ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mac Barnett - Children's book author
Mac Barnett is a bestselling author of books for children.

Why you should listen

Mac Barnett is the author of fifteen books for children. He was the executive director of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center, and founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers. In this talk about creativity and wonder, he explains why kids are the ideal readers of literary fiction -- and what adults can learn from them about imagination and the willing suspension of disbelief.

More profile about the speaker
Mac Barnett | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxSonomaCounty

Mac Barnett: Why a good book is a secret door

麥克‧巴內特: 為什麼一本好書是一扇神秘之門

Filmed:
1,882,886 views

童年是超現實的。童書不也應當如此?在這場詼諧的演講中,得獎作者麥克‧巴內特談到帶你超越現實的寫作,藝術則為通往奇蹟之門,及真實的孩童對虛構的鯨魚說什麼。
- Children's book author
Mac Barnett is a bestselling author of books for children. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

大家好。我是麥克。
00:12
Hi你好 everybody每個人. So my name名稱 is Mac蘋果電腦.
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00:14
My job工作 is that I lie謊言 to children孩子,
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我的工作是「哄」小孩,
但那都是善意的謊言。
00:18
but they're honest誠實 lies.
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00:20
I write children's兒童 books圖書,
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我是童書作家,
00:22
and there's a quote引用 from Pablo巴勃羅 Picasso畢加索,
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巴勃羅‧畢卡索曾說過:
00:25
"We all know that Art藝術 is not truth真相.
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「我們都知道藝術是虛虛實實的。
00:28
Art藝術 is a lie謊言 that makes品牌 us realize實現 truth真相
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藝術是讓我們感悟真實的謊言
00:32
or at least最小 the truth真相 that is
given特定 us to understand理解.
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或至少是讓我們領悟真實的事實。
00:35
The artist藝術家 must必須 know the manner方式 whereby因此
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藝術家必須瞭解這種方式
00:37
to convince說服 others其他 of the
truthfulness真實性 of his lies."
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讓人們明白其謊言的真意。」
00:42
I first heard聽說 this when I was a kid孩子,
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第一次聽說這句話時還很小,
00:44
and I loved喜愛 it,
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覺得超愛這句話,
00:46
but I had no idea理念 what it meant意味著.
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儘管我一點都不了解其藴意。
00:49
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:50
So I thought, you know what, it's what I'm here
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所以,我想,大家肯定猜到了,
今天在這裡
00:52
to talk to you today今天 about, though雖然,
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要與諸位分享的話題,
00:54
truth真相 and lies, fiction小說 and reality現實.
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也就是真實與謊言,虛幻與現實。
00:56
So how could I untangle排解
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那麼,我該從何入手
00:58
this knotted打結 bunch of sentences句子?
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來解析這句盤根錯節的句子呢?
01:01
And I said, I've got PowerPoint幻燈片.
Let's do a Venn維恩 diagram.
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我準備了簡報,
和大家一起做個文氏圖。
01:04
["Truth真相. Lies."]
(Laughter笑聲)
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[真實、謊言。]
(笑聲)
01:07
So there it is, right there, boom繁榮.
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瞧這裡,變。
01:08
We've我們已經 got truth真相 and lies
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這裡有真實與謊言
01:10
and then there's this little space空間,
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和一小片空間,
01:11
the edge邊緣, in the middle中間.
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邊緣,靠中間的位置。
01:13
That liminal閾限的 space空間, that's art藝術.
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這片非常有限的空間,就是藝術。
01:19
All right. Venn維恩 diagram. (Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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好了。這就是文氏圖。
(笑聲)(掌聲)
01:24
But that's actually其實 not very helpful有幫助 either.
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但其實也不太有用喔。
01:27
The thing that made製作 me understand理解
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讓我真正明白這句話
01:32
that quote引用 and really kind of what art藝術,
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而且理解什麼是藝術,
01:34
at least最小 the art藝術 of fiction小說, was,
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至少理解虛幻藝術的事情,
01:37
was working加工 with kids孩子.
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是和孩子們互動的時候。
01:38
I used to be a summer夏季 camp counselor顧問.
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我以前當過夏令營的輔導大哥哥。
01:40
I would do it on my summers夏天 off from college學院,
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在大學暑期會做一些這樣的工作,
01:43
and I loved喜愛 it.
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而且非常熱愛。
01:46
It was a sports體育 summer夏季 camp
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記得有一次運動主題的夏令營
01:48
for four-四- to six-year-olds六歲的孩子.
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孩子們的年齡在 4-6 歲之間。
01:49
I was in charge收費 of the four-year-olds四歲的孩子,
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當時我是 4 歲孩子的領隊,
01:51
which哪一個 is good, because
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很不錯,因為
01:53
four-year-olds四歲的孩子 can't play
sports體育, and neither也不 can I.
