BBC随身英语｜什么样的城市能成为首都？

What makes a city a capital?

Think of the UK and you'll probably think of London. Picture France and you'll no doubt conjure up images of Paris and its iconic Eiffel Tower. To many, capital cities define a country. They're often the seat of power, the economic and political hub and sometimes the home to royalty - along with millions of city dwellers. For a place with so much influence, it's important to get its location right.

Sometimes we have to look into history to find the reasons why a capital city ended up where it did. The site of what is now London was by the river: easy to settle, easy for trading and easy to defend. However, it's not located in the country's centre and there's often criticism from far-flung corners of the nation that they are forgotten by the decision makers in the capital.

Other countries have taken a different approach by establishing their capitals in the geographical centre so they can exert control and project unity, like Madrid in Spain for example.

Occasionally, there have been reasons to relocate a capital. St Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great in 1703, was Russia's capital from 1712-1918, before the government changed it to Moscow. This was partly because Moscow was more central, and the government decided it was less likely to be invaded by another country.  

And now in Indonesia, there are plans to move its capital, Jakarta. Its new location is yet to be decided, but the reason for the move is that this megacity is sinking at one of the fastest rates in the world. It's been built on very swampy land and isn't helped by lots of groundwater being extracted to use for drinking water and washing. The city is overcrowded too and roads are often gridlocked.

Of course, if you can't move your capital city, why not construct a brand new one? Brazil moved its capital from coastal, crowded Rio de Janeiro to inland Brasilia in 1961 - the idea being to build a brand new capital "to bring progress to the interior of Brazil", as architect Oscar Niemeyer described it.

And more recently, Nay Pyi Taw was built in 2005 as Myanmar's new capital. This remote city is four times the size of London and has huge roads, golf courses and a zoo – but few people.

词汇表
conjure up [ˈkʌndʒə] 使浮现于脑海，使想起
iconic [aɪˈkɒnɪk] adj. 标志性的，象征性的
seat of power 权力中心，统治中心，政府所在地
hub [hʌb] n. 中心，枢纽
royalty [ˈrɔɪəlti] n. 王室，皇族
dweller [ˈdwelə(r)] n. 居民，居住者
far-flung corners [ˌfɑːˈflʌŋ] 边远地区，偏远角落
geographical centre [ˌdʒiːəˈɡræfɪkl] 地理中心
exert control [ɪɡˈzɜːt] 施加控制，实施管控
project unity [prəˈdʒekt ˈjuːnəti] 展现团结，彰显统一
relocate [ˌriːləʊˈkeɪt] vt. 迁移，搬迁，重新安置
invade [ɪnˈveɪd] vt. 入侵，侵略
megacity [ˈmeɡəsɪti] n. （人口超1000万的）特大城市，巨型都市
swampy [ˈswɒmpi] adj. （土地）湿软的，沼泽的
groundwater [ˈɡraʊndwɔːtə(r)] n. 地下水
extract [ɪkˈstrækt] vt. 提取，抽取
gridlocked [ˈɡrɪdlɒkt] adj. 交通堵塞的，拥堵不堪的
construct [kənˈstrʌkt] vt. 建造，修建
coastal [ˈkəʊstl] adj. 沿海的，海岸的
inland [ˈɪnlænd] adj. 内陆的，内地的
interior [ɪnˈtɪəriə(r)] n. 内陆，内地
golf course [ɡɒlf] 高尔夫球场

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