Few instruments can be gentler than the harp, but authorities in New York’s Central Park have branded street musicians like harpist Meta Epstein a public disturbance and want them driven out. (
點我說給你聽)
很少有樂器的音色能比豎琴更加柔和，但紐約中央公園的管理單位卻把豎琴手梅塔．艾普斯坦這種街頭音樂家視為擾亂公共秩序，想把他們趕出去。
A new campaign to enforce eight "quiet zones," including in some of the city’s most hallowed spots for street performers, is turning virtuosos like Epstein into outlaws. (點我說給你聽)
園方最近在公園裡劃定八個「寧靜區」，其中就包括了被街頭藝術家視為表演聖地的幾個地點，這項新措施已經讓艾普斯坦這些藝術愛好者變成了不法之徒。
After years of being left in peace to perform her baroque repertoire on the beautiful, golden instrument, Epstein, 59, says she’s suddenly being treated as a menace. Park police, she said, accused her of destroying the grass where she sat and ordered her to move on. (點我說給你聽)
五十九歲的艾普斯坦多年來用這美麗的金黃色豎琴在公園裡演奏巴洛克音樂都未受打擾，結果現在她突然被當成危險人物看待。她說，公園警察指控她破壞草坪，命令她離開。
Central Park representatives say they have nothing against musicians. They just don’t want them in "quiet zones." "Park spokeswoman Vickie Karp said in an email. "It is not that we are against music. It is that we are for quiet," Karp said. (點我說給你聽)
中央公園的代表說他們不是反對音樂家，只是不希望這些人出現在「寧靜區」裡。公園發言人維琪．卡爾普透過電子郵件表示，「我們不是反對音樂，只是希望得到安寧。」
The clampdown appeared to mystify tourists. Tourist Zita Misley said she’d noticed the "quiet zone" sign nearby, but hadn’t quite got the point. "Oh, I thought they put ’quiet zone’ so that we could listen to the music!" she said when told of the park’s campaign. (點我說給你聽)
但這項禁令顯然讓遊客很困惑。其中一位遊客吉塔便說，她注意到附近有「寧靜區」的牌子，但不太明白是什麼意思。當她被告知這項公園的新政策時還說，「喔，我以為他們放上這個『寧靜區』的牌子是為了讓我們可以好好地聽音樂呢！」
◎by 王頤
【新聞辭典】
give someone the boot：片語，解雇、擺脫或趕走某人。例句：John couldn’t finish the project so his boss gave him the boot.（約翰無法完成計畫，所以他的老闆就請他走路了。）
menace：名詞，具有危險性的人或事物。Drunk driving is a menace to life.（酒後駕車是會危及生命的危險行為。）
clampdown：名詞，壓制、取締、嚴禁。例句：The police arrested four suspects in a clampdown on gambling.（警方在一場抓賭行動中逮捕了四名嫌犯。）
在家學英文，全程與專業外籍老師一對一交流， 互動性高，開口說英語就跟呼吸一樣自然。
留言列表
