美国国家公共电台 NPR Inside 'The World's Most Beautiful Bookstore' In Argentina

 

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

We're going to take you now to a bookstore in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's called the Ateneo Grand Splendid, and National Geographic¹ just named it The World's Most Beautiful Bookstore. This may be news to some people, but ALL THINGS CONSIDERED was seriously ahead of the curve on this one. My colleague Bob Mondello did a report 18 years ago, shortly after Grand Splendid Theater, built in 1919, was converted into a bookstore.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE²: Impresario³ Max Glucksman wanted his new theater, the Grand Splendid, to remind people of the Paris Opera. He had it built with three ornately decorated balconies hugging the back wall of an auditorium⁴ decked out with gilded⁵ statues, marble columns and a ceiling mural celebrating the end of World War I. In the days before air conditioning, the domed⁷ roof actually opened in good weather to give theater audiences a glimpse of the stars. It is a spectacular space, no less so today after a $3 million renovation⁸ than at any time in the more than 80 years since it was built.

But there is one difference today - where once the vast auditorium was filled with rows of theater seats, it now has rows of bookshelves. The Grand Splendid has been converted into what is quite possibly the most spectacular bookstore on Earth. The transformation⁹, the brainchild of Adolfo de Vincenzi, who has loved this theater since his student days and still recalls the films he saw here whenever he could take a break from his accounting¹⁰ classes three blocks away.

ADOLFO DE VINCENZI: It's a movie of Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Bergman. "Sonata¹¹ Otonal" was in Spanish. Every time I finish with my exams, I said, that's my vacation. I come here.

MONDELLO: The Grand Splendid was seriously rundown when it was acquired by de Vincenzi's company, El Ateneo, a bookstore chain, sort of the Barnes & Noble of Argentina. The theater had succumbed¹² to the same trend towards suburban¹³ multiplexes that has made downtown movie palaces obsolete¹⁴ in the U.S. So when de Vincenzi heard the lease was available and looked around to what was happening to the other theaters that once lined the nearby avenues, he says he didn't have any second thoughts.

DE VINCENZI: We didn't decide to stop with this building being a theater. Business made that it was not profitable like a theater or like a cinema. So we did is put a bookstore instead. A block from here, there were two other cinemas that finished. They were just launched a month ago like a parking lot (laughter).

MONDELLO: Because this particular theater was an architectural treasure, the Ateneo chain had some trouble at first with city hall, but opposition¹⁵ melted away when the public got a look at the refurbished Grand Splendid - brighter, cleaner and with plenty of activities to guarantee that it would still attract crowds. New uses were found for almost every inch of the building. The broad stage that was always there behind the screen is now a bustling¹⁶ cafe.

The orchestra section and first balcony are packed with bookshelves. And the box seats, once the most expensive in the house, have been outfitted¹⁷ as private reading rooms with cushy armchairs and a great view. The top two balconies which look down on all this have been turned into an art gallery filled with colorful paintings and sculptures. And past the art, way up near the ceiling dome⁶ behind a locked door, there's something the public doesn't see - the room where tango singer Carlos Gardel made his first recordings¹⁹.

DE VINCENZI: Here we are over the (unintelligible). This is the place where the tango singer - working here. It was really the only use this floor had.

MONDELLO: Was for the recording¹⁸?

DE VINCENZI: Yeah. And it was 90 years ago. It's a kind of magic, this place.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHORRA")

CARLOS GARDEL: (Singing in Spanish).

MONDELLO: Gardel is only the most famous of the artists associated with the Grand Splendid. During the theater's early years, international ballet companies and theater troupes²⁰ played here. And for decades, it was one of the city's premier²¹ movie houses. So it's not surprising that in its new incarnation, it's the end spot for visiting authors who flock to the stage cafe for book signings and discussions.

Which is not to suggest that the dramatic arts are no longer represented at the Grand Splendid. In fact, there is one actor who is present here every day, though not on stage. Natalio Povarche, whose art gallery commands a terrific view from the top two balconies, has appeared in more than a dozen Argentine films. So he feels right at home in this theater, especially, says his daughter Mariana, because it was here that his very pregnant wife dragged him one fateful day some 42 years ago.

MONDELLO: And she came to see the - can you help me with the title? - (speaking Spanish) - the "Cat On A"....

MONDELLO: "On A Hot Tin Roof," right?

MONDELLO: ..."On A Hot Tin Roof." And she told my father that she thought that it was about - to born. And he said, well, let's go to hospital just now. She said, no, I'm not going to leave the cinema until they see the very end of the film. When the very end came, she was feeling really very, very bad. And his neighbors told her not to wait a taxi, he was going to take both of them to the hospital because, if not, I was going to get born here.

MARIANA: Now, Mariana feels she's been reborn here in an artistic²² sense, working in her father's gallery even as she advances her own acting²³ career. Because her mother is an astrologist, she laughs that the stars must have had a hand in bringing her back here. The stars that audiences could once see through that open dome - and that can now be found on the astronomy shelves on the right side of the first balcony, or the astrology section on the main floor. Does Mariana miss what once was here? Of course, but she notes that the old mix of performing arts has been replaced by a new mix that also has value.

MARIANA: You can have your coffee right on the stage, on the real stage. And while you're reading or having your coffee, you can see the paintings from downstairs. I think that it's very magic. And it's a privilege to be in a place like this, a very, very special place. I don't know if there's another one like this one in the rest of the world.

MONDELLO: At the Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, I'm Bob Mondello.

1 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 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。

3 impresario   

n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥

参考例句：

• The impresario will present an expanded series of concerts next season.下个季节将举办一次大型的系列音乐会。
• The impresario had buttoned his astrakhan coat.乐团经理扣好了羔皮外套。

4 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

5 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

6 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

7 domed   

adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I gazed up at the domed ceiling arching overhead. 我抬头凝望着上方弧形的穹顶。
• His forehead domed out in a curve. 他的前额呈弯曲的半球形。

8 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

9 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

10 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

11 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。

12 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

13 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

14 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

17 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

18 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

19 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

20 troupes   

n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出

参考例句：

• There are six Kunqu opera troupes left in the country. 整个国家现在只剩下六个昆剧剧团。
• Note: Art performance troupes include within and outside of the system. 注：艺术表演团体统计口径调整为含系统内、系统外两部分。

21 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

22 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

23 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。