好莱坞在万圣节前夕庆祝魔术艺术

Hollywood Celebrates Magic on Halloween

好莱坞在万圣节前夕庆祝魔术艺术

 

An imposing¹ Victorian mansion² overlooking Hollywood, the Magic Castle is specially³ decorated now with the images of ghosts, ghouls and devils. Inside, the magicians who perform there seem to bend the laws of physics. They do mystifying card tricks, levitate⁴ tables and chairs, read people's minds and make objects vanish, then reappear.

 

A private club for magicians, the Magic Castle was started by Milt Larsen and his late brother, Bill, to fulfill⁵ a dream of their father, a lifelong aficionado⁶ of magic. Mr. Larsen was a comedy writer for television in the early 1960s, and worked on the 12th floor of a nearby office building.

 

Mr. Larsen: And I used to look down at this place and say, gee⁷, what a nice old haunted house that would be, because at that time it was covered with weeds and it really looked like a derelict old house. So I kind of inquired around and everybody said the house isn't for sale. The person that owns it is absolutely crazy.

 

The owner was just crazy enough to agree to a business deal with the young writer. It was a wise investment. Today, the Magic Castle is known around the world by magicians and magic fans. It features daily performances, and also houses artifacts from the history of magic. Upstairs, a darkened Victorian parlor⁸ with a large circular table is dedicated⁹ to magician Harry¹⁰ Houdini. On display are a trunk, straitjacket and handcuffs that the great performer used in his famed escape tricks.

 

The room also recalls one of Houdini's interests, spiritualism. He died in 1926 from injuries suffered after a trick went wrong. He would tense his abdomen¹¹ and invite people to hit him, but someone punched him unexpectedly. He died a few days later. For the next 10 years, his widow held seances, attempting to contact the spirit of her late husband. Houdini had been a skeptic¹², but he and his wife had devised a secret code that could potentially prove if his spirit had survived.

 

Mr. Larsen: So for 10 years, they had seances trying to contact Houdini, particularly on the evening of Halloween, which was a perfect time to have a séance. And that was the day he passed away.

 

Mr. Larsen's father, who was Mrs. Houdini's lawyer, attended the final séance on Halloween, 1936. It was held on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. Blank slates¹³ had been prepared, but no mysterious writings appeared. The bells on the séance table remained silent. Mrs. Houdini announced her verdict.

 

Mr. Larsen: She said Houdini did not come back. I do not believe in spirit communication in any form. Good night, Harry.

 

For believers, however, an unexpected rainstorm that erupted over Hollywood suggested that maybe - just maybe - the spirit of Harry Houdini had sent a message.

 

VOA spoke¹⁴ with a magician named Criss Angel in the Harry Houdini room at the Magic Castle. He says he is carrying on the work of his predecessor¹⁵.

 

Criss Angel: Houdini was a master at being relevant for his day and age, because he connected to people on an emotional level. And I think magic unfortunately has lost that. It's become more about how it works and about these puzzles and shoving girls in leotards in boxes. What I wanted to do is present it in such a way that it would be an experience that would couple many different art forms.

 

Criss Angel looks more like a modern pop star than a traditional magician. He appears on a popular weekly program on the A&E cable network called Criss Angel Mindfreak, which blends magic with fantasy and reality television. Among his most dramatic tricks, he was suspended by fish-hooks from a flying helicopter and caught a bullet in a cup gripped in his teeth. Mr. Angel was recently named Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts, an honor previously¹⁶ conferred on such stars as Harry Blackstone Junior, Lance Burton, David Copperfield and Doug Henning.

 

Criss Angel says magic may not be the world's oldest profession, but it comes close. He says people have always wanted to be baffled, mystified, awe-struck and frightened.

 

Criss Angel: So I think magic will always be around because magic appeals to the child in all of us. And when it's presented well, it really gives us a way to escape our everyday grind and lets us see that anything is possible.

 

Hollywood's Magic Castle has 5,000 active members. Half of them are magicians. Half are magic fans, often businessmen and Hollywood executives who come to enjoy the ancient arts of conjuring¹⁷, sorcery and legerdemain¹⁸.

 

Once a year at Halloween, the Magic Castle presents its wizardry to the public. This Saturday and Sunday, top magicians are performing at a stage show called "It's Magic!" The cast, which includes Criss Angel, will appear at a Hollywood theater not far from the Magic Castle.

 

 

注释：

mansion [5mAnFEn] n. 公寓

overlook [7EuvE5luk] vt. 俯瞰，俯视

ghoul [^u:l] n. 食尸鬼，盗尸者

devil [5devl] n. 魔鬼

magician [mE5dViFEn] n. 魔术师

mystify [5mistifai] v. 迷惑

levitate [5leviteit] v. 使升空，使飘浮

vanish [5vAniF] vi. 消失，突然不见

aficionado [B:7fi:sjE5nB:dEu] n. 狂热爱好者，迷

haunted [5hC:ntid] adj. 闹鬼的

weeds [wi:dz] n.（寡妇的）丧服，黑纱带

derelict [5derilikt] adj. 被抛弃的，被遗弃的

artifacts [5B:tifAkts] n. 史前古器物

straitjacket [5streitdVAkit] n. 紧身衣

handcuff [5hAndkQf] n. 手拷

spiritualism [5spiritjuElizEm] n. 唯心论，招魂说，灵性

abdomen [5AbdEmEn] n. 腹，腹部

widow [5widEu] n. 寡妇

seance [5seiRNs] n. 降神会

predecessor [5pri:disesE] n. 前辈

leotard [5li:E7tB:d] n. 紧身连衣裤

baffle [5bAfl] vt. 困惑

awe-struck 充满敬畏的

grind [^raind] n. 枯燥乏味的工作

conjuring [5kQndVEriN] n. 咒术，魔术

sorcery [5sC:sEri] n. 巫术

legerdemain [7ledVEdE5mein] n. 戏法，骗术

wizardry [5wizEdri] n. 魔术技巧，巫术

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

3 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

4 levitate   

v.升在空中

参考例句：

• I often dream that I can levitate.我经常梦想我能够飞起来在空中飘浮。
• The guru claimed that he could levitate.这位宗教领袖声称他能够浮在空中。

5 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

6 aficionado   

n.…迷；运动迷

参考例句：

• This is good news for postcard aficionado Drene Brennan.这对明信片迷杰纳•布雷南来说是个好消息。
• I'm a real opera aficionado.我是个真正的歌剧迷。

7 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

8 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

11 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

12 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

13 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

16 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

17 conjuring   

n.魔术

参考例句：

• Paul's very good at conjuring. 保罗很会变戏法。
• The entertainer didn't fool us with his conjuring. 那个艺人变的戏法没有骗到我们。

18 legerdemain   

n.戏法，诈术

参考例句：

• The lawyer confused the jury with his legal legerdemain.那律师以他合法的把戏把陪审团搞糊涂了。
• Some accused the White House of legerdemain.有人谴责白宫在玩花招。