VOA标准英语2011--Booming Georgian Resort Lures Black Sea

Booming Georgian Resort Lures² Black Sea Tourists

Traveling by train, plane and cruise ship, the number of tourists flocking to Batumi, Georgia, is expected to hit 1.4 million this year, 10 times the level of 2005. This hot new vacation destination is becoming "in" destination of the Black Sea.
For Lucia, from land-locked Armenia, it is the sea. She says she comes for the sea and because Batumi is close to where she lives.
Samir, from Azerbaijan, lives on the Caspian Sea. But he and his family traveled 18 hours to enjoy Georgian hospitality, in Russian, a common legacy³ of their Soviet⁴ past. He says that Georgian hospitality reached a low point after the collapse⁵ of the Soviet Union. Now, he says the commercial lure¹ of tourism means Russians are welcome again.
During the Soviet period, Batumi was the end of the line, only 15 kilometers before a closed border with Turkey, But now, neutrality pays off for Georgia. Armenians and Azeris, Iranians and Israelis, Ukrainians and Turks, all fly here visa-free to vacation in this port on the eastern shores of the Black Sea.
Iran recently opened a consulate⁶ on Europe Square, only blocks from the docks where U.S. Navy ships regularly make port calls.
Cruise ship visits have increased 5-fold in 5 years. At Batumi’s new Turkish-built airport, flights now come here from 11 foreign cities.
With this tourist flood, international chain hotels are popping up. Last year, it was the lighthouse-inspired Sheraton. This year it is the Italian-designed Radisson.
Regional Governor Levan Varshalomidze says thousands of hotel rooms are under construction. "Last year, we had Sheraton opening, this year already Radisson, next coming for us is Hilton and Kempinsky, and continue Holiday Inn and different brands. In two-three years, we will have minimum 10 brands, but still it's not enough," he said.
Taking advantage of Batumi’s subtropical climate, the Governor has planted 700 palm trees and expanded a seafront boulevard to seven kilometers.
Construction projects include a pebble-shaped aquarium⁷, a hot pink exhibition center in the shape of a cube, and a seaside pyramid hotel with hanging gardens.
Traditionalists do not like the daring designs and the casinos. In Tbilisi, opposition⁸ politician Nino Burjanadze, said, "Batumi was one [of] the most beautiful cities in Georgia. Right now it's a kitsch. You can see absolutely different buildings, which have nothing with the style with each other. You can see building, which has five-six different styles in one building, which is of course matter of taste."
But Vera Kobalia, as Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Development, has the job of attracting investment to find jobs for Georgians. She is a big Batumi booster. “Batumi, many investors⁹, when they are coming are saying, is what Dubai was, is what Singapore was, years ago. They are seeing the same trends in Batumi. We ourselves didn’t expect how much investment we are seeing in Batumi today," she said.
News of Batumi’s building boom has traveled to New York. Last March, American real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump¹⁰ signed a licensing¹¹ agreement to put his name on a 52-story hotel and office highrise: Batumi Trump Tower.
To further attract attention, Batumi sponsored concerts in recent weeks by Sting, the British rocker, and by Enrique Iglesias, the Spanish pop singer.
After languishing¹² for decades behind a rusty¹³ Soviet fence, Batumi is booming by opening its doors to the world.

1 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

2 lures   

吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式）

参考例句：

• He left home because of the lures of life in the city. 他离家是由于都市生活的诱惑。
• Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures men down to the depths of the earth. 可能正是寻觅幽静的去处，或者找个猎奇的机会的欲望引诱着人们进入地球的深处。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

7 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

12 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

13 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。