2006年VOA标准英语-Tourism Industry Begins Rebuilding in Indi

By Patricia Nunan
Srinigar, Kashmir
10 May 2006
 
watch Kashmir Tourism report

Srinigar's Dal Lake  
  
Kashmir, the disputed border region between India and Pakistan has long been considered off limits to all but the most adventurous¹ of tourists.

In recent years that's begun to change. Now, officials say, more and more tourists are taking advantage of the two powers' push toward peace to reach a beguiling² holiday destination. VOA's Patricia Nunan has more from Srinigar, in Indian-held Kashmir.

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Srinigar's Dal Lake - an oasis³ of tranquility on a weekend afternoon.

It's long been a spot popular with Kashmiris, who ply⁴ the lake's waters in traditional wooden boats.  Now, increasing numbers, including foreign tourists, come to stay in some of the 1,200 houseboats moored⁵ here  - charming reminders⁶ of India's colonial past.

 
Azim Tuzman 
  
Azim Tuzman, is head of Kashmir’s Houseboat Owners' Association says houseboats are important for the tourism industry, "Houseboats have served as the backbone⁷ of the tourism industry in Kashmir for the last 140 years -- when Kashmir was introduced to Britishers as as holiday resort."

Officials say that between 2003 and 2005, the number of tourists coming to the Kashmir Valley has nearly tripled - and is expected to reach more than a million in 2006.

The houseboats, Tuman says, are a large part of the appeal. "You live in concrete blocks - back home, in the hotels and everywhere. You do not get, you know, the freshness and fragrance⁸ of cedarwood. And then you know, living in a

houseboat is equal to living in a bird sanctuary⁹.  And you are living away from hustle¹⁰ and bustleand the soaking smell of cement. That's why houseboats are very, very popular."

But they haven't been as popular as they could be.

For the past 17 years, India has fought an Islamic insurgency¹¹ in the two-thirds of Kashmir it controls. Militants¹² want independence for Kashmir, or for it to merge¹³ with Pakistan, which controls Kashmir's remaining third.  The militants have carried out terrorist attacks in the heart of Srinigar.

And that's not all.

Since British colonial rulers left the sub-continent in 1947, India and Pakistan have gone to war over Kashmir twice, and came close to a third time in 2002. Each of the nuclear-armed rivals wants full ownership of Kashmir, and each has forged its national identity in part, by decades of resistance to the other.
 
  
  
That means Dal Lake, and the communities, which make their living on it, have remained largely hidden to all but the most adventurous  - and the friends with whom they share their stories - like these Singaporeans who commented, "We have some friends who also came back from Kashmir not long ago. They said it's safe to go."

 

  
  
Saleem Beg is Kashmir's Director General for Tourism. The problem with Kashmir's tourism industry, he says, is not safety - but infrastructure¹⁴. "Things have to happen locally first. If the place for locals, it becomes safe for national tourists. If the place is safe and secure for national tourists, it carries a message internationally. Until last year we didn't have a very good air capacity for Kashmir This only happened in the last four months that about seven airlines coming to Kashmir. Last year it was four. And it was jampacked during the season when tourists used to come."

Recently, India and Pakistan have agreed to a series of measures to ease tensions between them, as a step towards an eventual¹⁵ resolution of the Kashmir conflict. Right now, Kashmir remains¹⁶ largely a hidden treasure.  But perhaps not for long.

1 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

2 beguiling   

adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• Her beauty was beguiling. 她美得迷人。
• His date was curvaceously beguiling. 他约会是用来欺骗女性的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

4 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

5 moored   

adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. 该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
• We shipped (the) oars and moored alongside the bank. 我们收起桨，把船泊在岸边。

6 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

7 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

8 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

9 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

10 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

11 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。