英闻天下——8 Lapland Tourism Heats up in Christmas Period

 　　Rovaniemi is certainly an out of the way area. It's hundreds of kilometers from most of Scandinavia's well known cities. But despite this, tourism is booming in the far north, despite austerity and financial crises elsewhere in Europe.

 

　　Over half a million people come to the city, the capital of Lapland, every year, with over half of that number of tourists from outside Finland. The city has perfectly¹ played up its isolation² by marketing³ itself as a family and ecologic destination, a spot offering an exotic experience at Europe's front door.

 

　　Russians make up 16 percent of all foreign visitors. But, as Katja Ikaheimo-Lankinen, the director of Santa Park, explains that countries under austerity are turning up in big numbers too:

 

　　"Within the UK, we were actually expecting there to be less, but there has actually been an increase within the UK market. Russia's market it is big. We expected the Spanish market to go, but perhaps they come for that special feeling and that special magic of Christmas."

 

　　Just 40 kilometers from Rovaniemi, tourists can visit the most northern zoo in the world at the Ranua Wildlife Park.

 

　　Polar bears, wolves and reindeer⁴ can be seen up close. A trek⁵ through the park to see the animals at subzero temperatures seems to be a real treat for Southern Europeans.

 

　　Marguriet Bouron, an exchange student from France, is dazzled by this alien environment:

 

　　"It's amazing! First of all, in France it is impossible to have that sort of cold. So much snow everywhere, it is really amazing. All the lakes have ice; you can step on it, the skiing, the snowmobile, safari⁶, it is making Christmas a fairytale."

 

　　The Arctic Snow Hotel in Sinett, Finland, about an hour drive from Rovaniemi, has saunas where one can go in completely dressed, rather than naked or wrapped in a towel.

 

　　The sauna is made up entirely⁷ of ice and snow. The hotel owner Ville Havekko claims it is the only snow sauna in Finland:

 

　　"I just wanted to make something very unique. To put cold and hot together, the combination, it is amazing."

 

　　Most tourists to this exotic venue⁸ will want to take a memento⁹ home with them to remember the trip. But much of what is on hand is just trinkets.

 

　　At Taigkoru Jewellers in Rovaniemi, Juha Janger makes rings, amulets¹⁰, broaches¹¹ and earrings¹² with locally sourced gold and silver.

 

　　His designs reflect the use of animal pictograms found in Lappish ancient shamanistic beliefs.

 

　　"Stories, story is most important thing. All the things we are doing, they are pictures from the stories. All the shaman drum stories, all the traditional Lappish models, they all have very excellent and ancient stories."

 

　　Local restaurants also offer a variety of regional delicacies¹³.

 

　　In downtown Rovaniemi, a popular restaurant, Nili, offers a menu entirely made of Lappish traditional foods like reindeer, salmon¹⁴, traditional cheeses and berries. The restaurant has a full service every night of the year, high season and low, from five o'clock in the evening to 11 at night.

 

　　Business has been kind to this faraway place, and Finland hopes tourists will continue to flock there, if for no other reason than to say that they, like earlier adventurers, have been to the Arctic Circle and beyond.

 

　　For CRI, I am Li Dong.

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

5 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

6 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

9 memento   

n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西

参考例句：

• The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
• My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

10 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

11 broaches   

v.谈起( broach的第三人称单数 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体

参考例句：

• During the conversation, Rose broaches the topic of Buffett raising his offer. 在会谈中，罗斯向巴菲特谈到了提高报价的话题。 来自互联网
• Cutting Mat, Cutters Cutting Ruler, Blades, Trimmers, office Products, Craft Products Cutting Tools, Broaches and Cutters. 采购产品切割垫，刀具，刀片，办公产品，工艺产品。 来自互联网

12 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

14 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？