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4 歲的小孩還不會運動,
正好我也不擅長。
01:56
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:58
I play sports體育 at a four-year-old四十歲 level水平,
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我就是玩玩 4 歲小孩的活動,
02:01
so what would happen發生 is the kids孩子 would
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他們的活動大不了就是
02:04
dribble運球 around some cones, and then got hot,
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繞著一些交通錐跑跑,
要是覺得熱了,
02:06
and then they would go sit underneath the tree
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就去大樹下面乘乘涼,
02:08
where I was already已經 sitting坐在 — (Laughter笑聲) —
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而我老早就坐那等他們了。
(笑聲)
02:11
and I would just make up stories故事 and tell them to them
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我會編一些故事講給他們聽,
02:14
and I would tell them stories故事 about my life.
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給他們講一些我生活的故事。
02:16
I would tell them about how, on the weekends週末,
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比如,我會告訴他們,週末時
02:17
I would go home and I would
spy間諜 for the Queen女王 of England英國.
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我會回家,然後去做英國女王的特工。
02:21
And soon不久, other kids孩子
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不一會兒
02:24
who weren't even in my group of kids孩子,
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其它組的孩子們,
02:26
they would come up to me, and they would say,
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也會不約而來,他們會問:
02:27
"You're Mac蘋果電腦 Barnett巴尼特, right?
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「你就是麥克‧巴內特吧?
02:29
You're the guy who spies間諜 for the Queen女王 of England英國."
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你就是那個替英國女王做特工的。」
02:32
And I had been waiting等候 my whole整個 life for strangers陌生人
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我早就盼望有陌生人
02:35
to come up and ask me that question.
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向我問這樣的問題了。
02:38
In my fantasy幻想, they were svelte苗條 Russian俄語 women婦女,
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想像中,應該是些
身材苗條的俄羅斯姑娘,
02:40
but, you know, four-year-olds四歲的孩子
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但 4 歲小孩也行啦,
02:41
you take what you can get in Berkeley伯克利, California加州.
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在加州柏克萊這地方就將就一點。
02:46
And I realized實現 that the stories故事 that I was telling告訴
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我意識到我所講的故事
02:50
were real真實 in this way that was familiar to me
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從我所熟悉的角度來看是真實的
02:54
and really exciting扣人心弦.
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而且是令人興奮的。
02:55
I think the pinnacle巔峰 of this for
me — I'll never forget忘記 this —
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我想這整件事最經典的,
我一輩子忘不了,
02:57
there was this little girl女孩
named命名 Riley. She was tiny,
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有位名叫萊莉的小女孩,
個子很小,
03:00
and she used to always take
out her lunch午餐 every一切 day
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她每天總喜歡將午餐取出來
03:03
and she would throw out her fruit水果.
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然後把水果扔掉。
03:05
She would just take her fruit水果,
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她每次都把水果,
03:06
her mom媽媽 packed打包 her a melon every一切 day,
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她媽媽每天給她備一個甜瓜,
03:08
and she would just throw it in the ivy常春藤
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她都把瓜扔到常春藤裡,
03:09
and then she would eat fruit水果 snacks小吃
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然後開始吃水果糖
03:12
and pudding布丁 cups, and I was like, "Riley,
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和布丁果凍,我告訴她:
「萊莉,這樣做不對啊,你得吃水果。」
03:14
you can't do that, you
have to eat the fruit水果."
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03:17
And she was like, "Why?"
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她好奇地問道:「為什麼?」
03:19
And I was like, "Well, when
you throw the fruit水果 in the ivy常春藤,
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我回答:「你把水果扔進長春藤裡,
03:21
pretty漂亮 soon不久, it's going to be overgrown發育過度的 with melons,"
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不久,就會到處長滿甜瓜。」
03:25
which哪一個 is why I think I ended結束 up
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這也正是我後來寫童書
03:27
telling告訴 stories故事 to children孩子 and not
being存在 a nutritionist營養師 for children孩子.
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而不去做兒童營養學家的原因。
03:32
And so Riley was like, "That will never happen發生.
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萊莉回答道:「這不可能。
03:34
That's not going to happen發生."
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哪有這樣的事情。」
03:35
And so, on the last day of camp,
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夏令營的最後一天,
03:38
I got up early and I got a big cantaloupe哈密​​瓜
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我起得很早,在商店
03:41
from the grocery雜貨 store商店
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買了個大哈密瓜
03:43
and I hid it in the ivy常春藤,
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悄悄放在常春藤中。
03:45
and then at lunchtime午餐時間, I was like,
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到了午餐時間,我說:
03:46
"Riley, why don't you go over
there and see what you've doneDONE."
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「萊莉,去那邊瞧瞧,
看你做了什麼。」
03:49
And — (Laughter笑聲) —
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然後...(笑聲)
03:52
she went trudging跋涉 through通過
the ivy常春藤, and then her eyes眼睛
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她蹣跚地穿過常春藤,
眼睛瞪得大大的,
03:55
just got so wide, and she pointed out this melon
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指著那個比她腦袋還大的哈密瓜,
03:57
that was bigger than her head,
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03:59
and then all the kids孩子 ran over
there and rushed around her,
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這時,所有的小孩都蜂擁過去,
擁簇在萊莉周圍,
04:02
and one of the kids孩子 was like, "Hey,
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其中一位小孩說:「咦,
04:04
why is there a sticker貼紙 on this?"
