VOA慢速英语--Is Iceland Too Popular for Its Own Good?

 

A large sign warns people that Iceland’s Fjadrárgljúfur canyon¹ is closed to visitors.

Yet many people keep driving down the narrow road to the canyon. A ranger² at a roadblock must explain to them why no one can pass: The area cannot support more visitors.

Drivers try to persuade ranger Hanna Jóhannsdóttir into opening the entrance to the canyon. Some offer her money if she agrees to help. They should know that such a bribe³ will not work.

“Food from people’s home country is the most common bribery,” said Jóhannsdóttir. She recently turned down a free trip to Dubai in exchange for letting trespassers past the roadblock.

Too many visitors, not enough infrastructure⁶

The problem is that the North Atlantic island nation may be too popular for its own good.

Last year, 2.3 million people visited Iceland, compared with just 600,000 eight years ago. The number of visitors is out of proportion to the infrastructure needed to protect its countryside.

Inga Palsdottir is the head of the national tourism agency Visit Iceland. She said a single film shot or video has often put overlooked places on the map.

The extreme example in Iceland, she said, is the wreckage⁸ of a United States Navy airplane. The plane crashed on a black sandy beach in 1973. The seven Americans on the Douglas DC-3 aircraft all survived but the plane wreck⁷ was never removed.

“Then someone decided⁹ to dance on it and now it’s one of the most popular places in the country,” said Palsdottir.

Fjadrárgljúfur canyon could be seen in the most recent season of the television program “Game of Thrones.” It also was part of a Justin Bieber music video.

The video has been watched over 440 million times on YouTube since 2015. The singer can be seen walking on plant life and bathing in the cold river underneath¹⁰ the canyon’s walls.

Environment Minister Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson said it is “a bit too simplistic to blame the entire situation on Justin Bieber.” However, he urged famous visitors to consider the effects of their actions.

“Rash behavior by one famous person can dramatically impact an entire area if the mass follows,” he told The Associated Press.

Gudbrandsson added, “In Justin Bieber’s defense¹¹, the canyon did not, at the time he visited, have rope fences and designated paths…”

Over 1 million people have visited the area since the Bieber video was released, the Environment Agency of Iceland estimates. The visitors left deep scars on the country’s vegetation. The canyon was closed for all but five weeks this year.

Tourists ignore signs

On a foggy morning, Hanna Jóhannsdóttir found footprints on the muddy path leading to the Fjadrárgljúfur canyon. The footprints suggested that someone had jumped the fence overnight.

She predicted that more people would trespass⁴ later that day when she left to give a presentation at a community center.

Less than 30 minutes after she left, people began ignoring the fences and signs.

“We came because of Justin Timberlake,” said Mikhail Samarin, a tourist from Russia traveling with two other people. They were quick to correct the artist’s last name to Bieber.

The three took turns posing for photographs, standing¹² at the edge of an Icelandic cliff.

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

ranger – n. the keeper of a forest or protected space

trespasser⁵ – n. someone who unlawfully enters someone else’s land

proportion – n. the correct relationship between the size, shape, and position of the different parts of something

beach – n. the land near a body of water

rash – adj. done or made quickly and without thought about what will happen as a result

vegetation – n. plant life

pose – v. to stand, sit, or lie down as a model for a painting or picture

1 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

2 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

3 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

4 trespass   

n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地

参考例句：

• The fishing boat was seized for its trespass into restricted waters.渔船因非法侵入受限制水域而被扣押。
• The court sentenced him to a fine for trespass.法庭以侵害罪对他判以罚款。

5 trespasser   

n.侵犯者；违反者

参考例句：

• The worst they'd ever dealt with was an occasionally trespasser or small-time thief. 他们过去对付的充其量是一个偶尔闯入者或是小偷小摸者。
• In such event the offending member or guest shall be trespasser. 在此情况下，违例的会员或嘉宾一概视作擅自进入论。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

8 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。