《现代大学英语精读》课程教学课件（PPT讲稿）第二版第一册 第1-6单元课外补充资料 unit 3

Unit three Message of the Land 1.Introduction to the author Pira Sudham(Pira Canning Sudham)is an author of Thai descent.He was bomn in a village in Isan in northeastem Thailand.At age fourteen,he left Isan for Bangkok to become a servant to Buddhist monks in a monastery where he attended secondary school.Later,he entered Triam Udom High School,before gaining a place at Faculty of Arts,Chulalongkomn University.He won a New Zealand government scholarship to read English Literature at Auckland University and then Victoria University of Wellington,where his first story was published by New Zealand's leading literary quarterly Landfall.Since then,Pira Sudham has been writing short stories,poems,and novels in English.Pira Sudham was nominated for the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature. He has not produced any literary works in the Thai language 2.The geographical and social background The Kingdom of Thailand Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos,to the east by Laos and Cambodia,to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia,and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southem extremity of Burma Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The country is a kingdom,a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. the ninth king of the House of Chakri,who has reigned since 1946,making him the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.[6]The king is officially titled Head of State,the Head of the Armed Forces. an Upholder of the Buddhist religion,and the Defender of all Faiths. The largest city in Thailand is Bangkok,the capital,which is also the country's center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities

Unit three Message of the Land 1. Introduction to the author Pira Sudham (Pira Canning Sudham) is an author of Thai descent. He was born in a village in Isan in northeastern Thailand. At age fourteen, he left Isan for Bangkok to become a servant to Buddhist monks in a monastery where he attended secondary school. Later, he entered Triam Udom High School, before gaining a place at Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. He won a New Zealand government scholarship to read English Literature at Auckland University and then Victoria University of Wellington, where his first story was published by New Zealand's leading literary quarterly Landfall. Since then, Pira Sudham has been writing short stories, poems, and novels in English. Pira Sudham was nominated for the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature. He has not produced any literary works in the Thai language. 2. The geographical and social background The Kingdom of Thailand Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The country is a kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who has reigned since 1946, making him the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.[6] The king is officially titled Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths. The largest city in Thailand is Bangkok, the capital, which is also the country's center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities

Thailand is the world's 50th largest country in terms of total area(slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain),with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi),and the 21st most-populous country,with approximately 64 million people.About 75%of the population is ethnically Thai,14% is of Chinese origin,and 3%is ethnically Malay;the rest belong to minority groups including Mons,Khmers and various hill tribes.There are approximately 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand.Thailand has also attracted a number of expatriates from developed countries.The country's official language is Thai.It is primarily Buddhist,which is practiced by around 95%of all Thais Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1995 and is a newly industrialized country with tourism,due to well-known tourist destinations such as Pattaya,Bangkok,Phuket,Chiang Mai and Ko Samui,and exports contributing significantly to the economy

Thailand is the world's 50th largest country in terms of total area (slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain), with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the 21st most-populous country, with approximately 64 million people. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay; the rest belong to minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes. There are approximately 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand. Thailand has also attracted a number of expatriates from developed countries. The country's official language is Thai. It is primarily Buddhist, which is practiced by around 95% of all Thais. Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1995 and is a newly industrialized country with tourism, due to well-known tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui, and exports contributing significantly to the economy