Good morning, and welcome to Oniton Hall, one of the largest estates in the area.

早上好，欢迎来到奥尼顿庄园，本地区最大的庄园之一。

My name's Nick, and I'm one of the guides.

我叫尼克，是导游团队中的一员。

I'll give you a brief introduction to the estate while you're sitting down, and then we'll walk round.

趁着大家坐下休息的时候，我给大家简要介绍一下庄园，之后我们再出发。

The estate consists of the house, gardens, parkland and farm, and it dates back to the fourteenth century.

本庄园内有房屋、花园、公园和农场，建造时间可追溯到14世纪。

The original house was replaced in the late seventeenth century, and of course it has had a large number of owners.

在17世纪末原来的房子被拆掉了，当然这个庄园也被卖过很多次，有过很多主人。

Almost all of them have left their mark, generally by adding new rooms, like the ballroom and conservatory, or by demolishing others.

几乎每一任主人都在这些建筑中留下了自己的印记，大多是增加了新的房间，比如舞厅和暖房，也有的拆除了一些房间。

The farm looks much as it's always done, although the current owner has done a great deal of work to the flower beds.

尽管现在的主人将花坛大大地整修了一番，农场看起来和以前基本一样。

In the seventeenth century, the estate was owned by a very wealthy man called Sir Edward Downes.

在17世纪，这片地产属于爱德华·唐斯爵士，他非常富有。

His intention was to escape from the world of politics, after years as an active politician, and to build a new house worthy of his big collection of books, paintings and sculptures.

多年以来他都是一名活跃的政治家。但是后来他想要远离政治世界，并建造一座能配得上他收藏的大量书籍、绘画和雕塑的新房子。

He broke off contact with his former political allies, and hosted meetings of creative and literary people, like painters and poets.

他中断了与前政治盟友的联系，去主持画家和诗人参加的创作者和文学家的聚会。

Unusually for his time, he didn't care whether his guests were rich or poor, as long as they had talent.

和他那个时代的风气不同的是，他不在乎客人是富是穷，只要他们有才华就行。

Big houses like Oniton had dozens of servants until the 1920s or 30s, and we've tried to show what their working lives were like.

在20世纪二三十年代之前，像奥尼顿这样的大房子有几十个仆人。我们试图展示他们的工作和生活是什么样子。

Photographs of course don't give much of an idea, so instead, as you go round the house, you'll see volunteers dressed up as nineteenth-century servants, going about their work.

当然，照片并不能说明什么，所以当你在房子里走动时，你会看到志愿者们打扮成19世纪的仆人，忙着他们的手头工作。

They'll explain what they're doing, and tell you their recipes, or what tools they're using.

他们会解释自己在做什么，告诉你他们的食谱，或者他们在使用什么工具。

We've just introduced this feature to replace the audio guide we used to have available.

我们刚刚推出了这种设计，来取代我们以前提供的音频指南。

I see there are a number of children here with you today.

今天我看到和大家一起来的还有不少孩子。

Well, we have several activities specially for children, like dressing up in the sorts of clothes that children wore in the past, and as it's a fine day, some of you will probably want to play in the adventure playground.

嗯，我们专门为孩子们准备了一些活动，比如穿上过去儿童穿的服装。今天天气晴朗，在场的一些人可能会想去冒险游乐场玩。

Our latest addition is child-sized tractors, that you can drive around the grounds.

我们最新增加的是适合儿童开的拖拉机，孩子们可以在地面上驾驶。