35年！有爱父亲为女儿完成精美玩偶小屋

 　　Many little girls dream of owning their very own doll's house, complete with tiny rooms and quaint¹ model furniture.

　　很多女孩都梦想有一座属于自己的玩偶小屋，里面有微型房间和古雅家具。

　　But when one little girl asked her father for a doll's house, she was in for a long wait as the elaborate home created by her father took him more than three decades to complete.

　　不过当一个小女孩向自己的父亲央求玩偶小屋后，她等了很久很久，因为他的父亲花费了三十余年才精心完成。

　　Geoffrey Walkley, 69, from Hornchurch in Essex, took 35 years to finish the project, which is a replica² of the National Trust's 18th century Rainham Hall.

　　来自埃塞克斯霍恩彻奇的Geoffrey Walkley今年已经69岁，他花了35年完成了这项工程，这一玩偶小屋是英国国民托管组织中一座18世纪的雷纳姆大厅复制品。

　　Weighing a whopping 200 pounds and costing more than ?13,000 , it has 13 rooms over three storeys including five bedrooms, library, kitchen, dining room, marble hall and a utility room.

　　这座小屋重达200磅（约90.7千克），花费超过1.3万英镑，里面是三层小楼，一共13个房间，其中包括5间卧室，藏书室，厨房，饭厅，大理石厅和杂物室。

　　35年！有爱父亲为女儿完成精美玩偶小屋

　　A remote controls the individually wired light switches, six of the 14 chimneys are linked to a smoke generator³, both front and back doors have a doorbell, while in a modern twist, the home includes an iPad Nano which powers the speaker in the music room.

　　一个远程开关控制着分别接有电线的电灯开关，14个烟囱中有6个连接到了发烟器，前门和后门各有一个门铃，不过有一个现代化的转变是房子里有一个iPad Nano，为音乐室里提供音乐。

　　Sarah Walkley, now aged⁴ 40, was five years old when she asked her father for the doll's house on Christmas Eve 1978.

　　1978年，5岁的Sarah Walkley在平安夜央求父亲给自己做一个玩偶小屋，如今她已经40岁了。

　　'My mum was tucking me in and I said I wanted a doll's house from Father Christmas,' explains Sarah.

　　Sarah

　　解释说：“当时母亲正帮我盖被子，我说我想向圣诞老人要个玩偶小屋。”

　　'She said he had packed his sleigh and left the Arctic but she went downstairs and mentioned it to my dad and he said he was going to build one.'

　　“她说圣诞老人已经准备好了雪橇，离开北极出发了。但是她下楼去和爸爸说了这件事，爸爸说会给我做一个。”

　　Devoted⁵ father Geoffrey agreed but came up with a blueprint⁶ so ambitious, Sarah says she began to lose hope of ever seeing it finished.

　　但热忱的爸爸同意后制作了一张非常精细的规划图，以至于Sarah对于何时见到小屋完工失去了希望。

　　'I thought it would take a few years,' says Sarah. 'Once he started it became very clear that was not going to be the case.

　　“我以为可能要花几年时间，”Sarah说道，“但制作开始后完全不是那么回事。”

　　'By the time I got to my teenage years, it had become a bit of a running joke - I used to say, "Will it ever get finished?"

　　“当我进入青少年时期后，这件事经常被拿来开玩笑，我常说‘这个小屋能完成吗’。”

　　'As an adult I could see there was progress. My dad always said I was incredibly patient.'

　　“长大以后，我能看到小屋在一天天成型。我父亲常说我无比耐心。”

　　But the years of slow progress were about to come to an end when Geoffrey retired⁷ from his job as a city lawyer in the city in 2004.

　　不过2004年，当Geoffrey从该市的律师职位退休后，缓慢的制作进展告一段落。

　　With a new role as a part-time consultant⁸, the loving father was able to devote at least 35 hours a week to the project.

　　成为兼职顾问后，这位慈爱的父亲每周花在这个项目上的时间至少有35小时。

　　Sarah, who lives with her husband Mark, 38, an electric engineer, in their five-bedroom home in Bromley, Kent, joked: 'Once he retired he swapped⁹ one full time job for another full time job. He would spend every day from 10am to 4pm in his workshop'.

　　Sarah现在和38岁的电气工程师丈夫Mark住在肯特郡布罗姆利的一个五室之家。她开玩笑说：“父亲退休后几乎是从一份工作转到了另一份全职工作，他在工作室从每天早上10点忙活到下午四点。”

　　The finished result proved a stunning¹⁰ surprise. 'It's indescribable really, to spend that much of your life on one project, it's a real token of love and dedication¹¹.'

　　“完成之后的小屋真是个令人意外的惊喜。‘这真的难以形容，花费大半生在一件事情上，真的是爱和奉献的体现’。”

　　Describing her friends' reactions, she added: 'They think it's absolutely amazing and a little bit eccentric.

　　描述完朋友们的反应，她补充道：“他们觉得很了不起，但又有点儿奇怪。”

　　'They have never really seen a doll's house like it. Most people's perceptions of a dolls house is a basic wooden Sylvanian Families house. This is a real work of art.'

　　“他们从没见过像这样的玩偶小屋。许多人认知中的玩偶屋应该是简单的木质森林家族小屋，而这个是真正的艺术品。”

　　She added: 'I've spent a couple of Friday nights sitting with a glass of wine and just marvelling¹² at it.'

　　她说：“有好几个周五晚上，我就端着一杯红酒，对这间小屋表示赞叹。”

　　The 42 x 39 inch house now has pride of place in her home, although she did have to hire a van to bring it home from her father's workshop.

　　这个42英寸宽（约107厘米），39英寸高（约99厘米）的小屋成了Sarah家里的骄傲，虽然她不得不请了一辆货车才将其从父亲家里运回自己家。

　　'It took four grown adults to lift it,' explains Sarah. 'My dad was sat in the back [directing operations] with a walkie talkie.'

　　“这个小屋需要四位成年人来搬，”Sarah说，“而我父亲则在后面拿着无线对讲机指挥。”

　　After getting it home, the family threw a party to celebrate its arrival and give Geoffrey a chance to reflect on his achievement.

　　在搬回家之后，整家人为小屋的到来举办了庆祝聚会，并请Geoffrey就自己的成就说两句。

　　'I was desperately¹³ proud of it,' he revealed. 'I thought, "Wow, how stunning!"

　　'他说道：“我对此非常骄傲，我心想‘哇，真令人赞叹’”。

　　But while Geoffrey's doll's house has proved a hit with his daughter, it might be the last one built by a family member.

　　虽然Geoffrey的玩偶小屋让女儿感动异常，但这可能是这家人制作的最后一个了。

　　'My sister in law's husband said he started building one,' adds Sarah, 'but he said he may as well give up now.'

　　Sarah说：“我弟妹的父亲原本说要做一个，但他说还是现在放弃比较好，”

1 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

2 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

3 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

6 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

10 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

11 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

12 marvelling   

v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• \"Yes,'said the clerk, marvelling at such ignorance of a common fact. “是的，\"那人说，很奇怪她竟会不知道这么一件普通的事情。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Chueh-hui watched, marvelling at how easy it was for people to forget. 觉慧默默地旁观着这一切，他也忍不住笑了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

13 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。