2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英语：模范村是一种节日传统

 


Little model villages have long been part of many American families' holiday decorating traditions.
长期以来，小模范村一直是许多美国家庭节日装饰传统的一部分。
 
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、人和白雪皑皑的树木。
 
This season, American designers and creative people give advice on how to create your own small winter villages.
这一季，美国设计师和创意人士就如何打造您自己的冬季小村庄提出建议。
 
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 是工艺品网站 Etsy.com 的专家。她说，怀旧——怀念过去的快乐——是今年节日装饰的重要组成部分。
 
"So it's no surprise that tiny Christmas villages are trending," she added. Trending means becoming popular.
“因此，小圣诞村成为潮流也就不足为奇了，”她补充道。流行意味着变得流行。
 
"From…snowy layers to modern ceramics with clean lines, families are putting their creative spin on this…tradition," she said.
她说：“从……白雪皑皑的层层到线条简洁的现代陶瓷，家庭正在将他们的创意融入到这个……传统中。”
 
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 年代的小村庄模型随欧洲移民来到美国。 F.W. Woolworth 销售德国制造的非常小的纸板房屋，使它们更加流行。
 
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，陶瓷房屋开始流行。 Department 56 公司于 1976 年开始制作他们的模型，至今仍在制作。
 
Making your own village
制作您自己的村庄
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庄的物品。它们包括硬纸板房、火柴盒车、瓶刷树和小人物。她喜欢在纽约市的家中为假期建立一个模范村。
 
She advises people interested in making their own villages to consider model train shops. "The scale is perfect for a holiday village..." she said.
她建议有兴趣建造自己的村庄的人考虑模型火车店。 “这个秤非常适合度假村……”她说。
 
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 公司的趋势和设计总监。她说，将小圣诞村放在壁炉或边桌上是个好主意。
 
"You could also place one on the floor surrounding your Christmas tree, or distribute your pieces throughout a bookcase," she said.
“您也可以将一个放在圣诞树周围的地板上，或者将您的作品散布在整个书架上， ”她说。
 
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个圣诞村，Fishburne 说，让家里的每个人都参与进来。
 
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.
你可以在网上找到几套木头和硬纸板的小房子。您可以添加油漆和其他装饰元素。有些可以很好地安装在晚上照亮的灯上。
 
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 是洛杉矶的一名博主。她使用特殊的油漆和一种叫做闪光的闪亮材料将鸟舍变成了一个现代化的度假村。雪和五颜六色的树木增添了俏皮感。
 
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.
菲什伯恩建议，您甚至可以在花环的树枝中加入乡村元素。美国人有时会在他们的门上放上称为花环的常青树枝圈。
 
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.
除了传统的外观，Fishburne 建议制作一些可以展示您家人最喜欢的活动的东西。你们都是溜冰者吗？你喜欢烘焙吗？拜访祖父母是您在假期做的事情吗？您可以在您的模型村中展示这些东西以及能带来美好回忆的东西。
 
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.
或者你可以从你旅行中去过的地方汲取灵感。 Fishburne 说，她的家人总是从他们去过的地方带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，如果没有足够的空间建造一个大村庄，Zachary 建议进行一种不同的家庭工艺项目：一幅乡村画。
 
"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.
“为什么不让孩子们画画和装饰房屋，然后将它们排成一排钉在墙上？确保他们制作一些树木，以及您镇上任何重要的建筑物，”她说。