 The man with 7,000 licence plates 一个拥有7000个车牌的男子 American car registration plates have become aluminium works of art and collecting them has never been more popular. 美国汽车车牌已成为铝制艺术品，收藏这些车牌前所未有的受欢迎。 On a quiet street in Arlington, Virginia, one man has squeezed the wholeworld into his garage. 在弗吉尼亚阿灵顿的一条安静的街道上,一个人把整个世界挤进了他的车库。 On one wall, all 50 states of America. Next to it, all 13 of Canada's provinces and territories. 在一面墙上,全美50州。在它旁边,所有的13个加拿大的省和地区。 Most of Mexico is above the garage door, while another wall zips from continent to continent: Montenegro one minute, Micronesia the next. 大部分的墨西哥在车库门之上,而另一面墙上从一个大陆到另一个大陆:一会儿是黑山,再一会儿是密克罗尼西亚。 Andrew Pang has spent 40 years collecting plates, and every sheet of metal tells a story. 安德鲁潘（译音）花了40年的时间收集车牌子,每一片金属片都讲述了一个故事。 Andrew has "between 7,000 and 8,000 plates". He received his first aged seven while growing up in Virginia. 安德鲁有"7000到8000个车牌子"。他在弗吉尼亚长大,他收藏第一个车牌的时候才七岁。 "My friend and neighbour across the street was from Louisiana, and he would go back every summer," says Andrew. 安德鲁说:"我街对面的朋友和邻居来自路易斯安那州,他每年夏天都要回去。 "One summer I said 'bring me something back from Louisiana'. He chose to bring me a licence plate from his grandfather's car dealership.” 有一年夏天,我说'从路易斯安给我带点东西回来‘。他选择了他祖父的汽车经销店里的一个车牌给我带了回来。“ Andrew had "dabbled" in stamp collecting and "had developed an interest in other countries, geography, maps". 安德鲁也”尝试"了集邮，并且“对在其他国家，地理,地图开始感兴趣”。 When Louisiana landed in his lap, he decided to start collecting. "I thought 'everyone collects stamps'," he says. "This was a little different.” 当那张路易斯安那州的牌子到手后,他决定开始收集车牌。"我想'每个人都在集邮',"他说。”收集车牌有些与众不同。“ Bythe time Andrew was 12, he had a plate from all 50 states. His next challenge was collecting a Virginia plate from every year they were issued.” 安德鲁12的时候,他已经收齐了全部50州的牌子。他的下一个挑战就是把弗吉尼亚州每年发行的车牌都收集到。 Virginia has issued plates since 1906. 弗吉尼亚从1906年就开始发行车牌。 "It took me 25 years to complete," says Andrew. "我花了25年才完成,"安德鲁说。 He found the missing piece of the jigsaw when a woman in Fredericksburg, Virginia, sold her deceased husband's collection. He bought a dozen plates - including the 1906 - for "around $4,000”. 在弗吉尼亚州弗雷德里克斯堡的一个女人卖掉了她已故丈夫的收藏时,他还发现了一块拼图丢失的一片。他买了十几个牌子,包括花了4000美元才到手的1906年车牌”。 After completing the Virginia set - or "run", to use the terminology - Andrew looked for new worlds to conquer. Or new states, at least. 在完成弗吉尼亚一套-或用术语说"整套"后,安德鲁开始寻找新的世界征服。或者起码新的州, He spent four years in Texas, and completed its run. He now wants the set from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, but admits it will take time. 他在得克萨斯州度过了四年,并完成了德州的整套。他现在希望收齐所有50州,加上哥伦比亚特区的整套,但承认这将需要时间。 "I'm very close on DC, Maryland, North Dakota," he says. "But I particularly focus on quality (the plate's condition). I could have finished many (runs) if I took anything.” "我非常接近完成华盛顿特区,马里兰州,北达科他州,"他说。"但我特别注重质量(牌子本身的好坏程度)。如果我不注意质量的话，我可以完成许多(整套)的。“ Despite having walls covered in plates, does Andrew still glance at every back bumper he passes? 尽管有车牌挂满了墙,安德鲁还会瞥一眼他走过的每一个车的后保险杠吗？ "I am afflicted with that," he admits. "我被我的喜好折磨,"他承认。 "Just yesterday I saw a vehicle in a parking lot from Puerto Rico, and that's quite unusual. In this area [near DC] I look for diplomatic plates. "就在昨天,我在停车场上看到一辆波多黎各的车牌,这很不寻常。在这个地区[邻近首都]我寻找外交牌照。 "What really excites me is if I see a US diplomat that's coming back from another country, but they're back such a short period of time, the plates from the other country are still on the vehicle.” "真正让我兴奋的是,如果我看到一位美国外交官从另一个国家回来,但他们回来的时间还很短,其他国家的车牌还在车上.” And what does his wife make of it all? 对这一切，他的妻子是怎么想呢？ "My wife is less of a hobbyist than I am," says Andrew, smiling. 安德鲁笑着说:“我的妻子没有我这么喜欢这个爱好。“ "While she has grown to understand it and live with it... she doesn't necessarily embrace it.” "虽然她逐渐的理解,并已经接受了,但她不一定兴高采烈的欢迎它。” 别犹豫了，你不是在做梦！一天不到三块钱，每天有人陪着提高英语水平！ 《陪读》笔记之——都是语法惹的祸。 |
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