Ben Katchor's comics of bygone New York

18,221 views ・ 2009-04-23

TED


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翻译人员: Yvonne Fu 校对人员: Amy Zerotus
00:18
I'm going to read a few strips.
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我马上会朗读的一些连环漫画。
00:23
These are, most of these are
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它们中的很多
00:25
from a monthly page I do
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都选自我每月刊登在
00:27
in and architecture and design magazine
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一本关于建筑设计杂志上的小故事。
00:30
called Metropolis.
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那本杂志叫《摩登都市》。
00:32
And the first story is called
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第一个故事叫做
00:34
"The Faulty Switch."
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《开关的小瑕疵》
00:36
Another beautifully designed new building
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又一个设计精良的新建筑
00:40
ruined by the sound of a common wall light switch.
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被一个再平常不过的电灯开关的启动声给毁了。
00:45
It's fine during the day
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白天的时候一切都很美好,
00:47
when the main rooms are flooded with sunlight.
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阳光洒满了你的房间。
00:51
But at dusk
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但当黄昏降临
00:53
everything changes.
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一切都变了。
00:55
The architect spent hundreds of hours
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建筑师愿意花很多时间
00:58
designing the burnished brass switchplates
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为新的办公大楼
01:02
for his new office tower.
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设计这些抛光的铜制开关板
01:05
And then left it to a contractor
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然后让承包商
01:07
to install these 79-cent switches behind them.
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在这些精致的开关板后装上79美分的开关
01:12
We know instinctively where to reach
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我们本能地知道,当我们走进这间黑屋子时,
01:15
when we enter a dark room.
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该按哪里打开开关。
01:17
We automatically throw the little nub of plastic upward.
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接着,我们就自然而然地把那小小的按钮向上一摁
01:21
But the sound we are greeted with,
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但是,当房间溢满
01:24
as the room is bathed in the simulated glow
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如傍晚阳光般昏暗的光线的时候
01:27
of late-afternoon light,
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那迎接我们的一声响
01:30
recalls to mind
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却让人想起了
01:32
a dirty men's room
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一间希腊咖啡店后面
01:34
in the rear of a Greek coffee shop.
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那不甚整洁的男洗手间。
01:37
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
01:39
This sound colors our first impression of any room;
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这声响让我们对任何一间房的印象都那样先入为主,
01:43
it can't be helped.
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改都改不了。
01:45
But where does this sound,
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但是这我们称之为“咯嗒”的声响
01:47
commonly described as a click, come from?
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到底从何而来呢?
01:51
Is it simply the byproduct of a
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它仅仅是
01:54
crude mechanical action?
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一个粗糙机械制作的副产品?
01:56
Or is it an imitation
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或者对我们
01:58
of one half the set of sounds we make
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抒发不满的一种声音的一半
02:01
to express disappointment?
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所进行的模仿?
02:04
The often dental consonant
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我们不满的时候经常用它
02:07
of no Indo-European language.
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在印欧语系中可找不到词源。
02:10
Or is it the amplified sound
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还是,那其实是蟑螂大脑中
02:12
of a synapse firing
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触突闪现火花那一刹那
02:14
in the brain of a cockroach?
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所产生的声响的放大?
02:17
In the 1950s they tried their best
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在二十世纪五十年代,科学家们曾尽力
02:21
to muffle this sound
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用汞制的开关
02:23
with mercury switches
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和静音的按钮
02:25
and silent knob controls.
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来消除这声响。
02:28
But today these improvements
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但在今天开来,这些改进
02:31
seem somehow inauthentic.
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倒显得不地道
02:34
The click is the modern
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这“咯嗒”声 其实是现代社会
02:36
triumphal clarion
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胜利的号角。
02:38
proceeding us through life,
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让我们的生活向前迈进,
02:41
announcing our entry into every lightless room.
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宣告我们向每一个无光的暗房进军
02:45
The sound made flicking a wall switch off
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而我们把墙上开关关上的那一声响
02:49
is of a completely different nature.
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内涵就完全不同了
02:52
It has a deep melancholy ring.
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它蕴含着深深地抑郁声调。
02:56
Children don't like it.
