People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines1. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken2 in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on3.
Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it4. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain5. This is the reason the Mediterranean6 has always attracted them. Every summer, more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resorts7 and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun!
The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30,000 hotels are booked solid8 every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks, and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain9.
But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism ,it's getting worse. The French can't figure out10 what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution.
None of this, however, is spoiling11 anyone's fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don't go there for clean water and solitude12. They tolerate traffic jams13 and seem to like crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as14 the sun shines, it's still better thanin the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.
词汇：
battlefield / 'bætlfi:ld/n.战场，疆场
inconvenience /inkən'vi:njəns/n.带来麻烦的事情，不便
resident /'rezidənt/n.居住者，居民
Copenhagen /,kəupən'heigən/n.哥本哈根(丹麦首都)
Amsterdam /,æmstə'dæm/n.阿姆斯特丹(荷兰首都)
vacation /və'keiʃən/n.假期，休假
coastline /'kəustlain/n.海岸线
tourism / 'tuərizm/n.旅游，观光
pollute /pə'lu:t/vt.弄脏，污染
garbage /'ga:bidʒ/n.废物，垃圾
camper /'kæmpə/n.宿营者
Berlin /bə:'lin/n.柏林(德国首都)
Oslo /'ɔzləu/n.奥斯陆(挪威首都)
economy /i'kɔnəmi/n.经济状况，经济;节省，节约
注释：
1. religious shrine：宗教圣殿
2. have their pictures taken：请别人为他们照相
3. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.但大多数欧洲游客愿意寻找阳光充足的海滩晒日光浴。注意look for和fmd的区别。look for是“找”的过程，常解释为“寻找”,find是“找”的结果，所以常解释为“找到”。不妨体会一下它们的差别：I've been looking for my lost watch and haven't found it yet.
4. Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it.北欧人心甘情愿花大笔金钱，容忍诸多不便去获得阳光，因为阳光对他们来说太难得了。
5. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain.由于白天很短，像伦敦、哥本哈根和阿姆斯特丹的居民在冬季的大部分时间里，都是在昏暗中度过的，而其余的季节又都是阴雨连绵。这句点出了北欧阴冷潮湿，日短夜长的气候特征，也就解释了欧洲游客执著追求温暖明媚阳光的原因。
6. the Mediterranean：地中海地区
7. resorts：指常去的地方，胜地
8. be booked solid：全部客满
9. 37 million tourists visit yearly ,or one tourist for every person living in Spain.每年有3 700多万游客，换句话说，旅游者与西班牙居民人数相当，即为1:1。
10. figure out：此处指“想出”，它还有“算出;明白;断定”等意。
11. spoil：原意为“损坏;宠坏”，此处指“破坏兴致”。
12. solitude：意为“独居，独处”，文中指清静自在。
13. traffic jams：交通堵塞
14. as long as：意为“只要;在……情况下”，引导条件状语从句。又如：I'm happy as long as you are happy.
