World Flags 世界上的國旗

張倩云

Why are there so many different world flags？ What are the most common symbols on flags？ What does the colours on the flags mean？

Well， first lets see why people started using flags.

In earlier centuries certain groups of people had decorated1 their cultural symbols to distinguish2 their group from another group. Later they used flags to show their presence or show the sovereignty3.

Flags are national symbols. Every country has got a specific flag as their national symbol.

世界上為什么有那么多不同的國旗？國旗上最常見的符號是什么？國旗的顏色是什么意思？

首先讓我們看看為什么人們開始使用國旗。

最初，一些人裝飾了他們的文化符號，將他們與別的群體區(qū)別開來。后來他們用旗幟來顯示他們的存在或顯示主權。

國旗是國家的象征。每個國家都有一個特定的旗幟作為國家的象征。

Universal Symbols in World Flags

Now which symbols are most used in flags？ All cultures use certain symbols which are meaningful to them， some of the symbols are even universal， that is they have the same meaning all over the world.

●Sun： The circle of the sun symbolizes4 unity and energy.

●Moon： The moon is usually displayed in crescent5 shape. In combination with a star， the moon represents divinity6.

●Stars： Stars often represent energy.

●Cross： In ancient times the cross only symbolized the different points of the compass7. In the 4th century however the cross was also taken as the symbol of faith8.

●Triangle： The triangle often also symbolizes strength and power.

●Square： The four even lengths of the square symbolize balance and equal opposites.

世界國旗中的常見符號

現(xiàn)在國旗中最常用的符號是什么？所有的文化都使用某些對他們有意義的符號，有些符號甚至是普遍存在的，也就是說它們在全世界都有相同的意義。

▲太陽：太陽的圓圈象征著團結和能量。

▲月亮：月亮通常以新月形出現(xiàn)。月亮和星星結合在一起，代表著神性。

▲星星：星星通常代表能量。

▲十字架：在古代，十字架只象征羅盤的不同指向。但到了四世紀，十字架也被視為信仰的象征。

▲三角形：三角形通常也象征著力量和權力。

▲正方形：正方形的四邊等長象征著平衡和相等的對立。

Symbols， Shapes and Colours of World Flags

World Flags show different sets of color and symbols， like the sun or moon， some cultural symbols， like the national bird or flower and sometimes even? some writing in it.

There are also many other symbols used in world flags. Canada uses a maple9 leave in its flag which shows that the country is caring for its nature and environment. The maple tree is Canadas national tree.

As you can see， red and white are dominant10 colors in most of the worlds flags.

Most flags contain primary colours， which are red， blue， green and some countries also use yellow or other colors. Gold is also used in many flags as the colour is associated with the sun and is considered as colour of kings as well.

Colours can have different meanings in different cultures.

世界上國旗的符號、形狀和顏色

世界上的國旗使用了不同的顏色和符號，如太陽或月亮，一些文化符號，如國鳥或國花，有時甚至使用了文字。

世界上的國旗中還使用了許多別的符號。加拿大的國旗上使用了楓葉，這表明這個國家關心其自然和環(huán)境。楓樹是加拿大的國樹。

正如你看到的，紅色和白色是世界上大多數(shù)國旗的主色調(diào)。

大多數(shù)國旗都使用了紅、藍、綠三原色，有些國家也使用了黃色或其他顏色。金色也被用在許多國旗上，因為它的顏色與太陽有關，也被認為是國王的顏色。

顏色在不同的文化中有不同的含義。

【Notes】

1. decorate [■] v. 裝飾 2. distinguish [■] v. 區(qū)分;辨別

3. sovereignty [■] n. 主權 4. symbolize [■] v. 象征;用符號表現(xiàn)

5. crescent [■] n. 新月;新月狀物? adj. 新月形的

6. divinity [■] n. 神;神性;神學 7. compass [■] n. 指南針，羅盤 8. faith [■] n. 信仰;信念 9. maple [■] n. 楓樹 10. dominant [■] adj. 占優(yōu)勢的;支配的