VOA慢速英语2015 一个马鞍制作者的秘密

Secrets of a Saddle-Maker 一个马鞍制作者的秘密

People began riding horses thousands of years ago. Saddles for horseback riding were invented soon after. Today, many companies manufacture saddles. But it is rare to find someone who designs and makes these products by hand. American Keith Valley is one of the few. He has been making saddles, one at a time, for more than 20 years at Jackson Hole in the western state of Wyoming.

The community of Jackson Hole is famous for skiing. But Jackson Hole and all of Wyoming is also known as cowboy country.

Keith Valley grew up wanting to be a cowboy. He was influenced at a young age by Charlie Russell, an artist of the old American West. He says Russell’s paintings and the adventures he wrote about kept him interested in the Western way of life for cowboys.

Keith Valley worked on a ranch¹ for a long time. But after some cold, hard winters, and a few pains, the young man decided² to get into saddle making.

“Back in, like, 94, when I made my first saddle and I was working horses and had ordered a saddle from a gentleman (and) it was just, in my mind, it was just taking him too long so I just made a deal with him that if he gives me the supplies we’d call it good and I would build it myself. So that’s how I got started.”

Mr. Valley has made more than 70 saddles since then. He does the work in Jackson Hole. But his creations³ go to buyers from California to Florida. He has a website but says the social media site Facebook really helped his marketing⁴ efforts.

He says saddle-making was once a guarded craft. He says saddle-makers in the past would throw a cover over their work when people entered their work space. They did not want people to see what they were doing.

But things are different in the information age. Keith Valley has videos about saddle-making on his website. His work is on display as is his equipment: hole punches, hammers, leather and rawhide⁵. He enjoys talking about his labor⁶.

“One of the goals I have in putting a seat in a saddle is to cradle⁷ the pin bones and help support the center of the rider.”

There are about 84 pieces of leather used in making a saddle. The final product costs thousands of dollars. In the old days, people would pay 10 times more for a saddle than a horse. Now, horses are the bigger cost.

And Keith Valley says his clients are more than just business to him.

“I will have to say, most of the owners of the saddles I have built, they’ve, they’ve turned into really good friends.”

Words in This Story

saddle – n. a leather-covered seat that is put on the back of a horse.

adventure – n. an exciting or dangerous experience

ranch – n. a large farm, especially in the U.S., where animals (such as cattle, horses and sheep) are raised

craft – n. an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 creations   

创造( creation的名词复数 )； 创造物； （尤指所述由上帝）创造天地； 宇宙

参考例句：

• This artist's creations are worth collecting. 这个艺术家的作品值得收藏。
• The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. 各民族的精神产品成了公共的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 rawhide   

n.生牛皮

参考例句：

• At his belt he carried a rawhide whip.他腰间别着生牛皮制成的鞭子。
• The drum skin was tightly strapped over the circle rawhide laces.鼓皮的一圈被生牛皮紧紧地勒住了。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 cradle   

n.摇篮，策源地，支船架；vt.把...放在摇篮里

参考例句：

• The baby was rocked to sleep in a cradle.婴儿在摇篮里被摇得睡着了。
• Tokyo was the cradle of Japanese culture.东京是日本文化的发源地。