The Property of U S
The 10 Must-Have Features in Today's New Homes
LAS VEGAS -- Americans want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday's most popular rooms -- such as home theaters -- from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show here this week.
"This is a traumatic time in this country and the future isn't something we're 100% sure about now either. What's left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity," said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill.
Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed 'green' from the outset," she said. The key for home builders is "finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point."
For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with clawfoot tubs and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that will resonate today, she said.
"What we're hearing is 'harvest' as a home theme -- the feeling of Thanksgiving. It's all about family togetherness -- casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces," Lavender said.
Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home-buyer preferences, said there are 10 "must" features in new homes.
1. Large Kitchens, With an Island
"If you're going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them -- spend them in the kitchen," McCune said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others "they are on the bubble," Cardis said.
2. Energy-Efficient Appliances, High-Efficiency Insulation and High Window Efficiency
Among the "green" features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.
3. Home Office/Study
People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. "People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable," Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the "shift from boom to correction," Cardis said.
4. Main-Floor Master Suite
This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.
5. Outdoor Living Room
The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.
6. Ceiling Fans
7. Master Suite Soaker Tubs
Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but "they clearly went down a notch," in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.
8. Stone and Brick Exteriors
Stucco and vinyl don't make the cut.
9. Community Landscaping, With Walking Paths and Playgrounds
Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.
10. Two-Car Garages
A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often then not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 07:50PM Feb 06, 2010 | 评论[0]
瑞典维多利亚王储公主同未婚夫丹尼尔．韦斯特林一起前往阿富汗看望其驻军/Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling Visit Troops in Afghanistan
On Sunday Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her fiance Daniel Westling paid an unannounced visit to the Swedish and Finnish troops in Afghanistan.
周日在未通知的情况下，瑞典维多利亚王储公主同未婚夫丹尼尔．韦斯特林一起前往阿富汗看望其驻阿富汗的瑞典和芬兰军队。
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports that the spokes person of the palace, Nina Eldh told them that the visit was unannounced due to security reasons.
瑞典报纸晚报(Aftonbladet /The Evening Sheet)报道说，皇宫发言人妮娜·伊尔迪(Nina Eldh)告诉他们出于安全方面的原因，此访问才未事先通知的。
The couple visited the military base Northern Light in Mazar-i-Sharif, where 500 Swedish troops are stationed. On the base the crown princess and her fiance made a test drive in combat vehicles and were informed about the situation on the base. When the princess left she wished the troops the best of luck and she said that she believed that they were really making a difference for the better for the people of Afghanistan.
俩人去了位于阿富汗马萨尹雪尔福(Mazar-i-sharif)的北极光(Northern Light)军事基地，那儿驻扎着500名瑞典士兵。在基地，王储公主和其未婚夫一起试开了战车，并听取了基地相关情况的报告。王储公主离开时,祝福了整个驻军，祝福他们好运气，并说她相信正是因为他们的存在，让事情有所不同，也让阿富汗人民的生活变好点儿了。
Lili Beale 21:37/January 16, 2010
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 09:37PM Jan 16, 2010 | 评论[0]
The World of Avatar/阿凡达的世界
An Alien Language/外星人的语言 The blockbuster film Avatar has been a smash hit at the box office in the UK and around the world, becoming the fastest film ever to earn $1bn (7bn yuan) in ticket sales. 热门电影阿凡达在英国及世界各地可为是颇受欢迎的，这在其票房上就可看出，成为上升最快的影片，更创下了10亿美元(70亿人民币)的票房纪录。 But as well as being an entertaining feast for the eyes, the sci-fi epic also introduces movie-goers to a brand new language invented especially for the film. 但是作为一部视觉盛宴的科幻史诗片，影片更是为影迷们创造了一种全新的语言。 The movie is set on an alien planet called Pandora which is inhabited by many strange species. The most humanoid of the planet's inhabitants are the Na'vi, and it is the struggle between the Na'vi and human interlopers that forms the core narrative of the film. 影片以居住众多奇怪物种的外星球潘多拉为背景。潘多拉星球最具人性特征的是一种叫做纳威的外星人类，作为影片的主角其担负起跟人类闯入者战斗的重任。 In order to add authenticity to his vision of an alien race the film’s director James Cameron asked a professor of linguistics from the University of Southern California to invent a language for the Na'vi. 詹姆斯·卡梅隆，影片导演为了让影片中的外星人类更具真实感，特请求南加利福尼亚大学的一名语言学教授为纳威人创造了一种全新的语言。 Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years to build upon the original 30 words or so that the director had already come up with for the language. 保罗·弗洛莫(Paul Frommer)教授同詹姆斯·卡梅隆一起工作了四年以建立最初的30个单词，在此基础上，导演已经掌握了这一新语言。 According to Professor Frommer, the most important aspect of the Na'vi language was that it could be articulated. 根据弗洛莫教授所说的，纳威语最重要的特征是它能被清楚地表达。 "This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors," Professor Frommer told the BBC, "it has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing." “这虽是种外星语言但是显而易见地它是由人类演员饰演的”弗洛莫教授在接受BBC采访时说，“它得听起来像是人类说的。” The language currently has a lexicon of around 1000 words but Professor Frommer hopes to expand it in possible sequels to the film and in video games. 这种语言目前已经有1,000个左右的单词，但是弗洛莫教授希望能把这种语言扩充到有可能的后续影片和计算机游戏中去。 The professor hopes that one day his creation will become as sophisticated as the Klingon alien language from the Star Trek films. 教授希望他创造的语言在日后能成为像星球大战中克林贡帝国语言那样优雅。 "There's a translation of Hamlet into Klingon," says Professor Frommer. “把哈姆雷特翻译成克林贡的帝国语言，”弗洛莫教授说。 "If anything happened like this with Na'vi I'd be delighted." “如果这种情况发生在纳威人身上，我将感到无比地欣喜。” Lili Beale 15:53/January 12, 2010
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 03:53PM Jan 12, 2010 | 评论[1]
中国取代德国成最大出口国/China overtakes Germany as biggest exporter
英译中
[阅读全文]L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 02:20PM Jan 11, 2010 | 评论[1]
一位好的男友绝不会让你做的十件事/10 Things a Good Boyfriend Won't Ask You to Do
英译中
[阅读全文]L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 08:23PM Jan 10, 2010 | 评论[0]
罕见硬币拍出230多万英镑的高价/Rare coin fetches over £2.3 million in auction
英译中
[阅读全文]L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 10:14PM Jan 09, 2010 | 评论[1]
怎样坚持新年决心/How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions
英译中
[阅读全文]L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 08:28PM Jan 06, 2010 | 评论[3]
和欧兹博士一起消除假期损伤/Undoing Holiday Damage with Dr. Oz
英译中 [阅读全文]
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 07:39PM Jan 04, 2010 | 评论[2]
忧虑的爸爸同样可能导致婴儿过度哭泣/Sad Dads May Lead to Crying Infants
英译中 [阅读全文]
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 10:54AM Jan 03, 2010 | 评论[0]
资本文化：大获成功的第一年 累了的总统奥巴马/CAPITAL CULTURE: Big first year leaves Obama tired
英译中 [阅读全文]
L 发布在 翻译例文 | 发布时间: 10:53PM Jan 02, 2010 | 评论[1]