探索频道英语听力 寻找失去的佛陀-01

The Lost Buddhas of Afghanistan 阿富汗- 寻找失去的佛陀

Afghanistan, (which literally means Land of the Afghan) is a mountainous land-locked country located in Central Asia. It has a history and culture that goes back over 5000 years. Throughout its long, splendid, and sometimes chaotic history, this area of the world has been known by various names. Today, Afghanistan is on a road to recovery, however, after decades of war, the economy is still in ruins, and its environment is in a state of crises.
This is a place where few travelers dare to tread, a place that's been locked in bloody conflict for more than 20 years. But beyond the conflict is a land of extraordinary beauty, a place that was once the fountainhead of one of the world's oldest beliefs.

For me, this is a special journey to a valley hidden deep in this strictly Islamic land, as I seek the gigantic relics of a much more ancient faith, the lost Buddhas of Afghanistan.

This is a picture of Afghanistan you've probably never seen. It's an ancient realm of extraordinary culture, landscape and people.

My name is David Adams. I'm a photojournalist who specializes in "Traveling to the Ends of the Earth". And that's one of the reasons I'm here. Because hidden away in the remote Bamiyan Valley are one of the unknown wonders of the world. Some of the oldest images of the Buddha, gigantic statues which few westerners have ever seen.

This was the place I remembered, a country torn apart by war. Five years ago, I was here as a freelance war correspondent.

Now the front line is that way. And there's been militia firing wide at my position through the other side of the city.

But I knew that beyond the bombs and the bigotry was a hidden treasure, a place from where an ancient religion took its creed to the world. I swore that one day I'd seek out Bamiyan and its lost Buddhas.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in central Asia, sandwiched between Pakistan and Iran. From the capital Kabul, I head for Herat, and then up to Mazar-e Sharif, and then on to Bamiyan.

My journey starts, though, in Pakistan, at a point where most people get their first and only glimpse of Afghanistan. It's on the road well-trodden by armies, smugglers, and spies- the Khyber Pass.

tread: walk on or along

fountainhead: an original source

bigotry: intolerance of differing ideas and beliefs, prejudice