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為什麼甜瓜上會有張標籤貼紙呢?」
04:06
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:09
And I was like, "That is also why I say
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這時我說:「不是告訴你們
04:11
do not throw your stickers貼紙 in the ivy常春藤.
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不要往常春藤裡扔貼紙嗎?
04:14
Put them in the trash垃圾 can. It
ruins廢墟 nature性質 when you do this."
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應將它們扔進垃圾筒。
到處亂扔有害環境。」
04:20
And Riley carried攜帶的 that melon around with her all day,
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那天,萊莉將她的甜瓜抱了一整天,
04:25
and she was so proud驕傲.
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她覺得非常自豪。
04:27
And Riley knew知道 she didn't
grow增長 a melon in seven days,
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萊莉知道她並沒有
在 7 天內種出甜瓜,
04:32
but she also knew知道 that she did,
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但同時她知道自己確實又做到了,
04:35
and it's a weird奇怪的 place地點,
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這就是奇怪的地方,
04:37
but it's not just a place地點 that kids孩子 can get to.
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不是只有孩子們可以到達,
04:40
It's anything. Art藝術 can get us to that place地點.
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任何事情都可以。
藝術能夠讓我們到達此處。
04:43
She was right in that place地點 in the middle中間,
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那就是中間的那個位置,
04:45
that place地點 which哪一個 you could call art藝術 or fiction小說.
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可以稱之為藝術或小說。
04:49
I'm going to call it wonder奇蹟.
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我將其稱之為奇蹟。
04:51
It's what Coleridge柯勒律治 called the
willing願意 suspension懸掛 of disbelief懷疑
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英國湖畔詩人柯勒律治
將其稱之為「自願終止懷疑」
04:54
or poetic詩意 faith信仰,
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或詩意的信仰,
04:55
for those moments瞬間 where a
story故事, no matter how strange奇怪,
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在傾聽故事的瞬間,
無論故事多麼奇怪,
04:58
has some semblance外表 of the truth真相,
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它們都與真實的意境有神似之處,
05:00
and then you're able能夠 to believe it.
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能夠讓你相信故事中發生的事情。
05:02
It's not just kids孩子 who can get there.
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不僅僅孩子們能夠做到。
05:03
Adults成人 can too, and we get there when we read.
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成人也可以,
我們在閱讀時就能做到。
05:06
It's why in two days, people will be
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這正是為何在兩天內
05:08
descending on Dublin都柏林 to take the walking步行 tour遊覽
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人們飛往都柏林
參加布魯姆日徒步導覽
05:12
of Bloomsday布魯姆 and see everything
that happened發生 in "Ulysses尤利西斯,"
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並感受《尤利西斯》中
所發生的每個故事。
05:17
even though雖然 none沒有 of that happened發生.
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儘管這些故事都未曾發生過。
05:20
Or people go to London倫敦 and they visit訪問 Baker麵包師傅 Street
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或者就像人們去倫敦,
他們會到訪貝克街
05:22
to see Sherlock福爾摩斯 Holmes'福爾摩斯“ apartment公寓,
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要去看看福爾摩斯的寓所一樣,
05:23
even though雖然 221B is just a number that was painted
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儘管 221B 僅僅是
漆塗在建築物上的編號,
05:25
on a building建造 that never
actually其實 had that address地址.
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並非是該建築物的實際地址。
05:29
We know these characters人物 aren't real真實,
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我們知道這些人物都是虛擬的,
05:30
but we have real真實 feelings情懷 about them,
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但我們卻能真實感受到
這些人物的存在,
05:33
and we're able能夠 to do that.
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我們能夠做到這一點。
05:34
We know these characters人物 aren't real真實,
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我們知道這些人物並非真實存在,
05:36
and yet然而 we also know that they are.
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但我們能感受到他們的存在。
05:39
Kids童裝 can get there a lot more easily容易 than adults成年人 can,
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兒童比成年人更容易
感受到虛擬人物的存在,
05:43
and that's why I love writing寫作 for kids孩子.
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這正是我喜歡寫童書的原因。
05:44
I think kids孩子 are the best最好 audience聽眾
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我認為兒童是
嚴肅文學小說的忠實讀者。
05:46
for serious嚴重 literary fiction小說.
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05:51
When I was a kid孩子,
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孩童時,
我沉迷於神秘之門這類小說,
05:54
I was obsessed痴迷 with secret秘密 door novels小說,
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05:56
things like "Narnia納尼亞,"
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比如《納尼亞傳奇》,
05:57
where you would open打開 a wardrobe衣櫃
and go through通過 to a magical神奇 land土地.
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打開一扇衣櫥,就能進入魔幻世界。
06:01
And I was convinced相信 that secret秘密 doors really did exist存在
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當時我確信真的存在神秘之門,
06:04
and I would look for them and try to go through通過 them.
