2009/03/23

Beverly Hills pawnshops snap up artwork, Rolexes比佛利山當舖生意大好

◎自由時報轉載

An original Kandinsky, an Andy Warhol, a grand piano and Rolexes by the dozen: as the economic crisis bites even the filthy rich are hocking prized possessions to pay the bills.

原版的康丁斯基、安迪沃荷作品,表演式鋼琴,還有數十只勞力士錶,經濟危機侵蝕下,就連超級有錢人都拿出名貴家當典當過日子。

"This business in the past eight months is booming," said Yossi Dina, the president of The Dina Collection, who describes himself as the pawnbroker to the stars.

「過去八個月生意暴增」,迪納收藏老闆迪納說,他形容自己有如大明星的當舖經紀人。

"I’m very special because I don’t give small loans. I give big loans, people call me for half a million, big loans," he boasted.

「我的特別之處在於我不提供小額貸款,只借大筆的,大家是為了五十萬來找我,來借大錢」,他吹噓說。

Pawnshop owners said they haven’t had it so good for decades in the wealthy Beverly Hills dotted with the luxurious mansions of the nation’s rich and famous,

當舖老闆們說,在全國性富豪、名人豪宅多如繁星的多金比佛利山,他們的生意幾十年來沒這麼好過。

"Recently I got a Kandinsky, an Andy Warhol, original Andy Warhol, a lot of California art ... even a piece for one million dollars," Dina added. Someone even tried to hand over an Oscar to him, but he had to refuse as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has strict rules on selling the famous statuette. He did take the same person’s Golden Globe though.

「最近我收到一幅康丁斯基、一幅安迪沃荷,原版的安迪沃荷,一大堆加州藝術品……甚至有一件價值一百萬美元」,迪納補充說道。有個人甚至要把奧斯卡獎座當給迪納,但是由於美國影藝學院對於出售這個知名雕像有嚴格限制,他不得不拒絕,不過他倒是接受同一個人當的金球獎座。

新聞辭典

snap up:動詞,原意為迅速抓住(機會或物品),本文指當舖生意好。例句:He was snapped up by a MLB team even before he graduated from school. (他還沒畢業就被一支美國大聯盟棒球隊網羅。)

filthy rich:名詞。非常有錢的人。filthy原意為污穢的或令人討厭的,在美國俚語中有「富有的」的意思,舊時用filthy rich略帶貶意,但現在這種負面意涵已經淡化。

boast:動詞,吹噓、自吹自擂。例句:She boasted to everyone that her boyfriend got a PHD degree from Harvard.(她逢人就吹噓她男友拿到了哈佛博士學位。)


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