特别广播英语第 334 课：Land of the Midnight Sun 芬兰——圣诞老人的家乡-3

And only a few hours outside of Helsinki is Finland's most notable historic building, Turku Castle, which was founded in 1280. 建于1280年的"土尔库堡"，离赫尔辛基仅数小时之遥，是芬兰最著名的史迹建筑。

While Finland is best enjoyed during the warmer months of May to September, its most famous resident is busiest in December. 虽然芬兰在暖和的5月至9月间气候最为宜人，一位最负盛名的芬兰居民则是在12月最忙碌。

A little known fact is that Santa Claus does not live at the North Pole, but in the Lapland region of Finland. 一个罕为人知的事实是圣诞老人并非住在北极，而是住在芬兰的拉普兰一带。

There, Santa receives about 600,000 letters a year written by children from over 150 countries. 在那里，圣诞老人每年会收到来自世界150多个国家孩子的约60万封信。

Besides dropping in on Santa, visitors to Lapland can enjoy trekking and skiing in Lemmenjoki Park with its dreamlike arctic landscape, dense forests, and free wilderness huts that dot the area. 除了顺道拜访圣诞老人，前往拉普兰的游客也可以在"拉门乔基公园"享受徒步旅行与滑雪之乐，并欣赏它如梦似幻的北极圈风光、蓊郁的森林和这片辽阔荒原上星罗棋布的小屋。

Tourists may also stay in glass igloos, from which they can see the midnight sun and the northern lights, and ride in dogsleds and reindeer sleighs. 游客们也可以呆在玻璃冰屋内观赏午夜的太阳和北极极光，或是乘坐狗或驯鹿拉的雪橇畅游一番。

Lapland is home to the Samis, a native people who were gradually driven northward by development in Scandinavia. 拉普兰是撒密斯人的故乡，这些土著居民由于斯堪的纳维亚半岛的开发而被迫逐渐向北迁徙。

Their traditional livelihood revolves around reindeer, which number about 200,000 in Finland. 他们传统的生计是靠芬兰国内的大约20万只驯鹿。

Finally, don't tell Rudolph, but a great reindeer stew can be had in Lapland as well. 最后，别告诉鲁道夫，在拉普兰还可以尝到棒极了的炖驯鹿大餐呢。