中英對照讀新聞》Ancient Petra a ghost town as pandemic hits Jordan tourism 疫情衝擊約旦觀光業 古城彼特拉宛如鬼鎮

受累疫情，約旦觀光古城彼特拉宛如鬼城。（法新社）

◎陳成良

For over two millennia the ancient city of Petra has towered majestically over the Jordanian desert. Today its famed rose-red temples hewn into the rockface lie empty and silent.

古城彼特拉在約旦沙漠中雄偉矗立2000多年，如今城內鑿入瑰紅岩壁中的著名神殿，一片冷清死寂。

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As the novel coronavirus spread around the world, Jordanian authorities imposed a lockdown, and the last tourists left on March 16, a day before the Hashemite kingdom closed its borders.

隨著新型冠狀病毒蔓延全球，約旦當局實施封鎖措施，最後一批觀光客於3月16日出境後，約旦（哈希米王國）隔天旋即對外關閉邊界。

"It’s the first time I’ve seen this place so empty. Usually there are thousands of tourists," said Nayef Hilalat, 42, who has worked as a guardian at the ancient archaeological site for a decade.

在這座考古遺址擔任警衛10年、42歲的希拉拉特說：「這是我第一次看到此地如此空蕩，以往這裡都會有數千名觀光客。」

"Every year at this time the place would be buzzing with people," he lamented, wearing a khaki cap bearing the Jordanian flag. "Today all we can hear is the birds singing."

他頭戴著有約旦國旗圖案的卡其帽，感歎道：「往年此時，這裡都會充滿嘈雜的人聲 ，如今只能聽見鳥鳴。」

One of the seven wonders of the world, and classified as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985, Petra was once the capital of the nomadic Nabataean Arab peoples and dates back to at least 200 years BC.

被列為世界7大奇景之一的彼特拉，1985年獲聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）列入世界遺產。彼特拉曾為遊牧民族納巴泰阿拉伯人的都城，歷史至少可追溯到公元前200年。

新聞辭典

millennia：名詞，1000年（ millennium的名詞複數）；千年期；千禧年。例句：Natural and herbal contraception has been used for millennia.（天然和草藥避孕方法已經使用數千年。）

hewn：動詞，（用斧、刀等）砍、劈、鑿。例句：They hewed a path through the jungle.（他們在叢林中開闢出一條路。）

lament：動詞，哀悼、悲嘆。例句：John lamented over the loss of his best friend.（約翰哀悼好友的逝去。）

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