雅思阅读：世界十大奇特之城镇

　　奇特的地方总吸引很多人去观赏，就说城镇这个介乎于城市与村庄的地方，也有一些奇特的部落，比如有的城镇是模仿别的城镇建成的;有些城镇设施齐全，却无人居住;有些城镇只有孤零零一个居民;而在另外一些城镇，所有居民住在了同一屋檐下。下面我们来看一下世界上10个奇特的城镇。

　　10.The Villages Florida

　　10.佛罗里达村落

　　The Villages is a town in Florida that was built for retired people. It covers an area larger thanManhattan, and has over 100,000 inhabitants—most of whom move around in golf carts. Infact, it holds the Guinness World Record for assembling the longest golf cart parade in theworld, with 3,321 total golf carts. The town—where children are forbidden—is also home tocontroversies and scandals. Old men and women have been caught making out in golf carts,and the men are known to fight over women. There is also a black market for Viagra, whichcosts about $12 for a single pill.

　　村落(The Villages)是佛罗里达州为退休人士所建的小镇。它的占地面积比曼哈顿还要大，拥有超过10万居民——其中大多数以高尔夫球车代步。事实上，那里曾以3321辆车参加高尔夫球车游行而创下了吉尼斯世界纪录。在这座禁止儿童入内的城镇中也制造了不少争议，滋生了不少丑闻——比如老年男女在高尔夫球车里亲热，老头为争夺老太而打架等。这里还有交易伟哥的黑市，一片的售价高达12美元。

　　Unsurprisingly, the town—which has 10 women for every man—has also seen a massive rise insexually transmitted diseases. In 2006, a gynecologist said she encountered more cases ofherpes and human papillomavirus in the town than she did when she worked in Miami.Inhabitants are also known to drive under the influence (in golf carts), use illegal drugs, andengage in bar fights.

　　毫不意外地，这座男女比例为1:10的小镇里，性传染疾病的病例数量也在显著增加。2006年，一位妇科医生表示，她在这里遇到的疱疹和人乳头状瘤病毒的病例比在迈阿密工作时还要多。居民们还因开高尔夫球车酒驾，服用违禁药物以及在酒吧斗殴等“事迹”出名。

　　9.Busingen Am Hochrhein Germany

　　9.德国高莱茵河畔布辛根

　　Busingen am Hochrhein is a German town in Switzerland. The town is separated from mainlandGermany by a narrow strip of land, which measures about 700 meters (765 yards) at itsnarrowest point. Considering its unusual location, Busingen am Hochrhein is more of a Swisstown than a German one. It also enjoys public services from both Switzerland and Germany. Ithas a Swiss postal code (8238 Busingen) and a German postal code (78266 Busingen). It alsohas two telephone codes: +49 7734 (for Germany) and +41 52 (for Switzerland).

　　高莱茵河畔的布辛根是一座位于瑞士境内的德国小镇。一条狭长的走廊将它与德国领土隔离开来，距离最短的地方相隔约为700米(765码)。从它特殊的地理位置来看，高莱茵河畔的布辛根更像是属于瑞士而非德国。它同时享受瑞士与德国两国提供的公共服务。它拥有一个瑞士邮编(8238布辛根)和一个德国邮编(78266布辛根);还有两个电话区号：+497734(德国)和+4152(瑞士)。

　　In case of an emergency, the Swiss or German police can be called in, although the Swiss policeusually arrive first. Everybody living in Busingen is allowed to work and own properties inSwitzerland, even if they do not possess Swiss citizenship. And, if a German citizen lives inBusingen for more than 10 years, he or she receives a special status similar to Swisscitizenship. The town's football team—FC Busingen—also plays in the Swiss football league.

　　在紧急情况下，居民呼叫瑞士或德国的警察都可以，尽管瑞士警察通常来得快一些。所有住在布辛根的人都可以在瑞士工作并置业，哪怕他们并不具有瑞士的公民身份。同时，如果一位德国公民在布辛根居住10年以上，他或她就能获得一个类似瑞士公民的特殊身份。这座城镇的足球队——FC布辛根队——参加瑞士的足球联赛。

　　But the town never started off like this. Back in the 14th century, it was ruled by Austria. Afterthe Lord of Busingen was killed by members of a nearby Swiss town, Austria vowed not to handover the town to Switzerland. They later handed it over to a neighboring German town, and itwas eventually claimed by Germany. In 1919, 96 percent of the locals voted to leave Germanyand join Switzerland, but the Swiss wouldn't offer anything in return, so the Germangovernment threw a fit and refused to let them go.

