VOA慢速英语2015 内罗毕的著名Matatu涂鸦又回来了

 

AS IT IS 2015-02-07 Nairobi’s Famed Matatu Graffiti Is Back 内罗毕的著名Matatu涂鸦又回来了

For the last 10 years, the Kenyan government banned any painting on “matatus” --- large public taxis in the capital, Nairobi. The vehicles could only have an identical single, yellow line, or stripe. Recently, however, the President of Kenya ended the ban on matatu art.

Now, taxi drivers have begun the battle for the finest paintings on their vehicles.

Peter Kanyallu, also known as Nyash, grew up in a poor area of Nairobi. When he was young he started making the urban art known as graffiti – painted pictures and words on public surfaces, like walls and bridges.

The 29-year-old says he never outgrew¹ his passion for the work. However, these days he gets paid for it. And now his art reaches even more people.

Nyash paints matatus. His most recent work includes a bright pink bus painted with images and words from the American movie “Titanic.”  Another work is all about the shoe company Puma².

Nyash says his themes represent Kenyan pop culture.

“What we look for, it’s the trending things, like movies, musicians and so on. Sometimes we draw pictures of 50 Cent, because guys out there like 50 Cent. A customer may come and say, ‘I want mine to have a logo of Puma, Facebook, Adidas, and so on, because it’s what he likes.”

Nairobi’s matatus were once famous -- or infamous³ -- for wild driving, loud music and equally loud artwork. Many were also run by organized crime groups, or cartels.

In 2004, matatu art was banned as part of a government attempt to restrain the industry. The driving skills of operators did not improve much, and the cartels were not disappearing. But the art was gone from the vehicles.

Now it is coming back. There are more than 10,000 matatus in Nairobi alone. A growing number are painted with pictures of movie stars. There are also words painted on many of the vehicles like, “nuclear,” “hurricane” and “repent.” One matutu displays the mysterious phrase: “appetizer undecided.”

Nyash says owners pay up to $1,000 for his art. He says the colorful matatus get more customers.

"Owners really enjoy those matatus. It’s like a competition. The most decorated, you always find them on top.”

Kanoru Wambugu is the chief officer of the Matatu Owners Association. He says whatever appeals to the youth is good for business.

“Young people want to get associated with matatus. The students, the young people and the people in the lower classes do not own cars, and therefore they are going to use them. That’s our target.”

He also says matatus give young artists like Nyash the rare chance to make some money for their skills.

“That’s what we want, those young people to draw. The moment they design those vehicles they are getting their upkeep, and you are going to reduce crime.”

Mr. Wambugu says the matatu industry is better supervised than it used to be. He says there are graffiti rules to make sure that the painting on matatus does not offend people.

"We want something that is not insulting, that is not inciting⁴. It does not have any beer-related issues or alcohol promotion⁵. We do not want to have pornography. We do not want to have things like promotion of war and violence.”

Nyash says he is doing his best to honor the new rules and urges other matatu artists to do the same. But, he says there will be violations⁶, like illegally colored windows and flashing lights.

After all, he says, they just look nice. And with over 10,000 moving artworks in Nairobi, who can resist?

Words in this Story

graffiti – n. pictures or words painted or drawn⁷ on a wall, building

passion – n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

cartel – n. a group of businesses that agree to fix prices so they all will make more money  

upkeep– n. the process of keeping something in good condition: the care or maintenance of buildings, equipment, etc.

pornography – n. pictures, magazines that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement

flashing – v. to shine or give off bright light suddenly or in repeated bursts

1 outgrew   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She outgrew the company she worked for and found a better job somewhere else. 她进步很快，不再满足于她所在工作的公司，于是又在别处找到一份更好的工作。
• It'soon outgrew Carthage and became the largest city of the western world. 它很快取代了迦太基成为西方的第一大城市。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

2 puma   

美洲豹

参考例句：

• The police and the volunteers combed the forest for the lost puma from the zoo.警察和志愿者们在森林里到处寻找动物园迷失的美洲狮。
• A businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。

3 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

4 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。