“特种兵旅游”是什么？
What is special forces tourism in China?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
二零二三年春天，中国的网上出现了一个新词：“特种兵旅游”。特种兵是军队里最能吃苦的士兵，那么旅游为什么也叫“特种兵”呢？
看看一个大学生可能会怎么过周末，你就明白了。星期五下课以后，她坐晚上的火车出发，在车上睡一夜。星期六早上六点到了另一个城市，一天去了八个景点，走了四万多步，晚上住最便宜的青年旅社。星期天又去了五个地方，晚上坐车回学校，星期一早上八点准时去上课。整个周末只花了几百块钱。
这样的旅游，时间短，花钱少，去的地方多，累得像特种兵训练一样，所以大家叫它“特种兵旅游”。
为什么这种旅游会火起来？很多年轻人说，他们是学生，时间不多，钱也不多，可是很想去看看外面的世界。只有周末两天，就得把每一分钟都用上。也有人觉得，和朋友一起这样挑战自己，是一件很有意思的事，回来以后还能在网上分享自己的“战绩”。
不过，也有人不太赞成。他们说，一天去八个景点，每个地方只看一个小时，拍几张照片就走，真的能了解一个城市吗？而且，睡不好、吃不好，身体也会受不了。
你更喜欢哪一种旅游呢？是像特种兵一样，两天走遍一座城市，还是找一个地方，慢慢地住上一个星期？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring; springtime |
| 周末 | zhōumò | weekend |
| 明白 | míngbai | to understand; to realize |
| 以后 | yǐhòu | later; afterwards; in the future |
| 出发 | chūfā | to set off; to start out |
| 城市 | chéngshì | city; town |
| 地方 | dìfang | place |
| 短 | duǎn | short; brief |
| 世界 | shìjiè | world |
| 用 | yòng | to use; use; usefulness |
| 张 | zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photo; picture |
English (for the teacher)
In the spring of 2023, a new phrase appeared on the Chinese internet: “special forces tourism”. Special forces are the toughest soldiers in the army, so why would travel be called “special forces”?
Look at how a university student might spend a weekend, and you’ll see. On Friday after class, she takes a night train and sleeps on board. She arrives in another city at six on Saturday morning, visits eight sights in one day, walks over forty thousand steps and spends the night in the cheapest youth hostel. On Sunday she visits five more places, takes a train back to campus in the evening, and is in class on time at eight on Monday morning. The whole weekend costs only a few hundred yuan.
This kind of travel is short, cheap and packed with places, and as exhausting as special forces training, so people call it “special forces tourism”.
Why did it take off? Many young people say they are students without much time or money, but they really want to see the world. With only the two days of a weekend, they have to use every minute. Others feel that taking on a challenge like this with friends is great fun, and afterwards they can share their “battle record” online.
Not everyone approves, though. They say: if you go to eight sights in a day, spend an hour at each, take a few photos and leave, can you really get to know a city? And without enough sleep or proper meals, your body can’t take it.
Which kind of travel do you prefer? Covering a whole city in two days like a special forces soldier, or finding one place and staying a whole week, slowly?