腹语表演是历史悠久的民间艺术，在欧美国家颇受欢迎。在美国，还有人建造了专门的腹语博物馆。
A museum dedicated to ventriloquism
by Jennifer Nalewicki
Since its founding in the early 1970s, the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, has been the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to ventriloquism, a stagecraft that involves a person "throwing" his or her voice to make it appear as if a doll or dummy is the one speaking. Today the museum serves as the final resting place for nearly 1,000 dummies, with some dating as far back as the Civil War.
found /faʊnd/ v. 创办
Kentucky /kenˈtʌki/ n. 肯塔基州（美国东南部的州）
dedicated /ˈdedɪkeɪtɪd/ adj. 专用的
entirely /ɪnˈtaɪəli/ adv. 完全地、全部地（由entire加后缀-ly变成副词）
ventriloquism /venˈtrɪləkwɪz(ə)m/ n. 腹语表演
stagecraft /ˈsteɪdʒkrɑːft/ n. 舞台技艺（由stage和craft组成）
doll /dɒl/ n. 玩偶、玩具娃娃
dummy /ˈdʌmi/ n. 人体模型、假人
serve as 做为、成为
date back 追溯
civil /ˈsɪv(ə)l/ war 内战（the Civil War指美国南北战争）
Ventriloquism has a long and storied history, with some of the first references to the craft found in Egyptian and Hebrew archaeology. Over time ventriloquism was practiced worldwide by a number of cultures. Not only was ventriloquism seen as a form of entertainment, but at one time it was also considered a religious practice that some believed was a way for God to speak through a human.
storied /ˈstɔːrid/ adj. 有很多故事的
reference /ˈref(ə)r(ə)ns/ n. 提到、提及
craft /krɑːft/ n. 手艺、技艺
Egyptian /ɪˈdʒɪpʃ(ə)n/ adj. 埃及的、埃及人的
Hebrew /ˈhiːbruː/ adj. 希伯来人的、古犹太人的
archaeology /ˌɑːkiˈɒlədʒi/ n. 考古学
over time 随着时间的推移
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ v. 从事某种需要专门技能的工作
worldwide /wɜːldˈwaɪd/ adv. 世界范围地、全世界地（由world和wide组成）
form /fɔːm/ n. 形式
entertainment /entəˈteɪnmənt/ n. 娱乐（由entertain加后缀-ment变成名词）
at one time 过去、一度
consider /kənˈsɪdə(r)/ v. 看待
religious /rɪˈlɪdʒəs/ adj. 宗教的
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 实践、做法
Some of the most notable pieces in the collection are the dummies that once belonged to well-known ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham, Shari Lewis and Terry Fator. Vent Haven is also home to a replica of Charlie McCarthy, who once belonged to ventriloquist and actor Edgar Bergen.
notable /ˈnəʊtəb(ə)l/ adj. 值得注意的（由note加后缀-able变成形容词）
ventriloquist /venˈtrɪləkwɪst/ n. 腹语表演者
replica /ˈreplɪkə/ n. 复制品
"What is amazing about the museum is that about 95 percent of what is here is one of a kind," says curator Lisa Sweasy. "Ventriloquists would use a dummy for their whole career and then donate it to us. If you were to pick any dummy at random, it's unique, which I think is pretty amazing about this collection."
one of a kind 同类事物中唯一的一个、孤本
curator /kjʊˈreɪtə(r)/ n. 博物馆馆长
career /kəˈrɪə(r)/ n. 职业生涯
donate /dəʊˈneɪt/ v. 捐赠
at random /ˈrændəm/ 随机地、任意地
unique /juːˈniːk/ adj. 独一无二的
During a visit to the museum, Sweasy takes visitors on a guided hour-long tour of its massive collection, which is spread across four buildings. She prides herself on tailoring each tour to visitors who come from as far away as Japan, South Africa, Germany and Argentina to see the collection.
massive /ˈmæsɪv/ adj. 庞大的
spread /spred/ v. 蔓延、展开（过去分词也是spread）
pride oneself on doing something 以自己能做某事为荣
tailor /ˈteɪlə(r)/ v. 定制
Argentina /ˌɑːdʒ(ə)nˈtiːnə/ n. 阿根廷（南美洲国家）
And while there are several dummies that were donated with the sole purpose to give visitors the chance to tinker with and see how they operate, the rest of the dummies are completely off limits – even to Sweasy.
sole /səʊl/ adj. 唯一的
tinker /ˈtɪŋkə(r)/ v. 摆弄
operate /ˈɒp(ə)reɪt/ v. 运作
off limits 在允许的范围之外（这里指禁止触摸）
"The way the founder wrote the charter is that he did not want a ventriloquist to work here," Sweasy says. "He would promise donors that once their dummies got here they would be taken care of and kept clean and in good condition, but he didn't want anyone to animate them out of respect, because the owner is no longer here."
founder /ˈfaʊndə(r)/ n. 创办人（由found加上表示人的后缀-er）
charter /ˈtʃɑːtə(r)/ n. （组织机构的）章程
donor /ˈdəʊnə(r)/ n. 捐赠人、捐献者
condition /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 状态
animate /ˈænɪmeɪt/ v. 使…活起来（这里指把它做为表演道具）
If you think of it in terms of musical instruments, it makes a lot of sense. It could be considered pretty offensive if someone picked up Chuck Berry's guitar Lucille and played it. Vent Haven subscribes to a similar philosophy. "You never handle someone else's dummy, in particular you don't animate it," says Sweasy, "because the ventriloquists have spent a lot of time developing those characters and giving them a voice."
in terms of 就…而言
musical instrument /ˈɪnstrəmənt/ 乐器
makes sense 有道理、合理
offensive /əˈfensɪv/ adj. 冒犯的、无礼的
Chuck Berry 是美国著名音乐家、歌手
subscribe /səbˈskraɪb/ to 认可、支持（某种想法）
philosophy /fɪˈlɒsəfi/ n. 哲学、理念
handle /ˈhænd(ə)l/ v. 处理、运作
in particular 尤其、特别是
character /ˈkærəktə(r)/ n. （小说、戏剧、影视等）人物
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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