征税游客,甚至要求游客避开复活节和嘉年华的繁忙季节,人们谈论很多。但是,正如你所看到的,最大化威尼斯游客的数量也是必要的。所以,威尼斯的旅游问题似乎没有简单的解决办法。
Listening 2 A Conversation between Classmates
M: Hi, Linda. I’ve been looking for you. I wanted to return your notes from the lecture（讲义） on Singapore. Thanks for letting me borrow them.
F: No problem. Sorry that you missed class. Are you feeling better？
M: Yes, a lot better, thanks. Do you have time to answer a few questions for me? There were a few things in your notes that I didn’t understand.
F: Sure.
M: OK. So first, you wrote here “Singapura—lion”. What did you mean by that？ F: Oh, that’s an easy one. Singapura is the original name for Singapore. It means “lion city”. And the symbol of the country is the Merlion—it’s a unique creature（生物） with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The head of the lion relates to the name Singapura. And the body of the fish is because Singapore started off as a fishing village.
M: Interesting. Do you remember when modern Singapore was founded？I couldn’t really read your handwriting here.
F: Um, I think it was 18 something ... maybe 1819’ So, you know, it’s still a young country.
M: OK. I don’t really understand the section（部分） of your notes about Singapore’s challenges. Could you explain that a bit more？
F: Sure. For one thing, Singapore doesn’t really have much land, oil, wood, or other
natural resources. Oh, and another thing ... um, there’s also a mix of people from different ethnic（民族） groups and with different religions and languages. They’re all trying to conform（遵循） to the laws and live together in a small space.
M: I didn’t know that.
F: It’s also a really small country—about 270 square miles, which is the size of the state of Hawaii？
M: Uh-huh.
F: And it’s 100 percent urbanized—all the people live in built-up areas. You probably read in my notes that Singapore has a very powerful economy for such a small country.
M: Yes, I remember that part. Your notes said that Singapore was ranked second in the world for having an innovative（创新的） economy. So, its economy is compatible（协调） with the economy of many larger countries.
F: It definitely（的确） is. And a lot of people think that Singapore couldn’t have achieved that kind of success without Lee Kuan Yew.
M: He was the first prime minister, right？
F: Right. He was prime minister for, uh, 30 years, or something. And he stayed active in politics until he retired. It was recently, maybe 2011’ So, his ideas dominated Singapore politics for over 50 years.
M: You know, the Singaporeans I’ve met all work very hard. They seem to want to be number one in everything.
F: I think you’re right. It’s probably got to do with the spirit of kiasu. M: Kiasu?
F: Yes, it means “afraid to lose”. It’s an idea that some people have internalized, and it makes them work hard to be the best. For example, Singapore has one of the world’s busiest shipping ports, and it has one of the world’s best health care systems.
M: That’s impressive. What about the l aws in Singapore’ What did you write about chewing gum?
F: Well, you can’t sell chewing gum in Singapore. It’s illegal, and the police enforce that law. Spitting on the street can also get you a huge fine. And then there’s a fine for forgetting to flush the toilet in a public place.
M: I think that the laws seem way too strict, don’t you’
F: Actually, no. I don’t think so. Those laws make Singapore one of the cleanest and safest places to live in the world. In my opinion, I’d rather have strict laws and saf e streets than lenient laws and more crime.
M: Hmmm. I’m not so sure about that. I think it’s a debatable point. But I agree that Singapore is an interesting place.
F: Definitely.
M: OK, I think you’ve answered all my questions. F: Good.
M: Thanks again for your notes. See you next class. F: Yes, see you then.
男:嗨,琳达。我一直在找你。我想从新加坡的演讲回来你的笔记。谢谢你让我借。 F:没问题。对不起,你错过了上课。你感觉好些了吗？
M:好的,谢谢。你有时间为我回答几个问题吗？你的笔记里有一些我不明白的东西。
F:好的。所以首先,你在这里写了“新加坡狮子”。你是什么意思？
F:哦,这很简单。新加坡是新加坡的原名。意思是“狮城”。这个国家的象征是鱼尾狮- 它是一头独一无二的狮子头和鱼身。狮子的头与新加坡的名字有关。而鱼的身体是因为新加坡是作为一个渔村而开始的。
M:有趣。你还记得现代新加坡何时成立？我在这里无法真正阅读你的笔迹。 F:呃,我认为是18点,也许是1819点？所以,你知道,这还是一个年轻的国家。 男:好的。我不太了解你们有关新加坡挑战的部分。你能解释一下吗’
F:好的。一方面,新加坡的土地,石油,木材和其他自然资源并不多。哦,还有另一件事呢,那里也有来自不同民族,不同宗教和语言的人。他们都试图遵守法律,在狭小的空间里共同生活。
M:我不知道。
F:这也是一个非常小的国家,约270平方英里,这是夏威夷州的规模。 男:嗯。
F:百分之百城市化- 所有的人都住在建筑区。你可能在我的笔记中读到,新加坡对于这样一个小国来说经济非常强大。
M:是的,我记得那一部分。你的笔记说新加坡因创新型经济而位居世界第二位。所以它的经济和许多大国的经济是一致的。
F:肯定是的。许多人认为没有李光耀,新加坡就不可能取得这样的成就。 M:他是第一任总理,对吗’
F:对。他是30年的总理,还是什么的。他一直活跃在政坛,直到退休。最近,也许是2011年’所以,他的观点在新加坡政治上统治了五十多年。
M:你知道,我遇到的新加坡人都很努力。他们似乎想要成为所有的第一。