Level 5 Reading 4A

Reading 4A

阅读4A

CITY UNDER SIEGE The city Thomas Mannt called "half fairy tale and half tourist trap" finds itself threatened by more than just the rising tide. Cathy Newman investigates the trouble with Venice. Nowhere in ltaly is there a crisis more beautifully framed than in Venice. Neither land nor water, the city lifts like a mirage from a lagoon at the head of the Adriatic Sea. For centuries it has threatened to vanish beneath the waves of the acqua alta, the relentlessly regular flooding caused by rising tides and sinking foundations— but that is the least of its problems. Just ask Massimo Cacciari, former mayor of Venice and professor philosophy. A man who rasies the level of the political intellect to just short of the stratosphere. Ask him about the acqua alta and Venice sinking, and he says, "So go get boots." Boots are fine for water, but useless against the food that causes more concern for Venetians than any lagoon spillover: the flood of tourists. In 2016, there were around 55,000 residents living in the historic city center, the number of visiting tourists that year was over 20 million. In May 2008, for example, on a holiday weekend, 80,000 tourists descended on the city. Public parking lots in Mestre where people board a bus or train to the historic center, filled with floodwater and were closed. Those who managed to get to Venice surged through the streets like schools of bluefish, snapping up pizza and gelato, leaving paper and plastic bottles in their wake. "Beauty is difficult," says Cacciari, sounding as if he were addressing a graduate seminar The black of Caccian's dark hair and luxuriant beard complement his current mood. The preceding day, heavy rains had flooded Mestre again.

全城戒备 托马斯·曼特称这座城市为“半童话半旅游陷阱” 发现自己受到的威胁不仅仅是涨潮。 凯西·纽曼调查了威尼斯的麻烦。 在意大利，没有任何一场危机比威尼斯的危机更完美。 这座城市既不是陆地也不是水，就像亚得里亚海顶端泻湖上的海市蜃楼。 几个世纪以来，它一直有可能消失在阿夸阿尔塔的波涛之下， 涨潮和地基下沉造成的持续不断的洪水-- 但这只是它的最小问题。 问问威尼斯前市长、哲学教授马西莫·卡恰里就知道了。 一个将政治智力水平提升到接近平流层的人。 问他阿夸阿尔塔号和威尼斯号沉没的事，他说：“那就去买靴子吧。” 靴子可以装水，但对威尼斯人更关心的食物却毫无用处 比任何泻湖溢出：游客的洪流。 2016年，约有5.5万居民居住在历史悠久的市中心， 那一年的游客人数超过2000万。 例如，2008年5月，在一个假日周末，8万名游客来到这座城市。 梅斯特雷的公共停车场，人们可以在那里乘坐公共汽车或火车前往历史中心， 被洪水淹没并被关闭。 那些设法到达威尼斯的人像成群的蓝鱼一样涌上街头， 抢购披萨和冰淇淋，留下纸和塑料瓶。 “美丽很难，”Cacciari说， 听起来他好像在研究生研讨会上讲话 卡西安乌黑的头发和浓密的胡须与他现在的心情相得益彰。 前一天，大雨再次淹没了梅斯特。

