时代周刊:疫情之下 汽车影院迎来新的生机(1)

Now playing at the drive-in: bands, weddings, anything

汽车电影院演出类型：乐队表演、婚礼、无所不有

By Andrew R. Chow

文/安德鲁·R·周

Bri and Lindsey Leaverton had their dream wedding all planned out.

布里和林赛·利弗顿原本已经计划好一切，准备举办一场梦幻的婚礼。

In April, they were going to get married at a century-old mansion¹ in downtown Austin,

婚礼时间定在了今年4月，他们准备在奥斯汀市中心的一座百年豪宅举办婚礼，

with their guests sipping² cocktails³ on a veranda⁴ by the pool.

宾客们就在泳池边的阳台上啜饮着鸡尾酒。

Instead, they found themselves 20 miles south of town,

结果，二人却在市郊以南20英里处的

tying the knot at a drive-in on a dirt road surrounded by cows.

一条被牛群包围的土路上的一家汽车电影院里喜结了连理。

A formation of cars blasted their horns in delight.

一排汽车为二人鸣响了欢快的喇叭。

"When our wedding planner asked us about getting married at a drive-in,

“我们的婚礼策划问我们要不要在汽车电影院办婚礼的时候，

we looked at each other and said, 'That sounds insane,'" Lindsey says.

我们两个人直接你看着我我看着你，说了句，‘那也太夸张了吧，’”林赛说道。

The corona⁵ virus has upended countless⁶ minor⁷ and major life events over the past few months.

过去几个月，新冠病毒掀翻了我们无数个大大小小的计划。

While many of these plans were canceled,

尽管很多计划最后都取消了，

a surprising share migrated to the drive-in movie theater,

但依然有相当一部分将自己的安排调整到了汽车影院，

where social distancing, via cars and pickup⁸ trucks, is the norm.

而通过汽车、皮卡车保持社交距离早已成为这类影院的常态。

These theaters have scrambled⁹ to pivot¹⁰ their entire business model in the face of disappearing film releases—

电影发行逐渐消失之际，这些影院却开始了竞相打开自己的生意门路——

and have unwittingly become catchall communal¹¹ hubs across the country.

不知不觉就已成为各地包罗万象的公共活动中心。

"Drive-ins are being contacted like they used to be, for everything in the community,"

“汽车影院正在重拾昔日熙熙攘攘的景象，社区的任何活动都搬到了这里，”

says filmmaker April Wright, who directed the documentary Going Attractions: The Definitive¹² Story of the Movie Palace.

纪录片《景点游：权威电影殿堂故事》导演、电影制作人阿普丽尔·赖特说。

"They're hosting church services, weddings, graduations, dance recitals¹³, concerts, stand-up comedy."

“教堂礼拜、婚礼、毕业典礼、舞蹈演出、音乐会、单口喜剧表演一应俱全。”

Shifts to events like outdoor weddings and smaller-scale concerts

转向接待户外婚礼和小型演唱会这类活动

serve as creative ways to stay afloat in an industry that was unforgiving before the pandemic:

反倒成了汽车影院这一行业创造性的生存之道，因为大流行之前，该行业的形势就已变得十分不利：

the number of drive-ins in the U.S. has continuously dwindled¹⁴,

整个美国的汽车影院数量都在持续减少，

especially as home and handheld entertainment command more and more attention.

尤其是家庭娱乐和手持娱乐博取了人们越来越多的关注。

Now, increased costs, a delayed film slate¹⁵ and potential competition from pop-ups —

如今，成本上涨，排片滞后，加之来自 的潜在竞争——

the Tribeca Film Festival, for example, is programming drive-in experiences at beaches, sports stadiums and even Walmart parking lots—

翠贝卡电影节就已在海滩、体育场，甚至是沃尔玛停车场推出免下车体验——

are making some theaters skeptical¹⁶ they can last through the crisis.

一些影院已经开始怀疑自己是否能扛住此次危机。

"A lot of us are really struggling," says Nathan McDonald, the owner of the 66 Drive-In in southwestern Missouri.

“我们很多影院现在都过得很苦，”密苏里州西南部66号汽车影院的老板内森·麦克唐纳说。

"If (movies) continue to be pushed, I'll probably close in late August."

“如果(电影)继续被推迟上映，8月下旬我可能就要关门了。”

1 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

2 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

3 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

4 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

5 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

9 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

11 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

12 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

13 recitals   

n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 )；独奏会；小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等；一系列事件等的详述

参考例句：

• His recitals have earned him recognition as a talented performer. 他的演奏会使他赢得了天才演奏家的赞誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her teachers love her playing, and encourage her to recitals. 她的老师欣赏她的演奏，并鼓励她举办独奏会。 来自互联网

14 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。