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Good Times in Bad Lands 险恶之旅

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A few years ago, the American president announced that he considered Iraq, Iran, and North Korea to be the worst countries on the plant. He called them the Axis of Evil, and to many, they seemed to be places of darkness and danger. However, to Tony Wheeler, the co-creator of the Lonely Planet travel guides, they made for an excellent travel itinerary. In his new book Bad Lands, Tony Wheeler describes his recent travels in the most feared countries on Earth.

美国总统几年前公开宣布，他认为伊拉克、伊朗及北韩是全球最糟糕的国家，并称之为「邪恶轴心」。对许多人来说，这些国家似乎极为黑暗、险恶，但对《寂寞星球》旅游指南的创始人托尼．惠勒而言，这些国家反而很适合排入旅程。在其新书《险恶之旅》中，惠勒描述他最近游历世上最令人畏惧的国家的经验。

Wheeler visited nine countries in all, including Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. On his journey, he explored how bad a really bad country can get, and what makes a country “evil.” He developed an “evil meter” to measure a country’s evilness, based on its terrorist connections, the government’s treatment of its people, and the threat it poses to other nations.

惠勒总共造访九国，包括阿富汗、阿尔巴尼亚、缅甸、古巴、伊朗、伊拉克、利比亚、北韩，以及沙特阿拉伯。惠勒在旅途中探究险恶国家到底有多险恶，以及为何一个国家会被冠上「邪恶」之名。他发明「邪恶量表」，依据一国与恐怖份子的关联，政府如何对待人民，以及对他国构成威胁的程度，来评量其邪恶程度。

Surprisingly, Wheeler found that most of the “bad lands” were prettily safe to travel in. They were run by authoritarian governments with strict laws, so foreigners were well protected from crime. Only Iraq and Afghanistan were dangerous for travelers due to the internal conflicts there.

令人意外的是，惠勒发现这些「险恶之境」多半是十分安全的旅游区。它们由威权政府以严格的法令控管，外国人得到周全的保护，不会成为犯罪目标。只有伊拉克和阿富汗因为有内战，对旅客较危险。

Vocabulary

单词发音

announce [əˋnaʊns] v. 宣布，发布

itinerary [aɪ`tɪnəˏrɛrɪ] n. 旅程；路线

measure [ˋmɛʒɚ] v. 测量

terrorist [ˋtɛrərɪst] adj. 恐怖分子的; n. 恐怖分子

authoritarian [ə͵θɔrəˋtɛrɪən] adj. 独裁主义的

conflict [kənˋflɪkt] n. 冲突

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单词发音

Axis of Evil 邪恶轴心

feared [fɪrd] adj. 令人畏惧的

pose [poz] v. 造成，引起

prettily [ˋprɪtɪlɪ] adv. 很；颇；相当

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课文讲解

As it turned out, many of the troubled countries that Wheeler visited actually treated him very warmly. Iran was particularly welcoming, rolling out the red carpet for him. Despite the strict rules of the country’s Islamic faith, the women seemed liberal and outgoing. One woman riding a motorcycle even gave Wheeler a friendly wink! The Iranians were also very open about their religion and encouraged him to visit a mosque.

结果发现，许多问题国家其实对惠勒很殷勤。伊朗尤其让他感到倍受礼遇。虽然该国有严苛的回教戒律，当地妇女似乎相当大方、活泼，一个骑机车的女子甚至还向惠勒友善地眨眼呢！伊朗人对宗教的态度也很开通，甚至还鼓励惠勒去参观清真寺。

The most bizarre country he visited was North Korea. Wheeler felt it was like a movie set; everything seemed artificial. There was even a rumor that the subway he rode on only went to the stops where tourists were allowed to get off, and other stops were elaborate shams. It was only after talking to a diplomat that he found out the rumor was false.

惠勒造访的国家中，北韩最奇怪。他觉得该国就像电影场景，一切似乎是人造的。甚至有传言说，他搭的地铁只开到准许观光客下车的站，其他地铁站都是精心设计的骗局。惠勒和一位外交官交谈后，才发现该传言是子虚乌有。

Through these travels, Wheeler hopes to show that the Bad Lands may not be as forbidding as people think. After all, most people only know what they hear on the news, and there are two sides to every story. In Bad Lands, the portrayal of the other side shows that even at their worst, things aren’t all bad.

透过这些旅程，惠勒希望让世人了解，这些险恶国家并非如一般人想象的那么难以亲近。毕竟多数人知道的事情都是从新闻报导听来的，其实凡事皆有两面。在《险恶之旅》一书中，对于另一面的描述让我们知道，即使事情最糟糕时，并非全都是负面的。

−by Alan Campana

Vocabulary

单词发音

particularly [pɚˋtɪkjəlɚlɪ] adv. 特别，尤其

liberal [ˋlɪbərəl] adj. 大方的; 心胸宽阔的

bizarre [bɪˋzɑr] adj. 古怪的; 奇异的

artificial [͵ɑrtəˋfɪʃəl] adj. 矫揉造作的，不自然的

elaborate [ɪˋlæbə͵ret] adj. 精心制作的

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单词发音

welcoming [ˋwɛlkəmɪŋ] adj.〔人或地方〕殷勤的; 亲切的

carpet [ˋkɑrpɪt] n. 地毯

Islamic [ɪsˋlæmɪk] adj. 回教的

outgoing [ˋaʊt͵goɪŋ] adj. 直率的; 外向的

wink [wɪŋk] n. 眨眼；眼色

mosque [mɑsk] n. 清真寺，回教寺院

sham [ʃæm] n. 欺骗；骗局

there are two sides to every story 凡事皆有两面  Prov. there are valid reasons for holding opposing opinions

portrayal [porˋtreəl] n. 描绘; 描写; 描述

at its worst 最糟糕的时候  under the most negative circumstances, estimation, or interpretation

Reading Questions

1.   Why did Wheeler travel to the “bad countries?”

A.  Because he wanted to perfect his evil meter by observing how terrorists work.

B.  Because he worked as a tour guide and led a group of tourists through them.

C.  Because the U.S. president asked him to explore those countries for him.

D.  Because he was trying to find out what those countries were really like.

2.   What surprised Wheeler while he traveled through the “bad lands?”

A.  All of the countries were run by very powerful leaders.

B.  Most of the countries were actually safe for travelers.

C.  Many of the countries were involved in wars.

D.  They all used strict laws to control foreigners.

3.   What was the story he had heard about North Korea?

A.  The women there were supposedly very liberal.

B.  Some of the stops on the subway weren’t real.

C.  They welcome visitors to visit their temples.

D.  It was actually all just the set of a big movie.

4.   This article is most likely taken from a(n) ______.

A.  fashion magazine

B.  cooking recipe book

C.  book review

D.  autobiography

Answer