挪威小岛或将“抛弃时间”

Don’t you wish those long summer days could last forever? An island in northern Norway is campaigning to do that.

With the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice just around the corner on June 21, Sommaroy — meaning “Summer Island” — wants to swap its watches for flower garlands and declare itself the world’s first time-free zone.

On this island in West Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn’t set from May 18 right through to July 26, a full 69 days.

The locals, having endured the long polar night from November to January, when the sun doesn’t rise at all, make the most of these precious months, with no regard to conventional timekeeping.

“There’s constantly daylight, and we act accordingly,” says islander Kjell Ove Hveding in a statement. “In the middle of the night, which city folk might call ‘2 a.m.,’ you can spot children playing soccer, people painting their houses or mowing their lawns, and teens going for a swim.”

Now they want to make it official.

Islanders gathered at a town hall meeting to sign a petition for a time-free zone and on June 13, Hveding met with a Norwegian member of parliament to hand over the locals’ signatures and to discuss the practical and legal challenges of the initiative.

“To many of us, getting this in writing would simply mean formalizing something we have been practicing for generations,” he says.

Islanders hope to be free of traditional opening hours and to introduce flexibility in school and working hours. Fishing and tourism are the main industries on this island with a population of little more than 300 people.

Hveding says local fishermen and women often spend days on the ocean pursuing their catch, with little regard to timetable.

It’s clear they mean business. When visitors cross the bridge to the island from the mainland, they aren’t greeted with padlocks (symbolizing love locks) like on similar bridges worldwide. The bridge is covered with watches, as people prepare for entry to the land time forgot.

Will the islanders succeed in their efforts? It’s already paying off in a publicity boost, which could well be the primary aim of the campaign.

The islanders and the Norwegian tourism board are no doubt counting on visitors drawn by the quirky appeal of a Nordic wonderland of endless summer.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【花环】huāhuán

garland a wreath of flowers and leaves, worn on the head or hung as a decoration

【是当真的】shì dāngzhēn de

mean business be serious about what one is promising or proposing to do 难道你不希望那些漫长的夏日能永远持续下去吗？挪威北部的一个岛正打算这样做。

随着北半球的夏至（6月21日）临近，索玛若伊岛（意思是“夏之岛”）想要用花环取代钟表，尽享夏日，并宣称这里是世界上第一个“无时间区域”。

这个岛位于西特罗姆瑟，北极圈以北，从5月18日直到7月26日的69天中，太阳都不会落山。

在这里，从11月到次年1月，太阳都不会升起，当地人熬过了漫长的极夜，因此他们会充分利用夏季这宝贵的几个月，不会顾及传统的计时。

岛民谢尔•奥韦•赫维丁在一份声明中说：“白昼一直持续，我们也就按照白天的习惯生活。在午夜，或者城里人口中的‘凌晨2点’，你可以看到这里的孩子们在踢足

球，人们在粉刷房子或修剪草坪，少年们在游泳。”

现在人们想让这种状态正式化。

6月13日，岛民们在市政厅会议上签署了一份要求废除时间制的请愿书，赫维丁会见了一名挪威国会议员，递交了当地人的签名，并讨论了该方案面临的实际问题和法律挑战。

他说：“对我们许多人来说，把这些写下来只是意味着把几代人一直在做的事情正式化。”

岛民希望不再遵从传统的营业时间，并使上学和工作时间更加灵活。渔业和旅游业是该岛的主要产业，全岛只有略超300人。

赫维丁说，当地渔民和妇女经常花几天时间在海上捕鱼，很少考虑时间。

很明显他们是认真的。当游客从大陆过桥到岛上时，迎接他们的不是世界其他桥上象征爱情的挂锁，而是挂满了手表的一座桥，人们要准备好进入被时间遗忘之地。

岛民的努力会成功吗？这次活动已经引发了公众关注，这很可能是其主要目的。

毫无疑问，岛上居民和挪威旅游局都希望游客们能被北欧无尽的夏日美景所吸引。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)