　　不过这里最初并不是这样的。14世纪的时候，这里曾由奥地利统治。在布辛根领主被附近瑞士城镇的人们杀死之后，奥地利发誓不会将其交给瑞士。后来他们将其交给了一座相邻的德国小镇管辖，所以德国对其拥有主权。1919年，96%的居民投票赞成布辛根脱离德国加入瑞士，但瑞士不肯给予德国任何回报，于是德国政府大发雷霆，拒绝让他们离开。

　　8.Whittier Alaska

　　8.阿拉斯加惠蒂尔

　　Almost all of the 200-plus inhabitants of Whittier, Alaska live inside a single 14-story buildingcalled Begich Towers. The rest live in their vehicles, boats, or another, similar building. BegichTowers was built in 1956. Back then, it served as an army barracks, but today, it is a towncomplete with a police station, post office, store, church, video rental shop, playground, andhealth center—all located inside the building.

　　阿拉斯加(州)惠蒂尔镇的200多名居民几乎都住在一幢叫做“贝吉克塔”的十四层建筑内，剩下的人住在自己的车里、船里或其他相似的“贝吉克塔”一样的建筑里。贝吉克塔建于1956年，当时是作为军营使用，而如今它成了一个完整的小镇——楼内警察局、邮局、商店、教堂、录像带租赁店、操场、医疗中心应有尽有。

　　The only way to access the town is either via sea or through a 4-kilometer (2.6 mi) one-lanetunnel which has gates that open twice every hour, allowing cars in or out of the town. Thetunnels close at night and do not reopen until the next day. Before 2001, the tunnel could notaccommodate vehicles, and the only way to get to the town was a 100-kilometer (60 mi) trainride. Then, trains ran only few times a week. During summer months, Whittier gets about 22hours of sunlight, and during winter, it could get covered in over 6.35 meters (250 in) of snow.

　　前往小镇仅有的两条途径，通过海路或是穿过4千米(2.6英里)长的铁路隧道(只有一条车道)。入口每小时开启两次，供车辆进出小镇。隧道在晚上关闭，直到第二天才重新开启。在2001年以前，隧道尚未通车，所以要到达这里只能搭乘火车，路程要100公里，而火车一周只有几趟。在夏季，惠蒂尔大约有22小时是白昼，而在冬天则可能会有6.35米(250英尺)厚的积雪。

　　7.Colma California

　　7.加利福尼亚科尔马

　　The town of Colma, California has more dead people than living people, with 1,500 livinginhabitants and over 1.5 million dead inhabitants. The history of the town can be traced back tothe Gold Rush of 1849 which led hundreds of thousands of people to migrate to nearby SanFrancisco. They brought diseases and, subsequently, death. By the 1880s, the 26 cemeteries inthe town had been almost filled and, by the late 1880s, cemetery owners began constructingcemeteries in southern Colma because it was easily accessible.

　　在加利福尼亚州的科尔马小镇，亡魂比活人多：这里有1500位居民，却有超过150万在此死去。这座小镇的历史可以追溯到1849年的淘金热，成千上万人为此移居到旧金山附近。人们带来了疾病，也因而带来了死亡。到了19世纪80年代，镇上的26片墓地几乎已被填满;1880年代末期，管理者开始在科尔马南部修建墓地，因为那里进出方便。

　　In March 1900, San Francisco's government banned new burials within the city. They said thiswas necessary because the land was too valuable to be used as cemeteries. Later on, inJanuary 1914, cemetery owners were ordered to remove all bodies buried in San Francisco.Politicians said that the cemeteries spread disease, but the cemetery operators believe it wasbecause of the rising cost of real estate. Nevertheless, the operators removed the bodies, andmoved them to Colma, leaving it sprawling with graveyards. Today, over 73 percent of Colma'sland is destined to become cemeteries.

