VOA标准英语2013--Drive-in Movies in US Still Draw Crowds

 

Drive-in Movies in US Still Draw Crowds

Cars line up at the entrance to the Family Drive-In Theater in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. It's about 130 kilometers from Washington, D.C., where ticket attendant still great visitors cheerfully.

Shannon Scott and her family, like many others, arrived here more than two hours before the scheduled show.

“You get the ambiance, you get the fun concession¹ stand," Scott said. "You get to wait for the dark so there is family time together.”   

Since her family discovered Family Drive-In three years ago, Scott said they have often made the hour and a half drive to enjoy two movies for less than the price of one where she lives.

“It's a beautiful drive," she said. "It is worth it to come here all the time. We love it."

The first drive-in opened in the eastern U.S. state of New Jersey² in 1933. By 1958, there were 4,000 in the United States. They began to disappear rapidly in the 1970s and 80s. Today, fewer than 400 are still operating.   

Jim Kopp owns Family Drive-in.

“The drive-ins were built on the edge of towns," he said. "And as the towns were expanded, the price of land started to go higher. The land was more valuable than the business. So a lot of drive-ins lost to the townhouse developments and the retail³ developments.”

In the early years, drive-ins were a popular date destination. Now they mostly attract families. Kopp's theater even has a playground where children can play before the movies start.  

Fifteen members of Fred Cunliffe's family drove from Texas, North Carolina and other parts of Virginia for a show.

"It is something that we used to do as kids with my parents," he said. "So we decided⁴ it will be a really nice family event to come to the drive-in and let the kids get to see everything going on.”  

Some nearby hotels now offer special rates for people who drive in.

"We have had a lot of guests that come from very far and wide to see the drive in theater," said James Revere⁵, from the Holiday Inn Express.

Family Drive-In can fit up to 500 cars on its lot and plays new releases on its two screens. On a good night, Kopp says, he may sell as many as 1500 tickets.

“Majority of movie ticket sales goes to the studios for a film rental⁶. They take up to 70 percent of the box office takes," said Kopp.

So the theater maintains itself through the sale of food and drink. And there's a new challenge. Drive-ins will have to convert to digital projection⁷ by the end of the year, when movie studios stop distributing 35 millimeter films.

“Seventy thousand dollars per projector⁸, so for my theater, it is 140 thousand dollars’ worth of debt that I have to take on to go to digital," Kopp said.

Some drive-ins may not survive. Yet fans hope to enjoy movies under the stars for years to come.

1 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 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。

5 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

6 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

7 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

8 projector   

n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机

参考例句：

• There is a new projector in my office.我的办公室里有一架新的幻灯机。
• How long will it take to set up the projector?把这个放映机安放好需要多长时间？