实用英语阅读：比尔·盖茨豪宅的八大秘密
With a net worth of $83.9 billion, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates is the richest man in America.
It shouldn't be too surprising that one of the wealthiest people in the world also has an insanely extravagant home.
世界首富的豪宅令人瞠目已经不是什么新鲜事，但人们依然会好奇839亿美元身价的比尔盖茨会住什么样的房子？
It took Gates seven years and $63 million to build his Medina, Washington estate, named "Xanadu 2.0" after the fictional home of Charles Foster Kane, the title character of "Citizen Kane."
At 66,000 square feet, the home is absolutely massive, and it's filled with high-tech details.
BI网站近日曝光了盖茨位于西雅图的华盛顿湖畔的豪宅的不少秘密。这栋豪宅起名为“世外桃源2.0”，取自《公民凯恩》影片里的科技房屋，占地66000平方英尺，建设耗时七年之久，耗资6300万美元，高科技细节随处可见。
1. It's worth at least $124 million today.
价值1.24亿美元
According to the king county public assessor's office, the property is worth $124.99 million as of this year. Gates purchased the lot for $2 million in 1988.
Per public filings, he paid $1,080,443.17 in property taxes in 2016.
根据国王县公共估价办公室提供的数据，截止今年这栋豪宅价值1.2499亿美元。1988年盖茨夫妇买下这套房产时只花了200万美元。公共资料显示，仅2016年他就支付了108.044317万房产税。
2. A high-tech sensor system helps guests monitor a room's climate and lighting.
监测室内气温和灯光的高科技感应系统
When guests arrive, they're given a pin that interacts with sensors located all over the house. Guests enter their temperature and lighting preferences so that the settings change as they move throughout the home. Speakers hidden behind wallpaper allows music to follow you from room to room.
访客到来时被发给一个小别针，用来跟房间内的传感器进行交互。客人们可以输入自己喜欢的温度和照明，当他们在房屋内走动时，温度和照明就会自动变化。房间壁纸后面还隐藏着扬声器，不管客人走到哪个房间都可以听到音乐。
3. The house uses its natural surroundings to reduce heat loss.
利用自然环境来减少热量流失
Xanadu 2.0 is an "earth-sheltered" house, meaning that it's built into its surroundings to regulate temperature more efficiently.
“世外桃源2.0”是一栋生态屋，意思是说这栋豪宅是基于周边自然环境建造的，因而可以更有效的调节温度。
4. You can change the artwork on the walls with just the touch of a button.
按键即换艺术品
$80,000 worth of computer screens are situated around the house. Anyone can make the screens display their favorite paintings or photographs, which are stored on storage devices worth $150,000.
这栋豪宅里安装了很多电脑屏幕，价值高达80000美元。任何人都可以让屏幕显示的是他们自己喜欢的画作或照片。这些画作或照片存储在价值15万美元的存储设备里。
5. The pool also has its own underwater music system.
有水下音乐系统的泳池
The 60-foot pool is located in its own separate, 3,900-square-foot building. People in the pool could swim underneath a glass wall to come up to a terrace area on the outside.
这个巨大的泳池，60英尺深，属于豪宅内另外一栋褐色的建筑。你还可以从玻璃墙底下游到外面的阳台部分。
6. An enormous library houses a manuscript Gates paid more than $30 million for.
3000多万美元的手稿
The 2,100-square-foot library has a domed roof and two secret bookcases, including one that reveals a hidden bar. On the ceiling you'll find a quote from "The Great Gatsby" that reads: "He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
The library is home to the Codex Leicester, a 16-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that Gates bought at auction for $30.8 million in 1994.
在豪宅内有栋占地2100平方英尺的图书馆，这个图书馆有一个圆顶屋顶和两个隐藏式书柜，其中一个书柜还是一个隐藏式酒吧。抬头往天花板看，你可以看到一句来自《了不起的盖茨比》里的话：“当一个人奋斗了很久，看到梦想如此之近，他是不会轻易放弃的。”盖茨把莱昂纳多•达•芬奇的莱斯特手稿(Codex Leicester)也放在了图书馆内。该手稿是盖茨1994年在一次拍卖会上以3080万美元价格拍下的。
7. Gates has a favorite tree, and it's monitored electronically 24 hours a day.
受宠的枫树
He reportedly became fond of a 40-year-old maple tree that grew close to the home's driveway. It's monitored by computer, and if at any point it becomes too dry, water is automatically pumped into it.
据说，盖茨对豪宅车道旁一棵树龄高达40年的枫树宠爱有加。对于这棵树，盖茨可谓是悉心照顾，24小时计算机监控。无论什么时候只要环境过于干燥，就就水滴下来自动给树浇灌。
8. Someone once paid $35,000 just to tour it.
3.5万美元的参观券
Microsoft holds an auction each year, where employees donate products and services to be bid on. Proceeds go to the company's charitable fund.
Gates has donated private tours of Xanadu 2.0 in the past. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, a Microsoft employee once won the tour with a bid of $35,000.
微软每年都会举行拍卖会，员工可以捐献产品或者服务来进行拍卖，钱最后都会捐赠给公司旗下的慈善基金会。盖茨本人也捐赠过“世外桃源2.0”私人游的机会。根据西雅图《普吉特海湾商业杂志》的报道，微软一名员工曾以3.5万美元的价格赢得了参观机会。
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