VOA常速英语2007-Macabre Gifts in Coroner's Shop Finance Educatio

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
22 October 2007

The Los Angeles Coroner's office has the serious task of investigating sudden, violent or unusual deaths in Los Angeles County. But, the office also runs a gift shop with some macabre¹ gifts, as VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports.

The idea for the shop began in 1993, with the sale of some coffee mugs and t-shirts at a conference. Today, the coroner's gift shop, called Skeletons in the Closet, sells 100 items, many with the copyrighted logo of the chalk outline of a body on the ground.

A marketing² analyst³ for the coroner's office, James Hazlett, says the shop offers educational and gift items, some serious and some with a twist of dark humor.

"Windbreakers, jackets, t-shirts, polo shirts that have the official seal on them, as well as our coroner's shirt - a black shirt with big, bold yellow writing on it," said Hazlett. "It is also one of our more popular items. And then anything with the body outline, the chalk outline, which is our logo, sells really well."

The body logo is printed on beach towels, baseball caps and gift bags. Shoppers can also buy yellow plastic tape, like the tape used by the coroner to mark off crime scenes. They may also buy a book on the human body or a Christmas ornament⁴ with the coroner's seal.

A humorous sign warns shoplifters that their next of kin⁵ will be notified, if they are caught stealing, and another says dental records, often used to identify bodies, are acceptable identification for making purchases.

Shop manager Edna Pareyda says customers like the humor. Some place orders over the Internet, and others come in person, from many different countries.

"And, they are surprised," said Pareyda. "People are very surprised that we have a gift shop here. But, last week, I had London, Australia, France, people come from everywhere, everywhere."

James Hazlett says the coroner's office has the serious task of investigating 10,000 deaths a year, including those of gunshot and accident victims.

The office also works with the courts to provide educational programs for drunk drivers and people involved in weapons incidents. Revenues from the shop, about $250,000 a year, help finance those programs.

Downstairs from the gift shop is the county morgue, where bodies are brought for autopsies⁶ and investigation⁷. Hazlett says the scene is sobering, with many victims under the age of 30.

"If you go down to our service floor, where the decedents are, nine times out of 10, it is not somebody that is older," he said. "It is somebody my age or younger that just died in a tragic⁸ accident. So, we really want people to think about putting on their seat belt, driving a little slower, being safe out there, because those things definitely do help."

And he says that, with some humor, the gift shop reminds people just how fragile life is, while supporting a good cause.

1 macabre   

adj.骇人的，可怖的

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards.他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• Mr Dahl was well-known for his macabre adult stories called 'Tales of the Unexpected'.达尔先生以成人恐怖小说集《意料之外的故事》闻名于世。

2 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。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

5 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

6 autopsies   

n.尸体解剖( autopsy的名词复数 )；验尸；现场验证；实地观察

参考例句：

• Autopsies cannot be performed and thus no recent histological examinations have been reported. 不能进行尸体解剖，因此没有新近的组织学检查的报道。 来自辞典例句
• I told you to supervise autopsies, not to set up a lot of fancy rules. 我叫你监督解剖室，不是去制定一些空想的规定。 来自辞典例句

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。