旅游公司禁止使用手机包括拍照

Travel Company Bans Use of Cellphones, Even for Photos

Would you take a trip if you could not use your cellphone during it? Not even as a camera?

A new travel company is asking customers to do just that. The company is called Off the Grid¹. Zach Beattie is its founder².

“When you’re somewhere new, there’s a lot to soak³ up, a lot to see, a lot of cool, interesting people to meet,” Beattie said. “Your phone can distract⁴ you.”

Beattie says Off the Grid trips are meant to be “fully unplugged and very social.”

The company’s first trip is to Lisbon, Portugal, in July. It is also planning trips to the Croatian coast; Barcelona, Spain; Lima, Peru; and Tulum, Mexico.

The seven to 10 day tours are for small groups, no more than 16 people. Trip prices begin at $1,500. The cost includes stays in hostels⁶, some meals and ground transportation. It does not include airfare.

Trip schedules include at least three activities and two social events. Off the Grid favors special experiences over more traditional sightseeing. The Lisbon trip, for example, includes surfing lessons, exercise by the sea, a day of boating and dinner with a local family.

Beattie says he does not want the travelers to be too busy going from one place to another. He says the goal is mindful travel instead of, in his words, “cramming every single site into your trip.”

The cellphone ban will not be forced upon the travelers. “We want it to be volunteer," Beattie said. "We’re not collecting phones..."

Travelers will be able to use a simple cell phone that does not connect to internet. It will be loaded with useful local phone numbers.

Off the Grid travelers are permitted to bring usual cameras to take photographs. But the company also employs a photographer to take lots of pictures during the tour.

Once the trip is over, travelers can post the images on social media.

“I think it’s interesting and challenging to say, ‘Can I enjoy this moment without a camera? Can I soak up this memory and have it be part of me without instantly⁸ sharing with someone else in order for the moment to be real?’”

So far, people who have registered⁹ for Off the Grid tours include young people just out of high school as well as people in their 60s. Most of them, though, are professionals between the ages of 24 to 35, Beattie says.

Beattie started the business using money he saved from a technology job at a mapping company. He employs guides to lead each trip. But he will help lead the first few tours himself.

Kensey Neely is 30 years old and from St. Joseph, Missouri. She is set to go on the Lisbon trip. She says she had been “trying to find a way to step out of my comfort zone.”

Neely says giving up her phone may be hard, but she says “I’m hoping once I do it during the trip, I won’t be as tied to it when I get back.”

She plans to take a camera with her to Portugal. But she hopes she does not use it very often. “I want to enjoy the experience and not take pictures of every little thing," Neely said.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

soak up - phrasal verb. to enjoy feeling or experiencing (something pleasant) in usually a slow or relaxed way?

distract - v. to cause (someone) to stop thinking about or paying attention to someone or something and to think about or pay attention to someone or something else instead

unplug - v. ?to disconnect (something, such as a lamp or television) from an electrical source or another device¹⁰ by removing its plug

hostel⁵ - n. an inexpensive place for usually young travelers to stay ?

surf - v. ?to ride on ocean waves using a special board (called a surfboard)?

cram⁷ - v. ?to fill (something) so that there is no room for anything else : to fill (something) completely

challenging - adj. ?difficult in a way that is usually interesting or enjoyable?

instantly - adv. ?without delay

1 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 soak   

n.浸，湿透，喝醉；vt.使…湿透，浸泡在液体中，浸洗，吸入，使某人喝醉，向某人敲竹杠；vi.浸入液体，渗透，感化（某人），无节制地喝酒

参考例句：

• Let the clothes soak for a few hours in soapy water.让衣服在肥皂水中泡几小时。
• The oil will soak into the wood.油会渗进木头里。

4 distract   

vt.分散注意力，转移注意力，使分心

参考例句：

• Don't distract my attention.不要分散我的注意力。
• It was all a ploy to distract attention from his real aims.那纯粹是障眼法,用以分散人们对他真正意图的注意力。

5 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

6 hostels   

n.旅舍，招待所( hostel的名词复数 )；青年宿舍

参考例句：

• The students were protesting at overcrowding in the university hostels. 学生们在抗议大学宿舍过于拥挤。 来自辞典例句
• Are there any cheap hostels in Nanjing for one person? 南京有没有便宜的旅店可以一个人住？ 来自互联网

7 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

8 instantly   

adv.立即，立刻

参考例句：

• She was used to having her orders instantly obeyed.她习惯了让人即刻服从她的命令。
• Though he slept soundly,he awoke instantly.他虽然睡得很香，但是马上就醒了。

9 registered   

adj.登记的，注册的

参考例句：

• Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulation. 船只在外国注册以逃避有关雇佣和安全的规定。
• In former times, only property owners could be registered as voters. 从前，只有有财产的人才能登记作选民。

10 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。