VOA慢速英語: 馬鞍制造商的秘密

People began riding horses thousands of years ago. Saddles for horseback riding were invented soon after. Today, many companies manufacture saddles. But it is rare to find someone who designs and makes these products by hand. American Keith Valley is one of the few. He has been making saddles, one at a time, for more than 20 years at Jackson Hole in the western state of Wyoming.

數(shù)千年前人類就已經開始騎馬，不久之后騎馬用的馬鞍就應運而生。今天有很多公司都從事馬鞍制造產業(yè)，但是很少能找到采用手工方式來設計和制作馬鞍。美國人Keith Valley就是這鳳毛麟角中的一個。他一開始在懷俄明州西部被稱之為“牛仔鄉(xiāng)”的杰克遜鎮(zhèn)做馬鞍制作工作，一做就是二十多年。

The community of Jackson Hole is famous for skiing. But Jackson Hole and all of Wyoming is also known as cowboy country.

杰克遜社區(qū)因滑雪而出名，但是杰克遜鎮(zhèn)和懷俄明州整個地區(qū)也因“牛仔之鄉(xiāng)”而出名。

Keith Valley grew up wanting to be a cowboy. He was influenced at a young age by Charlie Russell, an artist of the old American West. He says Russell's paintings and the adventures he wrote about kept him interested in the Western way of life for cowboys.

Keith Valley小時候受美國老西部藝術家查理羅素影響長大之后想當一名牛仔，他說羅素的畫作和冒險經歷讓他對西部牛仔生活產生了濃厚的興趣。

Keith Valley worked on a ranch for a long time. But after some cold, hard winters, and a few pains, the young man decided to get into saddle making.

Keith Valley在一個牧場曾經工作過很長一段時間，但是經歷過冬天的寒冷和艱難，感受到痛苦之后，這個年輕人決定改行做馬鞍。

"Back in, like, 94, when I made my first saddle and I was working horses and had ordered a saddle from a gentleman (and) it was just, in my mind, it was just taking him too long so I just made a deal with him that if he gives me the supplies we'd call it good and I would build it myself. So that's how I got started."

大約在94年，當我做第一個馬鞍的時候那會我還在馴馬，并從一位紳士那里定了一副馬鞍，我好像記得那副馬鞍他做了很長時間都沒有做完，所以我就跟他做交易說如果他能給我做馬鞍用的所有貨物我就自己來做。于是我就這樣開始了做馬鞍的生涯。

Mr. Valley has made more than 70 saddles since then. He does the work in Jackson Hole. But his creations go to buyers from California to Florida. He has a website but says the social media site Facebook really helped his marketing efforts.

之后Valley做了70多副馬鞍。他雖然在杰克遜鎮(zhèn)工作但是他的買家能從加利福尼亞延伸到佛羅里達州。他有一個經營網站但是他說社交媒體臉書才給他真正帶來了市場效益。

He says saddle-making was once a guarded craft. He says saddle-makers in the past would throw a cover over their work when people entered their work space. They did not want people to see what they were doing.

他說曾經馬鞍制作工作是非常小心謹慎的，他說過去當有人進到工作的地方時做馬鞍的人就會拿東西遮住手頭工作。他們不想讓人們知道自己在做什么。

But things are different in the information age. Keith Valley has videos about saddle-making on his website. His work is on display as is his equipment: hole punches, hammers, leather and rawhide. He enjoys talking about his labor.

但是在信息時代事情就變了。Keith Valley在自己網站上上傳了馬鞍制作的視頻，展示的是他的打孔機，錘子，皮革和牛皮。他非常喜歡和人談論自己的勞動。

"One of the goals I have in putting a seat in a saddle is to cradle the pin bones and help support the center of the rider."

我在馬鞍上安個座子是為了把針狀骨罩在里面，還可以幫助騎馬者用來控制中心。

There are about 84 pieces of leather used in making a saddle. The final product costs thousands of dollars. In the old days, people would pay 10 times more for a saddle than a horse. Now, horses are the bigger cost.

制作一副馬鞍大約需要84塊皮革，最終需要花費數(shù)千美元。在過去，人們花比買一匹馬貴十倍的價錢來買一副馬鞍。而現(xiàn)在反過來馬比馬鞍值錢了。

And Keith Valley says his clients are more than just business to him.

Keith Valley還說他與客戶不僅僅只是生意關系。

"I will have to say, most of the owners of the saddles I have built, they've, they've turned into really good friends."

我不得不說大多數(shù)買我馬鞍的買家都和我成了好朋友。

I'm Bob Doughty.

我是Bob Doughty。

Philip Alexiou reported this story from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Caty Weaver wrote it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Philip Alexiou在懷俄明州杰克遜鎮(zhèn)為您報道，Caty Weaver投稿，George Grow編輯。

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Words in This Story

saddle – n. a leather-covered seat that is put on the back of a horse.

adventure – n. an exciting or dangerous experience

ranch – n. a large farm, especially in the U.S., where animals (such as cattle, horses and sheep) are raised

craft – n. an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands