship between humans, the earth, and the gods.

Remembering Krakatoa

Over two days in late August 1883, Krakatoa—an uninhabited island near Indonesia—experienced one of the most destructive volcanic explosions of modern times. Ten times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the explosion obliterated all but a third of the island. The blast could be heard 3,000 miles away—it's still the loudest sound ever recorded—and triggered massive tsunamis. More than 36,000 people lost their lives, and the explosions impacted the entire world: Global temperatures dropped and skies darkened for years, causing huge crop failures. Sunsets turned a vivid red and the moon was often blue or green for years after the event due to the volcanic debris circling in the atmosphere.

The volcano we're featuring today emerged from the ruins of the giant that exploded on this day in August 1883. Anak Krakatoa, or ‘child of Krakatoa,' began to rise in 1927. Though it has yet to be as destructive as its predecessor, the juvenile volcano is highly active, and a collapse of the lava dome in December 2018 caused a massive tsunami, a reminder of just how dangerous this part of the world remains.

the Pura Meduwe Karang神庙中雕刻艺术家W.O.J.Nieuwenkamp的作品，印度尼西亚巴厘岛 A carving of artist W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp in the Pura Meduwe Karang temple in Bali, Indonesia (© John Elk III/Getty Images)

Work out on your way to work

The third Friday in May is National Bike to Work Day, which encourages commuters to try biking as a healthy and safe alternative to driving. The carving we're looking at is in Bali, Indonesia. It depicts W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, a Dutch landscape and portrait artist who rode his bike around Bali in the early 1900s, painting as he went—essentially biking to work each day. Nieuwenkamp was the first European artist to visit Bali and was influential in introducing Balinese art to Europe. The carving is part of the Pura Meduwe Karang, one of the largest temples in Bali. The temple served as an entrance to the island in the early 20th century and contains several symbols of international influence to reflect that.

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