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我四處尋找並企圖穿越神秘之門。
06:06
I wanted to live生活 and cross交叉 over into
that fictional虛構 world世界, which哪一個 is —
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我想要穿越到科幻世界,
並在那裡生活,
06:10
I would always just open打開 people's人們 closet壁櫥 doors.
(Laughter笑聲)
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所以我總是去開別人的衣櫥門。
(笑聲)
06:15
I would just go through通過 my mom's媽媽的 boyfriend's男友 closet壁櫥,
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我恰巧打開了我母親男朋友的衣櫥,
06:18
and there was not a secret秘密 magical神奇 land土地 there.
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衣櫥裡並沒有發現神秘的魔幻世界,
06:20
There was some other weird奇怪的 stuff東東 that
I think my mom媽媽 should know about.
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卻發現了些怪異的東西,
我想我母親應該要知道。
06:23
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:25
And I was happy快樂 to tell her all about it.
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我高興地告訴她所有這些事。
06:31
After college學院, my first job工作 was working加工
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大學畢業後,我的第一份工作
是在一扇神秘之門後面工作。
06:35
behind背後 one of these secret秘密 doors.
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06:38
This is a place地點 called 826 Valencia瓦倫西亞.
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這個地方叫做「瓦倫西亞 826 號」。
06:40
It's at 826 Valencia瓦倫西亞 Street
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位於瓦倫西亞大街 826 號,
06:42
in the Mission任務 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科,
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就在舊金山米遜區。
06:44
and when I worked工作 there, there
was a publishing出版 company公司
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我在那裡工作時,
有一家總部設在此處
06:46
headquartered總部設 there called McSweeney's斯威尼的,
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名為麥斯威尼的出版公司,
06:49
a nonprofit非營利性 writing寫作 center中央 called 826 Valencia瓦倫西亞,
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一個非盈利性的寫作中心,
名為瓦倫西亞 826 號,
06:52
but then the front面前 of it
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但寫作中心的前面
06:54
was a strange奇怪 shop.
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卻有一家奇怪的商店。
06:56
You see, this place地點 was zoned retail零售,
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這地方是零售店區,
06:57
and in San Francisco弗朗西斯科, they were
not going to give us a variance方差,
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在舊金山,這類零售店大同小異,
07:00
and so the writer作家 who founded成立
it, a writer作家 named命名 Dave戴夫 Eggers埃格斯,
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因此該店創始人兼作家大維‧艾格斯
07:03
to come into compliance合規
with code, he said, "Fine,
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賦予了這家店特色,他說,
「好吧,我正好把這家店
改建成一家海盜用品店。」
07:06
I'm just going to build建立 a pirate海盜 supply供應 store商店."
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07:10
And that's what he did. (Laughter笑聲)
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他真的改建成了海盜用品店。(笑聲)
07:13
And it's beautiful美麗. It's all wood.
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商店很漂亮,全實木。
07:15
There's drawers抽屜 you can pull out and get citrus柑橘
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有些抽屜,你可以打開,
並在抽屜裡找到柑橘,
07:17
so you don't get scurvy壞血病.
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這樣你就不會得壞血病。
07:20
They have eyepatcheseyepatches in lots of colors顏色,
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店裡出售各種顏色的眼罩,
07:22
because when it's springtime春天, pirates海盜 want to go wild野生.
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因為春天的時候,海盜都會想瘋一下。
07:25
You don't know. Black黑色 is boring無聊. Pastel粉彩.
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誰知道。黑色很無趣。要柔和色系的。
07:29
Or eyes眼睛, also in lots of colors顏色,
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或者出售各種顏色的眼睛,
07:31
just glass玻璃 eyes眼睛, depending根據 on how you want
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都是玻璃而已啦,
或如果你想入戲一點也可以。
07:33
to deal合同 with that situation情況.
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07:37
And the store商店, strangely奇怪,
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奇怪的是,
07:40
people came來了 to them and bought things,
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居然有人光顧這家商店,並購買物品,
07:44
and they ended結束 up paying付款 the rent出租
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到後來,盈餘居然可以為
07:46
for our tutoring家教 center中央, which哪一個 was behind背後 it,
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商店後面的寫作中心支付租金。
07:48
but to me, more important重要 was the fact事實
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但對我來說,更重要的是
07:51
that I think the quality質量 of work you do,
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所從事工作的性質,
07:53
kids孩子 would come and get instruction指令 in writing寫作,
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孩子們能夠從這裡獲得寫作指導,
07:56
and when you have to walk步行 this weird奇怪的, liminal閾限的,
fictional虛構 space空間 like this to go do your writing寫作,
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當你寫作前得先經過
這怪異中介的虛構空間時,
08:00
it's going to affect影響 the kind of work that you make.
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將對你的作品產生影響。
08:04
It's a secret秘密 door that you can walk步行 through通過.
