VOA慢速英语--约翰·列侬收藏品将在丹麦发售

John Lennon Collectibles to Go on Sale in Denmark

A rare audio recording¹ of famed artist and peace activist² John Lennon is to go on sale in Denmark on Tuesday. The recording has been privately³ held for fifty years, by the people who made it. Like many collectibles, this one has an interesting history.

In 1970, four Danish teenagers got to meet privately with British musician and Beatles member John Lennon. They planned to write a story about him for publication in their school's magazine. The boys made a sound recording of the event.

Now, 50 years later, the Danes are putting the 33-minute-long recording up for sale. Included with it are 23 pictures taken by the students and a copy of the magazine in which the story appeared.

Bidding for the set is to open September 28 at the Danish auction⁴ business Bruun Rasmussen.

The 16-year-olds were not star-struck when they questioned Lennon that January day in the area of Thy. It was the height of the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Lennon and his wife, artist Yoko Ono, were opponents of both conflicts.

Karsten Hoejen remembers the two had "a message of peace, and that was what was important to us." He recorded the meeting with equipment he borrowed from the local record store.

Lennon and Ono talked with the boys about being in Denmark and world peace, Hoejen said. Communities sympathetic to Lennon's message had spread quickly around Denmark beginning in the late 1960s. People came from other countries, and music festivals were organized.

"Their ... message was what we came for," Hoejen told The Associated Press. The gathering⁵ was friendly and easy.

"Lennon and Ono had their feet on the table," Hoejen noted⁶.

Lennon and Ono were on a private visit to Thy at the time, and they tried to keep it that way. But, the local press found out and reported about the presence of the world-famous couple. A press conference was set up and the 16-year-old students were to attend.

But, they arrived late. The official press conference was over. The boys had missed it. Instead, they got something better.

"We knocked on the door" Hoejen recalled. Seconds later they were sitting next to Lennon and Ono. Hoejen held the microphone, and his friend Jesper Jungersen took pictures.

Someone asked Lennon to play the guitar for the boys. He played and with Ono sang his song Give Peace a Chance. Then the couple sang a song called Peace Radio. It was made for a radio station in The Netherlands but was never broadcast, Hoejen said.

That unpublished song makes the collection of objects more valuable. The collection is estimated to be worth more than $30,000.

The four boys grew up, and over time, realized that they "were sitting on a treasure," Hoejen told AP. After some discussion, they secured the recording in a bank safe.

"A collector or a museum would likely get more of it than us having it in a bank, so we decided⁷ to sell it."

Words in This Story

bid –v. to offer to pay a set price for something

auction –n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most

star-struck –adj. a feeling or showing great interest in or respect for famous people

festival –n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something

couple –n. two people who are married or have a romantic relationship

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。