美国国家公共电台 NPR Grey Gardens, Famed Home Of Jackie Kennedy Relatives, For Sale

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

A place that was once home to some staunch characters is now on the market.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "GREY GARDENS")

EDITH BOUVIER BEALE: I can't stand a country house. This place - it makes me terribly nervous.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The address is 3 West End Avenue, East Hampton, N.Y. You can look it up yourself on Zillow. It features a three-story shingle¹ house, a stone's throw away from the ocean, it says.

MCEVERS: The property is also known as Grey Gardens, and it looks nothing like it did 40 years ago when it was filmed for a documentary.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "GREY GARDENS")

BOUVIER BEALE: I almost died with the fleas² in this place. I can't go on another year. I have to get to a hotel room.

SIEGEL: "Grey Gardens" the documentary was a study in eccentricity³ and squalor on Long Island. Its subjects, faded socialites Edith Beale and her daughter, also named Edith Beale, once faced eviction⁴ by the county health department. Their 28-room house was full of trash and infested⁵ with vermin, with no running water - very out of place in the Hamptons.

MCEVERS: Jackie Kennedy Onassis was the elder Beale's niece. She had stepped in to get Grey Gardens cleaned up somewhat a few years before the documentary was made. It went on to inspire an HBO movie, a musical and countless⁶ drag queens worldwide.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "GREY GARDENS")

BOUVIER BEALE: The relatives didn't know that they were dealing⁷ with a staunch character. And I tell you if there's anything worse than a staunch woman - S-T-A-U-N-C-H.

SIEGEL: Little Edie, the dramatic daughter, bickers⁸ with her mother throughout the film. She wears clothes in strange ways, like a sweater for a headscarf, and she eagerly performs for the camera.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "GREY GARDENS")

BOUVIER BEALE: (Singing) We all stand together. United we die.

SIEGEL: Neither Beale seems to be bothered by the house's condition. Trash piles up. There are many cats, not so many litter boxes, rodents⁹ living in the walls, raccoons in the attic¹⁰.

MCEVERS: But Grey Gardens had good bones. Journalist Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee knew that when they bought the place in 1979.

SIEGEL: Their rehab was extensive and, judging from the photos online, stunning¹¹. Now the walls are clean and pastel-colored wood floors are polished. The grounds are landscaped. There's a pool - no raccoons or documentary film crews in sight.

MCEVERS: The asking price for Grey Gardens is just five grand shy of $20 million for a little piece of pop culture history.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF, "VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE SONG")

1 shingle   

n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短

参考例句：

• He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土，下面露出一块松木瓦块。
• He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。

2 fleas   

n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求）

参考例句：

• The dog has fleas. 这条狗有跳蚤。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 eccentricity   

n.古怪，反常，怪癖

参考例句：

• I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。
• His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。

4 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

5 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

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 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 bickers   

v.争吵( bicker的第三人称单数 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

9 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

10 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

11 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。