美国最古老的宠物墓地是数千只宠物的最终安息之地
📖 逐句对照翻译
On most days, Mark Lindenberg either drives or walks over to visit with Boots, his beloved cat who died in 2020 at 17 years old.
大多数日子里，马克·林登伯格要么开车，要么步行去看望他心爱的猫布茨。布茨于2020年去世，享年17岁。
The New York man had the animal buried at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, a burial place on small grassy hills near the main road.
这位纽约男子将这只动物安葬在哈茨代尔宠物公墓，那是一处位于主干道附近、绿草如茵的小山丘上的墓地。
The words on Boots’ tombstone read, “You taught me how to love and be loved.”
布茨的墓碑上写着：“你教会了我如何去爱，以及如何被爱。”
Other tombstones include phrases such as “A truer friend we never had” and “Our beloved queen.”
其他墓碑上还刻有“我们从未有过更真诚的朋友”和“我们敬爱的女王”等语句。
“Human cemeteries are sad,” Lindenberg said.
林登伯格说：“人类的墓地令人悲伤。”
“This is one of the most cheerful places.”
这是最令人愉快的地方之一。
He added, “I can't think of a better place.”
他补充道：“我想不出还有比这更好的地方了。”
Hartsdale is America’s oldest pet cemetery in operation.
哈茨代尔是美国仍在运营的最古老宠物公墓。
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
它于2012年被列入国家史迹名录。
Lindenberg says he paid about $7,000 to bury Boots at Hartsdale.
林登伯格说，他花了大约7000美元将布茨安葬在哈茨代尔。
Those costs cover the individual site, burial, burial container, tombstone, and grounds care.
这些费用涵盖单个墓地、埋葬、埋葬容器、墓碑和场地维护。
“What have I worked for if I'm not going to do the things that matter most, and this mattered most,” Lindenberg said.
林登伯格说：“如果我不去做最重要的事情，那我一直在为什么而努力呢？而这件事就是最重要的。”
“I got instant closure the day I decided I was going to bury her here.”
我决定把她安葬在这里的那天，我就立刻释怀了。
Pet burials started in Hartsdale in 1896 when animal doctor Samuel Johnson let a woman bury her dog on his property of apple trees.
宠物墓葬始于1896年的哈茨代尔，当时兽医塞缪尔·约翰逊允许一位女士将她的狗埋葬在他的苹果园里。
The place is about 30 kilometers north of New York City.
这个地方在纽约市以北大约30公里处。
Since that time, about 70,000 animals have been laid to rest in the two-hectare cemetery.
自那时起，已有大约7万只动物安息在这个占地两公顷的墓地里。
Most of the pets buried at Hartsdale are cats and dogs, but several other kinds of animals are also there.
哈茨代尔公墓里埋葬的宠物大多是猫和狗，但也有一些其他种类的动物。
“There's reptiles that are buried here. Mice,” said Edward Martin III, vice president of the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.
“这里埋葬着爬行动物。还有老鼠，”哈茨代尔宠物公墓的副总裁爱德华·马丁三世说道。
“There's a lion cub that was buried here in 1912 by a Russian princess. There's the ashes of Ming, who's a Bengal tiger that was buried here a few years ago. There are some monkeys.”
“这里埋葬着一只1912年由一位俄罗斯公主掩埋的幼狮。还有几只孟加拉虎明的骨灰，它是几年前埋葬在这里的。还有一些猴子。”
There is also Hudson the horse, some birds and singer Mariah Carey’s cat, Clarence.
还有马哈德森、一些鸟儿，以及歌手玛丽亚·凯莉的猫克拉伦斯。
The oldest headstone, dating to 1898, remembers the life of a dog named Blague.
最古老的墓碑可追溯至1898年，纪念一只名叫布拉格的狗的一生。
Martin operates the place with his father Edward Martin Jr., who purchased the cemetery in 1974.
