═【立報】════════════════════════════
教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導
═══════════════════════《2003/02/14》═════
*****【本 期 內 容】
**********************************************
教育專題 ◎ 國際新聞導讀
********************************************************************
◎ 國際新聞導讀
編按：因應國際化潮流，學習英語成為不可避免的趨勢。為了激發讀者學習英語的興趣，本報特別製作從了解國際時勢中學習英文的專題，專題包括時勢新聞、遊戲和延伸閱讀等項目。希望讀者可以快樂的學習英語，並且收穫滿行囊。
冰島的耶誕老人卻被警察逮捕了！
文■盧永山
資料來源■Indymedia
一、主文摘要：
當全世界的小朋友都在期待耶誕老人的出現時，冰島的耶誕老人卻被警察逮捕了！冰島慈善團體「和平2000」（Peace 2000）創辦人、並以扮成耶誕老人將禮物以飛機運送至為戰火摧殘地區而聞名於世的索爾．梅努森（Thor Magnusson），2002年11月22日遭冰島警方逮捕，理由是涉嫌發布不實言論，危及國家安全，檢方並具體求刑有期徒刑3年。
就在以美國為首的西方國家準備發動對伊拉克的戰爭之際，北大西洋公約組織也在美國的壓力下，不得不採取相對的行動。北約19個會員國去年秋天通過一項協議，為了強化它的武器運載能力，冰島航空和亞特蘭大航空將準備運載武器和軍隊。這使本身毫無軍備、二次大戰後維持中立立場的冰島陷入戰爭的危機中，而且冰島的客機將曝露在恐怖攻擊的陰影裡，冰島或歐洲民眾的安全受到威脅。
對此，索爾．梅努森以電子郵件向冰島及歐洲民眾發出警告，這卻使他可能面臨牢獄之災。不過在索爾．梅努森被捕後，抗議冰島政府參與攻擊伊拉克行動及逮捕索爾．梅努森的聲浪日益升高，迫使冰島政府不得不截收「和平2000」組織的電子郵件達數日之久。然而，聲援索爾．梅努森的行動仍未停止，讀者可以將抗議信件寄至下列網址：althingi@peace.is
主文原文：
Thor Magnusson, founder of the Peace 2000 charity and who is known to
the Icelandic people as Santa Claus for his Santa Peace flights to war torn
countries, is being summoned for an a Reykjavik District Court Judge today to
hear a Charge filed by the State Police demanding a three year jail sentence
over the peace activist and former Icelandic presidential candidate.
The Peace 2000 leader was arrested 22 November for an e-mail warning
that Icelandic passenger planes are being exposed as targets and to terrorist
activity following an agreement by the government with NATO to strengthen its
military capability by placing Icelandair and Air Atlanta passenger aircraft on
standby to transport weapons and troops, even as early war is waged on Iraq.
The arrest and the shift of policy from a nation of peace without its own
military, to a position of wanting to participate in military aggression has
been protested by thousands of scholars, peace activists and organizations from
around the world resulting in Icelandic government offices blocking email
deliveries and Peace 2000 Internet access being shut off for several days.
Peace 2000 organized the first western flight through the no-fly zone
to Baghdad flying Santa with almost 100,000 Christmas gifts, food and medical
supplies to Iraq in Christmas 1997, under a special authorization of the UN Security
Council. The flight gained wide
media attention and helped ignite demonstrations against a new Gulf war all
over the world. International support of the US call to allied bombing broke
down. Magnusson was honored with
the Holy Gold Cross by the Greek Orthodox Church at the nomination of UNESCO in
Greece for his part in this, but in Iceland Peace 2000 faced the cold shoulder
and persecution of authorities that arrested Santa's next flight and cargo from
the runway seconds before aircraft lift off for a second mission to Baghdad.
重要單字
Candidate 候選人
He is a candidate for president.
二、冰島的簡介（摘錄自冰島觀光局）
Something about Iceland……（Quoted from Iceland Tourism Board）
Land
Iceland is an island of almost 40,000 square miles, equal to that of Ohio.
Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur, is 6,500 ft. Iceland has the largest
glaciers in Europe - in fact, 11% of the country is covered by glaciers. The
coastline is dotted with more than one hundred fjords - and green, fertile
valleys extend from them. Iceland also has more than 10,000 waterfalls and
countless hot springs.
Language
The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings (Old Norse).
When new words are needed, they simply coin words that are combinations or
modifications of old words. Iceland is alone in upholding another Norse
tradition: the custom of using patronyms rather than surnames. If, for example,
Einar has a son named "Petur", the son's name is Petur Einarsson
(Peter Einar's Son). If Einar has a daughter whom he names "Margret",
she becomes Margret Einarsdottir (Margaret Einar's Daughter). Members of the
same family can therefore have different "last names", which often
causes confusion to foreigners. If you are looking for someone in the phone
directory, you look them up by their first name.
People
Of a population numbering just over 280,000, more than half lives in
the Greater Reykjavik Area. The native language is Icelandic but most
Icelanders speak fluent English.
History
The first permanent settler of Iceland was Ingolfur Arnarson, a
Norwegian Viking who in 874 AD made his home where Reykjavik now stands. In 930
AD, the Viking settlers of Iceland founded one of the world's first republican
governments. They established a constitution based on individual freedom, land
ownership, and sophisticated inheritance laws. In the year 1000, Icelandic-born
Leifur Eiriksson (Leif Eriksson, sometimes called "Leif the Lucky")
became the first European to set foot in North America. On another Viking
expedition a couple of years later, Icelander Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir had a
son, Snorri, who became the first child of European descent to be born in
America. The Old Commonwealth Age, described in the classic Icelandic Sagas,
lasted until 1262, when Iceland lost its independence. In 1918 it regained
independence and in 1944 the present republic was founded. The country is
governed by the Althing (Parliament), whose 63 members are elected every four
years. Elections every four years are also held for the presidency; President
Olafur Ragnar Grimsson was elected in June 2000 for the second time.
Economy
The economy is heavily dependent upon fisheries, which are the nation's
greatest resource. 72% of all exports are made up of seafood products. Yet only
a small proportion of the workforce is active in this sector (4.4% in fishing
and 5.6% in fish processing). About 66% of the workforce is employed in
services. Icelanders enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.
Health
Life expectancy, at 80 years for women and 74 for men, is one of the
highest in the world, and a comprehensive state health-care system aims to keep
it that way.
Church
The National Church of Iceland, to which 97 percent of the population
belongs, is Evangelical Lutheran. In addition to the many Lutheran churches in
Reykjavik, there is a Roman Catholic Cathedral at Landakot, with regular Sunday
Mass.
另有相關填圖遊戲，請見台灣立報8、9版。