【趣谈英语】瑞士的旗帜-Switzerland Has A Square Flag（在线收听）

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• Vatican City: the state in Rome where the Pope resides
• sovereign state: a region where people and their government live inside a border
• ensign: a flag or banner
• humanitarian: related to the assistance of humans in need
• generic: related to a general group or idea rather than a specific brand or organization
• erroneously: in error; incorrectly

Switzerland Has A Square Flag

Other than Vatican City, Switzerland is the only sovereign state that has a square flag. The flag features a red background and a white cross. The Swiss flag was adopted in 1889, and is one of the oldest flags in the world. It was first used as a military ensign in the 1300s. The humanitarian movement known as The Red Cross uses the inverted colour scheme for its flag as a tribute to its founder Henri Dunant who was Swiss. The Red Cross emblem is often used in a generic way to identify medical equipment, personnel, and facilities. You will often see it on First Aid kits or on hospital signs. These medical emblems often erroneously feature the Swiss colours instead of the Red Cross colours. For example, it is not uncommon to see an emergency service worker wearing a uniform with a Swiss flag on it.