《中英對照讀新聞》Venetians rally to fight city exodus 威尼斯人決心對抗出走潮

◎蔡子岳

Several hundred citizens of Venice rallied on Saturday to draw attention to an exodus of residents that they fear is sucking the life out of the fabled Italy city.

數百名威尼斯市民週六集會，以吸引注意：市民出走潮使這座義大利名城失去生命力。

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Venetians of all ages took part in the "Venexodus" demonstration, clutching signs such as "Farewell, Venice," and "I won’t go, I will stay and resist," as well as suitcases to symbolise the constant departures.

各年齡層的市民參加名為「威尼斯人出走」的遊行，手持「再見，威尼斯」、「我不走，我留下與之對抗」字卡，以及象徵市民持續流失的手提箱。

More than 60,000 tourists arrive in Venice each day － a tally that now dwarfs the city’s full-time residents.

每天有超過6萬名觀光客湧入威尼斯，總數甚至超過當地居民。

"Venice is losing 1,000 residents each year. It now has less than 55,000 people, compared to 100,000 40 years ago － the danger is very great," said Matteo Secchi, head of the association venessia.com which organised the rally.

「威尼斯1年減少1000名居民。市民總人數少於5萬5000人，相較於40年前的10萬人，實在很危險，」發動這場遊行的venessia.com組織負責人塞奇說。

Secchi drew a comparison with Pompeii － the preserved Roman town that the volcano Vesuvius destroyed in AD79. "We are turning into Pompei, a town which people come to visit and say it’s magnificent, but no-one lives there. "

塞奇舉龐貝城—維蘇威火山公元79年摧毀的羅馬城市—為例：「我們正在變成龐貝，人們前來觀光、讚嘆她，可是城裡不適合人住了。」

The cost of accommodation has rocketed, as private owners rent out apartments for short-term lets.

居住成本飆升，因為屋主將公寓用於短期租賃。

新聞辭典

suck the life out：動詞片語，抽乾。例句：Out-of-town stores have sucked the life out of the city centre.（城鎮外緣的商家吸乾了市中心的生命力。）

dwarf：動詞，使少於…。例句：The new skyscraper will dwarf all those near it. （新建成的摩天樓將使周邊建物無法睥睨其高。）

rocket：動詞，急速上升。例句：Food prices rocket by 15%. （糧食價格飆漲15％。）