法国封锁

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)

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, 2017, 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.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

法国彻底打破了那些打算在世界末日12月21日来临前来法国避难的人的希望。人们相信地球上有几个末日避难地，而其中一个就在法国。

法国当地的官员禁止人们去布加拉什山，这座山是法国西南部的一座山，传言说在世界末日这天山顶会裂开，外星人将乘着太空飞船来营救附近的人类。

法国在该地区的首席代表埃里克•弗雷赛里纳德说，为了避免新时代狂热者、游客和媒体人员蜂拥到布加拉什山，从而产生公共安全隐患，他将禁止人们前往布加拉什山。

信徒们说世界将在2017年12月21日终结，这是古玛雅人日历上的最后一天，而且他们认为布加拉什山是可以庇护人们免遭末日大灾难的几座“圣山”之一。

弗雷赛里纳德说，他计划在山上部署的100名警察和消防员还将限制人们进入山脚下的布加拉什小村庄，如果太多人出现在这个村庄，他们也将禁止人们前往该村。

他在附近的城市卡尔卡松说：“我们估计一些预言家，和一些相信世界末日的人会来此一探究竟，但人数极其有限。”

他说：“而大多数人都是出于好奇而来，现在人数还无法确定。此外，我们认为将有许多记者前来。”

电影、纪录片和网站都在宣传古玛雅日历对12月21日是世界末日的预言。

危地马拉的文化部长正在首都举行一场盛会，以防世界末日真的来临。危地马拉一半人口都是玛雅人的后代。旅游团正在推销世界末日为主题的逃难旅行。

但是危地马拉的玛雅联盟Oxlaljuj Ajpop指责政府和旅游团无限夸大玛雅日历末日预言的神话，利用其获取金钱收益。

玛雅联盟上个月发表了一个声明，说新玛雅时间周期只不过“意味着个人、家庭和团体将发生较大的改变，从而在人与自然之间达到和谐与平衡。”

Vocabulary:

cataclysm: 灾难；大洪水，地震