美国国家公共电台 NPR Michael Bond, Creator Of Paddington Bear Books, Dies At 91

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The story goes that Michael Bond saw a teddy bear around Christmas in a British department store. It was 1956, and he bought it for his wife. They would name him Paddington. A couple of years later, Bond turned him into a children's book character, a scruffy¹ little guy who's prone² to accidents but who means well. Usually he's got on a rumpled³ hat and duffel coat, and he loves marmalade. He's always very polite. Well, Michael Bond died yesterday at the age of 91. And NPR's Andrew Limbong has this remembrance.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁴: Paddington Bear arrived in England illegally in need of a home.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIOBOOK, "A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I used to live with my Aunt Lucy in Peru, but she had to go into a home for retired⁵ bears.

LIMBONG: This is the audiobook of Thomas Michael Bond's first installment⁶, "A Bear Named Paddington" (ph). The bear shows up in a train station in London with not really much of a plan. He was a stowaway⁷. Luckily, he runs into Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who spots a label around the bear's neck.

(SOUNDBITE OF AUDIOBOOK, "A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It said simply, please look after this bear. Thank you.

LIMBONG: Michael Bond was born in 1926 in England. He grew up in a town called Reading. He told the Reading Museum that Paddington Bear was partially⁸ based on an image he remembered from World War II - kids fleeing London, which was being bombed, showing up at the Reading train station.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL BOND: They had everything contained in a little suitcase, and that, too, figured in the Paddington book when I came to write it because I see it in my mind. And Paddington, in a way, is a refugee⁹.

LIMBONG: Michael Bond wrote other books, too - the Olga da Polga series about a storytelling guinea pig, the Monsieur Pamplemousse books, his series about a food critic/detective for adults. But Paddington was Bond's biggest mark on the world. There were translations, merchandise¹⁰, TV shows, a 2014 movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PADDINGTON")

HUGH BONNEVILLE: (As Henry Brown) Hi, big fella. What's cooking?

BEN WHISHAW: (As Paddington) Marmalade, Mr. Brown. Go on. Have a taste.

BONNEVILLE: (As Henry Brown) Delicious.

WHISHAW: (As Paddington) And just one sandwich contains all the vitamins and minerals a bear needs for the whole day.

LIMBONG: Throughout Michael Bond's writing career, Paddington Bear went on holidays, solved mysteries, visited the hospital, but he always found his way back to his adopted home with the Browns at 32 Windsor Gardens in Notting Hill. Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PADDINGTON BEAR")

1 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。

2 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

3 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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。

6 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

7 stowaway   

n.（藏于轮船，飞机中的）偷乘者

参考例句：

• The stowaway masqueraded as a crew member.偷渡者假扮成乘务员。
• The crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.船员在开船约两天后发现了那名偷乘者。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

10 merchandise   

n.商品，货物；v.经营，推销，销售，经商

参考例句：

• There's no use in manufacturing an item unless you can merchandise it.除非能够销售得出，否则生产产品就没有价值。
• Please don't handle the merchandise.请不要摸这些商品。