走进耶鲁大学 第3期:斯特林纪念图书馆(1)

 Sterling¹ Memorial Library

斯特林纪念图书馆

Yale University has a huge library system of 25 libraries, including Sterling Memorial Library, Law Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and so on and so forth².

耶鲁大学拥有一个庞大的图书馆系统，共有25座图书馆，包括斯特林纪念图书馆、 法学院图书馆、贝克尼珍品与手稿图书馆，等等。

Housing approximately 12.5 million volumes in 20 buildings on campus, it is the second-largest academic library in North America as well as the world.

整个图书馆系统藏书约1250万册， 分布在校园内20座建筑物中，是北美乃至世界上规模第二大的研究型图书馆。

Sterling Memorial Library is the latest library at Yale and serves as the center of the library system. Completed in 1930，the library was designed by James Gamble Rogers (Yale 1889) as a memorial to John William Sterling (Yale 1864), who donated much of his fortune to Yale.

斯特林纪念图书馆是耶鲁最大的图书馆，也是图书馆系统的核心。该馆由耶鲁 1889届毕业生詹姆斯·甘布尔·罗杰斯设计，建成于1930年，是为了纪念约翰·威廉·斯特林。斯特林是耶鲁大学1864届毕业生，他将自己的大量财产捐给了耶鲁大学。

On the sidewall of the entrance, there is an utterance³ of William Osier-Father of Modem⁴ Medicine: The Library is the Heart of the University. And Sterling Memorial Library lies in the center of the campus. The building has fifteen stack levels, each with its own category of books. In total, it contains about 4 million volumes in the humanities and some social science and also houses specialized⁵ research collections in area studies, as well as the department of Manuscripts and Archives. It is said that if put all the shelves in a line, it would be as long as 128 km, which is equal to the distance from New Haven⁶ to New York.

图书馆人口处刻着"现代医学之父"威廉·奥斯勒的一句话：图书馆是大学的心脏。斯特林纪念图书馆就坐落在校园的中心地带。 整个建筑有15层楼高，每一层都收藏有不同类别的图书。图书馆收藏了共计400万册人文和社会科学藏书，还收藏了领域研究的专门资料；另外，手稿及档案也收集于此。据说，如果把馆中的书架一字排开，长度约达128公里，可从纽黑文一直排到纽约城。

The library is one of the most elaborate buildings on the Yale campus. Being an example of Gothic revival⁷ architecture, and adorned⁸ with thousands of panes⁹ of stained glass, it looks like a church. Rogers made it this way to demonstrate: library is a cathedral of knowledge.

斯特林纪念图书馆是校园中最精美的建筑物之一。它是典型的哥特式复古建筑， 加上上千个彩色玻璃窗的点缀，放眼望去宛如一座教堂。罗杰斯如此设计，就是要彰显这样一种理念：图书馆是知识的殿堂。

The main entrance has two doorways¹¹. The gates which were made of oak are now looking bronze. Above the lintels, there are a range of stone carvings¹² showing ancient civilization: In the midst is a medieval sage¹³ holding a book; on the left side carved a Phoenician battleship symbolizing¹⁴ for Egypt as well as a winged bull for Babylon; on the right hand, there are Mayan serpent, Roman wolf, and Athenian owl¹⁰. In addition, from left to right it is adorned with Cro-Magnon, Egyptian, Babylonian, Hebrew, Arabian, Ancient Greek, Ancient Chinese as well as Maya inscriptions④.They seem to say that here is the temple of human civilization, also a treasure house of all human writings and cultures.

图书馆的正门有两个门洞。用橡木做成的大门呈古铜色；门楣上方是一组表现人类古代文明的石雕：一位中世纪哲人手执书籍位于中间，左边是象征古代埃及文明的腓尼基战船和象征巴比伦文明的有翼兽，右边是象征玛雅文明的蛇、象征欧洲文明的罗马狼和雅典猫头鹰；此外，石头门楣上镌刻着多种文字的碑文，从左至右分别为克罗马努、古埃及、巴比伦、希伯来、阿拉伯、古希腊、中国和玛雅的文字。所有这些似乎都在告诉人们，这里就是人类文明的圣殿，是一切人类文字和文化的宝库。

1 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

4 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

5 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

6 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

7 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

8 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

9 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

10 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

11 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

12 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

14 symbolizing   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This symbol later evolved into a common hieroglyphic symbolizing victory. 这幕场景后来逐渐演化为象征胜利的普通象形文字。 来自时文部分
• Mooncakes reunion, is symbolizing the Mid-Autumn festival will feed. 月饼象征着团圆，是中秋佳节必食之品。 来自互联网