VOA文化艺术2023 Vermont Town Closes Roads Due to Autumn ‘Leaf-peepers’

Vermont Town Closes Roads Due to Autumn ‘Leaf-peepers’

"Leaf-peepers" are tourists who visit the countryside in the northeastern United States each autumn. "Peeper" means looker, someone who looks.

The leaf-peepers travel to see the seasonal¹ changes to the trees. Their leaves turn color from green to deep red, bright yellow and rich orange before finally falling to the ground.

Many leaf-peepers head to Vermont. They like to take photos of the trees, the hills, old farm buildings and houses in the state.

They often stop their vehicles on the side of the road to take pictures. The visitors are good for the local economy because they spend money on hotels, restaurants and other business.

But, the flood of tourists can also cause problems in small, usually quiet country towns. They create too much vehicle traffic, pollution and other trouble.

One small town has taken surprising action to deal with the leaf-peepers. Pomfret, Vermont has closed roads to non-residents² through the middle of October. Pomfret officials said the restrictions³ were carried out in reaction to what they called "poorly behaved tourists."

Visitors often seek out Sleepy Hollow⁴ Farm in Promfret. They like to take pictures there. Police now are guarding the road from all but locals.

The colorful hillside behind the farm is famous from the many images of it posted to social media services such as Facebook and Instagram.

People who live in central Vermont say they understand how the land's beauty appeals to visitors. But they say the traffic slowdowns, blocked roads and bad behavior by visitors is a major problem.

Nancy Bassett lives in the area. "It's just a shame," she said about the bad behavior, which includes some people trying to move beyond barriers to get better views. "It spoils⁵ it for a lot of people," Bassett added.

Vermont is not the only pretty place that some argue has been ruined by social media. People have crowded into small streets in Paris and wilderness⁶ areas in California just to take a photo like the ones they see on Instagram.

In the small city of Lake Elsinore, California, people stopped to take photos of a "superbloom" of wildflowers caused by a rainy winter in 2019. Locals said the visitors "trampled⁷" the very flowers they came to photograph.

In some places, such as the famous Zion National Park in the western state of Utah, visitors need a permit to enter some areas.

The news of the Vermont closures prompted⁸ many to write about it on social media. One person asked: "Why in the world would you want to visit somewhere with a crowd of people? There are beautiful spots ... you can have all to yourself."

One road, Cloudland Road, is now closed to visitors. There are "no-parking" and "no-photo" signs along the way.

Residents say there are areas visitors can go that have parking and places to eat.

Linda Arbuckle works⁹ at a store nearby. She said "people love the leaves ... and it brings people here and we don't want that to stop. Unfortunately," she added, "some people have taken it to the next step." Arbuckle said there have been homeowners who have come home to see tourists eating a meal on their front porch¹⁰.

Words in This Story

tourist–n. an out-of-town visitor who comes to a place for pleasure

shame–adj. something sad or disappointing

spoil–v. to turn something good into something bad, such as fresh food getting too old to eat

trample–v. to run something over with your feet, to act without care

photograph–v. to record an image using a camera on film or with a digital device¹¹ such as a mobile¹² phone

 

porch–n. a part of a home, often in the front close to the entry that provides a platform for items such as a chair or table and cover from rain, sun or snow

1 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

2 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 hollow   

adj.空的，中空的，空心的；空洞的，无价值的

参考例句：

• The boys scraped out a hollow place for planting trees.那些孩子挖了个坑准备栽树。
• Bamboo is a sort of hollow plant.竹子是一种中空的植物。

5 spoils   

n.战利品，赃物v.变质( spoil的第三人称单数 )；损坏；毁掉；破坏

参考例句：

• There are some spoils of war in his hands. 在他的手里有些战利品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The thief escaped with his spoils. 这个小偷带着赃物逃走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

8 prompted   

v.为（演员）提示台词( prompt的过去式和过去分词 )；促使；为（发言者）提示；导致

参考例句：

• His evasive reply prompted me to ask another question. 他的含糊其辞的答复促使我又提了一个问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sight of the ships prompted thoughts of his distant home. 看到船使他想起遥远的家乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

10 porch   

n.门廊，入口处，走廊，游廊

参考例句：

• There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
• The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。

11 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

12 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。