2006年VOA标准英语-Getty Museum Reopens Villa Amid Controvers

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
26 January 2006

After eight years of renovation¹, the Getty Museum will reopen its antiquities² museum Saturday in a replica³ Roman villa⁴ on the California coastline. The opening comes at the end of a difficult year for the West Coast U.S. art center.

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Outer peristyle at renovated⁵ Getty Villa in Malibu, California  (Photo courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust )   
  

After receiving a $275 million upgrade, the Getty Villa will again welcome visitors to its spectacular site in Malibu, above the Pacific Ocean. The building was conceived by the late oil billionaire J. Paul Getty and first opened its doors in 1974. Karol Wight, the Getty's acting⁶ curator of antiquities, says it was modeled on the first-century Roman Villa Dei Papiri, which was buried by the eruption⁷ of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

"What was known of the structure at the time this museum was built was only the ground plan. So all of the architectural details that you see, including mosaic⁸ floors, column capitals, things like that, those were all borrowed from other buildings in Pompeii and Herculaneum to finish out the details," she said.

The villa is a square building surrounding an open garden, with another large garden on its south side.

The museum has one of the finest collections of Greek, Roman and Etruscan art in the United States, from bronze implements⁹ and finely crafted gold and silver tableware to heroic marble statues. Wight says all are important art works.

"There's a wonderful Roman statue, the Lansdowne Herakles. That's a Roman depiction¹⁰ of the greatest of the Greek heroes, Hercules, as he was known to the Romans. And it is an extremely important piece for art historians because it was discovered in the 1790s, and had an immediate¹¹ effect on the understanding of what Greek and Roman art was at the time," she said.

The Getty continues its research into the classical world in its on-site laboratory.

Amid the celebration of the villa's reopening, the West Coast museum has dealt with unwanted controversy¹³ over allegations by Italian authorities that a former Getty curator named Marion True acquired art works looted from archeological sites. She is now standing¹² trial in Italy, along with a Paris-based American art dealer¹⁴. True and museum officials deny knowingly receiving stolen items, but last year the museum returned several disputed objects to Italy.

Demands by Greek and Italian officials that the Getty and other museums return other disputed objects have raised far-reaching questions in the art world. For Los Angeles residents, however, the scandal has not detracted from the reopening of the villa, which returns a cultural landmark¹⁵ to the local art scene. A new theater and 450-seat outdoor amphitheater will offer performances of classical Greek and Roman drama.

Wight says the classical period is drawing renewed public interest because some recent Hollywood movies offered viewers a glimpse of the ancient world.

"And so we hope that visitors will come with that kind of knowledge in the back of their minds, but fully¹⁶ prepared to learn the real history, not the Hollywood version, and see more of these cultures. You can get glimpses of them in set decorations in movies like Troy or Gladiator, but to actually see the artifacts that were used thousands of years ago, is quite a different experience."

Getty Museum director Michael Brand says the refurbished facility is an important accomplishment¹⁷. "It's a miracle to be able to bring together a great museum building, a great collection, great landscape, and then great educational, cultural facilities, and bring it all together, and open it up to the public free of charge," he said.

Tickets are free, but reservations are needed and the Getty Villa is already booked up for the next few months.

1 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

2 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

3 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

4 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

5 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

8 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

9 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

14 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

15 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。