播客

描述

词汇提示

1.broking 经纪业

2.militia 民兵

3.brigadier general 准将

4.speculator 投机商

5.damp 潮湿

6.drafty 通风

7.outwardy 表面的

8.mediaeval 中世纪

9.bowling alleys 保龄球室

10.subdivision 细分

11.auction 拍卖

原文

Casa Loma

Many people visit Europe and see the old castles left from the days of knighthood.

Very few returns home with plans to build their own castle.

Toronto businessman Henry Pellatt actually built such a castle - Casa Loma.

Pellatt was born in Kingston, Ontario in1859, but the family soon moved to Toronto.

His father opened Toronto's first stock broking firm in 1866.

Pellatt Sr. became part of Toronto's financial elite.

And Henry Pellatt eventually joined his father in business.

The young Pellatt was especially attracted by the military and the British armed forces.

When Henry was 18, he joined the Queen's Own Rifles, a militia unit.

He was soon one of the soldiers sent to suppress a railway strike.

At 21, he was made an officer, and gradually moved up through the ranks, eventually becoming brigadier general.

Meanwhile, Henry was learning the stock broking business.

He soon showed considerable ability at forming new companies.

Electricity was a recent invention, and Pellatt hoped to be among the foremost developers.

In 1883, he founded the Toronto Electric Light Company, and later was an owner of the Toronto Electric Railway.

He also made money as a land speculator in the Canadian West.

Unlike many businessmen of the time, however, Pellatt believed in community service.

He sponsored many charitable organizations and supported various good causes.

In spite of his business dealings, Pellatt found time to tour England and Europe regularly.

He brought back ideas for a "castle on the hill.

Pellatt's castle, however, would not be a damp, drafty castle of the Middle Ages.

It would have all the latest technology.

Construction of "Casa Loma" began in 1910 and was completed in 1914.

Outwardly, it looked like a mediaeval castle, but inside it was comfortable and luxurious.

There were 98 rooms, three bowling alleys, 30 bathrooms, 25 fireplaces and 5,000 electric lights.

It had an electric elevator and an indoor swimming pool.

There was a library of 100,000 books, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, a shooting gallery, and a large art collection.

Pellatt ordered only the most expensive materials and employed the best craftsmen.

The cost of all this was $3.5million, a huge sum in those days.

Pellatt and his wife liked to entertain.

They often opened up Casa Loma for special events.

Sometimes, he would invite all 1,000 men from the Queen's Own Rifles over for the weekend.

The Pellatts also held parties for the staff.

Pellatt had hoped that Casa Loma would be the center of an extensive subdivision.

He hoped that wealthy people would build grand homes nearby, and so he had bought up land near his castle.

Unfortunately for Pellatt, most of the people coming to Toronto were poor immigrants who couldn't afford large houses.

Pellatt was unable to sell his landholdings, and his income declined.

In 1924, Pellatt turned Casa Loma over to the City of Toronto because he could not pay his property tax.

All the contents of Casa Loma went on auction soon after.

His $1.5 million collection of art and artifacts sold for only $250,000.

Now Casa Loma is a leading Toronto tourist attraction.

"The castle in the middle of the city"has 400,000 visitors each year.

It is the closest thing in North America to a real European castle.

翻译

卡萨洛马

许多人游览欧洲，参观骑士时代留下的古老城堡。
很少有人回国计划建造自己的城堡。
多伦多商人亨利·佩拉特（Henry Pellatt）实际上建造了这样一座城堡——Casa Loma。
1859年，佩拉特出生在安大略省金斯敦，但很快全家搬到了多伦多。
他的父亲于1866年开办了多伦多第一家股票经纪公司。
老佩拉特成为多伦多金融精英的一员。
亨利·佩拉特最终加入了父亲的行列。
年轻的佩拉特特别被军队和英国武装部队所吸引。
当亨利18岁时，他加入了一个民兵组织“女王自己的步枪”。
他很快成为被派去镇压铁路罢工的士兵之一。
21岁时，他被任命为军官，并逐渐晋升为准将。
与此同时，亨利正在学习股票经纪业务。
他很快就表现出了组建新公司的能力。
电力是最近的发明，佩拉特希望成为最重要的开发商之一。
1883年，他创立了多伦多电灯公司，后来成为多伦多电气铁路的所有者。
他在加拿大西部做土地投机商人也赚了钱。
然而，与当时的许多商人不同，佩拉特相信社区服务。
他赞助了许多慈善组织，并支持各种慈善事业。
尽管有生意往来，佩拉特还是抽出时间定期到英国和欧洲旅行。
他带回了在山上建城堡的想法。
然而，佩拉特的城堡不会是中世纪潮湿通风的城堡。
它将拥有所有最新的技术。
“Casa Loma”的建造始于1910年，于1914年完工。
表面上，它看起来像一座中世纪的城堡，但内部却舒适而奢华。
有98个房间，三个保龄球馆，30个浴室，25个壁炉和5000盏电灯。
它有一部电动电梯和一个室内游泳池。
这里有一个藏书10万册的图书馆、一个温度控制的酒窖、一个射击馆和一个大型艺术收藏馆。
佩拉特只订购最昂贵的材料，并雇佣了最好的工匠。
这一切的成本是350万美元，在当时是一笔巨大的金额。
佩拉特和他的妻子喜欢娱乐。
他们经常为特别活动开放Casa Loma。
有时，他会邀请女王自己步枪队的所有1000名男子来度周末。
佩拉特夫妇还为工作人员举办了派对。
佩拉特曾希望洛马之家成为一个广泛细分的中心。
他希望富人能在附近建造豪宅，于是他买下了城堡附近的土地。
对佩拉特来说，不幸的是，大多数来多伦多的人都是穷移民，他们买不起大房子。
佩拉特无法出售他的土地，收入下降。
1924年，佩拉特将Casa Loma交给了多伦多市，因为他无法缴纳房产税。
不久之后，《卡萨络马》的所有内容都被拍卖了。

他价值150万美元的艺术品和文物藏品仅售25万美元。
现在，Casa Loma是多伦多主要的旅游景点。
“市中心城堡”每年有40万游客。
这是北美最接近真正的欧洲城堡的地方。

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