　　1900年3月，旧金山政府下令禁止在城里埋葬死者。他们认为此举很有必要，因为这里的土地太过珍贵，不应该被用作墓地。后来，在1914年1月，墓地所有者受令将所有埋葬在旧金山的尸体转移。政客们声称墓地会带来传染病，不过墓地经营者则认为背后的原因是上升的地产价格。经营者们将尸体转移到科尔马，任由这里坟墓丛生。如今，科尔马超过73%的土地都逃脱不了成为墓地的命运。

　　6.Monowi Nebraska

　　6.内布拉斯加莫诺维

　　Monowi was founded by Czech migrants in northeast Nebraska, and it has only one resident: 77-year-old Elsie Eller. Population-wise, Monowi is the smallest jurisdiction in the US. Elsie runsthe town's only tavern and library, which is made up of about 5,000 books owned by her latehusband, Rudy. She also serves as the town's mayor, clerk, and treasurer. She also runs thecouncil. In the 1930s, the town had a population of about 150 people, but by 2000, it hadtwo: Elsie and her husband, Rudy. Elsie's husband passed away in 2004, leaving Elsie as thetown's lone resident. Every year, Elsie pays tax to the town to maintain its four streetlights andprovide other basic amenities. Several abandoned buildings in the town are covered with grass,slowly fading into obscurity, while others have collapsed.

　　莫诺维位于内布拉斯加州东北部，由捷克移民者建立，莫诺维只有一位居民：77岁的艾尔西·艾勒。从人口数量来看，莫诺维是全美最小的辖区。艾尔西经营着那里仅有的酒馆和图书馆，后者收藏了她前夫大约5000本藏书。她同时也担任小镇的市长，书记员及会计，还负责管理(市)议会。在1930年代这座小镇尚有150人口，不过到了2000年时就仅剩艾尔西和她的丈夫鲁迪两人了。艾尔西的丈夫在2004年去世，留下她一人独守这座小镇。艾尔西每年都会交税来维持小镇的四盏路灯以及其他基础设施的运作。许多废弃建筑都已是藤蔓丛生，渐渐地隐匿无踪，其他的则已颓然倒塌。

　　5.Ordos China

　　5.中国鄂尔多斯

　　The city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, has beencalled the largest ghost town in China. It was built toaccommodate more than a million people, but only2 percent of it was ever occupied. The remainder isunoccupied and was left to decay. The history of thetown began more than 20 years ago during the coalrush of Mongolia. Investors soon began buildingapartments, hoping to rent them out. However,demand didn't keep pace with the builders, and manyinvestors pulled out or went broke before the buildings were even completed.

　　中国内蒙古的鄂尔多斯，一直都被称为"中国的鬼城"。当时，鄂尔多斯建设的目标是容纳超过100万人口，但是迄今为止，只有百分之二的区域投入使用。剩下的区域则成了空城，自生自灭。这座城的历史起源于20多年前在蒙古的煤矿热潮。热潮下，投资者很快就开始建造房屋，希望把它们租出去。无奈房屋供过于求，甚至在楼房还没有完工的时候，很多投资者就已经撤资或者破产了。

　　Today, streets are filled with incomplete houses. Even the completed buildings are hardlyoccupied thanks to their high prices. Many of the residents occupying the town are also leavingfor elsewhere. In just five years, price per square foot fell from $1,100 to $470. To encouragepeople to come to the town, investors have reduced prices. Fresh graduates who move to thetown to start a business are even given office space, Internet connections, and several otherutilities for free.

　　今天，在街道上，目之所及都是"烂尾楼"。即使是已经完工的房子也由于房价高昂而几乎无人认购。很多当地的居民也正搬离这座城而到它处落脚。仅仅在五年内，房价就从每平方英尺1100美元跌到470美元。这是投资者为了吸引人们来鄂尔多斯安居而使出的权宜之计。那些来鄂尔多斯创业的高校毕业生甚至能免费享用办公室、网络和其他设备。

　　4.Longyearbyen Norway

　　4.挪威朗伊尔城

　　Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen in Norway is the northernmost city in the world. It contains theworld's northernmost church, ATM, museum, post office, airport, and university. InLongyearbyen, dying is forbidden. Anyone found ill or dying is immediately flown by airplane orship to another part of Norway before he or she passes away. And, if someone suddenly diesthere, they would not be buried.

