出國(guó)旅行“神”指南

2015-04-29 00:00:00

新東方英語(yǔ) 2015年1期

Any time you travel outside the U.S.， check out the State Department’s site because it is loaded with practical information.

There’s important stuff， scary stuff and even fun stuff， all rolled up in a nice and neat country-by-country listing. Did you know， for instance， that riding a bicycle under the influence1） in Poland can land you in jail？

None of what follows should keep you from traveling to any of these wonderful countries; all are well worth a visit （I know， I’ve been to many of them）. Consider these warnings something to keep in mind as you would any good advice. Some are a little odd while others are simply fun. Note： Unless otherwise stated， all quotes come from the State Department’s website.

出國(guó)旅行大體上是件讓人興奮的事，所以很多游客在卸下日常生活的重?fù)?dān)后一身輕松，在放松身心的同時(shí)也放松了警惕，放縱了自己，甚至放下了理智。為此，美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院的網(wǎng)站列出了游客去各國(guó)旅行的注意事項(xiàng)，提醒美國(guó)公民在外旅行時(shí)多加小心。有備無(wú)患，多了解一些信息總沒(méi)錯(cuò)。這也提醒我們：出門(mén)在外，看好自己，也看好自己的錢(qián)包吧。

任何時(shí)候去美國(guó)之外的地方旅行，都可以查看美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院的網(wǎng)站，因?yàn)槠渲邪舜罅繉?shí)用的信息。

這些信息有的很重要，有的很?chē)樔耍械纳踔梁苡腥ぁＫ行畔⒍及磭?guó)別列出，條理清晰明了。比如，你是否知道在波蘭醉酒之后騎自行車(chē)會(huì)招致牢獄之災(zāi)？

請(qǐng)不要因下文所述的任何內(nèi)容而打消去這些美妙的國(guó)度旅行的念頭，它們都很值得一去（相信我，我去過(guò)其中很多國(guó)家）。把這些告誡當(dāng)成忠告良言記在心頭吧，它們有的有些古怪，有的則非常好玩。注意：除非另有說(shuō)明，所有內(nèi)容均引自美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院網(wǎng)站。

Air rage2） warning： Air travelers to and from the United Kingdom should be aware that “penalties against alcohol-related and other in-flight crimes are stiff and are being enforced with prison sentences.” I bet a lot of passengers would say， serves the bloody twits3） right.

Gun warnings： Most are aware of the UK’s strict gun control laws and if you want to bring a weapon you’d better have a very good reason which you’ll need to spell out in a formal application. Here’s the tricky part： You must also produce “a letter of good conduct from [your] local police station.”

Romance warnings： Con artists4） worldwide love the Internet but certain UK hustlers take it to a special level. A current fraud scheme “involves someone posing as5） a member of U.S. Special Forces who establishes a romantic relationship via online dating services， and then asks for money once that relationship is established.” This may say more about the gullibility6） of Americans than anything else but the bottom line is， don’t give money to strangers.

空怒須謹(jǐn)慎：搭乘飛機(jī)前往或離開(kāi)英國(guó)的旅客應(yīng)該明白，“與酒精有關(guān)的犯罪及其他飛行中實(shí)施的犯罪行為將受到嚴(yán)厲懲罰，犯罪者將被監(jiān)禁”。我敢肯定，對(duì)此許多乘客會(huì)說(shuō)：這些該死的笨蛋罪有應(yīng)得。

帶槍須謹(jǐn)慎：大部分人都知道，英國(guó)對(duì)槍支實(shí)施嚴(yán)格的法律管制，如果你想攜帶武器入境，最好能有一個(gè)非常有說(shuō)服力的理由，并在一份正式申請(qǐng)里將其清楚地闡明。現(xiàn)在，棘手的問(wèn)題來(lái)了：你還必須提供“由（你所在的）當(dāng)?shù)鼐炀趾灠l(fā)的一份無(wú)犯罪記錄證明”。

