(单词翻译:单击)
有钱人的玩具王国
The things we dreamed of as children — the desire to explore the undersea world of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea or the longing to have the powers of a superhero — are often fascinations that stay with us our whole lives.
孩提时代,我们就怀抱着梦想——探索儒勒·凡尔纳(Jules Verne)《海底两万里》(Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)中的海底世界,或是成为超级英雄——这些梦想让我们魂牵梦萦,伴随我们一生。
It’s no wonder, then, that no one really outgrows toys. The difference is that the toys get bigger, better, more expensive and more high-tech as people get older and richer. And no one needs mum’s permission.
Look at the images to see some of the most extravagant, unexpected and just plain fun toys for those with deep pockets.
一起来看看那些财大气粗的人的玩具吧。这些玩具在我们看来极尽奢华,完全意想不到,但有钱人自己觉得稀松平常。
深蓝色海洋里的潜水艇
The world of deep-sea exploration enchants many people as children. And when they can play it out on their own as adults, many do. Famous submarine owners include entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, who once had plans to take tourists down to the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench and keeps his Necker Nymph on his private island. And film director James Cameron donated his sub the Deepsea Challenger to science.
深海探险是很多人小时候的梦想。长大后,若有机会一试,很多人都不会拒绝。企业家理查·布兰森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)就是一位出名的潜艇主人。他曾计划让游客乘坐潜水艇游览太平洋的马里亚纳海沟(Mariana Trench),还将“内克尔仙女号”(Necker Nymph)潜水艇留在了他的私人岛屿上。电影导演詹姆士·卡梅隆(James Cameron)把他的潜艇“深海挑战者号”(Deepsea Challenger)捐给了科研小组。
Triton Submarines based in Florida specialises in small personal luxury submarines, which run on high-tech batteries and are custom built for each client. The Triton 3300/3 is the company's most popular model, according to Harley O'Neill, Triton's manager of sales and marketing, and is used for recreational diving, exploration, research endeavours and filming. It fits three people and can travel to a depth of 1,006m (3,300ft, hence the name).
"It used to be helicopters and now it's submarines," O'Neill said. "Now everyone is asking if you have one."
“以前流行直升机,现在流行潜水艇。”奥尼尔说,“现在人们开口就问,你有潜水艇吗?”
One prerequisite for owning the sub? A superyacht for the docking station, says O'Neill.
拥有潜水艇的必要条件是什么?那就是为超级潜水艇配备一艘超级游艇作为船坞,奥尼尔称。
A Hydro Powered Jetovator
喷水飞行器
Blame Peter Pan but even as grown-ups, many of us still wish we could fly. As kids, we ran down the garden flapping our arms or leapt from a low tree branch in a bid to take off, sometimes even bruising or breaking a limb in the process. In adulthood, achieving that free-flying feeling is a must for some adrenaline-seekers, whether through means like skydiving or base jumping.
其实也怪不得彼得·潘(Peter Pan)。即便已经是成年人,我们中的很多人仍希望能够飞行。孩提时代,我们会挥舞着手臂,在花园里奔跑,或是站在矮树枝上,希望一跃就可以飞起来,有时会因此擦伤或摔断一条腿。长大成人后,寻求刺激的人可以通过高空跳伞或定点跳伞的方式,体验自由飞行的感觉。
But take heart. You don't need a plane or bridge to fly. Hammacher Schlemmer's Hydro Powered Jetovator, a flying jet-ski like water craft, lets riders shoot 7.6m (25ft) into the air and corkscrew, back flip and barrel roll mid-air, while hovering above the water. Riders can even plunge a little over 3m (10ft) below the water, while still seated on the craft, for a quick undersea view.
Off to the races
赛车
These aren't the matchbox cars and electric toy racetracks most kids play with. The custom raceways from Slot Mods USA are painstakingly handcrafted to a client's specifications, including sections that precisely replicate real-life tracks whether that be the Le Mans circuit or the Monaco Grand Prix, said David Beattie, the company's founder and president.
这可不是大多数孩子玩的火柴盒汽车或电动玩具赛道。Slot Mods USA公司创始人兼总裁大卫·贝迪(David Beattie)表示,该公司的赛道是根据客户的规格要求手工精心打造,其中有对现实场景的精确复制,比如Le Mans赛道和Monaco Grand Prix赛道。
The tracks he builds often are anywhere between 3.7m to 9m (12ft to 30ft) long and 3m to 6m (10ft to 20ft) wide and can include structures such as grandstands and features including skid marks airbrushed on the tracks. Depending on the size, scope and detail of the track, they can take anywhere between three to six months to build.
Slot Mods track owners include auto enthusiasts with garages full of collector and luxury cars, and famous names in the racing world like driver Bobby Rahal. Beattie currently has a track in the works for US TV personality Jay Leno, as well. One thing all the clients have in common is a longstanding love for car racing. "They're all like kids on Christmas morning when we show up to deliver the track," Beattie said. "It's like buying them back their childhood."
Slot Mods赛道的拥有者包括很多汽车爱好者,他们的车库里收藏着各种豪华轿车。著名车手博比·拉哈尔(Bobby Rahal)也是Slot Mods赛道的主人。贝迪目前正在为美国电视名人杰伊·莱诺(Jay Leno)制作赛道。这些客户的一个共同点,就是他们对赛车永恒的爱。“收到我们的赛道模型,他们就像圣诞节早上的孩子,收到了让他们重返童年的旅行车票。”
The golf cart hovercraft
高尔夫气垫船
Showing off on the golf course has hit a new extreme with the Golf Cart Hovercraft, which can fly over sandpits and water. Zoom between holes with the craft, which floats up to almost 23cm (9 inches) off the ground and can move at speeds up to about 72km per hour (45mph).
超级拉风的高尔夫气垫船,能飞跃高尔夫球场上的沙坑和水池。乘坐气垫船往返各个球洞之间,气垫船能够漂浮在地面上方23厘米(9英寸),最高时速可达72千米/小时(45英里/小时)。
The cart fits up to four passengers and two golf bags and is steered with handlebars instead of a wheel. It also meets US Coast Guard standards for reliable hovering over water. Note: Special permission is required to get the cart onto courses, but the vessel is quiet and lands and takes off without wrecking the grass, its manufacturer, Hammacher Schlemmer, says. No issue here for those with their own private courses.
A drone of their own
私人无人机
Drones seem to be everywhere these days and they aren't the remote-controlled helicopters that puttered out after a few wheezy loops, either. High-tech drones can do more than ever before, now allowing controllers to record high-flying adventures and survey their surroundings.
现在的无人机似乎无处不在,它们可不是呼哧呼哧盘旋几圈后就熄火的遥控直升飞机。现在的高端无人机比以前要先进得多,控制者可以记录高空飞行历险,调查周围环境。
"They are fun to fly, now easier to navigate and flight stability has improved," said Brookstone chief executive officer Tom Via in an email. The Brookstone Parrot BeBop Drone Quadricopter is one of the company's bestsellers.
Brookstone's drone comes with a high-definition fisheye camera, which the pilot can control from the ground. The camera records video in 1080 pixels and takes 14-megapixel still shots to capture the surrounding action. The drone is protected for extreme adventure, too, with features like an internal GPS system allows it to be tracked down in case of a crash.
Brookstone的无人机配备了高清鱼眼镜头,人们可以在地面进行控制。相机能录制1080像素的视频,拍摄1400万像素的照片。另外,一旦出现无人机坠毁等极端情况,内置的GPS系统能够帮助定位。