[00:00.90]Lesson 8
[00:02.10]A famous monastery
[00:08.94]What are the St.Bernard dogs used for?
[00:14.92]The Great St.Bernard Pass connects Switzerland to Italy.
[00:20.40]At 2,473 metres,
[00:24.46] it is the highest mountain pass in Europe.
[00:28.03]The famous monastery of St.Bernard,
[00:31.15]which was founded in the eleventh century,
[00:34.17] lies about a mile away.
[00:36.85]For hundreds of years, 
[00:38.51]St.Bernard dogs have saved the lives of travellers crossing the dangerous Pass.
[00:44.55]These friendly dogs,
[00:46.08] which were first brought from Asia,
[00:48.69]were used as watchdogs even in Roman times.
[00:53.25]Now that a tunnel has been built through the mountains,
[00:56.48] the Pass is less dangerous,
[00:58.86]but each year,
[01:00.39] the dogs are still sent out into the snow whenever a traveller is in difficulty.
[01:06.26]Despite the new tunnel,
[01:07.80]there are still a few people who rashly attempt to cross the Pass on foot.
[01:14.61]During the summer months, the monastery is very busy,
[01:18.16]for it is visited by thousands of people who cross the Pass in cars.
[01:23.94]As there are so many people about,
[01:26.12] the dogs have to be kept in a special enclosure.
[01:30.21]In winter, however,
[01:31.71] life at the monastery is quite different.
[01:35.64]The temperature drops to -30 degrees,
[01:38.65]and very few people attempt to cross the Pass.
[01:42.15]The monks prefer winter to summer for they have more privacy.
[01:47.13]The dogs have greater freedom, too,
[01:49.81]for they are allowed to wander outside their enclosure.
[01:53.82]The only regular visitors to the monastery in winter are parties of skiers who go there at Christmas and Easter.
[02:02.22]These young people,who love the peace of the mountains,
[02:06.02]always receive a warm welcome at St.Bernard's monastery.