警惕浪漫陷阱：全世界的騙子都對(duì)網(wǎng)絡(luò)詐騙情有獨(dú)鐘，但英國(guó)的某些騙子卻在網(wǎng)絡(luò)詐騙中另辟蹊徑。當(dāng)前的一個(gè)詐騙計(jì)劃是 “某個(gè)人冒充美國(guó)特種部隊(duì)成員，通過(guò)網(wǎng)上約會(huì)服務(wù)與被騙者建立戀愛(ài)關(guān)系，一旦戀愛(ài)關(guān)系確立，便會(huì)索要錢(qián)財(cái)”。這也許比什么都更能說(shuō)明美國(guó)人容易上當(dāng)受騙，不過(guò)底線(xiàn)是：切勿掏錢(qián)給陌生人。

Warrior warnings： Apparently there are still some who find romance in the idea of joining the French Foreign Legion7）（its website boasts “a chance to start a new life”） but as the State Department gently notes， U.S. citizens “should be aware that the cognitive and physical tests to join are extremely challenging.” Translation： Despite what you may have heard， they don’t take just anyone， and when you wash out8）， don’t go looking to the embassy for a free ride home.

軍隊(duì)招募警示：顯然，仍有人認(rèn)為加入法國(guó)外籍兵團(tuán)（其網(wǎng)站吹噓稱(chēng)這是個(gè)“開(kāi)啟全新生活的機(jī)會(huì)”）非常浪漫，但國(guó)務(wù)院委婉地提醒道，美國(guó)公民“應(yīng)該知道，加入該兵團(tuán)須通過(guò)的認(rèn)知和體能測(cè)試均極具挑戰(zhàn)性”。言下之意：不管你可能聽(tīng)說(shuō)了些什么，他們不會(huì)隨便招人，如果你被淘汰出局，別指望美國(guó)使館會(huì)免費(fèi)把你送回國(guó)。

Download warning： The U.S. Embassy in Berlin says there have been incidents of lawyers for German media companies “aggressively identifying individuals who are illegally downloading copyrighted content and then billing those people 1000 Euros or more per incident.” So forget that cute Munich cat video and save yourself the $700+ fee.

謹(jǐn)慎下載：美國(guó)駐柏林大使館稱(chēng)，有幾位受雇于德國(guó)媒體公司的律師們“積極出動(dòng)，鑒定出多個(gè)非法下載版權(quán)內(nèi)容的個(gè)人，隨后為這些人開(kāi)出了每案1000歐元甚至更高數(shù)額的賬單”。所以，別再惦記那只慕尼黑萌貓的視頻了，給自己省下700多美元的費(fèi)用吧。

Easy money warning： Potential visitors should “view with skepticism any unsolicited9） invitations to travel to Ireland to collect winnings or an inheritance.” File this under “Blarney10）.”

Pub warning： The Emerald Isle11） has “tough drunk driving laws” （now before you jump on12） me for stereotyping， this nugget13） was uncovered by an employee of mine who proudly self-identifies as Irish-American）.

警惕飛來(lái)橫財(cái)：計(jì)劃前往愛(ài)爾蘭的旅行者應(yīng)“對(duì)前往愛(ài)爾蘭領(lǐng)取獎(jiǎng)金或繼承遺產(chǎn)的殷勤邀請(qǐng)持懷疑態(tài)度”。直接把這類(lèi)信息歸入“欺人之談”吧。

酒吧暢飲須知：這座綠寶石島執(zhí)行“嚴(yán)苛的酒駕處罰法”（先別急著批評(píng)我有偏見(jiàn)，這是我的一個(gè)員工透露的消息，他一直驕傲地標(biāo)榜自己是愛(ài)爾蘭裔美國(guó)人。）

Nature warnings： Watch out for occasional earthquakes. Fortunately there are no big fault lines15） near most major cities but there are a few volcanoes， too， like Sicily’s Mt. Etna which “has been intermittently16） erupting since 2000.” Before you say， “So what？” it’s worth remembering that 2010’s Icelandic volcano eruption caused the worst European travel disruption since World War II.

Thieves-with-flair warnings： Not all bad guys look the part17） so do not be “l(fā)ulled into a 1 sense of security that well-dressed individuals are not potential pick-pockets.”

