2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英語：模范村是一種節(jié)日傳統(tǒng)

 


Little model villages have long been part of many American families' holiday decorating traditions.
長期以來，小模范村一直是許多美國家庭節(jié)日裝飾傳統(tǒng)的一部分。
 
The life-like model villages have small houses, shops, people and snowy trees.
栩栩如生的模范村有小房子、商店、人和白雪皚皚的樹木。
 
This season, American designers and creative people give advice on how to create your own small winter villages.
這一季，美國設(shè)計(jì)師和創(chuàng)意人士就如何打造您自己的冬季小村莊提出建議。
 
Background
背景
 
Dayna Isom Johnson is an expert on the crafts site Etsy.com. She said nostalgia – pleasure in remembering something from the past – is an important part of holiday decorations this year.
Dayna Isom Johnson 是工藝品網(wǎng)站 Etsy.com 的專家。她說，懷舊——懷念過去的快樂——是今年節(jié)日裝飾的重要組成部分。
 
"So it's no surprise that tiny Christmas villages are trending," she added. Trending means becoming popular.
“因此，小圣誕村成為潮流也就不足為奇了，”她補(bǔ)充道。流行意味著變得流行。
 
"From…snowy layers to modern ceramics with clean lines, families are putting their creative spin on this…tradition," she said.
她說：“從……白雪皚皚的層層到線條簡潔的現(xiàn)代陶瓷，家庭正在將他們的創(chuàng)意融入到這個(gè)……傳統(tǒng)中。”
 
Models of little villages from the 1800s came to America with European immigrants. They were popularized even more by F.W. Woolworth, who sold very small, German-made cardboard houses.
1800 年代的小村莊模型隨歐洲移民來到美國。 F.W. Woolworth 銷售德國制造的非常小的紙板房屋，使它們更加流行。
 
In the 1970s and 1980s, ceramic houses became popular. The company Department 56 began making theirs in 1976 and still do today.
在 1970 年代和 80 年代，陶瓷房屋開始流行。 Department 56 公司于 1976 年開始制作他們的模型，至今仍在制作。
 
Making your own village
制作您自己的村莊
Robin Zachary has a large collection of objects used to make model villages. They include things like cardboard houses, matchbox cars, bottlebrush trees and little people. She likes to set up a model village for the holidays in her New York City home.
Robin Zachary 收藏了大量用于制作模型村莊的物品。它們包括硬紙板房、火柴盒車、瓶刷樹和小人物。她喜歡在紐約市的家中為假期建立一個(gè)模范村。
 
She advises people interested in making their own villages to consider model train shops. "The scale is perfect for a holiday village..." she said.
她建議有興趣建造自己的村莊的人考慮模型火車店。 “這個(gè)秤非常適合度假村……”她說。
 
Sarah Fishburne is the director of trend and design for the company Home Depot. She said it is a good idea to put small Christmas villages on top of fireplaces or side tables.
Sarah Fishburne 是 Home Depot 公司的趨勢和設(shè)計(jì)總監(jiān)。她說，將小圣誕村放在壁爐或邊桌上是個(gè)好主意。
 
"You could also place one on the floor surrounding your Christmas tree, or distribute your pieces throughout a bookcase," she said.
“您也可以將一個(gè)放在圣誕樹周圍的地板上，或者將您的作品散布在整個(gè)書架上， ”她說。
 
If you are making a Christmas village yourself, Fishburne said, get everybody in the family involved.
如果你要自己建造一個(gè)圣誕村，F(xiàn)ishburne 說，讓家里的每個(gè)人都參與進(jìn)來。
 
You can find sets of wood and cardboard small houses online. You can add the paint and other decorative elements. Some will fit nicely over a light to shine in the evenings.
你可以在網(wǎng)上找到幾套木頭和硬紙板的小房子。您可以添加油漆和其他裝飾元素。有些可以很好地安裝在晚上照亮的燈上。
 
Kelly Mandell is a blogger in Los Angeles. She turned birdhouses into a modern holiday village using special paint and a shiny material called glitter. Snow and colorful trees added to the playful feeling.
Kelly Mandell 是洛杉磯的一名博主。她使用特殊的油漆和一種叫做閃光的閃亮材料將鳥舍變成了一個(gè)現(xiàn)代化的度假村。雪和五顏六色的樹木增添了俏皮感。
 
You might even include village elements into the branches of a wreath, Fishburne suggests. Americans sometimes put circles of evergreen tree branches called wreathes on their doors.
菲什伯恩建議，您甚至可以在花環(huán)的樹枝中加入鄉(xiāng)村元素。美國人有時(shí)會(huì)在他們的門上放上稱為花環(huán)的常青樹枝圈。
 
Beyond the traditional look, Fishburne recommends creating something that shows your family's favorite activities. Are you all ice skaters? Do you love to bake? Is a visit to grandparents something you do during the holidays? You could show these things in your model village along with things that bring good memories.
除了傳統(tǒng)的外觀，F(xiàn)ishburne 建議制作一些可以展示您家人最喜歡的活動(dòng)的東西。你們都是溜冰者嗎？你喜歡烘焙嗎？拜訪祖父母是您在假期做的事情嗎？您可以在您的模型村中展示這些東西以及能帶來美好回憶的東西。
 
Or you could take ideas from the places you have visited in your travels. Fishburne said her family always brings home a little building or other small object from a place they have traveled to.
或者你可以從你旅行中去過的地方汲取靈感。 Fishburne 說，她的家人總是從他們?nèi)ミ^的地方帶回家一座小建筑或其他小物件。
 
Finally, if there's no space for a large village, Zachary suggests a different kind of family craft project: a village painting.
最后，如果沒有足夠的空間建造一個(gè)大村莊，Zachary 建議進(jìn)行一種不同的家庭工藝項(xiàng)目：一幅鄉(xiāng)村畫。
 
"Why not have the kids draw and decorate houses, then pin them up in a row on the wall? Make sure they make some trees, as well as any of your town's significant buildings," she says.
“為什么不讓孩子們畫畫和裝飾房屋，然后將它們排成一排釘在墻上？確保他們制作一些樹木，以及您鎮(zhèn)上任何重要的建筑物，”她說。