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孩子们不喜欢它。
02:59
It's why they leave lights on around the house. (Laughter)
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所以总爱让房间亮着。
03:03
Adults find it comforting.
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大人们却能聊以慰藉。
03:05
But wouldn't it be an easy matter
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但把墙上的开关接通电源
03:07
to wire a wall switch
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不是很容易的事儿吗?
03:10
so that it triggers the muted horn of a steam ship?
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这样就能够启动蒸汽船静默的汽笛?
03:14
Or the recorded crowing of a rooster?
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或唤醒公鸡清晨的报晓?
03:19
Or the distant peel of thunder?
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还是爆破远方的一声惊雷?
03:23
Thomas Edison went through
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爱迪生也是在尝试过
03:25
thousands of unlikely substances
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成千上万不同的物质之后
03:28
before he came upon the right one
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才找到了真正适合做灯丝的物质,
03:30
for the filament of his electric light bulb.
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从而完成了他的电灯发明。
03:35
Why have we settled so quickly
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为什么我们要如此迅速地屈就于
03:37
for the sound of its switch?
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那开关不完美的“咯嗒”声响呢?
03:40
That's the end of that.
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这个故事讲完了。
03:42
(Applause)
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(掌声)
03:45
The next story is called
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下一个故事叫作
03:48
"In Praise of the Taxpayer."
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《纳税人的荣耀》。
03:51
That so many of the city's most venerable taxpayers
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这个城市里,很多受人尊崇的纳税人
03:55
have survived yet another commercial building boom,
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又逃过了一次拆旧楼建新的商业大楼浪潮的劫难。
04:00
is cause for celebration.
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他们为此庆祝。
04:02
These one or two story structures,
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设计这些一两层的建筑
04:06
designed to yield only enough income
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也只期望它们获得的收入
04:09
to cover the taxes on the land
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能付得起
04:11
on which they stand,
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土地租金就行了,
04:13
were not meant to be permanent buildings.
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并不把它们当做这长久的建筑。
04:17
Yet for one reason or another
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然而由于种种原因
04:19
they have confounded the efforts of developers
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这些低层建筑常常困扰开发商
04:23
to be combined into lots
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让他们不知道该如何把这些零星的点组合成
04:25
suitable for high-rise construction.
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一块适合高层建筑的地皮。
04:30
Although they make no claim to architectural beauty,
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虽然不能说这些小楼房有什么建筑设计的美感
04:34
they are, in their perfect temporariness,
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但是,在它们这短暂存在的这段时间里,
04:37
a delightful alternative
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的确是钢筋水泥高楼林立的城市中
04:40
to the large-scale structures
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一道亮丽的风景线,
04:42
that might someday take their place.
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尽管最终要被取代。
04:46
The most perfect examples
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最突出的例子
04:49
occupy corner lots.
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就是拐角处的小楼盘
04:52
They offer a pleasant respite
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它们是被迅猛发展的高楼包围着的
04:54
from the high-density development around them.
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一片惬意的栖息地。
04:57
A break of light and air,
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这些小楼房为这高密度的水泥森林提供缕缕阳光和清新空气
05:00
an architectural biding of time.
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它们在和时间赛跑。
05:03
So buried in signage
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这些小楼房
05:05
are these structures,
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就这样被淹没在形形色色的商标之中,
05:07
that it often takes a moment
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以至于,要把它们的应纳税款和那些
05:09
to distinguish the modern
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附近的特别设计的大楼房
05:11
specially constructed taxpayer
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区分开来
05:14
from its neighbor:
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还得花些时间。
05:16
the small commercial building
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这是栋上世纪的
05:19
from an earlier century,
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小型商业建筑。
05:21
whose upper floors have been sealed,
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他们的上面几层已经被查封了。
05:24
and whose groundfloor space
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但是一楼
05:26
now functions as a taxpayer.
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还营业着,并且缴着税
05:30
The few surfaces not covered by signs
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这仅存的没有被商标遮盖的建筑
05:33
are often clad in a distinctive, dark
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一般都被包裹在有特色的
05:36
green-gray, striated aluminum siding.
