日本有人为的White Day，圣彼得堡有天然的White Nights，是否想过在有生之年，到这个位于北极圈的美丽城市去看看这一如梦如幻的独特自然奇观？
英美发音 适合泛听
Saint Petersburg, Russia's northern Venice. The 1)monuments here are reflected in the river and canals. The city has changed its name three times. The city is full of tourists all year round; especially in the summer.
圣彼得堡，俄国北方的威尼斯。这里的历史遗迹均在城中的河流与运河中投下绰绰身影；这座城市曾三易其名；这里全年游人如织，特别是在夏季。
May 27 is traditionally the city's birthday. St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in 1703. Every year for two days, the city is given to people. All major roads are closed for traffic and open for a grand 2)carnival, another similarity to Venice. One of the events sees the Neva River turned in to a theatre stage for a recreation of a famous navy battle between the Russian and Swedish fleets in 1700.
按照传统，5月27日是此城的诞辰。圣彼得堡是彼得大帝于1703年建成的。每年会有两天还城于民。所有主干道都禁止行车，举行规模盛大的狂欢节，这是又一与威尼斯相仿之处。其中一项活动就是把涅瓦河变成一个舞台，重现1700年俄军与瑞典舰队之间的一场著名战役。
But St. Petersburg needs more hotels to host the growing number of tourists. The small ones that already exist are not always cheap. Despite all that, tourists from all over the world continue to come. They admire the city and speak of their wishes and fears.
然而，圣彼得堡需要建造更多的旅馆以容纳不断增多的游客。现有的小旅馆有时候也不那么便宜了。尽管如此，来自世界各地的游客还是络绎不绝。他们爱慕这座城市，但也会谈到他们的期盼和忧虑。
Tourist: We have been warned about crime: about petty crime, 3)pickpockets, things like that.
游客：有人提醒过我们要小心这里的犯罪行为，比如说小偷小摸什么的。
Around three million tourists visit Petersburg every year and make Petersburg one of the top five most visited cities of the world.
每年有约三百万游客游览圣彼得堡，使得这里入选世界上最热门的旅游城市前五位。
This is the best time for the city, and one of the main tourist attractions are the famous white nights. This is when the city on the Neva never sleeps in the months of June and July. It's the most northern city in the world positioned on the 60th 4)parallel. During the white nights it's dusk only for two hours, otherwise it's day time all the time. After eight long winter months it's as if St. Petersburg has tried to 5)make up for it. The summer 6)solstice turns into one endless party.
这是圣彼得堡最美丽的时光，吸引游客的主要原因之一就是著名的白昼节。这指的是六七月间，这座坐落在涅瓦河上的城市永不休眠。它是位于纬度60度上的全球最北的城市。白昼节期间，黄昏只有两小时，其他时间都是白天。经过了八个月来漫长的冬季，圣彼得堡似乎想尝试好好补偿一番。夏至变成了一个永不落幕的派对。
Reporter: It doesn't mean that the city remains as white as during the day, but it does mean that it remains as light and bright as the early evening, which, of course, many people here enjoy. Scientifically and 7)prosaically there is always an explanation to such a phenomenon, and it has to do with the fact that during the northern hemisphere's summer, the North Pole is tipped towards the sun owing to the fact that the earth revolves on a tilted axis. And given that St. Petersburg is on such a northern 8)latitude, the city remains bright and beautiful not only during the day but also during the night.
记者：并不是说圣彼得堡会整天亮如白昼，但这里确实会亮得像傍晚时分一般，这无疑会让许多人乐在其中。科学上对此现象常见的解释可以平淡地表述为，这跟地轴倾斜度有关——地球绕着倾斜的地轴自转，在北半球的夏季，北极向太阳倾斜。由于圣彼得堡处于北纬较高纬度地区，所以该城市不仅在白天，连在夜晚也能保持明亮美丽。
A romantic boat trip along the city's numerous canals on a white night is one of the favorite tourist attractions, the reason people come here at this time of the year. The sun never goes down below the horizon and the stars of white nights are there for everyone. No other major European city can rival that.
在白昼节期间，于此城市数目繁多的运河上来一趟浪漫的泛舟之旅，是游客最热衷的旅游项目之一，也是人们挑选这一时节到这里来的原因。太阳永不会降至水平线以下，“白昼”时的星星也人皆可见。这一点没有其他欧洲大城市可以与之媲美。
