最炫酷出租车将退役 装备激光键盘

Jon Barnes’ ‘Ultimate Taxi’ is probably the closest that the muggle world will ever get to the Knight¹ Bus in Harry² Potter’s magical universe. Barnes has managed to completely transform a plain old checkered³ taxi cab into an experience of a lifetime – it’s a delightful⁴ explosion of light and sound rolled into one single ride.

乔·巴恩的“终极的士”可能是麻瓜世界里最接近哈利波特魔法大学里骑士巴士的一点了。巴恩将一辆老旧的出租车完全改装，变成了人生的经历——在一次旅程中充分体验光影的美妙。

Jon started working on the remarkable⁵ taxi in 1983, and it’s seen several transformations⁶ since then. In it’s present form it incorporates lasers, synthesizers and an internet-connected computer. “The taxi ride is a 45-minute musical, magical adventure,” Barnes explains on his website, “The Ultimate Taxi ride is a rock concert, ‘amusement park’ ride, magic show, movie ride, and 3D laser light show.”

乔1983年开始改装这辆出租车，自那时起又经历了几次改装。现在，车里装备有混合激光、合成器和连了网的电脑。“这趟旅程是一次45分钟的音乐魔幻之旅，”巴恩在他的网页上如是说，“这次终极的士之旅是一场摇滚音乐会，游乐园之旅，魔法秀、电影奇妙之旅和3D激光秀。”

Over the years, the Ultimate Taxi has enjoyed a varied⁷ list of clientele, including celebrities⁸ like George Lucas, Ringo Starr, Clint Eastwood, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Costner and Michael Douglas. Thousands of people have enjoyed the Ultimate Taxi service which isn’t available anywhere else in the world.

这些年来，终极的士接待过许多客户，其中不乏诸如乔治·卢卡斯、林格·斯塔、克林特·伊斯特伍德、杰瑞·宋飞、凯文·科斯特纳以及迈克尔·道格拉斯这类名人。数以千计的人体验过这全世界独一无二的终极的士服务。

Barnes describes his inspiration as “When you grow up with Laserium, the Beatles and ‘Star Trek’, you want to build a rock ‘n’ roll rocket ship”. And that’s pretty much what he ended up doing, one step at a time. First, he bought a 1978 cab with 75,000 miles on it. Then he added a keyboard to the taxi that he would play in his free time and shove under the seat when he had to drive. Eventually, he stopped hiding the keyboard and played it for his customers. And over time, he added more and more equipment until it evolved into the Ultimate Taxi.

巴恩是这样形容他的灵感来源的：“如果你的成长道路是激光天象仪、披头士乐队和《星际迷航》陪伴着的，那么你就会想要建造一艘摇滚火箭飞船。”而这正是他这么多年一点一滴在做的事。首先，他买了一辆1978年已经跑了75000英里的老出租车，然后在车里安装了电子键盘，这样开车时就放在座位下面，空闲时间就可以弹。到了最后，他干脆不藏着电子键盘了，而是直接弹给客人听。渐渐地，他在车里加了越来越多的设备，最后使它变成了“终极的士”。

Soon, word of this highly unusual taxi spread, and Barnes began to gain media attention. His story was featured on a variety of TV stations such as the Travel Channel, MTV, the Food Network, and even TV shows in Germany and Australia. It wasn’t long before Barnes became a mini celebrity⁹ in Aspen. “For me, the car is an extension of my mind,” he explained. “The car allows me to be an engineer and an inventor and a dreamer. I’m free to explore the world of lights and sound. And happiness.”

很快这辆不走寻常路的的士就声名远扬了，巴恩也逐渐获得了媒体的关注。他的故事在旅游卫视、MTV、以及美食联播网上，甚至德国和澳大利亚的电视节目中都有播出。不久后，巴恩就在阿斯彭小有名气了。“对我来说，这辆的士是思维的延伸，”他解释说，“它让我成为一个工程师、一个创造者和一个梦想家。我可以自由探索光与声的世界，也能从中得到幸福。”

Unfortunately, the old taxi is reaching the end of its lifespan. “30 years has taken a toll¹⁰ on the Ultimate Taxi, and it’s quickly becoming unsafe to drive,” said Barnes. And safety is his number one priority.

不幸的是，这辆老出租车已经到达了年限。“30年已经是它的极限了，再开就不安全了。”安全问题始终是巴恩最先考虑的事情。 

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

4 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句

7 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

8 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。