[ti:Bethlehem Preparing to Have Best Christmas in Years] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.80]The West Bank town of Bethlehem is busy getting ready for Christmas. [00:08.14]As bright lights and other holiday decorations go up in Manger Square, [00:14.40]Bethlehem is preparing for its best Christmas in 20 years, the town's mayor said. [00:22.76]Five new hotels are being built and some existing hotels are expanding. [00:29.28]The town has even extended the opening hours of the Church of the Nativity, [00:35.51]the place where many Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. [00:41.56]But even after three years of relative peace, many people are still worried. [00:47.88]Bethlehem is just a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. [00:56.68]The local economy depends on the money spent by visitors. [01:01.59]Whenever there is unrest anywhere in the Middle East, [01:05.51]tourists stop coming and that can lead to a financial disaster. [01:13.00]Sitting in his office overlooking the newly lit Christmas tree in Manger Square, [01:18.97]Mayor Anton Salman said Bethlehem may get more than the 1.5 million visitors it received last year. [01:30.00]"Since three years (ago), things are going up. [01:33.56]This year is better than 2018 and 2018 was better than 2017 [01:41.28]and it is a continuous increase," Salman told the Reuters news agency. [01:47.57]For years, the biggest problem was the small front door leading to the Church of the Nativity. [01:54.68]Visitors must bend over and crouch to enter. [01:58.86]The door was once large, but reduced in size hundreds of years ago by Christian Crusaders. [02:07.12]During Ottoman Turkish rule, the door was made even smaller [02:14.12]to prevent people driving vehicles from entering the church. [02:19.16]For the first time this year, officials extended the building's opening hours [02:24.81]from sunset to 8 at night, Salman said. [02:29.00]In 2020, officials plan to enlarge the town's bus station [02:34.40]and to work on ways to limit traffic on the narrow road leading to Manger Square. [02:42.64]The town will even consider asking tourist groups to register before arriving. [02:50.08]"If the number will be high and the church can't receive all of them [02:54.60]we need to look for other plans that can be helpful," he said. [03:00.40]Townspeople are excited about a new attraction [03:04.36]– a piece of wood said to be from the manger used by the baby Jesus. [03:10.32]The wooden relic arrived back in Bethlehem last week from Rome. [03:16.28]But the town is also worried. Bethlehem enjoyed a strong economy [03:22.00]until the Palestinian rebellion against Israeli rule in 2000. [03:27.87]As the violence between Israelis and Palestinians worsened, visitors stopped coming. [03:36.36]Now, Israel's high wall rises up over the northern entrance to Bethlehem, [03:42.38]and separates it from Jerusalem. [03:45.51]Palestinians call Israel's barrier an attempt to take their land. [03:51.94]Israel says the wall has reduced attacks on its citizens. [03:57.76]Joey Canavati directs the Alexander Hotel in Bethlehem. [04:03.01]He said his family had little hope for the town during the past 10 years, [04:08.82]but now it expects a lot of visitors through 2021. [04:14.67]The hotel is expanding from 58 to 110 rooms. [04:21.02]"Business has been booming, we have never seen it like this ever before," he said. [04:27.51]"But, it's always about stability." [04:31.88]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM