Billionaire Toys

Billionaire Toys

Bruce Zaccagnino might look like a grown-up, but he’s really a kid at heart, and toy trains have been his passion since he was a kid. Bruce is a software developer, who’s made millions. And that’s just what it took to build this 1)extravagant 1 2)monument to a child’s fantasy...nine million dollars, to be exact. That’s more than a million per mile of track. Yes, that means there’s nearly nine miles of track here. It’s all part of Bruce’s belief that size does matter, at least when it comes to toy trains. And the secret is, they don’t come any bigger than this. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Bruce’s personal play set, known as Northlands, is the world’s largest model railway. 

Bruce: Welcome to Northlands.

Visitor: Thank you.

Northlands is Bruce’s creation. It’s hidden just an hour outside of New York City, in the New Jersey 2 suburbs. 

Bruce: People 3)liken us to Disney World. We’ve had tens of thousands that will call us a wonder of the world. 

…Passion, love and 4)enthusiasm...

In 1996, he went public with his railway collection. Over 1500 people a week now 5)pilgrimage to this miniature 6)mecca.  7)Rod Stewart has been here. So has 8)Patricia Arquette. Even the most 9)skeptical 3 10)gawkers are 11)overwhelmed. 

Train Enthusiast 4: If you look at something of this 12)magnitude, and I mean you...you can’t even 13)comprehend the hours that must have gone into construction. This is unbelievable and so huge. 

Bruce: We have about 40,000 feet of track, that the trains run on all throughout the complex.

In case you’re wondering, 40,000 feet is equal to more than half the length of Manhattan. And here’s another secret. Bruce’s homemade mountain range is taller than a three story building. It takes the space the size of a football field to hold all these trees, tracks and trains. Uncovering every mysterious corner of this 52,000 square foot building can take hours. And don’t forget your 14)sneakers, because to see it all, is over a mile’s worth of walking. 

Going deeper into Northlands is a little like time travel. A Civil War battle rages only inches from a 15)sprawling 5 16)metropolis 6. There’s more than 115 trains 17)chugging through this landscape of abandoned mining towns, 18)industrial complexes, farms, and fast food outlets 7. 

So where did this 19)eccentric billionaire get the 20)props for his 21)wacky rail world? 

Bruce: Ninety-five percent of this is my work. All the design is my work. I designed it, and that’s basically it. Even though it looks complete, there’s fifteen years of work ahead of me yet.

Make that fifteen years and another four million dollars.  But that doesn’t concern this overgrown kid, who doesn’t believe in pinching pennies when it comes to the thing he loves most.

Bruce: The 22)essence to a good life is to give, and, you know, give of your talents. I’m able to do this. You’ve got to give it to the world. The bottom line is to 23)tweak the mind, inspire the mind, uh...and to entertain.

注释：

1) extravagant [ik5strAvE^Ent] a. 奢侈的

2) monument [5mRnjumEnt] n. 杰出的典范；纪念碑

3) liken [5laikEn] v. 把……比作

4) enthusiasm [in5Wju:ziAzm] n. 热情, 狂热

5) pilgrimage [5pil^rimidV] v. 朝拜, 朝圣

6) mecca [5mekE] n. 众人渴望去的地方

7)Rod Stewart 洛·史都华，英伦摇滚巨星，有“摇滚铁公鸡”的称号。

8)Patricia Arquette 帕特里夏·阿奎特，出生于演员世家的好莱坞女影星，尼古斯·凯奇的第一任妻子。

9) skeptical [5skeptikl] a. 好怀疑的，持怀疑态度的

10) gawker [5^C:kE] n. 伸长脖子呆看的人

11) overwhelm [EuvE5welm] v. 压倒；压服

12) magnitude [5mA^nitju:d] n. 大小，量值

13) comprehend [kRmpri5hend] v. 理解；领会

14) sneaker [5sni:kE] n. 胶底运动鞋

15) sprawling [sprC:liN] a. 肆意扩张的

16) metropolis [mi5trRpElis] n. 大都会

17) chug [tFQ^] v. [拟]轧轧地响

18) industrial complex 大工业中心

19) eccentric [ik5sentrik] a. 古怪的；偏执的

20) prop 8 [5prCp] n. 小道具

21) wacky [5wAki] a. <美俚>古怪的；反常的

22) essence [5esns] n. 精髓；要素

23) tweak [twi:k] v. 拧；<俚>（汽车比赛时）把发动机马力开足，这里喻意开拓思维