旅游英语：旅游者还是旅行者

 趁假期出门远游真是个放松身心，又可以开拓视野的好方法。但你仔细思考过tourist和traveller的区别吗？自己又是哪一类呢？ 

Are you a tourist, or a traveller? 

And more importantly: who cares? It's such a stupid question. 

There are people out there who truly believe they're doing their travel in a way that's fundamentally "better" than everyone else, but they're kidding themselves. Really, we're all just out there taking time off from our jobs to spend some of our money – we're all essentially¹ the same. 

It's cool to think you're a "traveller" though. There was even a credit card company running a campaign recently with the slogan "Are you a tourist or a traveller?" Because apparently² using a certain brand of credit card would be the deciding factor. 

And you know when the banks are trying to cash in that this whole tourist/traveller thing has jumped the shark（开始走下坡路，失去吸引力）. 

The only difference I can see between tourists and travellers is a fair whack³ of pretension⁴. 

If you take yourself seriously enough to boast of being a "traveller", then there are probably a few other labels for you that are equally appropriate. 

"Travellers" are out there though. For those on the lookout⁵, the common, garden-variety traveller has a few dead giveaways. 

You won't find a traveller at the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum. Travellers would avoid the obvious destinations and instead plump for somewhere that's rarely visited, and preferably requires a cool-looking visa. That destination might turn out to be rubbish – not that a traveller would admit it – but that's besides the point. 

The fact is they went there, and the tourists didn't. 

There's a fair amount of looking down of noses, too, mostly at that perceived bunch of "tourists" – you know, the ones who would happily spend their entire week-long summer break getting their hair braided in Kuta and not give a damn what anyone thought of them. 

And in that respect, I'm with the tourists. Who cares how you do your travel? It's your money, your time – spend it how you want. 

Some people seem to look at travel as a sort of competition, a global amassing⁶ of points to hold over others who haven't had the same experiences. There's real animosity from those who don't think other people are doing their travel "right". 

I find the whole thing bizarre. Travel is a purely⁷ individual pursuit – there is no right or wrong. 

Being a writer, however, I do feel an irresistible⁸ urge to group people into neat little categories for the sake of brevity, so I've been having a think about those of us that travel. If you really had to group people by their travel habits, I'd say there are probably two different categories out there: explorers, and relaxers. 

One's not better than the other. And the two aren't mutually exclusive. Not even on the same holiday. Some people, granted, will always be explorers. Others are destined⁹ to always be relaxers. Some, however, will flick¹⁰ between the two within a week. 

So here's how it goes. Relaxers travel to do just that: relax. They don't want the hassle of screaming touts¹¹ and constant haggling¹² and buses that don't turn up, people who can't understand them, and food they can't eat. 

They work hard at home – on holidays, they want to chill. So they go to beach resorts and drink cocktails¹³ out of coconuts¹⁴. They book into the same hotel for a week. They go on organised tours and allow someone else to do all the hard slog. They go somewhere clean and easy where bedbugs don't bite, food doesn't poison, crowds don't push, people don't beg, and everything works the way it's supposed to, when it's supposed to. 

They can just relax. 

Explorers will sacrifice some of that relaxation¹⁵ for the opportunity to find something they haven't seen before. They'll put up with dirty rooms booked at the last minute, weird¹⁶ food that no one can explain, and all the struggles that come with a language barrier. 

In return they'll get a sometimes amazing, sometimes frightening, but always interesting experience that they'll need a few weeks at work just to recover from. 

Everyone will have their preference. Me, I'm mostly an explorer kind of guy. I can handle the odd day's relaxation, but I get bored easily – I need entertainment. 

I don't consider that that is a fundamentally "better" way to travel than going and lying on a beach, though. It's just different. My personal preference. 

Travellers, however, might disagree. 

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

4 pretension   

n.要求；自命，自称；自负

参考例句：

• I make no pretension to skill as an artist,but I enjoy painting.我并不自命有画家的技巧，但我喜欢绘画。
• His action is a satire on his boastful pretension.他的行动是对他自我卖弄的一个讽刺。

5 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

6 amassing   

v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of taxonomy must necessarily involve the amassing of an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. 分类学研究一定要积累广博的植物知识。 来自辞典例句
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

9 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

10 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

11 touts   

n.招徕( tout的名词复数 )；（音乐会、体育比赛等的）卖高价票的人；侦查者；探听赛马的情报v.兜售( tout的第三人称单数 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• Many vouchers are returned for cash, allowing touts and middle men to make a healthy margin. 许多月饼券都被兑换成现金，这让券贩子和中间商赚取了不蜚的利润。 来自互联网
• Spotting prey, the customary crowd of hustlers and touts swarmed around, jostling for my business. 照例有大群的拉客黄牛在寻觅猎物，他们争相过来抢我的生意。 来自互联网

12 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句

13 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

14 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

15 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

16 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。