VOA常速英语2016--印证纽约历史的独特吉他

Luthier Turns Wood From Landmark¹ N.Y.C. Buildings Into Guitars 印证纽约历史的独特吉他

Rick Kelly started making wooden musical instruments when he was a teenager. But he didn't start turning timber use in old hotels, bars and churches into guitars until 10 years ago when film director Jim Jarmusch offered him wood from his loft² ceiling.

瑞克还小的时候，就开始制造木质乐器了。但十年后，电影导演占渣木殊把自己阁楼天花板的木材送给他后，他才开始使用陈旧旅店、酒吧和教堂的木材来做吉他。

"He happened to be a customer in the shop,” Kelly said. “I got to know him a little bit. He offered me the wood, so I said, 'Sure.' So he sent the guys, the workers, over with a truckload of it, and started doing it that way. That was the first load I got, out of Jim's loft."

那时候他正好来店里逛。我跟他有一定的交情。他要把木材送给我，于是我说，“好啊”。于是他就请了工人们，载着一卡车的木材来送给我。这是我获得的第一批木材。

A lot of that wood is more than 100 years old. It's the 19th-century white pine timber from upstate New York that formed New York City's homes and buildings.

这批木材中的很多都有上百年的年头了。是19世纪纽约北部的白松木，那时候很多纽约的建筑都采用白松木做素材。

“It's sort of this alchemy that happens" with the wood, "especially in the roof area, where it gets over 100 degrees [Fahrenheit] ... during the day and cool at night,” Kelly said. “It goes through this change that sort of makes the wood really resonant³, because the resin⁴ in the wood crystallizes, opens up the pores for vibration⁵.”

屋顶木材有一个特点，白天温度可高达100华氏度，而晚上又会变凉。这种温度变化让木质的音效很好，因为木材里的树脂会结晶，为震动发声制造了孔隙。

Church beams

Kelly shops for wood all over the city. He found some of his latest guitar-quality wood in a trash receptacle — planks⁶ and beams from a Serbian Orthodox church that burned down earlier this year.

如今已64岁的瑞克还在满城的搜罗木材。他在垃圾桶里找到了最近时兴的吉他木材——源自今年年初烧毁的塞尔维亚东正教堂里的木板和横梁。

In his store, he keeps careful track of his collection, noting on each piece of wood the building that it was once part of.

他在店里精心保存着自己的搜集品，在每一块木材上标记着它的来源。通常，瑞克的客户会指定某种木材。

Often, his clients request a certain type of wood, Bob Dylan, for example, wanted his guitar made out of wood from Chumley’s, a historic New York bar that is currently undergoing extensive renovation⁷.

比如鲍勃就想要Chumley酒吧的木材。这家纽约酒吧历史悠久，目前正在进行大翻修。

Whether famous musicians or average players, Kelly’s clients are willing to pay over $2,000 for a guitar, because they appreciate the authenticity⁸ of the instruments.

瑞克的客户，无论是知名音乐家还是普通乐手，都愿意花2000多美元来他家买吉他，因为他们很欣赏瑞克家吉他的真材实料。

“What these timbers have seen — they were here when George Washington was walking around these trees,” he said. “And what those trees saw, what they saw becoming a fancy hotel in the 1800s or a flophouse during the Depression, and then a condo in the recent years. ... They have gone through a lot of changes, all the buildings have, and what this wood sees is pretty amazing, I am sure."

这些木材见证过什么呢？它们可能是乔治华盛顿曾经环绕踱步的树。可能是19世纪某个豪华酒店，或者美国经济萧条时期的某个低价旅馆，也可能是近年的公寓楼。它们都经历过沧海桑田，见证过的都让人惊奇，我敢肯定。我一开始做这件事的时候，中间的整个过程都很吸引我。

That image resonates with his customers, one of whom said, "When I saw Rick talk about [his work] so passionately⁹, [that] took it even to another level."

当我看到瑞克兴致勃勃地谈论他的作品时，感觉这一切都升华了一样。

 

Rick Kelly’s guitars are more than one-of-a-kind, beautifully carved instruments. They offer his clients something priceless: a piece of New York City's history.

他做出的吉他不只是独一无二、精心雕琢的乐器。这些乐器还给的客人带来了无价的东西：纽约城的历史。

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

3 resonant   

adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的

参考例句：

• She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
• He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。

4 resin   

n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂

参考例句：

• This allyl type resin is a highly transparent, colourless material.这种烯丙基型的树脂是一种高度透明的、无色材料。
• This is referred to as a thixotropic property of the resin.这种特性叫做树脂的触变性。

5 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

6 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

7 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。