　　朗伊尔城，坐落在挪威的斯匹次卑尔根岛(译者注：挪威所属斯瓦尔巴群岛中的岛屿，靠近北极)，是世界上最北端的城市。"最北"的教堂、自动取款机、博物馆、邮局、飞机场和大学也都在此地。在朗伊尔城，死亡是被禁止的。任何人一旦被发现患有重病或濒死就会在死亡前被马上通过飞机和船只送到挪威的其它地方去。如果有人在朗伊尔城暴毙，那么他们将不得被埋葬。

　　Dying is forbidden because bodies buried in the town's cemetery do not decompose thanks toits extreme cold weather. Scientists recently removed tissue from a man who died years ago,and discovered that it contained traces of a deadly virus that caused an epidemic in 1917.Aside from not being allowed to die, citizens are also allowed to move around with high-poweredrifles, thanks to the over 3,000 polar bears hanging around. Cats are also forbidden becausethey pose a threat to the bird population.

　　死亡之所以被禁止，是因为在当地严寒的天气条件下，埋葬在墓地里的躯体无法分解。最近，科学家从一名已死亡多年的男人的身上取出组织并且发现上面有病毒附着过的痕迹。这种病毒就是引发1917年瘟疫的罪魁祸首。除了死亡是被禁止之外，在户外活动时携带火力大的步枪却是被允许的，这要归因于那3000多只在城里闲逛的北极熊。虽然在这里连死掉都是不允许的，但居民却可以随身携带大口径步枪，这是为了对付那3000多只此地出没的北极熊。然而猫是不允入内的，因为这会对鸟群构成威胁。

　　3.Asymmetric Warfare Training Center (AWTC) Virginia

　　3.弗吉尼亚非对称作战训练中心

　　The Asymmetric Warfare Training Center (AWTC) in Virginia is an uninhabited town built by theUS Army to train its soldiers. The town is complete with a school, church, mosque, train station,and a five-story embassy that's likely the tallest building in Virginia's Caroline County, where it islocated. It also has a gas station, football field, bank, subway, and bridge. The school is built toreplicate schools in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the subway resembles that of Washington, D.C.The trains even have the same logo as those found on trains in Washington. Costing $90.1million to build, it is run by the US Army Asymmetric Warfare Group.

　　位于弗尼吉亚的非对称作战中心是个无人居住的地方，它被建造起来是为了满足美国军队训练士兵的需要。这个小镇设施完备，有学校、教堂、清真寺、火车站和五层楼高的大使馆。大使馆很可能是它所在的弗吉尼亚卡罗琳县的建筑。同时，这里还有加油站、足球场、银行、铁路和大桥。学校是仿照伊拉克和阿富汗的学校来建造的，而地铁则与华盛顿的相近，甚至连(地铁)列车上的标志也跟华盛顿的一模一样。这里的铁路由非对称作战训练中心运营，建造铁路的总花费为9千万美元。

　　Another similar town is called Yodaville. It was built in the middle of the Arizona desert by theUS Air Force. The uninhabited town, built to look like towns in Iraq and Afghanistan, is meant toteach Air Force pilots how to carry out bombing runs.

　　另外一个与之相似的城镇叫尤德瓦(Yodaville)。它由美国空军建造，坐落在亚利桑那州的沙漠中心。这个仿造伊拉克和阿富汗建造的无人居住的城镇，是用来训练空军飞行员执行投弹任务的。

　　2.Marloth Park South Africa

　　2.南非玛洛斯公园

　　Marloth Park is close to the Kruger National Park, which is filled with wildlife including lions,hippopotamuses, and crocodiles. What makes the town unique is that, despite the dangers ofhaving these wild animals close by, residents are not allowed to build fences around theirhouses. The only fence that separates the townspeople from the park is a small 1.2-meter (4ft) fence that was built more to keep humans out of the park than to keep the animals in.

