2005年NPR美国国家公共电台五月-Disneyland Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The happiest place on earth is officially middle-aged¹. Disneyland has just turned fifty and Disney is marking the occasion with a huge celebration. The southern California icon² has inspired a number of spin-offs and imitators. To keep up. Disneyland is trying to reinvent itself, even as it revels³ in a glorious past. Here is NPR's Mandalit del Barco.

Mandalit del Barco: The party began with a new parade down at Disney's miniature Main Street, new fireworks and several new attractions. Comedian⁴ Steve Martin who was once a magician at the Magic Kingdom shared the stage with Donald Duck to introduce a film about Disneyland's fifty-year history.

Steve Martin: When Disneyland first opened, Tomorrow Land gave us a preview of the amazing futuristic world of 1986.

Mandalit del Barco: It all started fifty years ago on what used to be an Anaheim orange grove⁵. Walt Disney built the park in just one year and he opened it to the world, standing⁶ before an overcapacity crowd in front of live TV cameras.

Walt Disney: ... Welcome to this happy place. Welcome.

Mandalit del Barco: Disney dreamed of a place that families could enjoy together. He also dreamed of a place where he could bring life to his already famous animated⁷ characters, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Dumbo, and then came the attractions that would soon become American icons⁸.

Walt Disney: Open the Fantasyland Castle in the name of the children of the world!

Mandalit del Barco: Sylvia Stanton was just nine years old then , and with her cousin Billy got a private tour with Walt Disney himself.

Sylvia Stanton: It was like true magic, just stepping into a movie land, a dream, a dream.

Mandalit del Barco: In fact, the dream was more of a fiasco. Opening day has become known as "Black Sunday", says Marty Sklar, vice⁹ chairman of Walt Disney Imagineering.

Marty Sklar: Oh, it's a mad house, you know, because there was supposed to be around 15,000 people actually invited and what happened was someone decided¹⁰ to counterfeit¹¹ tickets and pretty soon I think the last estimate was something like 30,000 people came and the park wasn't ready for it, you know.

Mandalit del Barco: Women wearing high heels had to be rescued as their shoes sank into the freshly poured asphalt. The hot sun made others faint. Some of the rides broke down and a plumbers¹²' strike caused a stir.

Mandalit del Barco: Over the years, the wonderful world of Disneyland has had plenty of adventure stories, some fantastic, others just odd.

David Koenig: Reality is inevitably¹³ and invaded Fantasyland from time to time.

Mandalit del Barco: David Koenig is the author of Mouse Tales: A Behind-The-Ears Look at Disneyland.

David Koenig: People have died at Disneyland. People have been born at Disneyland. People have publicly and secretly been married at Disneyland. People have been buried at Disneyland.

Mandalit del Barco: Koenig recalls when a small tornado¹⁴ blew through Tomorrow Land but there was more chaos¹⁵ when the yippies stormed the park back in 1970s.

David Koenig: The yippies were this group of hippie type of political activists¹⁶ who decided to take over Disneyland because Disneyland was a sort of the all-American, you know, establishment.

Mandalit del Barco: The plan was to invade Tom Sawyer Island and liberate¹⁷ Minnie Mouse. David Koenig says a few hundred yippies managed to unfold a marijuana flag on the island and chant.

David Koenig: You know, Ho Chi Ming is going to win and Vietnam protest and you know, down with the evil American corporations.

Mandalit del Barco: Disneyland executives and old-timers say they'd rather forget about Yippie Day. Instead they chuckle¹⁸ over the opening day mishaps¹⁹ and concentrate on Tomorrow Land. As the park begins its next fifty years it is still drawing kids and their families like Alison and Mandy Charves and their dad Richard.

The Richards: Happy birthday to you, Disney!

Mandalit del Barco: While Disneyland celebrates its past, it faces a huge challenge of keeping up with the times and attracting a new generation of youngsters weaned on video games. With that in mind actor Tim Alan unveils Disneyland's newest interactive²⁰ attraction Buzz Lights Year, Astro Blasters.

Buzz Lightyear: To infinity²¹ and beyond!

Mandalit del Barco: At Disneyland those are words to live by.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR news, Los Angeles.

Yeah, baby ……

1 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 revels   

n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句

4 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

5 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

8 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 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。

11 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

12 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

15 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

16 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

18 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

19 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

21 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。