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這是一扇能夠穿越的神秘之門。
08:06
So I ran the 826 in Los洛杉磯 Angeles洛杉磯,
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後來我到洛杉磯成立 826 號分店,
08:09
and it was my job工作 to build建立 the store商店 down there.
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我需要在那裡創立一家門店。
08:12
So we have The Echo迴聲 Park公園 Time Travel旅行 Mart市場.
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所以就有了
「回聲公園時光旅行商店」。
08:16
That's our motto座右銘: "Whenever每當
you are, we're already已經 then."
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我們的座右銘是:
「不管什麼時代我們都去過了。」
08:19
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:23
And it's on Sunset日落 Boulevard林蔭大道 in Los洛杉磯 Angeles洛杉磯.
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這家店位於洛杉磯日落大道。
08:27
Our friendly友善 staff員工 is ready準備 to help you.
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我們和藹可親的店員已經在等您了。
08:29
They're from all eras時代,
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店員們來自各個時代,
08:32
including包含 just the 1980s, that guy on the end結束,
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比如,來自 1980 年代的店員,
圖中最左側的那位,
08:35
he's from the very recent最近 past過去.
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這位員工所處時代距離現在最近。
08:37
There's our Employees僱員 of the Month,
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我們的每月最佳員工
08:39
including包含 Genghis成吉思汗 Khan, Charles查爾斯 Dickens狄更斯.
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有成吉思汗、查爾斯‧狄更斯等。
08:42
Some great people have come up through通過 our ranks行列.
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一些偉人出現在我們的店員中。
08:45
This is our kind of pharmacy藥店 section部分.
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這是我們的藥品區域。
08:47
We have some patent專利 medicines藥品,
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我們有些專利藥品,
08:49
Canopic瓷罐 jars罐子 for your organs器官,
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用於存儲你器官的卡諾卜罈罐,
08:51
communist共產 soap肥皂 that says,
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還有共產主義肥皂,上面寫:
08:53
"This is your soap肥皂 for the year."
(Laughter笑聲)
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「今年你只配發到這一塊肥皂。」
(笑聲)
08:57
Our slushy泥濘的 machine broke打破
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開張之夜,
08:59
on the opening開盤 night and
we didn't know what to do.
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我們的冰沙機出現故障,
我們當時不知所措。
09:02
Our architect建築師 was covered覆蓋 in red syrup糖漿.
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我們的建築師渾身沾滿
冰沙的紅糖水。
09:04
It looked看著 like he had just murdered謀殺 somebody,
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看起來就像剛殺了人,
09:07
which哪一個 it was not out of the question
201
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對這位特別的建築師來說,
09:08
for this particular特定 architect建築師,
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這不是不可能,
09:11
and we didn't know what to do.
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當時我們真不知道如何是好。
09:12
It was going to be the highlight突出 of our store商店.
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這都快成為我們店的頭等大事了。
09:13
So we just put that sign標誌 on it that said,
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於是我們在機器上貼上標示:
09:14
"Out of order訂購. Come back yesterday昨天."
(Laughter笑聲)
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「功能紊亂,請昨天再光顧。」
(笑聲)
09:19
And that ended結束 up being存在 a better joke玩笑 than slushiesslushies,
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這笑話後來比冰沙機本身還好笑,
09:21
so we just left it there forever永遠.
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所以我們就把標示一直貼著。
09:25
Mammoth長毛象 Chunks大塊. These things
weigh稱重, like, seven pounds英鎊 each.
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我們出售猛獁象厚片。
每罐 7 磅重。
09:29
Barbarian野蠻人 repellent驅蚊. It's full充分 of salad沙拉
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還有野人驅蟲劑,
瓶內裝滿了沙拉和百花香,
09:32
and potpourri花香 — things that barbarians野蠻人 hate討厭.
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野人最討厭這類東西。
09:36
Dead languages語言.
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還賣死掉的語言。
09:38
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:41
Leeches水蛭, nature's大自然 tiny doctors醫生.
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店內還售有水蛭,
大自然的微小醫生。
09:44
And Viking海盜 Odorant添味劑, which哪一個
comes in lots of great scents氣味:
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還有海盜香氛,有很多種刺鼻味道:
09:47
toenails腳趾甲, sweat and rotten vegetables蔬菜, pyre柴堆 ash.
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腳趾甲、汗水、
腐爛的蔬菜,以及柴堆灰。
09:51
Because we believe that Axe斧頭 Body身體 Spray噴霧
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因為我們認為
你應該在戰場上去找斧牌香體噴霧,
09:53
is something that you should
only find on the battlefield戰場,
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09:55
not under your arms武器.
(Laughter笑聲)
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而不是在你的腋下去找。
(笑聲)
09:59
And these are robot機器人 emotion情感 chips芯片,
220
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我們還出售機器人情感晶片,
10:01
so robots機器人 can feel love or fear恐懼.
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有了晶片,機器人就能
感受到愛或恐懼。
10:03
Our biggest最大 seller賣家 is Schadenfreude幸災樂禍,
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店內最暢銷產品是「幸災樂禍」,
10:05
which哪一個 we did not expect期望.
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這是我們沒有想到的。
10:06
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:07
We did not think that was going to happen發生.
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我們從未想過會如此暢銷。
10:10
But there's a nonprofit非營利性 behind背後 it,
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但這家店後面的寫作中心
是非盈利性質的,
10:12
and kids孩子 go through通過 a door
that says "Employees僱員 Only"
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孩子們進入門上貼有
「非員工勿進」標示的寫作中心,
10:14
and they end結束 up in this space空間
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然後就在這裡
10:15
where they do homework家庭作業 and write stories故事
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做功課、編故事、製作電影,
10:17
and make films影片 and this is a book release發布 party派對
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照片上的是新書發佈會,
10:20
where kids孩子 will read.
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孩子們會在這裡朗讀。
10:21
There's a quarterly季刊 that's published發表
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這裡每季度都要發行
10:23
with just writing寫作 that's doneDONE by the kids孩子
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孩子們利用每天放學後的時間
10:25
who come every一切 day after school學校,
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在這裡完成的寫作作品,
10:26
and we have release發布 parties派對
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我們還舉行發佈會,
10:27
and they eat cake蛋糕 and read for their parents父母
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孩子們一邊吃著蛋糕,
一邊把作品讀給父母聽,
10:30
and drink milk牛奶 out of champagne香檳酒 glasses眼鏡.
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還用香檳酒杯喝牛奶。
10:33
And it's a very special特別 space空間,
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這裡真的是一個很特別的地方,
10:36
because it's this weird奇怪的 space空間 in the front面前.
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完全是因為前面的那家怪異商店。
10:39
The joke玩笑 isn't a joke玩笑.
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笑話不再是笑話。
10:43
You can't find the seams接縫 on the fiction小說,
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小說裡看不出拼接的痕跡,
10:45
and I love that. It's this little bit of fiction小說
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我超愛這點。正是這種小小說
10:48
that's colonized拓殖 the real真實 world世界.
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俘獲了現實世界。
10:51
I see it as kind of a book in three dimensions尺寸.
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我覺得它有點像三維立體書。
10:55
There's a term術語 called metafiction元小說,
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有個詞叫「元小說」,
10:58
and that's just stories故事 about stories故事,
246
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即講述小說的小說,
11:02
and meta's元的 having a moment時刻 now.
247
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現在「元」的概念非常熱門。
11:03
Its last big moment時刻 was probably大概 in the 1960s
248
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上次流行的時候可能是 1960 年代,
11:05
with novelists小說家 like John約翰 Barth巴特 and William威廉 Gaddis加迪斯,
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以小說家約翰‧巴思
和威廉‧加迪斯為代表,
11:08
but it's been around.
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這個技法現在還有人在用。
11:09
It's almost幾乎 as old as storytelling評書 itself本身.
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它的歷史幾乎和講故事一樣久遠。
11:13
And one metafictivemetafictive technique技術
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其中有一個元小說技巧
11:15
is breaking破壞 the fourth第四 wall. Right?
253
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是打破第 4 堵牆。對吧?
11:17
It's when an actor演員 will turn to the audience聽眾
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舉個例子,演員面向觀眾,
11:20
and say, "I am an actor演員,
255
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說道:「我是個演員,
11:21
these are just rafters椽子."
256
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他們只是些椽木。」
11:24
And even that supposedly按說 honest誠實 moment時刻,
257
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即使是這種看似誠實的介紹,
11:26
I would argue爭論, is in service服務 of the lie謊言,
258
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在我看來,也是為了揭露謊言,
11:28
but it's supposed應該 to foreground前景 the artificiality人為
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使小說人為的虛構性
11:31
of the fiction小說.
260
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更加突出。
11:33
For me, I kind of prefer比較喜歡 the opposite對面.
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對我而言,我喜歡反其道而行之。
11:35
If I'm going to break打破 down the fourth第四 wall,
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如果我要拆除第 4 堵牆,
11:37
I want fiction小說 to escape逃逸
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我希望小說逃離
11:39
and come into the real真實 world世界.
264
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進入現實世界。
11:41
I want a book to be a secret秘密 door that opens打開
265
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我希望書籍能成為一扇秘密之門,
開啟故事王國,再進入現實世界。
11:46
and lets讓我們 the stories故事 out into reality現實.
266
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11:49
And so I try to do this in my books圖書.
267
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寫自己的書時我一直努力這樣做。
11:52
And here's這裡的 just one example.
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舉個簡單的例子。
11:53
This is the first book that I ever made製作.
269
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這是我寫的第一本書。
11:55
It's called "Billy比利 TwittersTwitter的
and his Blue藍色 Whale Problem問題."
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書名叫《比利推特和他的藍鯨問題》。
11:58
And it's about a kid孩子 who gets得到 a blue藍色 whale as a pet寵物
271
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故事講述一個小孩,
養了一條藍鯨當寵物,
12:00
but it's a punishment懲罰
272
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後果可想而知,
12:02
and it ruins廢墟 his life.