马丁和他的父亲小爱德华·马丁共同经营着这个地方，后者于1974年买下了这座公墓。
The younger Martin is a lawyer and accountant who decided later in his career to help run the cemetery.
年轻的马丁是一名律师兼会计师，他在职业生涯后期决定帮忙管理这座公墓。
He had worked there also as a teenager.
他十几岁时也在那里工作过。
“I've seen what people go through, and they lose their pets, and I feel like I'm in a good position where I can help them,” he said.
他说：“我见过人们经历这些，他们失去了自己的宠物，我觉得自己处于一个能够帮助他们的有利位置。”
“And I have helped them, and it makes me want to continue helping them.”
我帮助了他们，这让我想要继续帮助他们。
Between 250 and 300 burials take place at Hartsdale each year.
每年在哈茨代尔举行250到300场葬礼。
The cemetery never runs out of space because not all of the burial sites are permanent.
墓地永远不会没有空间，因为并非所有墓穴都是永久性的。
People can make a one-time forever maintenance payment of $3,500 or a yearly payment of $105.
人们可以一次性支付3500美元的永久维护费，或者每年支付105美元。
If the yearly payments stop, that gravesite is offered for sale.
如果年度付款停止，那个墓地就会被出售。
“The pet in the grave will be removed from that plot so someone else who wants it can pay the maintenance. And the pets are taken out, and they're cremated, and they don't leave the cemetery,” said Martin Jr., Hartsdale’s president.
哈茨代尔公墓总裁小马丁表示：“墓穴中的宠物将被迁出该墓地，以便其他想要这块墓地的人支付维护费。宠物会被取出并火化，不会离开公墓。”
“Their remains are scattered over the cemetery grass.”
他们的遗骸散落在墓地的草地上。
A centerpiece at the cemetery is the war dog memorial at the top of a hill.
公墓的核心景观是山顶上的战犬纪念碑。
Established in 1923, the memorial honored World War I service dogs.
该纪念碑建于1923年，旨在纪念第一次世界大战中的服役犬。
But these days, the memorial honors service dogs of all kinds.
但如今，这座纪念碑纪念的是各类服务犬。
Although Hartsdale is mostly a resting place for animals, the cremated remains of about 800 humans are buried here with their pets.
尽管哈茨代尔主要是动物的安息之地，但这里也安葬着约800名人类的骨灰，与他们的宠物相伴长眠。
There is a Martin family plot, where the elder Martin plans to be laid to rest when he dies.
有一块马丁家族的墓地，老马丁打算死后安葬在那里。
“I have to be buried somewhere. And why would I go to any place other than this?” he said.
“我总得葬在某个地方。除了这里，我还能去哪儿呢？”他说。
“My mother and father, and my mother-in-law or father-in-law are buried here, and so, that's a good reason by itself to do it.”
我的母亲和父亲，以及我的岳母或岳父都安葬在这里，所以，这本身就是做这件事的一个充分理由。
Lindenberg also likes the idea.
林登贝格也喜欢这个主意。
He has already prepared to be cremated and buried alongside Boots when the time comes.
他已经准备好，到时候与布茨一同火化并合葬。
“I'm single. I don't know if I'll ever get married, and I can't think of a better place,” he said.
“我单身。我不知道自己会不会结婚，也想不出还有比这更好的地方了，”他说。
“I lived with my cat every day for almost 17 years. Why stop now?”
我和我的猫几乎朝夕相处了17年。为什么要现在停止呢？
In the meantime, Lindenberg, who lives a 10-minute walk away, will continue to visit his old friend almost daily.
与此同时，步行十分钟即可到达的林登伯格将继续几乎每天探望他的老朋友。
I’m Caty Weaver.
我是凯蒂·韦弗。
Dora Mekouar reported this story for VOA News.
多拉·梅库阿尔为美国之音新闻频道报道了这则新闻。
Caty Weaver adapted the story for Learning English.
卡蒂·韦弗为《学英语》改编了这个故事。
