英语听力精选进阶版 6462

Sun, a sandy beach and a nice view. Is that what all tourists want? Not quite. Trips to sites of death, brutality¹ and terror are on the increase. About 350,000 people now visit Robben Island in South Africa every year. That's where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned² for 18 years. The prison was closed in 1996 and is now a so-called 'dark tourism' destination.

This trend has intrigued³ researchers at the University of Central Lancashire, which has even created an Institute for Dark Tourism Research. They examine why people feel compelled to visit places like Auschwitz in Poland or New York's Ground Zero. Is it just a case of morbid⁴ fascination⁵?

Director Philip Stone says his research suggests that visitors want to find some kind of meaning in these places of suffering. They try to empathise with victims and imagine the motivations of the perpetrators, he says. Then they have a sense of relief that they can step back into the safety of their own lives.

And what appeal could Chernobyl, the site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986, have? Stone says such grim places make people face their "own mortality". In a culture that usually removes death from the public domain⁶, these destinations are strongly associated with loss of life, he says.

And yet this kind of activity has a long history, according to Stone: "It's always been there. You could say that a medieval execution was an early form of dark tourism."

The researcher, who worked in the tourism industry before becoming an academic, also pointed⁷ out an example of dark tourism closer to home. In Pendle in Lancashire in the 17th Century 11 people were charged with murder by witchcraft⁸.

"Four hundred years ago they were innocent people who were killed. Now they're a tourist destination," says Stone.

What about you: would you visit the battlefields of World War I and II or the former prison of Robben Island?

Quiz 测验

1. Where was Nelson Mandela held for 18 years?

In a prison cell on Robben Island in South Africa.

2. What do visitors feel when they leave Auschwitz, according to Philip Stone?

He says they feel a sense of relief because they live in a safe place, unlike the victims of the concentration camp.

3. Why are people likely to go to Chernobyl to think about death?

Because our culture avoids the subject, according to Philip Stone.

4. What example does Philip Stone give to show dark tourism is not new?

People watching executions in the Middle Ages.

5. Which word is used to indicate someone who commits a crime?

Perpetrator.

Glossary 词汇表

brutality 暴行

to imprison 监禁

dark tourism 黑色旅游

intrigued 使某人好奇

compelled 觉得必须做（某事）

morbid fascination 病态的迷恋

suffering 受苦受难

to empathise 同情

the perpetrator 加害者，行凶者

sense of relief 如释重负的感觉

catastrophic 灾难性的

grim 可怕的，压抑的

mortality 死亡率

public domain 公共领域

execution 死刑

witchcraft 巫术

1 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

4 morbid   

adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的

参考例句：

• Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。

5 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

6 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。