沙漠中的冰雪宫殿

    President Niyazov of Turkmenistan has ordered the construction of a palace made of ice in the heart of his desert country, one of the hottest on earth.
    It is the latest in a series of colossal¹ building projects instigated² by the all-powerful president that seem to defy the country's environment.
    "Let us build a palace of ice," said President Niyazov, "big and grand enough for 1,000 people."The palace will stand in the mountains just outside the capital, Ashgabat.
    President Niyazov made the announcement in a speech broadcast on Turkmen television, which in effect made it a presidential order.
    The idea is to build the palace in the Copa Deg Mountains outside Ashgabat, now baking in the summer heat, with a long cable-car running up from the city.
    "Our children can learn to ski," Mr Niyazov enthused, "we can build cafes there, and restaurants."President Niyazov's extravagant³ buildings are a hallmark of his idiosyncratic regime.
    He is currently building one of the biggest mosques⁴ in the world, and has a chain of conventional palaces.
    But the latest have a special quality - of challenging Turkmenistan's desert environment.
    As well as the ice palace, there is to be a vast aquarium⁵. The projects tend now to be sites of recreation for the people, like a Disney-style theme park instead of state palaces.
    That is in keeping with Mr Niyazov's image as a servant of his people, who lays on every sort of amenity⁶ for them.
    Ice palaces were popular in the Soviet⁷ Union, to which Turkmenistan once belonged, but they were built in the freezing cities of the north, far away.
    The Turkmen mountains are relatively⁸ high, but it is hard to imagine the palace remaining frozen without some sort of technical help.
    土库曼斯坦位于沙漠地区，是世界上最炎热的地方之一，而土库曼斯坦总统尼亚佐夫最近却下令在该国中心地区修建一座冰雪宫殿。
    尼亚佐夫，这位拥有至高权力的总统似乎在挑战本国的自然环境，他提议建设一系列大型建筑项目，其中包括最近提出的修建“冰宫”的计划。
    总统尼亚佐夫说：“让我们建造一座能够容纳1000人的巨大而庄严的冰雪宫殿吧。”
    宫殿将会建在首都阿什哈巴德城外的山上。
    总统尼亚佐夫在土库曼斯坦的电视讲话中宣布了这条消息，实际上这就是总统御令。
    这座宫殿将被修建在阿斯噶巴特城外的库帕岱格山上，在夏日的骄阳下，库帕岱格山现在正是一片火热，长长的缆车从城市通往山顶。
    尼亚佐夫兴奋地说：“我们的儿童可以学滑冰。还可以在那儿建咖啡馆和饭店。”
    总统尼亚佐夫修建的奢华建筑反映了他特殊的政治权力。
    目前，他正在建造一座清真寺，其规模之大，位居世界前列，他还下令建造了一系列传统宫殿。
    但是，最近要修建的这座宫殿有些特殊，它向土库曼斯坦的沙漠气候发出了挑战。
    除了冰雪宫殿外，还要建一座巨大的水族馆。这些项目像迪斯尼的主题公园一样，将成为人们消遣娱乐的场所，而不是国家宫殿。
    这正符合尼亚佐夫人民公仆的形象。他一直致力于为人民提供各种生活福利。
    冰雪宫殿在前苏联非常流行（土库曼斯坦曾属于前苏联），可它们大都建在地冻天寒的遥远的北方城市。
    土库曼山的海拔相对来说比较高，但是如果没有一定的技术支持，很难想象宫殿能够一直保持冰冻的状态。

1 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

2 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

4 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

5 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

6 amenity   

n.pl.生活福利设施，文娱康乐场所；（不可数）愉快，适意

参考例句：

• The amenity of his manners won him many friends.他和悦的态度替他赢得很多朋友。
• Teachers' good amenity and culture have important educational value.教师良好的礼仪修养具有重要的教育价值。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。