L48-1: The silent village

In this much-travelled world, there are still thousands of places which are inaccessible to tourists. We always assume that villagers in remote places are friendly and hospitable. But people who are cut off not only from foreign tourists, but even from their own countrymen can be hostile to travellers. Visits to really remote villages are seldom enjoyable -- as my wife and I discovered during a tour through the Balkans. We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity. These attracted many visitors, for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town. This was more than we could bear, so we decided to spend our last day exploring the countryside.

音标:ɛl48-1: ðə ˈsaɪlənt ˈvɪlɪʤ

ɪn ðɪs mʌʧ-ˈtrævld wɜːld, ðeər ɑː stɪl ˈθaʊzəndz ɒv ˈpleɪsɪz wɪʧ ɑːr ˌɪnækˈsɛsəbl tuː ˈtʊərɪsts. wiː ˈɔːlweɪz əˈsjuːm ðæt ˈvɪlɪʤəz ɪn rɪˈməʊt ˈpleɪsɪz ɑː ˈfrɛndli ænd ˈhɒspɪtəbl. bʌt ˈpiːpl huː ɑː kʌt ɒf nɒt ˈəʊnli frɒm ˈfɒrɪn ˈtʊərɪsts, bʌt ˈiːvən frɒm ðeər əʊn ˈkʌntrɪmən kæn biː ˈhɒstaɪl tuː ˈtræv(ə)ləz. ˈvɪzɪts tuː ˈrɪəli rɪˈməʊt ˈvɪlɪʤɪz ɑː ˈsɛldəm ɪnˈʤɔɪəbl -- æz maɪ waɪf ænd aɪ dɪsˈkʌvəd ˈdjʊərɪŋ ə tʊə θruː ðə ˈbɔːlkənz. wiː hæd spɛnt ˈsɛvrəl deɪz ɪn ə smɔːl taʊn ænd ˈvɪzɪtɪd ə ˈnʌmbər ɒv əʊld ˈʧɜːʧɪz ɪn ðə vɪˈsɪnɪti. ðiːz əˈtræktɪd ˈmɛni ˈvɪzɪtəz, fɔː ðeɪ wɜː nɒt ˈəʊnli ɒv greɪt ˌɑːkɪˈtɛkʧərəl ˈɪntrɪst, bʌt kənˈteɪnd ə lɑːʤ ˈnʌmbər ɒv ˈbjuːtəfʊli prɪˈzɜːvd ˈfrɛskəʊz æz wɛl. ɒn ðə deɪ bɪˈfɔːr ˈaʊə dɪˈpɑːʧə, ˈsɛvrəl bʌs ləʊdz ɒv ˈtʊərɪsts dɪˈsɛndɪd ɒn ðə taʊn. ðɪs wɒz mɔː ðæn wiː kʊd beə, səʊ wiː dɪˈsaɪdɪd tuː spɛnd ˈaʊə lɑːst deɪ ɪksˈplɔːrɪŋ ðə ˈkʌntrɪˌsaɪd.