BBC英语六分钟|家庭财产

小酌千年 2017-08-04

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This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. com.

这里是bbclearningenglish. com英语六分钟节目。

Chris: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Chris and with me today is Neil.

大家好，欢迎收听英语六分钟节目，我是克莉丝，今天和我一起主持节目的是尼尔。

Neil: Hi there.

大家好。

Chris: Now Neil, what is your most treasured possession?

尼尔，你最珍贵的财富是什么？

Neil: Well, that's interesting – my most treasured possession would have to be… my guitar.

这个问题很有趣——我最珍贵的财富是我的吉他。

Chris: I would probably say one of my most treasured possessions is a painting by my grandfather.

我可能会说我祖父画的一幅画是我最珍贵的财富之一。

Neil: Oh, art in the family!

家庭中的艺术！

Chris: So, today we're discussing possessions. But before we get started, it's the quiz question. Let's see if you can answer it correctly.

所以，今天我们讨论的是财产。但是在讨论开始之前，先来问个问题。看看你能否答对。

Neil: OK, I'm ready for a challenge.

好的，我准备好迎接挑战了。

Chris: The question is: in terms of distance, what is the world record length for a photography exhibition? Is it a) 90 metres b) 1 kilometre or c) 600 kilometres

问题是：与长度有关，世界上最长的摄影展有多长？90米，1公里还是600公里？

Neil: Well, I have no idea, so I'm going to go for the completely ridiculous: c) 600km.

我不知道。我准备选最荒谬的，600公里。

Chris: OK, we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme. Now, I asked a question about photography because in today's show we're talking about a series of photographs from China.

好的，我们会在节目的最后再揭晓答案。我问了一个与照片有关的问题，因为今天我们将讨论一系列来自中国的照片。

Neil: From China? So what are these photos about?

来自中国？这些照片是关于什么的？

Chris: Well, a photographer called Huang Qingjun has been travelling around China for over a decade, taking photos of families standing outside their houses.

一个叫Huang Qingjun（黄清军）的摄影师曾在中国旅行了十多年，拍摄了很多一家人站在其房子外面的照片。

Neil: What's special about that?

这有什么特别的？

Chris: Well, he asks the families to place all their belongings in front of the house too.

他还让这些家庭把他们家里的物品放在房子前面。

Neil: All their belongings? So even things like tables and chairs?

他们所有的家当？甚至是桌子和椅子？

Chris: Yes, as much as they can move! Now, I've got some clips from a report by BBC correspondent Beth McLeod. She describes one of the photos – can you hear what objects she sees?

是的，只要是他们能搬动的！现在，来听一段BBC记者贝丝·麦克劳德的报告。她描述了其中一张照片——你能听出她看到了什么吗？

On a dusty, grey, patch of land, a pair of pink slippers, some cooking utensils, a bicycle and some blankets are neatly arranged in rows. Standing among their belongings an elderly couple face the camera, unsmiling… A DVD player, telephone and television are balanced on a block of concrete in the forefront of the photo, and some string and rocks hold a satellite dish at an angle on the ground.

在一片尘土飞扬的灰色土地上，一双粉色拖鞋，一些炊具，一辆自行车和一些毯子，整齐地排列成行。一对老年夫妻与他们的物品站在一起，严肃地看着相机，……在照片前方，一台DVD播放机、一部电话和一台电视机平衡地摆放在混凝土上，在地上，一些绳子和石头把一个卫星天线盘固定在了一个角度。

Chris: What objects did she describe seeing in the photo?

她看到了照片中的什么物品？

Neil: A pair of slippers!

一双拖鞋！

Chris: That's correct.

正确！

Neil: Some cooking utensils – so things like spoons and knives. A bicycle, some blankets, a DVD player, a telephone.

一些炊具——比如勺子和刀具。一辆自行车、一些毯子、一部DVD播放器、一部电话。

Chris: Very good. There was one more thing too – a satellite dish.

非常好。还有一个东西——一个卫星天线盘。

Neil: So, why were all these things placed outside their house for the photographer to take a photo?

那么，为什么要把这些物品都放在他们房子的外面来让摄影师拍照呢？

Chris: The photographer wanted to capture the lives and material goods of rural Chinese families. The photos reveal some of the social changes happening across China.

摄影师希望能捕捉到中国农村家庭的实际生活情况和物质条件。这些照片揭露了中国发生的一些社会变化。

Neil: Because of these people's belongings?

因为这些人民的财产吗？

Chris: Yes, we can see the many different possessions of these families – some of their things are very old-fashioned, but some are much more modern. Weiliang Nie of the BBC's Chinese Service describes how the consumer goods bought by people in these rural areas have changed.

