意總理敦促國民在本國度假 幫助經濟復甦

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi urges Italians to vacation in their own homeland of "skies, sun and sea" in a new television advertisement aimed at boosting an economy struggling to emerge from recession.

It comes weeks after Berlusconi's government unveiled an unpopular 25-billion euro austerity budget that has sparked protests and helped push his popularity ratings to new lows.

The 30-second "Magic Italy" advertisement created by the tourism ministry intersperses shots of picturesque seas, sunsets and bridges with images of famous monuments and artistic gems.

"What you're seeing is your Italy, a unique country of skies, sun, sea, but also of history, culture and art," Berlusconi narrates over the images. "It's an extraordinary country, which you have yet to discover. Use your vacation, to know Italy better, your magic Italy."

This is the first time an Italian prime minister has lent his voice to an institutional advertisement and is aimed at boosting the economy at a time of spending cutbacks, Tourism Minister Vittoria Brambilla told a Wednesday news conference.

Italians are expected to spend about 14 billion euros on vacations abroad this year and diverting even a small slice of that spending back home would help, she said.

Berlusconi in the past has urged Italians to keep spending and shopping to help Italy's economy, which suffered its post-war recession in 2008 and 2009.

為刺激經濟增長，幫助經濟復甦，義大利總理西爾維奧•貝盧斯科尼日前在一則新的電視廣告中號召義大利人在本國度假，享受義大利的“藍天、陽光和大海”。

幾周前，貝盧斯科尼政府公佈了一項不得人心的250億歐元的財政緊縮預算，這一計劃的推出引發了民眾的抗議，並使他的支援率跌至歷史新低。

這一時長30秒的名為“魅力義大利”的廣告由義大利旅遊部製作，廣告中呈現了義大利如畫的海景、落日和橋，以及著名的歷史遺蹟和藝術瑰寶的畫面。

貝盧斯科尼在廣告中說：“你所看到的就是你的祖國義大利，一個擁有藍天、陽光和大海的獨特國度，一個有著豐富的歷史、文化和藝術的國度。這是一個非凡的國度，等待著你去發現。度假就選義大利，感受魅力的義大利。”

義大利旅遊部部長維多利亞•布蘭比拉在本週三的一次新聞釋出會上說，總理親自上陣為機構廣告配音，這在義大利還是首次，做這個廣告的目的是在削減開支的同時刺激經濟增長。

她說，今年義大利人海外度假的消費預計為140億歐元，把其中的一小部分轉到國內就能起到拉動經濟的作用。

貝盧斯科尼還曾敦促義大利人多多消費和購物來幫助義大利經濟復甦。2008年和2009年，義大利經濟遭遇了戰後首次衰退。

Vocabulary:

austerity: a situation when people do not have much money to spend because there are bad economic conditions （經濟的）緊縮；嚴格節制消費

intersperse: to put something in something else or among or between other things 散佈；散置；點綴

monument: a building that has special historical importance 歷史遺蹟；有歷史價值的建築

institutional: relating to a large organization, for example a university, bank, or church 機構的

divert: to make somebody/something change direction 使轉向