VOA标准英语2008年-Ivory Coast Tourism Declines Because of Drawn O

A drawn¹ out six-year civil war has emptied beachside villages in divided Ivory Coast, like in one area called Assinie, where groups of European tourists used to come in busloads. And now beach erosion is adding to the problem, destroying the beach homes of some of the few Ivorian residents who still visited. But as VOA's Nico Colombant reports, tourism workers remain, hoping visitors will one day return and that the ocean will behave when they do.
　
Assouinde has emptied out of European tourists

Ivorian reggae musician Alpha Blondy sings the praise of Assinie in one of his recently remixed songs. Assinie-Mafia is the main town here, near the border with Ghana.

From time to time, a few Lebanese families, French businessmen on assignment in Ivory Coast without their families, and United Nations peacekeepers still visit. They lounge on soft sand underneath² coconut³ trees, and sometimes also tempt⁴ their fate in the dangerous surf.

But usually, if anyone does show up, they have large expanses of the beach to themselves.
　
Burkinabe clothes maker⁵ Moumouni keeps smiling despite tough times

Clothes maker Moumouni gives a tour of his store called Ami de Tout⁶ le Monde, meaning friend of everyone, in one of the area's beach villages, Assouinde.

He says he used to work from seven in the morning to nine at night, with 12 sewing machines, employing 16 people, to make clothes with African motifs⁷ for tourists to buy.

Now he says it is just him and his brother, and one sewing machine that is mostly idle.

Moumouni explains that like many of the workers in the tourism industry in Ivory Coast, he is a Burkina Faso national, even though he was born here, the son of migrant workers.

His story reflects a part of the recent troubles in Ivory Coast.
　
Beachside homes crumble⁸ following rising tides

Rebels took up arms in late 2002 saying they wanted more rights for millions of northerners, many of them undocumented, and others like Moumouni, who they say should be able to become Ivorians and vote in elections.

But Moumouni does not want to become an Ivorian. Because of his name and his appearance, he says, he will always be persecuted⁹ by police even if he does become Ivorian, so he says, he prefers to stay Burkinabe.

He says even though he will not vote in the scheduled November presidential and legislative¹⁰ elections, he hopes those who will, will make good choices.

More than anything, he says he hopes the path to peace is now irreversible.
　
Tourism worker Jean Baptiste helps with sand bags

As the ocean roars, another Burkinabe tourism worker, Jean Baptiste, walks by sand-filled bags that are used to block the advancing Atlantic Ocean. Last year and again this year, advancing tides caused several oceanfront homes, known as paillottes, to crumble.

Jean Baptiste says 40 paillottes have been destroyed, and that some have been left to ruin, with local staff dismissed.

He says it is one more headache and challenge to deal with. But he says what is on everyone's mind now is the hoped for November election. Despite successive peace deals, the vote has been repeatedly delayed amid problems to release new voting cards, re-integrate the army and disarm¹¹ militias¹².
　

Jean Baptiste says he hopes there will be good and transparent¹³ elections. If the elections are bad, and lead to violence, he says, he is afraid visitors will stay away.

On a Sunday evening, many of the Assinie locals gather at a bamboo-made bar to celebrate the end of another weekend, after the few visitors, surfers, and rich residents of the commercial capital Abidjan who own paillottes have left. They also left behind a few local CFA francs in tips and salaries for tourism workers to afford a few beers, or local palm wine.

 

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

3 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

4 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

5 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。

6 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

7 motifs   

n. （文艺作品等的）主题( motif的名词复数 )；中心思想；基本模式；基本图案

参考例句：

• I try to develop beyond the old motifs. 我力求对传统的花纹图案做到推陈出新。 来自辞典例句
• American Dream is one of the most important motifs of American literature. “美国梦”是美国文学最重要的母题之一。 来自互联网

8 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

9 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

10 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

11 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

12 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

13 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。