英国古稀老人打造逼真玩偶屋

 　　A proud pensioner¹ has spent 26 years creating the ultimate life-like dolls house.

　　一名充满活力的退休老人花费26年的时间打造出了一座高仿真娃娃屋。

　　Leonard Martin constructed the intricate house from scratch as a way to fill his time.

　　伦纳德?马丁（Leonard Martin）从零开始建造了这座精致的娃娃屋，最初只是为了打发时间。

　　But he soon became hooked and started to make it as real looking as possible, spending ?6,000 on the masterpiece.

　　但不久他就迷上了这项业余爱好，竭尽可能地令其更加逼真， 并为此投入了6000英镑（约56764元人民币）。

　　Now, the 6ft-long labour of love has six lavish² rooms complete with cavity walls, marble and wood floors, soft furnishings and one-of-a-kind artwork.

　　凝结着伦纳德多年心血的这座6英尺（约1.8米）长的娃娃屋有6间豪华的房间，由空心墙相隔，地上铺有大理石和木地板，室内陈设考究，还挂有独一无二的画作。

　　英国古稀老人打造逼真玩偶屋

　　The 70-year-old said: "It is unbelievable, if I even say so myself."

　　这位70岁的老人说：“这令人难以置信，连我自己都忍不住要感叹。”

　　Ceilings are painted plaster, which have been gilded³ with 24ct gold leaf, while the chandeliers feature ?100 worth of Swarovski crystals.

　　娃娃屋的天花板涂有镀了24克拉金箔的灰泥，悬挂的枝形吊灯上嵌有价值100英镑（约946元人民币）的施华洛世奇水晶。

　　Each wooden floorboard is individually laid and French polished and each room is delicately illuminated⁴ by tiny electric lights and glowing fireplaces.

　　木地板是一块块单独铺设的，并经过法式打蜡。每一间房都精心配置了小巧的电灯和燃烧的壁炉来照明

　　He even commissioned a friend of a friend, famous for creating the artwork in King Farouk's palace in Egypt, to paint the delicate works of art for each room.

　　他甚至还委托朋友的朋友为每个房间都画了一幅精美的画，那名画家因曾为埃及国王法鲁克的宫殿创作艺术作品而闻名。

　　Leonard said: "I had it on display for the public to raise money for the local village hall then I had to move it back to my work shop where it's still sitting on a table.

　　伦纳德说：“我曾通过公开展览这座娃娃屋给当地的村务厅筹钱。这之后我得把它搬回我店里的桌子上，现在它也还在那里放着。”

　　"It took four people to lift it into place so it won't be moving any time soon! I have also built a fantastic funfair, it took me seven years.

　　“当时四个人合力才把它抬起来放到合适的位置，所以短时间内它不会换地方了！我还花了7年时间做了个非常棒的游乐场。”

　　"I'm 70 now so I'm a bit too old to do it, I would make more houses if I had somewhere to put them, but they are so big and too heavy to do now."

　　“我现在70岁了，老了要干不动了。如果还有空间放它们，我会做更多的娃娃屋。不过现在它们太大太重，很难做了。”

　　Leonard hopes to sell the house to a stately home or something similar to preserve it - even putting a miniature 'for sale' sign on the front lawn.

　　伦纳德希望能把房子卖给一座开放参观的豪宅或者类似的地方保存娃娃屋。他甚至在屋前的草坪上像模像样地摆上了一块写着“待售”二字的微型牌子。

　　Vocabulary

　　life-like: 栩栩如生的

　　intricate: 复杂精细的

　　from scratch: 从零开始，白手起家

　　hooked: 被…迷住的

　　cavity wall: 空心墙

　　plaster: 灰泥

　　gild: 给…镀金

　　chandelier: 枝形吊灯

　　floorboard: 地板

　　illuminate: 照亮

　　commission: 委托

　　funfair: 游乐场

　　stately home: (尤指向公众开放的)豪宅

　　miniature: 微型的

1 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

2 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

3 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

4 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市