273
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毀了他整個人生。
12:04
So it's delivered交付 overnight過夜 by FedUp受夠了.
274
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所以這隻藍鯨以肥死快遞送到。
12:07
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:10
And he has to take it to school學校 with him.
276
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他還得帶藍鯨去學校。
12:12
He lives生活 in San Francisco弗朗西斯科
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他住在舊金山,
12:13
very tough強硬 city to own擁有 a blue藍色 whale in.
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這個城市能養條藍鯨很不容易。
12:15
A lot of hills丘陵, real真實 estate房地產 is at a premium額外費用.
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那裡山多,房價高。
12:20
This market's市場的 crazy, everybody每個人.
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市場簡直不可理喻,各位。
12:22
But underneath the jacket夾克 is this case案件,
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書的封套下面是這個盒子,
12:26
and that's the cover underneath the book, the jacket夾克,
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那是書下面的封面,封套,
12:30
and there's an ad廣告
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上面是一則廣告,
12:32
that offers報價 a free自由 30-day-天 risk-free沒有風險 trial審訊
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30 天免費試養藍鯨,
12:35
for a blue藍色 whale.
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當然沒有任何危險。
12:37
And you can just send發送 in a
self-addressed自我解決 stamped沖壓 envelope信封
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讀者只需寄來一個含郵資信封,
寫上自己的姓名和地址,
12:40
and we'll send發送 you a whale.
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我們將給您寄去一條藍鯨。
12:44
And kids孩子 do write in.
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還真有孩子寫信過來。
12:48
So here's這裡的 a letter. It says, "Dear people,
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這是其中的一封。
上面說道:「敬啟者,
12:52
I bet賭注 you 10 bucks雄鹿 you won't慣於 send發送 me a blue藍色 whale.
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我賭 10 美元,
你們肯定不會給我寄藍鯨。
12:55
Eliot艾略特 Gannon甘農 (age年齡 6)."
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艾略特‧甘農(6 歲)。」
12:57
(Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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(笑聲)(掌聲)
13:02
So what Eliot艾略特 and the other kids孩子
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艾略特和其他寫信給我們的孩子
13:04
who send發送 these in get back
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收到的是
13:07
is a letter in very small print打印
from a Norwegian挪威 law firm公司
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一封小號字體打印的信,
由挪威一家法律事務所寄出。
13:10
(Laughter笑聲) —
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(笑聲)
13:14
that says that due應有 to a change更改 in customs海關 laws法律,
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信上說,由於海關法修訂後,
13:17
their whale has been held保持 up in Sognefjord松恩峽灣,
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他們的藍鯨滯留在松恩峽灣,
13:19
which哪一個 is a very lovely可愛 fjord峽灣,
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挪威最美麗的峽灣之一。
13:21
and then it just kind of talks會談 about Sognefjord松恩峽灣
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信中接著聊了一會松恩峽灣
13:22
and Norwegian挪威 food餐飲 for
a little while. It digressesdigresses.
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和挪威的美食。律師也離題了。
13:25
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
13:28
But it finishes飾面 off by saying that
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信最後說道:
13:30
your whale would love to hear from you.
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「藍鯨期待收到你的回信。
13:33
He's got a phone電話 number,
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他有電話號碼,
13:35
and you can call and leave離開 him a message信息.
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歡迎你來電留言。」
13:39
And when you call and leave離開 him a message信息,
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當孩子們真的來電留言時,
13:42
you just, on the outgoing傳出 message信息,
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電話這頭的錄音
13:44
it's just whale sounds聲音 and then a beep,
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是鯨的聲音,然後是「嗶」的一聲,
13:49
which哪一個 actually其實 sounds聲音 a lot like a whale sound聲音.
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確實很像鯨的聲音。
13:52
And they get a picture圖片 of their whale too.
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他們還收到一張藍鯨的照片。
13:54
So this is Randolph蘭多夫,
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照片裡是倫道夫,
13:57
and Randolph蘭多夫 belongs屬於 to a kid孩子 named命名 Nico尼科
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倫道夫屬於一位叫尼科的小朋友,
14:00
who was one of the first kids孩子 to ever call in,
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他也是第一位打進電話的小讀者,
14:05
and I'll play you some of Nico's尼科的 message信息.
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現在我給大家放一些尼科的留言。
14:07
This is the first message信息 I ever got from Nico尼科.
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這是我收到尼科的第一條留言。
14:11
(Audio音頻) Nico尼科: Hello你好, this is Nico尼科.
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(錄音)尼科:你好!我是尼科。
14:13
I am your owner所有者, Randolph蘭多夫. Hello你好.
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我是你的主人,倫道夫。你好啊。
14:17
So this is the first time I can ever talk to you,
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嗯,這是我第一次和你聊天,
14:21
and I might威力 talk to you soon不久 another另一個 day. Bye再見.
