VOA常速英语2014--Deal Emerges to Save Detroit Institute of Arts Collection 拯救底特律艺术学院博物馆

 

Deal Emerges to Save Detroit Institute of Arts Collection 拯救底特律艺术学院博物馆

DETROIT — The Detroit Institute of Arts Museum houses one of the top art collections in the world.  So when Detroit went bankrupt, that collection - owned by the city - became one of the most controversial issues in the largest municipal bankruptcy¹ in U.S. history.  An emerging deal with several national foundations offers city officials a way out of the crisis, and could ultimately save the museum and its valuable collection.

The art collection housed in the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, or DIA, draws throngs² of visitors from around the world each year.

底特律艺术学院博物馆(DIA)的艺术藏品每年吸引了全世界的游客前来欣赏。

“You can tell the story of Western art through this collection," said Mark Stryker.

“你能在这里看到西方艺术的历史。”

Which makes it hard to put a price tag on it, says Detroit Free Press Art Reporter Mark Stryker.

底特律自由媒体艺术记者马克·斯特瑞克说这就是这些藏品难以标价的原因。

“It’s invaluable³, irreplaceable," he said.

“太珍贵了，无可替代。”

But a price is the very thing Detroit’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr seeks as he takes the city through bankruptcy, says Wayne State University Law Professor Laura Bartell.

但是韦恩州立大学法学教授劳拉·巴特尔说，价格正是底特律紧急管理人凯文·奥尔在使该市破产的努力中追求的东西。

“At the very beginning of this bankruptcy, Kevyn Orr made it clear that the city of Detroit owned the assets of the DIA," said Bartell.

“在破产开始时，凯文·奥尔就明确表示底特律市拥有DIA的资产。”

“It is a city owned collection, and that makes it different from almost every other museum in America, which operate as independent, private nonprofits," said Stryker.

“这是一批为该市所有的藏品，所以就与美国其他独立、非盈利的私人博物馆不同。”

As the complex bankruptcy case winds through federal court, Orr enlisted⁴ Christie's auction⁵ house to value the collection, with one important caveat⁶.

随着这宗复杂的破产案进入联邦法院，奥尔让佳士得拍卖公司给这批藏品估价，并附上重要的货物出门概不退换警告。

“He asked Christie's to specifically evaluate only the works in the collection that were bought by the city directly," said Stryker.

“他让佳士得专门为那些直接由底特律购买的藏品。”

That translates into about 2,000 items, roughly five percent of the DIA’s 66,000 works.  But it does include some of the premiere pieces, including Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait with Hat.”

这些藏品共2000多件，占DIA总收藏量6.6万件的5%左右。但也包括一些顶级藏品，包括文森特·梵高的《戴帽子的自画像》。

"Christie's evaluated those works to be worth somewhere between $450 million up to about $870 million," said Mark Stryker.

“佳士得估计这些藏品价值在4.5到8.7亿美元之间。”

In 2012, voters in three surrounding counties supported a property tax hike to fund the museum in exchange for free admission.  Stryker says any sale of the DIA’s assets could inflict⁷ more damage than simply losing its important pieces.

2012年，周围三个郡的选民支持了一项财产税上涨来为博物馆提供资金，交换条件是获得免费门票。斯特瑞克说出售DIA资产会带来更多损失，而不仅仅是失去一些重要的藏品。

“They would rescind⁸ the tax if any of the art was sold, so that means that any sale would quite quickly lead to the closure of the museum," he said.

“如果有藏品出售，他们就会取消该税，这就意味着出售任何东西都会很快导致博物馆关门。”

Which means emergency manager Kevyn Orr was stuck between a rock and hard place.

这就意味着紧急管理人凯文·奥尔处境艰难。

“Would you want to be the man who went down in history as the man who destroyed the Detroit Institute of Arts?  I don’t think anybody wants to be in that position.  If he can craft a plan of adjustment without selling the DIA’s assets, he’s going to do it," said Laura Bartell.

“你想让这个被载入史册的人成为毁掉DIA的人吗？我认为没有人想成为这样的人，如果他能想出一个调整计划而不用出售DIA的资产，他会这么做的。”

That plan got a boost in January from several national foundations, including the Ford⁹ Foundation and the John S. and James. L Knight¹⁰ Foundation.  Together, they’ve pledged about $330 million to keep the DIA’s assets off the auction block.

一月份这个计划得到几个国家基金会的支持，包括福特基金会和约翰和詹姆斯·L·奈特基金会，他们承诺提供3.3亿美元来帮助DIA免于拍卖任何资产。

“The DIA would be spun¹¹ off from the city to create a separate nonprofit, separate from city control so this kind of situation, the city would never find itself in this situation again," said Stryker.

“DIA将被从底特律剥离开，成立一个独立的非盈利博物馆，免受该市的控制，这样底特律就再也不会面对这种处境了。”

 

The amount pledged does fall below Christie’s appraisal¹² of the items, and creditors¹³ could seek more money.  But the proposed deal offers Orr a way out of the crisis, and Stryker says it is the most promising¹⁴ option on the table to keep the DIA’s art in Detroit.

这一数额低于佳士得对藏品的估价，债权人得寻找更多资金。但这一提议给奥尔解决危机的办法，斯特瑞克说这是帮助DIA的艺术品仍留在底特律的最好办法。

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

2 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

3 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

4 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

7 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

8 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

11 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

12 appraisal   

n.对…作出的评价；评价，鉴定，评估

参考例句：

• What's your appraisal of the situation?你对局势是如何评估的？
• We need to make a proper appraisal of his work.对于他的工作我们需要做出适当的评价。

13 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。