威尼斯發大水 酒店打雨靴促銷牌
Venice hotel owners offer free boots for floods
Venice hoteliers are urging tourists to enjoy the tourist mecca despite chronic flooding, offering free rubber boots for guests to slosh around the Renaissance city.
"Venetian hoteliers and Mayor MassiMo Cacciari reassure tourists who want to come in Venice: Don't worry, there is no danger: high water is a phenomenon that quickly disappears," says an industry website, .
A special 190 euros (250 dollar) a night package includes "free use of rubber boots to walk during the high water," along with a map showing where special platforms are erected along the canal city's streets during the flooding.
Venice has been under water for nearly two weeks, reaching a 22-year high on December 1 at 1.56 meters (5 feet, 2 inches). Thursday and Friday are expected to see highs of up to 1.30 meters.
The lagoon city was flooded 50 times between 1993 and 2002, but by far the worst incident was on November 4, 1966, when it was submerged by 1.94 metres of water amid catastrophic flooding throughout Italy.
Every new flood revives debate over an elaborate project to place hinged panels at the inlets leading into the lagoon.
Cacciari is among critics of the so-called Moses Project, which was launched in 2003 and is not expected to reach completion until 2012.
Under the scheme, 78 steel panels will lie on the seabed until activated when high tide is more than 1.1 metres above normal.
Compressed air will then force the panels to rise up on their hinges, forming a slanting barrier to the incoming tide from the Adriatic Sea.
Another approach under consideration is to raise the city's buildings.
Under Operation "Rialto", piston-supported poles would be placed beneath each structure and gradually lift buildings by up to a metre.
（意大利）文藝復興之城、“水城”威尼斯近日遭遇洪水侵襲，一些酒店利用水漲之機，打起了促銷牌，即住店遊客可免費使用酒店提供的雨靴，體驗水中漫步威尼斯的樂趣。
據意大利酒店業協會網站（）稱：“威尼斯的酒店和市長瑪西莫•卡西亞利給想來威尼斯旅遊的遊客們吃了顆定心丸：別擔心，不會有危險：水很快就會退。”
酒店打出的促銷廣告是：190歐元（250美元）住店一晚，即可“免費使用酒店提供的雨靴”和地圖，這張地圖可讓遊客們知道沿街哪些地方有可供“上岸”的平臺。
威尼斯的大水已經持續近兩週，本月1日的水位達到22年來最高水平，爲1.56米（5英尺2 英寸），本週四和週五預計將達1.3米。
從1993年至2002年，“水城”威尼斯共發過50次洪水。但是迄今爲止最嚴重的一次洪水發生於1966年11月4日，當時意大利全國遭遇特大洪水侵襲，威尼斯的水位則漲到了1.94米。
爲了治理水患，威尼斯正在興建一個防洪工程，擬在威尼斯通往海洋的入海口處建多個活動閘門，而每次發洪水都會引發有關該工程的爭議。
現任市長卡西亞利就是這項工程的反對者之一。這項名爲“摩西工程”的防洪設施於2003年啓動，預計將於2012年建成。
該工程計劃在海牀上建78個鋼板，當水位超出警戒線1.1米以上時，擋板就會被啓動。
這些擋板在壓縮空氣力量的作用下會豎立起來，從而形成一個傾斜的屏障擋住來自亞得利亞海的洪水。
還有一個方案是加高威尼斯全城建築的高度。
按照這項“Rialto”（里亞託橋，威尼斯最著名的橋）計劃，將在建築物底部置入活塞柱，使建築物整體增高1米。
Vocabulary:
hotelier:旅館經營者
slosh:在水[泥]中掙扎[亂走]
submerge:Growing or remaining under water（在水中；被淹沒）