自然災(zāi)害警示：當(dāng)心偶爾發(fā)生的地震。所幸多數(shù)大城市附近都沒(méi)有斷層帶，但也分布著一些火山，如西西里島的埃特納火山，該火山“自2000年起便一直間歇性噴發(fā)”。在你說(shuō)“那又怎樣”之前，有必要先回想一下，2010年的冰島火山噴發(fā)造成了自二戰(zhàn)以來(lái)歐洲最嚴(yán)重的旅行中斷事件。

警惕衣著體面的扒手：不是所有壞人都把壞寫(xiě)在臉上，所以不要被“錯(cuò)誤的安全感哄騙，認(rèn)為衣冠楚楚的人不會(huì)是潛在的扒手”。

Wildlife warnings： Crime is not a big worry in this Scandinavian country， but if you happen to visit the remote Svalbard archipelago14）（located midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole） you may run across unique hazards such as “polar bear attacks.” Norway’s official tourism site goes even further， warning visitors to avoid bear confrontations but if that’s not possible， “always have a sufficiently powerful weapon at hand when traveling outside the settlements.” Note： If heading to Norway via Heathrow， better review the UK gun warning.

野生動(dòng)物警告：在這個(gè)斯堪的納維亞國(guó)家，犯罪倒不是旅行者的一大擔(dān)心，但你如果碰巧要去游覽偏遠(yuǎn)的斯瓦爾巴群島（位于挪威大陸與北極之間），則可能會(huì)遭遇類(lèi)似“北極熊襲擊”這樣的獨(dú)特險(xiǎn)境。挪威的官方旅游網(wǎng)站則更進(jìn)一步，告誡旅行者避免與北極熊正面對(duì)抗，但如果不可能做到這一點(diǎn)，“在定居點(diǎn)之外旅行時(shí)，要始終保證手邊有足夠強(qiáng)大的武器”。注意：如果從希思羅機(jī)場(chǎng)出發(fā)前往挪威，最好回顧一下英國(guó)的攜帶槍支須知。

Spain 西班牙

Caller-needs-money warning： You don’t have to visit Spain to get drained of cash by this scam. It begins with a phone call from your “grandchild” who says he’s been arrested in Madrid and needs money but please don’t tell his parents！ Is that really little Bobby？ Of course not， but the State Department says people fall for it. If in doubt， call little Bobby’s parents.

勿信急需用錢(qián)的電話(huà)：不用去西班牙，你也能被這個(gè)騙局騙得傾家蕩產(chǎn)。一開(kāi)始，你會(huì)接到你“孫子”打來(lái)的電話(huà)，說(shuō)他在馬德里被捕了，急需用錢(qián)，但請(qǐng)你千萬(wàn)別告訴他的爹媽?zhuān)‰娫?huà)那頭真的是小博比嗎？當(dāng)然不是，但國(guó)務(wù)院稱(chēng)人們會(huì)信以為真。如果你心有疑慮，那就打電話(huà)給小博比的爹媽吧。

1. under the influence：（酒）醉的

2. air rage：空中憤怒（飛機(jī)上的乘客出現(xiàn)的攻擊或暴力行為）

3. twit [tw?t] n. 〈英口〉笨蛋，傻瓜;白癡

4. con artist：騙子

5. pose as：假裝（或冒充）……的樣子，偽裝成

6. gullibility [?ɡ?l??b?l?ti] n. 易受騙

7. French Foreign Legion：法國(guó)外籍兵團(tuán)，一支主要成員是外國(guó)志愿者的法國(guó)軍隊(duì)

8. wash out：被淘汰，被剔除

9. unsolicited [??ns??l?s?t?d] adj. 未被請(qǐng)求的;主動(dòng)提供的

10. blarney [?blɑ?（r）ni] n. 欺人之談;胡扯

11. The Emerald Isle：綠寶石島（愛(ài)爾蘭島的別名）

12. jump on：責(zé)備，責(zé)罵，嚴(yán)厲批評(píng)