A House for a King‏

There is a house in Memphis, Tennessee that gets over 600,000 visitors a year. Only the White House, where the US President lives, has more visitors. The house is known as Graceland. Its owner was the King of Rock 'n' Roll1—Elvis Presley. Graceland is currently a museum. A lot of the house and the things inside have been kept the way they were when Elvis lived there. Elvis fans get to see a little bit of his world when they enter Graceland. For Elvis fans, it is a journey that must be made at least once in their lives. 　 有一間位於田納西州孟斐斯的房子，每年會有超過六十萬名的遊客前去拜訪。只有美國總統所居住的白宮才會有比這裡還多的訪客。這間房子被稱為優雅園。它的主人就是搖滾樂之王－－艾維斯‧普萊斯利（編按：台灣一般稱為『貓王』）。優雅園目前是一座博物館。房子本身和裡頭的物品大部分都按照貓王生前居住在那裡時的樣子原封不動地保留下來。當貓王的歌迷進入優雅園時，他們得以一瞥一小部份他的世界。對於貓王迷而言，這是畢生之中至少要去過一趟的朝聖之旅。 　　Graceland is a large mansion2 with huge white columns3 on nearly 14 acres4 of land. Inside the Graceland Mansion, visitors can tour many of the 23 rooms where Elvis relaxed and spent time with his family and friends. The most famous ones are the Music Room and the Jungle5 Room. The former has three pianos and was the place of many late night jam sessions6 with friends. The latter has unusual plants, wooden furniture that is covered in animal skin patterns, and an indoor waterfall. It looks like something out of an African jungle. Outside the mansion are special buildings with Elvis' collection of gold records, stage costumes, old cars, and private planes. What's more, visitors can even pay their respects at Elvis' grave in the Meditation7 Garden. Graceland is truly a magical place for any fan of Elvis. 優雅園是一個坐落在十四英畝的土地上、擁有許多巨型白色圓柱的豪宅。優雅園豪宅中有二十三個貓王曾於當中休憩及跟親友共度時光的房間，而遊客也可以參觀當中的多數房間。最有名的當屬音樂室和叢林洞室。前者的房內有三架鋼琴，而且也是貓王在深夜與朋友們隨興演奏的場所。後者裡頭則有許多奇特的植物、以動物皮紋圖案包覆的木頭家具，以及一座室內瀑布。這個房間看起來就像是非洲叢林裡冒出來似的。在豪宅之外則有一些特別的建築，裡頭擺放著貓王所收藏的金唱片、舞台服裝、古董車及私人飛機。除此之外，遊客甚至還可以到靜默園裡，在貓王的墳前向他致意。對於任何一位貓王迷來說，優雅園都確實是個充滿魔力的地方。 Building Your Vocabulary   1. currently　adv. 現在，目前 Terry is currently living with his parents. 泰瑞目前和他的父母住在一起。 2. journey　n.（長途的）旅程，旅行 This film is about a girl's journey across India. 這部電影是關於一位女孩橫越印度的故事。 3. tour　vt. 參觀，遊覽 Kyle got a chance to tour Australia last year. 去年凱爾有機會去澳洲遊覽。 4. latter　n.（前述兩項中的）後者 Do you see the blue van and the red truck over there? The latter is mine. 你有沒有看到那邊的藍色箱型車和紅色貨車？後者是我的。 5. collection　n.（一系列）收藏的東西 Dora has a collection of Barbie dolls. 朵拉收藏了一整組的芭比娃娃。 6. costume　n.（特殊裝扮用的）戲服，服裝 Everyone must wear a costume to the party. 每個參加這場派對的人都要變裝。 7. magical　a. 有魔力的；神奇的 This stone seems to have magical powers. 這顆石頭似乎有股神奇的力量。

Phrases for Learning

◆ pay + 所有格 + respects　　（某人向死者）表示敬意
All the soldiers paid their respects to their fallen captain.
所有的士兵都向他們陣亡的長官致上敬意。

Extra Words

1. rock 'n' roll　n. 搖滾樂
2. mansion　n. 富麗堂皇的房子，豪宅
3. column　n. 圓柱；支柱
4. acre　n. 英畝
5. jungle　n. 熱帶叢林（本文中作形容詞用）
6. jam session　n. 即興演奏會
7. meditation　n. 冥想（本文中作形容詞用）

Grammar Check

...23 rooms where Elvis relaxed...
（……二十三個貓王曾於當中休憩……的房間……）
Only the White House, where the US President lives...
（只有美國總統所居住的白宮……）
　　一般名詞若本身沒有特殊性，可用形容詞子句來加以限定修飾，用以加強其特殊性，此時形容詞子句中的關係代名詞之前不置逗點，上述的第一句即為此例。但專有名詞（如人名、地名等）及獨一性名詞（如 father，因爸爸只有一個）的本身就具有特殊性，因此之後若接關係代名詞引導的形容詞子句時，該關係代名詞之前就一定要置逗點，此時該形容詞子句就稱為非限定修飾語，第二句中因"White House"為專有名詞，故為此用。
Susan is a girl who loves to read.
限定修飾
（蘇珊是一個喜歡閱讀的女孩。）
I ran into Zack, who is my co-worker.
非限定修飾
（我碰見了柴克，他是我的同事。）