by Anne Hull
LETTER FROM PLANT CITY, FLORIDA about the 2008 Strawberry Queen and the Plant City Strawberry Festival. One Sunday last February, a young woman named Kristen Smith drove along a two-lane country road in Plant City, Florida—the winter strawberry capital of the world—with a large gold crown on the seat beside her. Kristen, aged nineteen, was two weeks into her reign as the 2008 Strawberry Queen. She was not a regular on the beauty-pageant circuit. She drove a pickup truck, attended a Christian college, worked part-time as a waitress, and wanted to spend the rest of her life in Plant City, raising a family. Kristen was just what Plant City was looking for in these modern times. The life that the town celebrated was vanishing, acre by acre. The coronation of a Strawberry Queen had come to seem almost an act of defiance. The moment the queen and her court—Shaunie Surrency, Britney Balliet, Jackie Raulerson, and Amanda Sparkman—were announced, the town laid gifts at their feet, ranging from free tanning sessions to scholarship money. Each girl signed a contract agreeing to good morals and good behavior. Pregnancy or marriage was grounds for dismissal. Kristen lived with her parents, ten miles out in the country, but once she became Strawberry Queen she moved in with cosmetologist Nancy Rupp, who helped her style her hair early each morning. In 2001, a woman named Sandee Sytsma took over coördination of the Strawberry Queen program. She increased the program budget to $20,000, and brought in hair and makeup stylists. Sytsma made no secret of her agenda: she wanted young ladies who could represent small-town values circa 1958. Describes the girls’ visit to a radio station in Tampa. The writer visited the expo hall on the fairgrounds that housed the Parade of Queens exhibit, a room filled with framed photographs of past Strawberry Queens and Courts. Mentions Essie Cecille Dixon and Ilene Chavez. Around lunchtime on the Strawberry Festival parade day, the girls got on their float. Thousands of spectators stood along the old brick streets of downtown. Mentions Amanda Sparkman’s Latino heritage. Describes the Festival, where on a good day fifty thousand visitors came through the turnstile. Mentions Blake Shelton, Tom Jones, and stunt rider Austin Coleman. Describes an auction held in the steer tent on the last Saturday night of the festival. On Sunday afternoon, the festival’s final day, Sugarland was playing a concert at three-thirty. The 2008 queen and court were in the front row, looking untouchably glamorous in the last few hours of their eminence.
译文:
草莓女孩【纽约客】
原文作者：Anne Hull
来自佛罗里达Plant市2008草莓皇后和Plant市草莓节的消息。去年2月的一个星期天，一个叫Kristen Smith年轻女子沿着这座冬季草莓之都－－佛罗里达Plant市的一条双车道乡村的道路上开着车，副驾驶座上放着一个超大的金冠。19岁的Kristen这两周沉浸于获得2008年草莓皇后桂冠的喜悦中。她跟其他参加选美活动的女孩不一样。她过去开一辆皮卡，进的是一所教会大学，做过兼职服务生，过去希望在植物城有一个家在这里过一辈子。Kristen正是现代Plant城所期待的。这座小镇庆祝的气氛一点点的在消退，而草莓皇后的加冕礼像是对这种慢慢淡化的气氛的掀起了挑战。此时，选美皇后和其他佳丽们－－Shaunie Surrency, Britney Balliet, Jackie Raulerson和Amanda Sparkman得到了很多小镇给她们提供的礼物，从免费的晒黑美容到奖学金，行行色色。每个女孩都签下合约保证她们会保持良好的品行。另外，结婚或者怀孕了都会导致被开除。以前，Kristen和她父母住在10英里之外乡下，但她刚当选为草莓皇后她就搬到镇上和每天一大早帮她打理发型的化妆师Nancy Rupp住在一起了。2001年，一个名叫Sandee Sytsma的女士开始负责草莓皇后选美比赛的协调工作。她将这一选美的预算提高到2万美金，并且把发型和化妆设计师引入进来。Sytsma将她的议程公开化：她说希望这些年轻的女士能够体现小镇1958年左右的价值观。文章描述了女孩们的坦帕①某电台之行。笔者参观过位于举行过草莓皇后们展品游行的露天市场上的展览会，展览会上的一个房间摆满了过去的草莓皇后和草莓佳丽们的嵌入像框的照片。文章有提及Essie Cecille Dixon和Ilene Chavez②。草莓节游行日当天，大约在午饭时间，众佳丽们登上了彩车。此时，市区老旧的铺砖的街道上有几千名观众。文章也提及Amanda Sparkman的拉丁美洲传统。文章描述了，在这个美好的节日，约5万游客穿过这个十字转门。文章还提及Blake Shelton③, Tom Jones④, 以及水平高超的的特技单车手Austin Coleman。还描述了草莓节前一星期六晚上在帐篷里举行的一次拍卖会。星期天下午，草莓节的最后一天，Sugarland在星期天下午的3点半举行了一次音乐会。2008年的草莓皇后和众佳丽们站在前排，在她们的最后几个小时的耀眼的时刻看着那些不可及的魅力。
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