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阴暗铝灰条纹的铝制外壁板之中。
05:41
Take-out sandwich shops,
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比如三明治快餐小店,
05:43
film processing drop-offs,
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卖劣质影碟的小贩,
05:46
peep-shows and necktie stores.
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卖西洋镜和领带的小买卖。
05:49
Now these provisional structures have,
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现在这些临时的建筑
05:52
in some cases,
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在一些地方
05:54
remained standing
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仍然屹立不倒,
05:56
for the better part of a human lifetime.
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展现着人们生活另一种美好的时光。
06:00
The temporary building
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这些暂住“居民”
06:02
is a triumph of modern industrial organization,
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也是现代工业化中的胜利者。
06:06
a healthy sublimation
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它们也是对建楼欲望的
06:08
of the urge to build,
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一种升华。
06:11
and proof that not every
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还向人们证明了,
06:13
architectural idea
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不是每一个建筑
06:15
need be set in stone.
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都是一成不变、无法更改的。
06:19
That's the end.
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这个故事也讲完了。
06:21
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
06:23
And the next story is called, "On the Human Lap."
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下一个故事叫做:《在人类的膝盖上》
06:26
For the ancient Egyptians
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对于古代埃及人来说
06:29
the lap was a platform
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膝盖是一个平台,
06:31
upon which to place
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用来放置
06:33
the earthly possessions of the dead --
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死去的人生前尘世的财产。
06:36
30 cubits from foot to knee.
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这个平台的长度就是从脚到膝盖上。
06:39
It was not until the 14th century
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直到14世纪
06:42
that an Italian painter
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一位意大利画家第一次
06:44
recognized the lap
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把这种膝盖上的平台
06:46
as a Grecian temple,
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视为古希腊人的神庙,
06:48
upholstered in flesh and cloth.
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只不过这座神庙是用肉体和衣服布置起来的。
06:52
Over the next 200 years
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在之后的200年里,
06:55
we see the infant Christ
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我们看到婴儿基督
06:57
go from a sitting to a standing position
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在圣母的膝盖上,
07:00
on the Virgin's lap,
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从坐姿变成站姿。
07:02
and then back again.
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然后又回到坐姿。
07:04
Every child recapitulates this ascension,
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每一个孩子都是如此,
07:08
straddling one or both legs,
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跨立在一条或两条腿上
07:11
sitting sideways,
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或者倾斜地坐着,
07:13
or leaning against the body.
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又或者倚着上身。
07:16
From there, to the modern ventriloquist's dummy,
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从这个到现代的口技者的木偶,
07:20
is but a brief moment in history.
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不是一段简短的历史。
07:23
You were late for school again this morning.
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今天早上你上学又迟到了。
07:26
The ventriloquist must first make us believe
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口技者必须首先让我们相信,
07:30
that a small boy is sitting on his lap.
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在他膝盖上坐着的是一个小男孩儿。
07:34
The illusion of speech follows incidentally.
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然后自然而然的带出台词。
07:37
What have you got to say for yourself, Jimmy?
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你为自己有什么想要说的吗,吉米?
07:41
As adults we admire the lap
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作为成年人,我们羡慕那膝盖
07:44
from a nostalgic distance.
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因为我们怀旧。
07:48
We have fading memories
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我们的记忆在慢慢消退,
07:50
of that provisional temple,
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有关那个短暂的神庙的记忆,
07:52
erected each time an adult sat down.
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那座在每一个坐下的成年人膝上立起的神庙。
07:56
On a crowded bus there was always a lap to sit on.
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拥挤的公交车上,总有可以坐上去的膝盖。
08:01
It is children and teenage girls
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孩子和青春期的少女们
08:04
who are most keenly aware
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能最敏锐的察觉到
08:06
of its architectural beauty.
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建筑结构的美。
08:10
They understand the structural integrity
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他们能明白建筑结构的整体性--
08:13
of a deep avuncular lap,
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我指的是父辈的膝盖,
08:16
as compared to the shaky arrangement
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相对于你那神经质的外甥女
08:19
of a neurotic niece in high heels.
