2006年VOA标准英语-South Korean Tourism Resort in North Under Scru

By Kurt Achin
Seoul, South Korea
15 November 2006
 
watch North Korea Kumgang

Mount Kumgang, North Korea   
  
The international community is looking at ways to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed after North Korea conducted its first-ever nuclear test on October 9th.  South Korea -- which has been trying to bring its communist neighbor out of international isolation¹ through economic engagement -- is coming under pressure to end its tourism project in North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort.  The project has been criticized as nothing more than a money maker² which may be helping³ fund North Korea's nuclear weapons program. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin traveled to Mount Kumgang to have a first-hand look.

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Mount Kumgang, North Korea is a misty⁴, tranquil⁵ mountain resort where busloads of South Koreans arrive each day to enjoy hiking, scenery, and a closer connection to nature.
 

Mount Kumgang is guarded by soldiers  
  
But this resort is under scrutiny⁶ because it has earned North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars in the six years since South Korea began running it -- revenue which may have been used to fund its nuclear weapons program to the chagrin⁷ of the international community.

South Korean executives say there was a 50 percent cancellation⁸ rate at Kumgang resort the week after the North's first-ever nuclear test on October 9th and bookings are only slowly recovering.

Visitors that do arrive have no trouble remembering they are in communist North Korea.  Political minders enforce rules about what can and cannot be done.

Sightseers may not, for example, photograph the villages surrounding the South Korean-funded resort.  Those are fenced off and guarded by North Korean soldiers.

Tourists are allowed to approach an impeccably groomed⁹ mural of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and his revered¹⁰ father, former leader Kim Il Sung.  But a North Korean hotel employee insists he must take any photographs with your camera.

A nearby banner proclaims Kim Jong Il -- who presided over the recent nuclear test -- as "the son of the 21st century."

The resort employs some North Koreans, who arrive to work via separate roads that are off limits to tourists.  Most act allergic¹¹ to having their photo taken. Those that interact with tourists closely echo Pyongyang's political line.

One guide told visitors, "The American imperialists' economic sanctions have made us more able to overcome hardship in the future.  We should thank them.”

At an experimental North-South joint¹² farm, which aims to supply some of the resort area's food, personnel express pride about the North's nuclear test. "Under economic sanctions and military pressure from the U.S., we withdrew from the NPT.  There is no grounds for the U.S. to restrain us from nuclear weapons," said a supervisor¹³.

Despite growing domestic and international criticism of the Kumgang resort as a cash generator¹⁴ for the currency-strapped Pyongyang regime, South Korean supporters say it is central to Seoul's engagement policy to positively¹⁵ and economically influence the North to change its policies and bring it out of international isolation.

The future of the Kumgang project will depend on how South Korea decides to implement¹⁶ United Nations sanctions aimed at punishing the North for its nuclear test. 

1 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

5 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

8 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

9 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

11 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

12 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

13 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

14 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

15 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

16 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。