Each Truck Is a Work of Art

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻译：Wendy

Each Truck Is a Work of Art

每辆卡车都是一件艺术品

⊙ By Sonia Narang

翻译：Wendy

是的，你没有看错，“每辆卡车都是一件艺术品”这个说法在巴基斯坦是绝对正确的，因为你在那里几乎看不到一辆没有任何装饰的“裸车”。还是不信？听听记者是

听力难度

英式发音 适合精听语速：165词/分钟怎么说的吧。

It’s my first trip to Pakistan, and every time I see a giant truck1)rumble past me, I just have to take a picture. These aren’t your ordinary2)semis. Each truck is a work of art. Most are3)flamboyant, covered top to bottom in vivid images of landscapes and birds of all kinds. I see no4)shortage of5)peacocks. These trucks are definitely hard to miss.

While driving around Rawalpindi, I spot a large truck parked in front of a small muddy shopping center. I approach one of the drivers on a short tea break. The driver’s name is Shakeel Khan. He’s been drivingtrucks for 20 years. He agrees to talk to me. The warn seats are ripped and covered in dust, but he’s6)jazzed up the7)dashboard with giant8)bouquets of9)fabric flowers. Beads and a pretty lantern cover hang from the10)rear-view mirror. This really puts fuzzy dice to11)shame.

Shakeel: (via translator) We’ve made this truck like our own home. We’ve decorated it because we only get to go home one day after every two months.

It can take five to six people up to a month to fully decorate a truck. Khan and his two fellow drivers say they spent $500012)outfitting their truck. That’s a huge investment. These guys only make about $30 a month.

Shakeel: (via translator) Without a beautiful truck, we won’t even drive it. After putting all the decorations on, then we’ll drive it.

I asked him, “What do you get out of this?”

Shakeel: (via translator) We get love. Other than love from the people, there’s nothing else.

Khan also wrote the poetry that’s on the front and back of the13)vehicle. I asked him what it says. He says this translates as, “Don’t make friends with rich people because you can’t trust them.”

Shakeel: (via translator) There’s lots of poetry14)verses all over the truck. We drive around everywhere, and people notice it.

I asked, “Do people say anything to you?”

Shakeel: (via translator) Of course! They say, “You’ve done good work.” It gives us respect.

A couple days later I visit some artists who create these15)ornate truck designs. Inside these shops, kids cut out16)stickers for wheels,17)bumpers and side-view mirrors. Near the front, shopkeepers and drivers are making deals. I meet shopowner, Mohammed Nadeem, a thirdgeneration truck-art designer. He says there are lots of people involved in decorating one truck.

Mohammed: (via translator) We get a steel sheet and we cut it to make designs like peacocks, tigers and fish. After that, we cover it with colorful stickers. Everything is made by hand.

I asked him, “Why do drivers want beautiful trucks?”

Mohammed: (via translator) They feel really happy and proud showing their trucks. They say to their friends, “Look, I just got this new truck decorated. I made it look very nice.” All the drivers want their trucks to look better than the others. That is what they18)strive for.

Then Nadeem goes back to work, carefully applying small, bright green stickers to a multi-colored design.

1) rumble [΄rʌmbl] v. （车辆）隆隆地缓慢行进

2) semi [΄semɪ] n. 半拖车，牵引式挂车

3) flamboyant [ˌflæm΄bɔɪənt] adj. 艳丽的

4) shortage [΄ʃɔːtɪdʒ] n. 缺乏，匮乏

5) peacock [΄piːkɒk] n. 孔雀

6) jazz up 使生色，使活泼

7) dashboard [΄dæʃbɔːd] n. 仪表板

8) bouquet [buː΄keɪ] n. 花束

9) fabric [΄fæbrɪk] n. 织物

10) rear-view mirror 后视镜

11) shame [ʃeɪm] n. 惭愧

12) outfit [΄aʊtfɪt] v. 装备

13) vehicle [΄viːɪk（ə）l] n. 车辆

14) verse [vзːs] n. 诗歌，诗节

15) ornate [ɔː΄neɪt] adj. 华美的，绚丽的

16) sticker [΄stɪkə（r）] n. 不干胶标签，不干胶贴纸

17) bumper [΄bʌmpə（r）] n. （汽车前后的）保险杠

18) strive for 奋斗，争取

◆ fuzzy dice 绒毛骰子：这是汽车驾驶室里一种常用的装饰品，由两个大号绒毛骰子组成，挂在后视镜上。据说，绒毛骰子源于二战。为求好运气，美国飞行员在执行任务时会把骰子挂在仪表板上方。战争结束后，在上世纪50年代，骰子挂饰开始在司机中流行，后来慢慢变成用绒料做成的骰子。

这是我第一次去巴基斯坦。每当看到有巨大的卡车从身边隆隆驶过，我都要拍一张照片。这些可不是我们平常见到的卡车，这里的每一辆卡车都是一件艺术品。大多数卡车都有艳丽的装饰，从上到下描画着各式生动的风景及各种鸟类，有不少画着孔雀。你肯定不会错过这些卡车。

我在拉瓦尔品第开车行驶时，看到一辆大卡车停在一家泥泞的小型购物中心前，我走近其中一位正在喝茶小憩的司机。他名叫沙基尔·可汗，开卡车已经20年了，他同意接受我的采访。车上破旧的驾驶座裂开了口，布满灰尘，不过他放在那里的一大束绢花给仪表板平添了许多生气。后视镜上挂了珠串和一个漂亮的灯笼，这真令绒毛大骰子相形见绌。

沙基尔：（通过翻译）我们将这辆卡车视为自己的家。我们装饰它，是因为我们每两个月才有机会回家一天。

要将一辆卡车完全装饰好，需要五到六个人工作上一个月。可汗及他的两个司机伙伴说，他们花了五千美元（约合3.4万元）去装扮他们的卡车。这可是一笔巨大的投资，因为他们一个月大约只能赚30美元（约合203元）。沙基尔：（通过翻译）一辆卡车如果不漂亮的话，我们甚至都不想开它；要等所有装饰活完成之后，我们才会开着它上路。

我问他：“你能从中获得什么？”沙基尔：（通过翻译）我们收获了爱，来自人们的爱就是一切。

可汗还在卡车的前后写上了诗。我问他那诗的意思是什么，他说翻译过来就是：“不要和富人做朋友，因为他们是信不过的。”沙基尔：（通过翻译）大量诗句遍布整辆卡车，我们开着车到处去，特别引人注目。

我问：“人们会对你说什么吗？”沙基尔：（通过翻译）当然！他们说：“你做得很好。”这些诗使我们受到尊重。

几天后，我采访了几位设计这些华丽卡车装饰图案的艺术家。在这些卡车装饰店内，小孩子在剪用于贴在车轮、保险杠及侧视镜上的不干胶贴纸。在店前，店主人和司机们在做交易。我见到了店主穆罕默德·纳迪姆——卡车艺术设计家族的第三代传人，他说，装饰一辆卡车需要很多人参与。穆罕默德：（通过翻译）我们先用一块钢板，将它按设计剪成孔雀、老虎、鱼等形状，然后贴上色彩丰富的不干胶贴纸。所有工序都是手工完成的。

我问他：“为什么司机们都想要漂亮的卡车？”穆罕默德：（通过翻译）通过展示自己的卡车，他们觉得很快乐，很自豪，他们会跟朋友说：“瞧，我刚刚装饰了这辆新卡车，将它打扮得漂漂亮亮的。”所有司机都希望自己的车比别人的漂亮，这是他们追求的目标。

接着，纳迪姆便回去工作了，他小心地将亮绿色的不干胶贴在一个多彩的图案上。