常春藤生活英語：娛樂泰斗巴納姆

Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum knew how to catch people's eye and make money. His unique museums and traveling shows made him famous. Also, he came up with the three-ring circus, which made circuses more exciting and impressive than ever before.

Barnum was born in Connecticut in 1810 and was named after his grandfather. His father ran an inn1, store, and tailor2 shop while his mother cared for the children. His father died when Barnum was 15 and left the family with nothing.

After his father's death, Barnum used his impressive math skills as a shopkeeper. During that time, he learned how to bargain and how to persuade customers. He was also involved in the lottery3, which was creating excitement across the US. At 19, Barnum married Charity Hallett, and they had four daughters together. At 22, Barnum was locked up for publishing his liberal4 beliefs in the newspaper he started. His interest in politics5 continued throughout his life.

When Barnum looked back on his youth, he admitted that he never liked hard work. Instead, he was more interested in trying to make money from having fun.

費(fèi)尼爾司?泰勒?巴納姆不但清楚該如何吸引眾人目光，也知道怎么賺錢。他那獨(dú)特的博物館和巡回演出使他聲名大噪。此外，他還想出了三環(huán)馬戲團(tuán)，這使得馬戲團(tuán)表演比以前都還要來得更精采刺激(編按：三環(huán)馬戲團(tuán)有三個(gè)小舞臺(tái)，上頭有三種不同表演同時(shí)進(jìn)行著)。

巴納姆于1810年出生在康乃狄克州，并以其祖父之名為名。他父親經(jīng)營小旅館、商店和裁縫店等生意，母親則照顧小孩。巴納姆十五歲時(shí)，他的父親不幸過世，而且絲毫沒有留下分文給家人。

在他父親過世后，擔(dān)任店主的巴納姆活用他那令人贊嘆的數(shù)學(xué)能力。在那段期間，他學(xué)會(huì)了如何講價(jià)和說服客人。他也參與了彩券買賣，這種游戲當(dāng)時(shí)在全美國引起轟動(dòng)。巴納姆十九歲時(shí)和雀若蒂?海蕾特結(jié)為連理，他們一同生下了四個(gè)女兒。巴納姆二十二歲時(shí)，因?yàn)樵谒k的報(bào)紙上發(fā)表主張改革的思想而鋃鐺入獄。他終其一生都對(duì)政治抱有興趣。

當(dāng)巴納姆回顧起年少歲月時(shí)，他坦承自己從不喜歡辛苦的工作。他反而對(duì)試圖從玩樂中賺錢更感興趣。

Building Your Vocabulary

publish vt. 刊登;出版

This company published many good novels.

這間公司出版了許多很棒的小說。

Phrases for Learning

1. catch + 所有格 + eye　　吸引某人的注意

The pretty girl caught Sam's eye right away.

那位美麗的小姐馬上引起了山姆的注意。

2. come up with...　　想出∕提出……

Robbie is so creative that he came up with many interesting ideas.

羅比很有創(chuàng)意，提出了許多有趣的點(diǎn)子。

3. be involved in...　　與……有關(guān);參與……

Larry was involved in the protest yesterday.

賴瑞參與了昨天的抗議活動(dòng)。

4. lock + 人 + up　　把某人關(guān)進(jìn)監(jiān)獄

The judge decided to lock the thief up.

法官?zèng)Q定把這名小偷關(guān)進(jìn)牢里。

5. look back on...　　回顧∕回憶起……

Helen looked back on her last relationship with sadness.

海倫感傷地回憶起她前一段感情。

參考字詞

1. inn　n. 小旅館

2. tailor　n.(為男顧客量體裁衣的)裁縫(本文中作形容詞用)

3. lottery　n. 摸彩;彩票

4. liberal　a. 主張變革的

5. politics　n. 政治;政治活動(dòng)

Enjoy Box

馬戲團(tuán)的變革

巴納姆的三環(huán)馬戲團(tuán)開創(chuàng)了馬戲團(tuán)表演的新局，在馬戲團(tuán)史中占有舉足輕重的地位。隨著時(shí)代的演進(jìn)，馬戲團(tuán)表演也歷經(jīng)過不少的變革。關(guān)于馬戲團(tuán)的起源眾說紛紜，有一說是馬戲團(tuán)源于古羅馬時(shí)代的角斗士斗獸場(chǎng)，circus一字源自拉丁文表『圓圈』的字，指的可能就是圓形露天競(jìng)技場(chǎng)。

另有一說則是源于中國唐代的『透劍門伎』馬戲表演，其表演者乘小馬奔騰跳躍來娛樂觀眾。較廣為人知的說法則是1769年于英國倫敦所創(chuàng)立的菲利普?艾特雷馬戲團(tuán)。其實(shí)在那之前，各項(xiàng)馬戲團(tuán)的特技、小丑雜耍、魔術(shù)或動(dòng)物等表演都已具雛型。菲利普是首位將其統(tǒng)合規(guī)劃為完整表演的人，因而被奉為馬戲團(tuán)始祖。菲利普的馬戲團(tuán)也是將場(chǎng)地建成圓形的先驅(qū)，此舉是為了讓所有觀眾都能清楚看到表演。

馬戲團(tuán)表演從最初的馬術(shù)雜技，逐漸加入高空秋千及走鋼絲、飛刀、吞火等驚險(xiǎn)刺激的表演，直至今日，常給人虐待動(dòng)物負(fù)面印象的動(dòng)物表演已漸式微，取而代之的是結(jié)合現(xiàn)代科技的聲光效果。馬戲團(tuán)融合了娛樂和藝術(shù)，其多元化的表演仍持續(xù)帶給觀眾炫目迷人的精采感受。

Tips In Use

...Barnum used his impressive math skills as a shopkeeper.

(……擔(dān)任店主的巴納姆活用他那令人贊嘆的數(shù)學(xué)能力。)

as 在句中作介詞用，表『作為(某種身分時(shí))』。例：

As your best friend, I will be there for you no matter what.

(身為你的摯友，我無論如何都會(huì)支持你。)

as 作介詞用，還有下列兩種意思：

1. 表『當(dāng)作』(與 think of, treat, respect 等并用)。例：

Fionna thinks of Johnny Depp as the most handsome man in the world.

(費(fèi)歐娜認(rèn)為錢寧?戴普是世上最帥的男人。)

2. 表『充當(dāng)，擔(dān)任』。例：

This empty room can serve as a guest room sometimes.

(這間空房有時(shí)可以充當(dāng)客房用。)