|
A donation that the Twins Days festival is getting from the estate of two frugal bachelor farmers is enough to make some people do a double-take (1): as much as $5 million.
John and William Reiff, once recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most identical twins, left most of their estate to the festival in Twinsburg (2), about 15 miles southeast of Cleveland. John Reiff died in 2005 and William five years earlier, but only recently have plans to develop part of the twins' suburban Philadelphia farm been worked out.
With the land deal expected to be completed this year, about $4 million to $5 million will go to the festival, according to a lawyer for the Twins Days Festival Committee. The festival committee intends to invest the money to help pay for operating costs (3).
The Reiffs, who attended their first Twins Days festival in the late 1970s, always dressed alike, talked alike and enjoyed dating other twins. The wiry, bespectacled pair won many "most identical" competitions over the years.
The annual Twins Days festival, a three-day event that begins Aug. 3 this year, attracts about 3,000 sets of twins, triplets (4) and quadruplets (5) and features contests such as those for the most alike and least alike twins. Over the years, it also has attracted scientists interested in genetic research.
Between trips to Twinsburg and to other twin events, the Reiffs lived frugally (6) on a 154-acre farm that had been in the family for three generations. It was no model of agriculture. A wood stove heated the house, and a 20-cow herd barely supported the dairy.
Before his death in 2005, John Reiff cut a deal with a development group that planned to use the farm, a rare piece of undeveloped land near Philadelphia, for residential housing.
Neighbors sued, but local officials, the developer and residents have finally agreed on a plan to build six houses and a park on the site, and 40 houses elsewhere.
The Reiff brothers, who never married, gave most of their fortune to the Twins Days festival but also left $250,000 to four churches. None of their four living sisters was named in their will.
1. do a double-take: 惊奇地再看一眼
2. Twinsburg: 美国俄亥俄州小镇———特温斯堡“特温斯堡”的英文名是Twinsburg，其实也就是“双胞胎城堡”的意思。从1976年起，这里每年8月都要举行一次双胞胎节。
3. operating costs: 生产费用,营业成本
|
|
|
两位简朴的单身农夫向双胞胎日捐赠了价值5百万美元的资产，足以让人们为之惊讶。
约翰雷夫和威廉雷夫曾经被吉尼斯世界纪录认为是世界上长得最像的双胞胎。他们把自己大多数的资产都赠给了特温斯堡市的双胞胎节日，即在克里夫兰东南部的15英里地。约翰于2005年去世，而威廉比约翰早去世5年。然而，直到最近，对这对双胞胎兄弟在费城城郊的农场的开发计划才得以实现。
据一位双胞胎节日委员会的律师称，随着这项土地交易在今年的完成，双胞胎节日将获得4到5百万美元。节日委员会打算将这笔钱用于支付其运营成本。
雷夫兄弟俩第一次参加双胞胎节日是在70年代末。他们总是穿同样的衣服，用同样的方式讲话，喜欢和另外的双胞胎姐妹约会。多年来，这对瘦但结实的双胞胎兄弟参加了很多“最相像”比赛并获奖。
双胞胎节日每年都会举办一次，一共持续三天。今年是在8月3日举行的，吸引了有3000对双胞胎、三胞胎和四胞胎的参与，举办了长得最像和最不像之类的比赛。很多年来，这项活动同样也吸引了那些对基因研究感兴趣的科学家们。
在往返于参加特温斯堡市和其他双胞胎活动之外，雷夫兄弟在一块154英亩的农场上过着俭朴的生活。这个家族有三代人在这块农场上生活过。这里不是模范的农场。整个屋子靠一个木制火炉取暖，20头牛勉强维持产奶。
一个开发商原本打算在这块费城附近的稀有的未开发土地上修建住房，但约翰雷夫在2005年去世以前和该公司缔结了土地交易。
邻居们起诉了他，但到最后，当地政府、开发商和居民还是达成一致，计划就在那修建6座房子和一个公园，然后在别的地再修40 座房子。
雷夫兄弟一生未婚，并把他们大多数财产都捐给了双胞胎节日，把另外的25万美元赠与了4座教堂。在遗嘱里，他们根本没有提及四个还健在的姐妹。
|
| 中国国际广播电台 译 |
|
4. triplets: 三胎
5. quadruplets: 四胞胎
6. frugally: 节约地, 节省地
| |
About Us 
