纪录片《文明》 第46期 自视如何（7）

And one of the best places to do that is ancient Greece -

古希腊就是最好的例子之一

in particular, the city of Athens from around 700 BC.

具体点说就是约公元前700年的雅典城

Never much more than a small town in our terms,

在我们看来它只是个小城镇

it was a place where you could find

但你却能发现

people of different classes and backgrounds cheek by jowl

不同阶级不同背景的人们共同生活于

in a grand experiment in urban living.

一场城市生活的大型实验中

And one of the most distinctive¹ things about Athenian culture

雅典文化最突出的特征之一

was an intense focus on the youthful, athletic² body.

就是格外关注年轻健美的身材

This body was a symbol of political and moral virtue³.

这种身材是政治和道义美德的象征

And Athens became a whole city of images

而雅典逐渐变成了

devoted⁴ to the human form.

追求人体形象的城市

Greek art almost never means landscape.

希腊艺术几乎不关心风景

It almost never means still life.

也几乎不关心静物

Greek art means

希腊艺术关心的是

statues and drawings, paintings and models of human beings.

人类雕像 素描 油画和模型

These images were everywhere.

这些形象到处都是

They were out in the world playing their part.

他们在世界上有着重要的地位

1 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。