Rain caused the flood, not acqua alta, Cacciari says. "High tide is not a problem for me; it's a problem for you foreigners." The problems, he stresses, lie elsewhere. The cost of maintaining Venice:"There is not enough money from the state to cover it all— the cleaning of canals, restoration of buildings, raising of foundations." The cost of living:"It's three times as costly to live here as in Mogliano, 20 kilometers away. It's affordable only for the rich or elderly who already own houses because they have been passed down. The young can't afford it. "Finally, there is tourism, of which, Cacciari says: "Venice is not a sentimental place of honeymoon; it's a strong, contradictory, overpowering place. It is not a city for tourists; it cannot be reduced to a postcard." If you are a Venetian, the city is a different place altogether— the abnormal is normal, and a flood is routine. The alarm sounds, protective steel doors come down, and boots, essential to any Venetian wardrobe, are pulled on. The four kilometers of passerelle—an elevated board walk supported on metal legs— are set up, and life goes on. When Silvia Zanon goes to Campo San Provolo, where she teaches middle school, she knows it will take 23 minutes to walk there from her apartment on the Calle delle Carrozze. On the way she crosses the Piazza San Marco, blissfully empty in early morning. "I step on the paving stones and fall in love with the city all over again," she says. Gherardo Ortalli, a professor of medieval history, finds his path less poetic. "When I go out in the campo with my friends, I have to stop because someone is taking a photograph of us," he says. For Ortalli, it almost feels like local people are becoming an endangered species. "Perhaps one day we will be. You will go and see a sign on a cage:'Feed the Venetians.' When I arrived 30 years ago, the population was 120,000." The decline seems inevitable, and Ortalli thinks Venice will end up as simply a theme park for the rich, who will jet in to spend a day or two in their palazzo, then leave. It is 10 a.m., and he is headed toward a kiosk to buy a newspaper before going to his office, though you can hardly find the papers for all the tourist kitsch: miniature masks, gondola pins, jester caps. "Everything is for sale," he sighs, "even Venice." Augusto Salvadori was once in charge of managing the impact of tourism in Venice. Love is an inadequate word to describe how Salvadori feels about Venice. He was not just the city's director of tourism and promoter of tradition; he was its defender. "The city is consumed by tourism," says Salvadori. "What do Venetians get in exchange? During part of the year, Venetians cannot elbow their way onto public transportation. The cost of garbage collection increases; so does the price of living." "Perhaps to help," Salvadori says, "we put a city tax on hotels and restaurants. [Then] they said tourists would not come—but I say, tourists won't come for a few euros? I could not worry about hotels; I had to think of the Venetians. My battle was for the city because Venice is my heart." Tourism has been part of the Venetian landscape since the 14th century, when pilgrims stopped en route to the Holy Land. I ask Ortalli what is so different about tourism now. "Now, Venice gets giant cruise ships. The ship is 10 stories high. You can't understand Venice from 10 stories up; you might as well be in a helicopter. But it's not important. You arrive in Venice, write a postcard, and remember what a wonderful evening you had." "There goes another piece of Venice," Silvia Zanon, the teacher, said sadly when Camiceria San Marco,a 60-year-old clothing store, had to move to a smaller, less prime spot because the rent had tripled. Susanna Cestari worked there for 32 years. "It's like leaving the house where you were born," she said, while packing boxes for the move. At least 10 hardware stores have recently gone out of business. In the Rialto market, souvenir sellers have replaced vendors who sold sausages, bread, or vegetables. Tourists will not notice; they do not visit Venice to buy an eggplant. Some people suggest that Venice's wounds are self- inflicted. They don't want tourist observes a former resident, "but they want their money." There is talk about implementing new policies to limit the number of tourists, imposing additional taxes, and urging visitors to avoid the high seasons of Easter and Carnevale. But tourism— together with the loss of resident population, and combined with the interests of hotel owners, gondoliers, and water taxi drivers who all have an interest in maximizing the influx of visitors—defies simple solutions. "Let me remind you, the loss of population... is not only a problem in Venice but in all historical towns, not only Italy," cautions former Mayor Cacciari. "The so-called exodus, which dates back very far in time, is deep-rooted with the lodging issue." For some, a solution to Venice's troubles already seems out of reach. "It is too late," Gherardo Ortalli, the historian, says. "The stones will remain, but the people won't." But, for now, there is still life as well as death in Venice. Silvia Zanon, on her way to school, still crosses San Marco only to fall in love with the city again. And, assuming it is in season, you can still manage to buy an eggplant. The city's beauty, difficult and bruised, somehow survives.