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呃,改天我再找你聊了。拜。
14:27
Mac蘋果電腦 Barnett巴尼特: So Nico尼科 called back, like, an hour小時 later後來.
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馬克‧巴內特:然後呢,
大概過了一個小時尼科又打過來。
14:30
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:32
And here's這裡的 another另一個 one of Nico's尼科的 messages消息.
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這是尼科的另一條留言。
14:36
(Audio音頻) Nico尼科: Hello你好, Randolph蘭多夫, this is Nico尼科.
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(錄音)尼科:你好,
倫道夫,我是尼科。
14:39
I haven't沒有 talked to you for a long time,
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好久沒和你聊天了,
14:44
but I talked to you on Saturday星期六 or Sunday星期日,
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我週六還是週日找你聊過吧,
14:49
yeah, Saturday星期六 or Sunday星期日,
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沒錯,週六或週日,
14:51
so now I'm calling調用 you again
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所以我才又給你打電話了,
14:54
to say hello你好 and I wonder奇蹟 what you're doing right now,
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你好嗎,我想知道你現在幹嘛呀。
14:59
and I'm going to probably大概 call you again
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我大概會在明天或者今天
15:02
tomorrow明天 or today今天,
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再給你打電話。
15:04
so I'll talk to you later後來. Bye再見.
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到時我再跟你聊咯。拜。
15:09
MBMB: So he did, he called back that day again.
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麥克:果然,他當天又打過來了。
15:13
He's left over 25 messages消息 for Randolph蘭多夫
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他一共給倫道夫錄了25 條留言,
15:17
over four years年份.
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持續四年的時間。
15:20
You find out all about him
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你會非常了解他
15:22
and the grandma奶奶 that he loves
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和他喜愛的奶奶,
15:23
and the grandma奶奶 that
he likes喜歡 a little bit less
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他外婆呢,他比較不喜歡。
15:26
(Laughter笑聲) —
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(笑聲)
15:28
and the crossword填字遊戲 puzzles謎題 that he does,
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還有,知道他做的填字遊戲。
15:30
and this is — I'll play you one
more message信息 from Nico尼科.
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讓我們聽聽另一則尼科的留言。
15:34
This is the Christmas聖誕 message信息 from Nico尼科.
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這是尼科的聖誕留言。
15:37
[Beep] (Audio音頻) Nico尼科: Hello你好, Randolph蘭多夫,
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[嗶](錄音)尼科:你好,倫道夫,
15:40
sorry I haven't沒有 talked to you in a long time.
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對不起,我好久沒有和你聊天了。
15:43
It's just that I've been so busy
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主要是我一直很忙,
15:46
because school學校 started開始,
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因為開學了,
15:48
as you might威力 not know, probably大概,
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你可能不明白,也許吧,
15:51
since以來 you're a whale, you don't know,
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畢竟你是鯨魚,自然不知道了。
15:55
and I'm calling調用 you to just say,
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我打電話給你,是想說,
16:00
to wish希望 you a merry快活 Christmas聖誕.
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想祝你聖誕快樂。
16:04
So have a nice不錯 Christmas聖誕,
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聖誕快樂啊,
16:08
and bye-bye再見, Randolph蘭多夫. Goodbye再見.
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拜拜,倫道夫。拜拜。
16:15
MBMB: I actually其實 got Nico尼科,
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麥克:我實際上發現尼科
16:17
I hadn't有沒有 heard聽說 from in 18 months個月,
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已經 18 個月沒有捎來消息。
16:20
and he just left a message信息 two days ago.
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不過就在兩天前,他留言了。
16:24
His voice語音 is completely全然 different不同,
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他的聲音變化很大,
16:26
but he put his babysitter保姆 on the phone電話,
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他也讓保姆講電話,
16:30
and she was very nice不錯 to Randolph蘭多夫 as well.
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她對倫道夫也很好。
16:34
But Nico's尼科的 the best最好 reader讀者 I could hope希望 for.
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實際上,我覺得尼科是最好的讀者。
16:38
I would want anyone任何人 I was writing寫作 for
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我希望我的每位讀者
16:42
to be in that place地點 emotionally感情上
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都能用心感受
16:44
with the things that I create創建.
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我創造的東西。
16:46
I feel lucky幸運. Kids童裝 like Nico尼科 are the best最好 readers讀者,
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我覺得很幸運。
像尼科這樣的小朋友是最好的讀者,
16:50
and they deserve值得 the best最好 stories故事 we can give them.
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他們值得我們給他們創作最好的故事。
16:53
Thank you very much.
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謝謝各位。
16:56
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Fred Lee
Reviewed by Regina Chu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mac Barnett - Children's book author
Mac Barnett is a bestselling author of books for children.

Why you should listen

Mac Barnett is the author of fifteen books for children. He was the executive director of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center, and founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers. In this talk about creativity and wonder, he explains why kids are the ideal readers of literary fiction -- and what adults can learn from them about imagination and the willing suspension of disbelief.

More profile about the speaker
Mac Barnett | Speaker | TED.com