A: It’s funny how old objects carry certain meanings. I passed a junk store in Tainan some time ago. There was a lot of old, random stuff stacked outside.
B: Were they selling it? Are you sure somebody hadn’t just dumped a lot of unwanted possessions on the sidewalk?
A: It was difficult to tell. I remember there was a portrait of an elderly gentleman. That might have meant something to somebody, but it was hardly a work of art. Why would anyone buy a portrait of a stranger?
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times 照片:台北時報古德謙
B: I think I guessed right. It must have been somebody’s discarded belongings.
A: And there was an old bicycle with flat tires and the chain hanging off. I suppose you could buy that and repair it as a kind of personal project.
A: 老東西有某種特定意義,這好奇妙。我前陣子在台南經過一家舊貨店,裡面堆了好多老舊的、各式各樣的東西。
B: 這是要賣的嗎?你確定不是有人把一大堆不要的東西丟在人行道上?
A: 這很難說。我記得其中有一張老人的畫像。這畫像可能對某人來說有意義,但是幾乎稱不上是藝術。不會有人要買一張陌生人的畫像吧?
B: 我想我猜得沒錯,這一定是人家要丟掉的東西。
A: 那邊還有一輛輪胎沒氣、鉸鏈掉下來的腳踏車。我想你可以把它買下來、修理一下,把它當做 自己的一項工程。
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times/台北時報林俐凱譯)
English 英文:
Chinese 中文:
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