　　玛洛斯公园靠近克留格尔国家公园，是狮子，河马和鳄鱼等众多野生动物的聚集地。在玛洛斯，有一点很奇特的就是居民不允许在房子周围建造栅栏，尽管来自野生动物的危险近在眼前。一道将居民和野生动物活动区隔开的围栏仅有1.2米(4英寸)高。它更像是为了不让居民踏入野生动物活动区而建造的，而不是为了防止动物进来。

　　It is not unusual to see wild animals walking about the town. Baboons are known to enterhouses through windows to steal from the refrigerators, and giraffes and elephants are knownto block the road. Lion attacks on humans are also not uncommon. Eyebrows were raisedwhen a lion attacked, killed, and ate a burglar fleeing with his loot, leaving only his head and afoot. Even after the deadly attack, most of the town's occupants want the lions to remain.Some said the burglar was shot while escaping, and his corpse was eaten by lions. Others saidthe lions would serve as a form of crime control for the town, which was seeing a rise inburglary.

　　看到野生动物在城镇里游荡一点儿也不稀奇。狒狒因为通过窗户爬入屋内从冰箱里偷东西而"臭名昭著";长颈鹿和大象由于经常挡道而出了名;狮子袭击人类也见怪不怪。但如果告诉你一头狮子袭击并吃掉了一个正准备裹着赃物逃之夭夭的窃贼，最后只留下了他的头和腿，你可能会瞪大眼睛。即使在致命的攻击事件发生之后，城镇里绝大部分的居民都希望狮子留下来。有些人说，那个窃贼是在逃跑时被枪击了，狮子吃的是他的尸体。其他人则表示在盗窃越发猖獗的年头，狮子能够起到控制当地犯罪的作用。

　　Cyclists are often the victims of attacks. This belies underlying race issues in the town, asmost of the town's residents are white and have cars, while the bicyclists are mostly blackpeople who commute there for work. One cyclist managed to escape an ambush staged by fourlions, abandoning his bicycle and fleeing to safety. Townsmen have nicknamed people ridingbicycles at night "meals on wheels."

　　骑自行车的人经常会遭到狮子袭击。这掩饰了城镇里潜在的种族问题，因为大多数的居民都是白人而且都有小车，而那些骑自行车的大多是在上班路上的黑人。有一位骑车的人成功从四头狮子"谋划"的伏击中逃脱出来，他扔下了自行车，逃到了安全的地方。城镇里的人打趣道，那些在夜里骑车的人是"轮子上的晚餐"。

　　1.Hallstat China

　　1.中国哈尔斯塔特

　　The real Hallstat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Austria. The Chinese Hallstat is a similarmock-up town built in Guangdong province, China. The town, which cost about $940 million tobuild, looks like the real Hallstat, including its roads, church tower, and wooden houses. Thetown's construction was sponsored by a Chinese millionaire, and it caused quite a stir amongresidents of the real Hallstat who were not aware of the project.

　　真正的哈尔斯塔特位于奥地利，被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。中国版的哈尔斯塔特位于中国广东，是模仿真实的哈尔斯塔特而建成的。建造这座小城花费了9.4亿美元，城里的街道、塔型教堂和木屋都跟原型相差无几。这座小城由一个有钱的中国人投资建造。当时，哈尔斯特塔特的居民都不了解这项工程。这则新闻在当地引发了不小的轰动。

　　Residents of Austria's Hallstat (including the mayor) later visited the town. They said they wereproud that their town was copied (it wasn't like they could do anything about it), but they didnot like the way the Chinese went about it. They were supposed to have met with the owners ofthe buildings they copied and asked if they were comfortable with the idea of replicating theirbuildings elsewhere, rather than just building them. The company that built the mock-up town,called Minmetals, had sent several of its workers to Austria's Hallstat where they took picturesof places to replicate.

　　奥地利哈尔斯塔特的居民，包括他们的市长，在后来参观了在中国的"胞城"。他们对于自己的城镇被复制到其它地方感到很骄傲(不过他们似乎要拦也拦不住)，但是他们不喜欢中国人的行事方式。他们认为，中国人应该到他们的城镇去问问那里的居民他们是否反感自己的城市在他乡被复制下来，而不是招呼不打就直接开工。承建这座"胞城"的是中国五矿集团。他们派员工到奥地利拍摄各种照片，并根据照片进行"复制"建造。