VOA常速英语2014--蒙巴萨假日旅游业因为安全问题造成经济衰退

 

Mombasa in Holiday Tourism Slump¹ Due to Security Fears 蒙巴萨假日旅游业因为安全问题造成经济衰退

MOMBASA—

Kenya's usually popular beachside tourist destination of Mombasa is seeing a much slower holiday season this year due to fears of insecurity as the country has suffered from a string of terror attacks linked to Somali militants².

It’s festive³ season. This time of year Kenyan beaches are always busy; but not this year.

现在已经进入假期。每年这个时候肯尼亚海滩总是一片繁忙景象,但今年却大不相同。

Here in Mombasa, there are just a few beachgoers as thousands of regular visitors have avoided the coastal⁴ city.

在蒙巴萨海滩只有寥寥数人,而成千上万的常客却不再选择这个沿海城市。

Abdallah Omar sells bathing suits and he said business was down due to fears over security.

卖泳衣的阿卜杜拉·奥马尔表示人们对于安全问题的担忧使得他的生意急转直下。

"For all the years I have been here, this year business has been bad. If I compare it with the last six years business was fairly good. This year I don't think kids will go to school," he said.

“多年来我一直从事这个行当,今年生意一直不景气。过去的6年生意相当好。今年我觉得连孩子们的学费都负担不起。”

Mombasa has witnessed a wave of violent attacks and killings⁵ of suspected terror suspects and clerics.

蒙巴萨已经经历过暴力袭击及疑似恐怖分子和神职人员的杀戮事件。

In the past year, police have stormed Musa mosque⁶ in the rundown neighborhood of Majengo twice - temporarily closing down the mosque and three others.

去年警方2次突袭马杰格附近穆萨清真寺，将这座寺院及其他3家暂时关闭。

Authorities have accused the leaders of some Mombasa mosques⁷ of radicalizing young men or recruiting for the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab - which has repeatedly attacked Kenya in the past several years.

当局指责蒙巴萨一些清真寺领导人煽动年轻男青年或为索马里青年党恐怖组织招募士兵，这个组织在过去几年接二连三袭击肯尼亚。

Police here said there has been an uptick in attacks on civilians⁸, government workers and moderate clerics by these radicalized young men.

警方表示对平民的袭击呈现上升趋势,政府工作人员及温的神职人员是这些激进年轻人的主要袭击对象。

The security situation has prompted Western countries to issue travel advisories⁹ to its citizens.

这样的安全形势促使西方国家向民众发出旅行警告。

Tourism officials estimate at least $4 million in revenue has been lost so far.

旅游官员估计至少到目前为止已经损失了400万的收入。

Brian, a German tourist, said he was well aware of the terror warnings but he felt safe.

德国游客布莱恩称他意识到了恐怖警告但感到很安全。

"I heard the travel warnings then I called the embassy. They were saying you have to be safe we raised the security and I try not to follow fears in general," said the tourist.

“我听到旅游警示后就打电话给大使馆。他们表示提升了安全等级，因此我肯定安全,我试着不去担心。”

Alfred Mwenda, a sunglasses vendor¹⁰, said people tend to confuse Mombasa and the whole coastal region with Lamu - which has seen deadly al-Shabab attacks.

太阳镜供应商阿尔弗雷德·曼文达表示人们往往将蒙巴萨及整个沿海地区同青年党已经袭击过的拉穆混淆。

"Those visitors who come from Nairobi, if they hear Mombasa or Lamu there is death and a terror attack. They see Mombasa like Lamu. Most don't know that Lamu is different from Mombasa," he said.

“那些来自内罗毕的游客,如果他们听到蒙巴萨或拉穆发生死亡和恐怖袭击。他们会将蒙巴萨当作拉穆。但大多数人不知道拉姆和蒙巴萨完全不同。”

Business and hotel owners along the coast hope the New Year will bring a return of calm, and with it, the return of tourists.

沿岸的商业和酒店业主们希望借着新年假期这个地区能够变得平静,随之而来的当然还有返回的游客。

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

7 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

10 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。