VOA慢速英语2019 威尼斯计划向游客收费

Venice Plans to Charge Visitors

For years the Italian city of Venice has been struggling with a few concerns.

近年来，意大利城市威尼斯一直在与一些担忧作斗争。

Piazza¹ San Marco, also known as Saint Mark’s Square, is often flooded. Venice’s waterways require repairs. But, by far, the biggest problem is the growing number of visitors to the city.

Piazza San Marco广场（圣马可广场）经常遭水淹。威尼斯的水道需要进行修缮。但是，目前最大的问题是越来越多的游客涌向这座城市。

So city officials have decided² to require all visitors to pay a fee to enter Venice. The money will help to pay for cleaning and other services that help to keep the city beautiful.

因此，威尼斯市政府决定要求所有游客需付费才能进入该市。这笔资金将用于环卫和其他服务，帮助维护这座城市的整洁。

Overnight tourists already pay a tax that is added to the cost of their hotel stay. The new fee will be required of tourists who come to the city for a few hours or for one day.

过夜游客已经缴纳了额外的住宿税。这项新费用将面向短暂停留或一日游的游客。

Venice’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro explained the decision to international media during a visit to Rome last week.

威尼斯市长路易吉·布鲁尼亚罗上周访问罗马时向国际媒体解释了这一收费决定。

The mayor said that officials want to defend the city for those who live there. “Venice is a marvel³ of the world and only in this way” can it be saved, he added.

市长指出，官员们希望能替当地居民保卫这座城市。“威尼斯是世界奇迹，只有这样才能永存下去，”他补充道。

Brugnaro added that the fee process will be experimental at first. A one-day visit will cost about $7. City officials have yet to decide when the fee collection will begin. The money will be collected by transport companies that bring the tourists to Venice. The city will set up cameras for individuals arriving in private cars. And there will be fines for those who do not pay the fee.

布鲁尼亚罗补充说，这项收费程序首先是实验阶段。一日游的参观费用约为7美元。市政府官员尚未决定何时开始收费。这笔费用将由载游客到威尼斯的运输公司收取。威尼斯将为通过私家车抵达的游客设置摄像头。不缴纳费用的游客会被罚款。

Students, some workers and children under the age of six will not have to pay. Naturally, anyone born or living in Venice is exempt⁴.

学生、某些工人以及6岁以下儿童无需缴费。当然，也包括在威尼斯出生或生活的人。

In January 2020, the cost of the visitation fee will not be fixed⁵. It will instead be based on how many tourists are visiting Venice on a given day. City fathers hope this will prevent the overcrowding that often comes with large numbers of tourists.

自2020年1月起，探亲费不再为固定金额。相反，具体金额将视当日参观威尼斯游客的数量而定。市政府官员希望能借此防止游客过多带来的拥挤。

Some people living in Venice say they do not believe the fee plan will work. Lawyer Roberta Pierabon said it will be impossible to collect the money from everyone who visits the city.

威尼斯的一些居民表示，他们不相信收费方案能奏效。律师Roberta Pierabon称，想从每一位造访这座城市的游客身上收取这笔钱似乎不大可能。

Visitors arrive from all sides, she said. She noted⁶ that Venice is an island and you reach it on water. She does not believe tourists can be controlled and added that she disapproved⁷ of the plan.

她指出，游客来自五湖四海。她指出，威尼斯是一座岛屿，只要通过水路就能进来。她不相信游客会“任由摆布”，并补充说，她不赞成这项计划。

Other Venetians like the idea. They say it will make tourism “less aggressive.” Michele Tessari often works with tourists on transport.

其他威尼斯人赞成这一方案。他们说，这将使旅游业“不那么来势汹汹”。米歇尔·特萨里(Michele Tessari)从事交通运输工作，经常跟游客打交道。

He said Venetians would like a more sophisticated form of tourism. They want fewer people who come into the city for "eat-and-run" tourism and the entrance fee will help. Tessari says locals no longer want to see tourists eating on the bridges of Venice.

他说，威尼斯人想要复杂一些的旅游模式。他们希望来这里“边吃边玩”游客能越来越少，而这项“门票费”会有所帮助。特萨里说，当地人不想再看到游客站在威尼斯桥上吃东西。

Venetians love their city and know it will never stop appealing to visitors. Venice is so special, they say, that it belongs to the whole of humanity.

威尼斯人热爱他们的城市，也知道无法阻止游客慕名前来。他们说，威尼斯十分特别，它是属于全人类的。

Words in This Story

marvel – adj. wonder

fee – n. a cost to do something

exempt – adj. not required to do something that others must do

sophisticated – adj. having or showing a lot of experience and knowledge about the world and about culture

1 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

2 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。

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》