中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 Pic de Bugarach in France is supposed to open up on December 21. Aliens will emerge and save nearby humans from the Mayan apocalypse.(Agencies) |
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FRANCE has dashed the hopes of those who had planned to take refuge in one of the few places on Earth some believe will be spared when the world ends on December 21. Local officials banned access to the Pic de Bugarach, a mountain in the southwest where rumour has it the hilltop will open on the last day and aliens will emerge with spaceships to save nearby humans. Eric Freysselinard, the state's top representative in the area, said he was blocking access to the mountain for public safety reasons to avoid a rush of New Age fanatics, sightseers and media crews. Believers say the world will end on December 21, 2012, the end date of the ancient Mayan calendar, and they see Bugarach as one of a few sacred mountains sheltered from the cataclysm. Mr Freysselinard said the 100 police and firefighters he plans to deploy will also control approaches to the tiny village of the same name at the foot of the mountain, and if too many people turn up, they will block access there too. "We are expecting a few visionaries, a few people who believe in this end of the world, but in extremely limited numbers," he said in the nearby city of Carcassonne. "We are expecting greater numbers of people who are just curious, but in numbers we cannot determine. Above all, we are expecting lots of journalists," he said. Films, documentaries and websites have promoted the idea that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts that doomsday is on December 21. The culture ministry in Guatemala - where half the population are of Mayan descent - is hosting a massive event in the capital just in case the world actually does end, while tour groups are promoting doomsday-themed getaways. But the country's Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop accuses the government and tour groups of perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the imminent end of the world for monetary gain. It issued a statement last month saying that the new Maya time cycle simply "means there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature". (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
法國徹底打破了那些打算在世界末日12月21日來臨前來法國避難的人的希望。人們相信地球上有幾個末日避難地，而其中一個就在法國。 法國當地的官員禁止人們去布加拉什山，這座山是法國西南部的一座山，傳言說在世界末日這天山頂會裂開，外星人將乘著太空飛船來營救附近的人類。 法國在該地區的首席代表埃里克?弗雷賽里納德說，為了避免新時代狂熱者、游客和媒體人員蜂擁到布加拉什山，從而產生公共安全隱患，他將禁止人們前往布加拉什山。 信徒們說世界將在2012年12月21日終結，這是古瑪雅人日歷上的最后一天，而且他們認為布加拉什山是可以庇護人們免遭末日大災難的幾座“圣山”之一。 弗雷賽里納德說，他計劃在山上部署的100名警察和消防員還將限制人們進入山腳下的布加拉什小村莊，如果太多人出現在這個村莊，他們也將禁止人們前往該村。 他在附近的城市卡爾卡松說：“我們估計一些預言家，和一些相信世界末日的人會來此一探究竟，但人數極其有限。” 他說：“而大多數人都是出于好奇而來，現在人數還無法確定。此外，我們認為將有許多記者前來。” 電影、紀錄片和網站都在宣傳古瑪雅日歷對12月21日是世界末日的預言。 危地馬拉的文化部長正在首都舉行一場盛會，以防世界末日真的來臨。危地馬拉一半人口都是瑪雅人的后代。旅游團正在推銷世界末日為主題的逃難旅行。 但是危地馬拉的瑪雅聯盟Oxlaljuj Ajpop指責政府和旅游團無限夸大瑪雅日歷末日預言的神話，利用其獲取金錢收益。 瑪雅聯盟上個月發表了一個聲明，說新瑪雅時間周期只不過“意味著個人、家庭和團體將發生較大的改變，從而在人與自然之間達到和諧與平衡。” 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：Julie） |
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Vocabulary: cataclysm: 災難；大洪水，地震 |
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