VOA标准英语2008年-Township Tourism Allows Foreigners to See Legac

By Terry FitzPatrick
Cape¹ Town
09 January 2008

The beaches, boutiques and vineyards of Cape Town make it one of South Africa's top destinations for tourists.  But many visitors are adding a different type of attraction to their holiday stay. They are visiting the sprawling² townships where many blacks still live in apartheid-era conditions. For VOA, Terry FitzPatrick reports on the growing popularity of township tourism.

"Come through, come through," said Mngqibisa, a tourist agent.

Six tourists from Germany are standing³ in a place you do not see pictured on the cover of South Africa's tourist brochures. This old hostel⁴ for migrant workers is now overflowing⁵ with families.

"The room here was designed to be shared by just the three men. But today you actually find three families sharing the room here," Mngqibisa said. "Family for here.  Family for there. And, a family for the one bed." 

Cinga Mngqibisa grew up just around the corner. Now working for Cape Rainbow Tours, he brings foreigners to see his old neighborhood.  His goal is simple.
 
"Give them a complete picture about South Africa," Mngqibisa said. "The majority of people, this is where they live."
 
Millions of South Africans still reside in sub-standard housing in racially-segregated communities.  The idea of bringing tour groups here started more than a decade ago, as an effort to foster racial reconciliation⁶.  The goal was for white South Africans to witness, first-hand, what apartheid created.  But few South Africans ever signed up.  Now, township travel focuses on international tourists.
 
For three hours, this group from Germany tours through the lasting⁷ legacy⁸ of apartheid, along unpaved streets, past shacks⁹ without water or electricity and through parks littered with broken glass.  Tourist Britta Duerschlag says signs of neglect are everywhere.
 
"I'm really shocked about the state these townships are in, because I don't understand that townships are so dirty," Duerschlag said.

Tourist Michael Inacker wonders how long people can wait for life to improve.
 
"Many Africans are saying things are changing slowly, slowly, slowly," Inacker said. "And, I ask myself how long can this situation work and not end up in new violence."

The tour is part history lesson.  This group drives to a monument where anti-apartheid activists¹⁰ were killed by police.  Then, Cinga Mngqibisa explains how authorities employed unusual techniques to determine if a person would be forced to live in a township for blacks or one for mixed-race coloreds.  A pencil would measure the curl of a person's hair.
 
"They would take a pencil and push it through your hair," Mngqibisa said. "And, if you shake and the pencil stays on, it won't fall away because the hair is holding it, then you are black.  But if you shake and the pencil falls away, then you would be colored (mixed race)."

Mngqibisa says a needle would be used to reveal a person's native language.

"And then they prick¹¹ with you with that. Now, if the person cries 'eina' then you are colored. And, if you yell 'echou' then you are black," Mngqibisa said.

There are no official statistics that track the growth and economic impact of township travel, but guides say the tours benefit local residents.  They stop at workshops where tourists can buy arts-and-crafts.  And, this trip includes a visit to one of township tourism's most tangible¹² success stories.
 
 "Hello, please sit down. Vicky is my name. I'm living here with my family, running the smallest hotel in South Africa," Ntozini said.
 
Vicky Ntozini's place is a two-room bed-and-breakfast inn built inside Ntozini's tin-shack house. Tour group visits have inspired foreigners to stay here overnight.  Nearly everyone who comes donates to a program that feeds hungry children.  Ntozini tells visitors that South Africa's township poverty will not last.
 
"We may live in conditions like this, but we are looking into life with a positive eye, knowing that even if it will take us another ten years, in the end, we will be living a happy, normal life like everybody else," Ntozini said.
 
At the end of the trip, the tourists said they were happy they visited the townships. They already knew South Africa has come a long way since the end of apartheid.  They learned the country still has a long way to go.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

5 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 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。

9 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

12 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。