纪录片《文明》 第12期 创世纪的第二个瞬间（12）

But he was obsessed¹ with animals,

他非常着迷于动物

one animal in particular,

特别是一种动物

not the bison, but it's cousin, the bull,

不是野牛 而是它的近亲 公牛

an animal to which he returned again and again.

一遍又一遍地出现在他的作品里

Do we think this is mere² coincidence?

这只是巧合吗

He liked to call himself a modern primitive³,

他喜欢称他自己为现代的原始人

and in those images, glimmering⁴ images in the caves,

从洞穴里那些幽亮的图案中

he found, he thought, a fountainhead

他找寻着 思考着

of everything that was truly creative about the artistic⁵ instinct.

艺术天性的一切创造性本源

So he paid cave art the ultimate compliment

所以他通过创作类似的作品

by doing something very similar.

来表达对洞穴艺术最真挚的赞美

He looked at a bull

他观察公牛

and then he produced this beautiful,

然后创作出了这头

dashing, impulsive⁶ picture of a bull

美丽的 雄赳赳气昂昂的公牛

so close to the original in Altamira,

它与阿尔塔米拉的原作如此相似

it could even have been a studious copy.

甚至算得上是学习性的临摹了

But then he produced another ten prints,

然后他又画了十幅

bulls drawn⁷ from his own enormous range of styles,

完全不同风格的公牛

from meaty naturalism

从充满肌肉的自然主义

through classical Cubism

到经典的立体主义

to a lightly delineated bull that's really

再到这幅只有简单的线条勾勒

just a pair of horns

几乎只有牛角

and then that other thing that bulls always need.

和公牛必须有的另一部位的画

1 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

4 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

5 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

6 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。