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和她的高跟鞋之间摇摇晃晃的关系来说。
08:24
The relationship between the lap and its owner
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膝盖和它的拥有者之间的关系
08:28
is direct and intimate.
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直接而亲密。
08:31
I envision a 36-story,
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我想象了一幢36层高,
08:33
450-unit residential high-rise --
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有450个房间的住宅大楼
08:38
a reason to consider the mental health
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用来检验建筑师的心理健康,
08:41
of any architect before granting
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在还没有给他
08:43
an important commission.
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一大笔佣金之前。
08:46
The bathrooms and kitchens will,
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洗手间和厨房
08:48
of course, have no windows.
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当然是没有窗户的。
08:51
The lap of luxury
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膝盖上的奢侈生活
08:54
is an architectural construct of childhood,
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只是一个童年的构想,
08:58
which we seek, in vain,
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我们在寻觅的过程中总是无功而返,
09:00
as adults, to employ.
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就像成年人雇佣人的时候一样。
09:03
That's the end.
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故事讲完了。
09:05
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
09:08
The next story is called "The Haverpiece Collection"
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下一个故事叫做《哈弗皮斯的收藏》。
09:11
A nondescript warehouse,
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这是一个难以描述的仓库,
09:14
visible for a moment
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这会儿是你能看见它,
09:16
from the northbound lanes of the Prykushko Expressway,
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在Prykushko高速公路向北的车道上,
09:21
serves as the temporary resting place
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被用作一个临时的休息所,
09:25
for the Haverpiece collection
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为了哈弗皮斯(Haverpiece)的收藏而设
09:28
of European dried fruit.
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——欧洲水果干。
09:32
The profound convolutions
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那些樱桃干表面
09:34
on the surface of a dried cherry.
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深深的卷曲;
09:37
The foreboding sheen of an extra-large date.
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以及巨大枣子表面给人不祥预感的光泽。
09:42
Do you remember wandering as a child
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还记得吗,当你还是个孩子的时候,
09:45
through those dark wooden
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游荡在那些暗暗的
09:47
storefront galleries?
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木屋美术馆店面?
09:49
Where everything was displayed
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那里的所有东西都展示在
09:51
in poorly labeled roach-proof bins.
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有着难看标签的蟑螂罐里
09:56
Pears dried in the form
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梨子干有着
09:58
of genital organs.
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生殖器一样的形状。
10:01
Apricot halves
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杏瓣儿
10:03
like the ears of cherubim.
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就像智天使的耳朵。
10:05
In 1962 the unsold stock
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1962年,未出售的存货
10:10
was purchased by Maurice Haverpiece,
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被莫里斯.哈弗皮斯所购买
10:13
a wealthy prune juice bottler,
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他是一个富有的瓶装青梅汁制造商,
10:15
and consolidated to form the core collection.
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这些存货经过整理组成了核心的收藏。
10:20
As an art form it lies somewhere between
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作为一种艺术形式,这个收藏被放在
10:23
still-life painting and plumbing.
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静物写生和探测之间。
10:27
Upon his death in 1967,
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直到他1967年去世,
10:31
a quarter of the items were sold off for compote
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这些藏品的四分之一已经作为拼盘
10:35
to a high-class hotel restaurant.
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向高档酒店抛售一空。
10:38
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
10:39
Unsuspecting guests were served
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信任酒店的顾客
10:42
stewed turn-of-the-century
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早饭吃的是
10:44
Turkish figs for breakfast.
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21世纪的土耳其无花果。
10:47
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
10:48
The rest of the collection remains here,
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剩余部分的收藏一直留在了这里,
10:51
stored in plain brown paper bags
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在筹到足够资金
10:55
until funds can be raised
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见一个永久性博物馆
10:58
to build a permanent museum
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和学习中心之前,
11:00
and study center.
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它们都被存放在普通的棕色纸袋里。
11:02
A shoe made of apricot leather
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一只为沙皇女儿
11:05
for the daughter of a czar.
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制作的杏仁皮的鞋子。
11:08
That's the end. Thank you.
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最后一个故事讲完了。谢谢大家。
11:11
(Applause)
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(掌声)
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