Cacciari说，是雨造成了洪水，而不是阿夸阿尔塔。 “涨潮对我来说不是问题；对你们外国人来说是问题。” 他强调，问题出在别处。 威尼斯的维护成本：“国家没有足够的钱来支付这一切-- 运河的清理、建筑物的修复、地基的加固。" 生活成本：“这里的生活成本是20公里外莫格里亚诺的三倍。 只有已经拥有住房的富人或老年人才能负担得起 因为它们已经传承下来了。 年轻人买不起。 “最后，还有旅游业，Cacciari说： “威尼斯不是一个多愁善感的蜜月之地； 这是一个强大、矛盾、压倒性的地方。 它不是游客的城市；它不能简化为明信片。" 如果你是威尼斯人，这座城市就完全不同了-- 异常是正常的，洪水是正常的。 警报响起，防护钢门落下， 穿上任何威尼斯人衣橱必备的靴子。 四公里长的过道——由金属腿支撑的高架木板人行道-- 建立起来，生活继续。 当Silvia Zanon去Campo San Provolo上中学时， 她知道从卡罗泽街的公寓步行到那里需要23分钟。 在路上，她穿过圣马可广场，清晨空荡荡的。 她说：“我踏上铺路石，再次爱上了这座城市。”。 中世纪历史教授Gherardo Ortalli发现他的道路没有那么诗意。 “当我和朋友们一起去露营时， 我必须停下来，因为有人在给我们拍照，”他说。 对于Ortalli来说，当地人几乎感觉自己正在成为濒危物种。 “也许有一天我们会。 你会看到笼子上的一个标志：“养活威尼斯人。” 当我30年前到达时，人口是12万。” 下降似乎是不可避免的， Ortalli认为威尼斯最终将只是富人的主题公园， 他们将乘坐飞机在他们的宫殿里度过一两天，然后离开。 现在是上午10点，他正朝一个售货亭走去，在去办公室之前买了一份报纸， 尽管你很难找到所有旅游媚俗的报纸： 微型面具、贡多拉徽章、小丑帽。 “一切都在出售，”他叹了口气，“甚至威尼斯。” 奥古斯托·萨尔瓦多里曾负责管理威尼斯旅游业的影响。 爱这个词不足以形容萨尔瓦多对威尼斯的感受。 他不仅是这座城市的旅游总监和传统的推动者； 他是它的捍卫者。 萨尔瓦多里说：“这座城市被旅游业所吞噬。”。 威尼斯人能得到什么作为交换？ 在一年中的部分时间里，威尼斯人无法挤进公共交通。 垃圾收集的成本增加；生活成本也是如此。" 萨尔瓦多里说：“也许是为了帮忙。”， “我们对酒店和餐馆征收城市税。 [然后]他们说游客不会来——但我说，游客不会为了几欧元而来？ 我不担心酒店；我不得不考虑威尼斯人。 我的战斗是为了这座城市，因为威尼斯是我的心。" 自14世纪以来，旅游业一直是威尼斯景观的一部分， 朝圣者在前往圣地的途中停了下来。 我问奥尔塔利，现在旅游业有什么不同。 “现在，威尼斯有了巨大的游轮。 这艘船有10层楼高。 从10层楼以上你无法理解威尼斯；你还不如坐直升机。 但这并不重要。 你抵达威尼斯，写了一张明信片，还记得你度过了一个多么美好的夜晚。" “威尼斯又有一块了。” 老师Silvia Zanon悲伤地说，当一家60岁的服装店Camiceria San Marco， 由于租金上涨了两倍，不得不搬到一个规模较小、不太理想的地方。 苏珊娜·塞斯塔里在那里工作了32年。 “这就像离开你出生的房子，”她说， 同时为搬家打包箱子。 最近至少有10家五金店倒闭了。 在里亚托市场，纪念品销售商已经取代了卖香肠、面包或蔬菜的小贩。 游客不会注意到；他们去威尼斯不是为了买茄子。 有人认为威尼斯的伤口是自己造成的。 他们不希望游客看到一位前居民，“但他们想要他们的钱。” 有人说要实施新政策来限制游客数量， 征收额外税款，并敦促游客避开复活节和卡内瓦尔的旺季。 但旅游业——再加上常住人口的减少， 并结合酒店业主、船夫和水上出租车司机的利益 他们都有兴趣最大限度地吸引游客——这是简单的解决方案。 “让我提醒你，人口减少……不仅是威尼斯的问题 但在所有历史城镇，不仅仅是意大利，”前市长Cacciari警告道。 “所谓的外流，可以追溯到很久以前， 住宿问题根深蒂固。" 对一些人来说，解决威尼斯问题似乎已经遥不可及。 历史学家Gherardo Ortalli说：“太晚了。”。 “石头会留下来，但人民不会。” 但是，就目前而言，威尼斯仍然有生命和死亡。 西尔维娅·扎农在上学的路上，仍然穿过圣马可，却再次爱上了这座城市。 而且，假设是当季，你仍然可以设法买一个茄子。 这座城市的美丽，艰难而坎坷，不知何故得以幸存。

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