的确，我们能看到这些家庭有着不同的财产——有的很过时，但有的非常时髦。BBC的中国记者Weiliang Nie（聂伟良）介绍了农村地区的人民所购买的物品已经开始发生变化。

In the past, it is unimaginable people like these poor farmers or peasants could have access to a television or a telephone… They still have these sewing machines which you pedal with your feet. These are the things that the Chinese used to have as valuable stuff 30 or 40 years ago.

在过去，难以想象这些贫困家庭的人们或农民能拥有电视机或电话… 他们仍然使用脚踩缝纫机。这些是中国人在30或40年前曾经拥有的有价值的东西。

Chris: So, having a television or telephone was once a luxury, but now they are seen by many as necessities.

所以，电视机或电话曾经是奢侈品，但现在，它们都是生活必需品。

Neil: Was a sewing machine a common item for people to own years ago?

过去，缝纫机是人们家中的普通物品吗？

Chris: In the 1950s, a sewing machine was one of the 'four big things' that Chinese families would crave. The three others things were: a bicycle, a watch and a radio.

五十年代，缝纫机是中国家庭渴望的四大件之一。另外三大件是：自行车、手表和收音机。

Neil: By the 1980s, the four big things that people wanted were: a television, a washing machine, a rice cooker and a fridge.

到了80年代，人们想要的四大件是：电视机、洗衣机、电饭锅和冰箱。

Chris: This series of photos provides a snapshot of part of this social change.

这一系列照片展现了一部分社会变化的缩影。

Neil: Is the photographer critical of these changes, do you think?

摄影师是这些变化的关键，你觉得呢？

Chris: Well, there is a sense that he's capturing a way of life that is slowly being lost.

的确，有种这样的感觉：他在捕捉正在缓慢消失的生活方式。

Neil: Yeah, I see what you mean. Putting all their belongings outside their house makes it look as if they are moving away.

是的，我明白你的意思，把他们的财物放在房子外面，看起来好像是他们要搬离这里。

Chris: In this final clip, Beth McLeod describes one family who are doing just that – moving away:

在最后一段报告中，贝丝·麦克劳德描述了一个正在搬家的家庭。

In one photo, a family pose next to a house that has the Chinese character for 'tear down' written on it. It's one of many older dwellings demolished to make way for tower blocks in a rapidly changing China.

在一张照片中，一个家庭站在房子旁边，房子上写着“拆迁”两个汉字。中国正在快速发展，为了给高层建筑让路，众多旧住房被拆迁，它只是其中一座。

Chris: Some of these rural areas are becoming more built-up and urbanised.

一些农村地区正朝着城市化的方向发展。

Neil: It's quite sad really that this family are losing their home.

令人难过的是，这些人正在失去他们的家园。

Chris: But the photographer himself believes these things are a cause for optimism. Building roads to these remote areas means people can move around more freely.

但摄影师自己认为这种改变是乐观的。为遥远的地区铺路意味着这里的人们可以更自由地进出。

Neil: And by providing electricity, they can get news and ideas through the TV or internet. Is the photographer planning on continuing this project?

为他们提供电力，他们就能通过电视或因特网来获得新闻和消息。摄影师计划继续他的项目吗?

Chris: Yes, he wants to photograph more of China's urban families.

是的，他想为更多的中国农村家庭拍照。

Neil: I imagine the amount of stuff people own in urban areas is much greater.

我想城市里的人拥有的财产更多。

Chris: If you compare the photo of a wealthy film director with the photo of a poor fishing family who live on a boat – they are poles apart.

如果你把富有的电影导演家庭的照片和住在船上的贫穷渔民家庭的照片相比较，就会发现，他们真的是天壤之别。

Neil: Almost all the belongings the fishing family own are related to cooking, whereas the film director owns a car and a large flat-screen TV.

渔民家庭所拥有的所有东西无非就是做饭用的厨具，而电影导演拥有车、大平面电视。

Chris: It makes you wonder if we really need all our possessions.

这会让你开始怀疑我们是否真的需要这些财物。

Neil: That is very true… but having said that, there's no way I could live without my guitar!

是的，但话说回来，离开我的吉他，我就无法活了。

Chris: OK, let's return to the quiz question: what is the world record length for a photography exhibition? Is it a) 90 metres b) 1 kilometre or c) 600 kilometres

好的，来看我们的问题：世界上最长的摄影展有多长？90米，1公里还是600公里？

Neil: And I went for c) 600 kilometres.

我选的是600公里

Chris: You were wrong I'm afraid – it was b) 1 kilometre. A photography exhibition called 'Jump4London' included over 80,000 images of people jumping in the air – that's a lot of photos!