[ti:Venice Locals, Ship Companies Clash on Ship Issue] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.00]For a long time, the city of Venice, Italy, has suffered [00:05.51]from the combined problems of flooding and sinking. [00:10.89]On Monday, heavy winds pushed tides [00:14.75]over the city's sea walls, flooding most areas. [00:19.82]The population of Venice also has been falling for years. [00:26.27]At the same time, [00:28.44]the number of visitors to the city continues to rise. [00:33.20]Many Venetians are not happy about that. [00:37.43]They do not want the city to become [00:41.06]what some are calling a "Disneyland on water." [00:45.66]Their biggest objection is to the huge cruise ships [00:50.70]that stop at Saint Mark's Square. [00:53.91]For a long time, Venetians have called the cruise ships "monsters." [01:00.65]They say the ships are ugly and that they block local sights. [01:07.08]The ships also damage the bases of the city's historic buildings. [01:14.34]Last year, the interest group No Big Ships [01:19.07]organized a vote on the cruise ships issue. [01:23.14]18,000 Venetians took part in the June vote. [01:29.05]Almost 99 percent of them voted to bar cruise ships from the area. [01:36.83]Later that year, the Italian government announced [01:41.79]it would ban huge ships from Saint Mark's Square, [01:46.03]Grand Canal and other historic areas. [01:50.28]The order is to take effect over several years. [01:55.35]The cruise industry is protesting the plan. [02:00.29]It says it will hurt Venice, and Italy's, economy. [02:06.19]Cruise companies say [02:09.20]they want to protect the places their ships visit. [02:12.91]They say the business brings economic benefits to port cities. [02:19.15]Roberto Martinoli is the president of Cruise Lines International Association. [02:27.95]He spoke to VOA News in Rome. [02:32.03]He said the cruise industry represents [02:36.44]nearly three percent of Venice's economy. [02:40.60]He said cruise ships are responsible [02:43.94]for less than 10 percent of Venice's water traffic [02:48.75]and less than five percent of visitors to the city. [02:53.66]The cruise industry has spent billions of dollars [02:58.07]on environmental research and development projects, Martinoli added. [03:04.60]But, many in the city argue that the damage [03:08.96]from cruise ships outweighs the economic benefit from tourist dollars. [03:15.26]At a demonstration earlier this year, [03:18.92]Stefano Micheletti of the No Big Ships campaign [03:24.09]shared opinions common to many Venetians. [03:28.58]Micheletti said large ships must stay out [03:33.10]of the area to protect the ecosystem. [03:37.02]He said they cause pollution that is ruining the historic city. [03:43.45]I'm Alice Bryant. [03:45.30]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM