VOA标准英语2009年-Thailand Tourism Recovers From 2004 Ts

Tourists have returned to Thailand's beaches but, the resort island faces political strife¹ and the global financial crisis.

Daniel Schearf | Phuket, Thailand 21 December 2009

 
Today, the Thailand's beaches show evidence that the tourists have returned since the waves that hit on December 26th, 2004

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami² killed over two hundred thousand people, about 8,000 of them in Thailand, and destroyed thousands of businesses. Thailand's tourism industry - a pillar of its economy - was badly damaged. Tourists have returned to Thailand's beaches but, the resort island of Phuket, political strife and the global financial crisis cause new problems.

Five years ago, walls of water up to five meters high swept across Patong beach, swamping hotels and restaurants, and carrying away scores of people.

Chairat Sukban, the deputy mayor of Patong, says the damage was extensive at Phuket's main tourist beach. "They still have only structure but the interiors or whatever like that it's all damaged. But, the structure they still have. But, after the tsunami we at the city we also set new law and forced them to use strong material to make the walls and retaining walls," he stated.

Chairat says many of the businesses along the beach had insurance and rebuilt within a year.

Thais affected³ by the tsunami on Phuket received about $500 in compensation during the reconstruction⁴ work.

But not everyone recovered financially so quickly.

Sawleehah is from Bangladesh and has sold pancakes along this beach for 11 years.

She says the tsunami destroyed her cart and equipment but because she is not a Thai citizen, she could not get compensation or even a bank loan. "It took two years for my business to recover," she said. "I had to save money and buy a new pancake cart."

Today there is little evidence of the waves that hit on December 26th, 2004, and tourists have returned.

But officials and tourism workers say Thailand's political instability and the global financial crisis are causing new damage.

"The big pressure now is to encourage people who aren't traveling at the moment to get back on airplanes or cruise ships and choose this part of the world as their holiday destination," Dale Lawrence, spokesman for the Pacific Asia Travel Association said.

Officials say they are better prepared for disasters and point out the tsunami-warning towers now lining⁵ the beach.

Businesses have moved back from the shore and hotel workers are trained to evacuate⁶ guests, who enjoy Thailand's beaches with little thought about the disaster.
 

1 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

6 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。