VOA慢速英语2019--艺术猪把培根带回家

Artistic¹ Pig Brings Home the Bacon

This is What's Trending Today.

Many people know of Pablo Picasso, the Spanish artist who created some of the 20th century’s most famous paintings. But few, until recently, have heard of “Pigcasso.”

Pigcasso is the name given to an artistic pig that was rescued from a slaughterhouse in 2016. The pig currently lives – and creates art – at an animal sanctuary² in South Africa's Western Cape³ region.

Joanne Lefson runs the sanctuary. She says pigs are very smart animals that like to keep their minds active. "When I brought Pigcasso here to the barn, I thought 'how do I keep her entertained?'" she said.

Lefson gave Pigcasso some balls, paintbrushes and other objects to play with. "She basically ate or destroyed everything except these paintbrushes… she loved them so much," Lefson said.

Soon the pig was using those paintbrushes to create art.

Her paintings can sell for almost $4,000. The money from her sales go to animal welfare.

Pigcasso has even had one of her artworks turned into a watch face by Swatch, a Swiss watchmaking company. The limited edition "Flying Pig by Ms. Pigcasso" has green, blue and pink colors and sells for $120.

"FLYING PIG BY MS. PIGCASSO has us squealing⁴ with joy!" notes a statement on the company's Twitter page.

Lefson says Pigcasso is "definitely an abstract expressionist." The term refers to the artistic movement that sought to communicate emotions using abstract images.

"You can't exactly define what she's painting," Lefson added, "but I can tell you that her style slightly changes depending on her mood like any great artist."

And that's What's Trending Today.

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

slaughterhouse – n. a building where animals are killed for their meat

sanctuary – n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter

paintbrush – n. a brush used for putting paint on a surface

1 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。

2 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

3 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

4 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。