“蜗居”：40美元有家可归

An Oakland artist is ingeniously battling homelessness in Oakland, California: he builds small houses out of materials he can find in the streets, with each edifice costing around forty bucks.
在加州奥克兰，一位当地的艺术家巧妙地解决人们无“家”可归的问题：他利用在街上能捡到的材料来建造小房子，每所仅花费约40美元。

The tiny homes are made of pallets, bed boards, washing machine doors, and other bizarre objects that catch Greg Kloehn’s attention. Mr Kloehn first noticed that homeless people built shelters from whatever they find in the street, and he wanted to make a house like this.
这些小房子是由运货板、床板、洗衣机门和各种能入他法眼的千奇百怪的东西组成的。建造者克勒恩先生的灵感来源于看到那些无家可归的人从街上捡东西来搭建避难所，他也想自己造一个这样的房子。

He jokes that he constructs "illegal homes out of illegal garbage." The cost of one house is “$30 to $40,”Kloehn told RT.
他开玩笑地说，他是用“非法垃圾”搭建“非法房屋”，一所房子的建造成本是30到40美元。

“The real cost is just in the wheels: I buy large casters for the bottom, so that they are mobile, and then nails, and screws, and paintbrushes. But everything else I get for free,” he said.
“主要开销在于轮子：我买了一些大脚轮用在房子底部，这样房子就可以移动。还买了些铁钉，螺丝和漆刷，其他材料都不花钱，”他说。

The houses are just comfortable enough to lie down in a warmer place than a cardboard box, and the homeless in Oakland are “so happy,” Kloehn told the Independent. "One cried and got on his knees to thank me. They think I should make them bigger and suggest improvements. They like to decorate them themselves.”
克勒恩告诉《独立报》，只要把这些房子放在温暖的地方，睡在里面就比睡在纸板箱里舒服多了。奥克兰无家可归的人都“很高兴”。“有人激动落泪还跪下来感谢我。他们给我提了很多建议，比如说把房子做大一点。他们喜欢自己动手装饰这些房子。”

Currently, about 25 people use the homes. One couple’s home burned down, another one was stolen, and a third was sold.
到目前为止，大约有25个人在使用这种房子。有一对夫妇的房子被烧毁了，另外一个人的房子被偷了，还有一个人的房子被卖掉了。

“It is tough out there. So I keep making more," Kloehn said. It takes about a week to finish a house, depending on the style.
“人们无家可归的情况还是不容乐观，所以我要造更多的房子，”克勒恩说。造一个房子大概需要一周的时间，具体也视乎房子风格而定。

“There are some quick, easy homes in maybe two or three days. But some more elaborate ones, some more Victorian-style ones, some different dome shapes – it takes a little bit longer," he told RT.
他说：“也有一些能在两三天内就快速搭建的简易房子。但如果想建一些更精致的，一些维多利亚风格的，或者一些与众不同的圆顶屋，则需要长一点的时间。”

Some people choose to change their homes, Kloehn said to RT. “One guy remodeled the house and made it twice as big!”
有一些人会改造他们的房子，克勒恩说：“有一个人重建了他的房子，改造到原来的两倍之大。”

The creator chooses funny names for the homes: R2D2, The Settler, Romanian Farm House, Uni-bomber Shack, the Tank and The Chuck Wagon to name a few.
他还为这些房子起了一些有意思的名字，比如：R2D2、定居者、罗马尼亚农场、单向轰炸棚、坦克和卡盘等等。

“They are not just homes but fast becoming a life style option. They are usually cheaper than regular homes, giving more people the opportunity of ownership,” he said.
“这些不仅仅是房子，这也逐渐成为一种生活方式的选择。这些房子通常比普通房子便宜，这能够让更多的人有机会拥有房产。”他说。

"By skipping the traditional 30 years mortgage, perhaps the tiny home movement could even reshape the way we think about work and what we want to accomplish with our lives." ”
‘蜗居’小房不像传统意义上的房子，不需要30年的抵押，这种住房新风潮或许能够重塑人们对工作的思考和对人生的追求。”

Vocabulary

ingeniously：独创地，有见识地

pallet：运货板

elaborate：精心制作的

（译者：李瑞玲SCNU 编辑：马文英）