IT HAS SURVIVED ice ages, droughts and cyclones, but whether the Komodo dragon can survive mass tourism(大众旅游) is not yet known. In recent years Komodo island, along with its supply base of Labuan Bajo on the nearby and much bigger island of Flores, has been at the sharp end(处于最前线/首当其冲) of Indonesia’s drive to expand its tourism industry. Joko Widodo(印尼前总统佐科·维多多), Indonesia’s president until two years ago, said that he wanted to create “ten new Balis(十个新巴厘岛)”, aiming to bring more jobs and high incomes to his country. Bali(巴厘岛，印尼著名旅游胜地) has long been Indonesia’s top tourist destination, bringing in vast amounts of foreign exchange(外汇) and providing jobs to Balinese and to migrant workers from across the country.
它历经冰期、干旱和飓风而幸存，但科莫多巨蜥能否在 масс tourism 中存活尚不得而知。近年来，科莫多岛及其补给基地——位于附近更大岛屿弗洛雷斯岛上的拉布安巴焦——一直处于印尼大力扩张旅游业的锋线位置。两年前卸任的印尼总统佐科·维多多曾表示，他希望打造“十个新巴厘岛”，为国民带来更多就业和高收入。巴厘岛长期以来一直是印尼的头号旅游目的地，带来大量外汇，为巴厘岛人和来自全国各地的务工者提供就业。
High on Mr Widodo’s list was Labuan Bajo and beyond it the Komodo National Park. After all, it boasts a unique tourist attraction, the Komodo dragon, an enormous lizard that can grow to ten feet (three metres) long, weigh 80kg, and lives only on Komodo and a few smaller nearby islands.(毕竟，这里拥有独一无二的旅游吸引物——科莫多巨蜥，一种能长到十英尺（三米）长、重达80公斤的巨型蜥蜴，仅生活在科莫多岛及附近几个小岛上。) Only an estimated 1,300 adult “land crocodiles(陆鳄（科莫多巨蜥的别称）)”, as some call them in Indonesia, are thought to survive.
维多多清单上的重中之重是拉布安巴焦，以及更远处的科莫多国家公园。毕竟，这里拥有独一无二的旅游吸引物——科莫多巨蜥，一种能长到十英尺（三米）长、重达80公斤的巨型蜥蜴，仅生活在科莫多岛及附近几个小岛上。据估计，仅有约1300只成年“陆鳄”（印尼当地人的叫法）存活。
Economically, it has worked. Labuan Bajo now throng(挤满，蜂拥)s with diving shops, restaurants, hotels and coffee spots. Its port sends daily boatloads of(一船一船的，大量的) enthusiastic tourists to Komodo (which has no airport of its own and can be reached only by sea), and its surrounding waters and islands.
从经济角度看，这一计划奏效了。拉布安巴焦如今挤满了潜水店、餐厅、酒店和咖啡馆。它的港口每天将一船船热情的游客送往科莫多岛（该岛没有机场，只能乘船抵达）及其周边海域和岛屿。