欧美人文风情第155篇:博物馆巡礼 英国 - 大英博物馆

 At the peak of its empire, when the Union Jack¹ flew over a quarter of the planet, England collected art and artifacts as fast as it collected colonies. 在大英帝国的巅峰，在英国国旗飘扬于地球四分之一土地上时，英国收集艺术和工艺品的速度就和它收集殖民地一样快。

This place, the British Museum, is the showcase for those extraordinary treasures. 这个地方，大英博物馆，是那些出色宝物的展示处。

Its centerpiece is the Great Court—an impressive example of Europe's knack² for preserving old architectural spaces by making them fresh, functional³, and inviting⁴. 它的中央物是“大中庭”－－一个欧洲维护古老建筑空间技巧的出色例子，借由使老建物变新、具功能性，且吸引人。

The stately Reading Room—a temple of knowledge and high thinking—was the study hall for Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, and T.S. Eliot. 宏伟的阅览室－－一座知识及崇高思想的殿堂－－曾是 Oscar Wilde、Rudyard Kipling，以及 T.S. Eliot 的自习室。

Karl Marx researched right here while writing Das Kapital. Karl Marx 在写《资本论》时正是在这里做研究的。　

The British Museum is the chronicle of Western civilization. 大英博物馆是西方文明的记录。

You can study three great civilizations—Egypt, Assyria, and Greece—in one fascinating morning. 你可以在一个迷人的早晨里看到三大文明 (埃及、 亚述以及希腊)。

The Egyptian collection is the greatest outside of Egypt. 埃及展品是埃及境外最杰出的。

It's kicked off with the Rosetta Stone, which provided the breakthrough in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs⁵. 它从罗赛塔石碑开始，罗赛塔石碑提供解开古埃及象形文字之谜的突破性发展。

Discovered in 1799, it told the same story in three languages: Greek, a modern form of Egyptian, and ancient Egyptian. 于 1799 年被发现，罗赛塔石碑描述一段相同的故事，使用三种语言：希腊文、当代的埃及字体以及古埃及文。

This enabled archaeologists to compare the two languages they understood with the ancient Egyptian, which was yet to be deciphered. 这使考古学家得以将两种他们理解的语言和古埃及文做对照，当时古埃及文尚未被解开。

Thanks to this stone, they broke the code, opening the door to understanding a great civilization. 托这块石碑的福，他们破解那密码，开启了解一个伟大文明的大门。

The Egypt we think of—you know, pyramids, mummies, pharaohs, and guys who walk funny—lasted from about 3,000 to 1,000 B.C. 我们想到的埃及－－你知道，金字塔、木乃伊、法老还有走路很好笑的家伙们－－约从西元前三千年延续到西元前一千年。

It was a time of unprecedented⁶ stability—very little change in government, religion, or arts. 那是个前所未见安定的时期－－在政治、宗教或者艺术上少有变动。

Imagine 2,000 years of Eisenhower. Egyptian art was art with a purpose. 想像两千年的艾森豪时期。埃及艺术是有目的的艺术。

It placated⁷ the gods—the entire pantheon, a cosmic zoo of deities⁸, was sculpted⁹ and worshipped—and it served as propaganda for the pharaohs. 它安抚众神－－所有神祇，无边无际的一群神，都被雕刻及膜拜－－而且艺术有替法老宣传的效果。

They ruled with unquestioned authority and were considered gods on earth. 法老以不容置疑的权力统治，且被视为人世间的神。

And much of the art was for dead people—for a smoother departure and a happier afterlife. 多数艺术是为往生的人所做－－为了有个更顺遂的离去以及更幸福的来世。

In ancient Egypt, you could take it with you. 在古埃及，你可以将这带着走。

Corpses¹⁰ were painstakingly¹¹ mummified: The internal organs were removed and put in jars. 尸体被费心地制成木乃伊：体内器官被移开然后放进罐子里。

Then the body was preserved with pitch, dried, and wrapped from head to toe. 然后身体用沥青防腐、干燥并被从头到脚包起来。

The wooden coffin¹² was painted with magic spells and images thought to be useful in the next life. 木棺以被认为是在来生有用途的咒语和图像彩绘。

The finely decorated coffins¹³ were put into a stone sarcophagus like this. 装饰精美的棺材被放进像这样的石棺里。

These were then placed in a tomb, along with the allotted¹⁴ baggage for that ultimate trip. 这些接着被置到坟墓里，连同替那最终之旅分配的行李一起。

The great pyramids were just giant tombs for Egypt's most powerful—carefully designed to protect their precious valuables for that voyage into the next life. 伟大的金字塔只是给埃及最有权者的巨大坟墓－－谨慎设计来保护他们为进入来生旅程准备的珍贵财产。

In its waning¹⁵ years, Egypt was conquered by Assyria—present-day Iraq. 在埃及的衰落年间，埃及被亚述征服－－现今伊拉克。

These winged lions guarded an Assyrian palace nearly 900 years before Christ. 这些有翼狮像在耶稣前近九百年前守护着一座亚述宫殿。

Assyria considered itself the lion of early Middle Eastern civilizations. 亚述将自己视为早期中东文明的狮子。

It was a nation of hardy¹⁶ and disciplined warriors¹⁷. 它是个勇敢且守纪律战士们的国家。

Assyrian kings showed off their power in battle, and by hunting lions. 亚述国王在战斗中，以及借着猎狮来炫耀他们的力量。

This dying lioness, roaring in pain, was carved as Assyria was falling to the next mighty¹⁸ power: Babylon. 这只垂死的母狮，痛苦地吼叫，是在亚述落入下一个强权：巴比伦时雕刻的。

History is a succession of seemingly invincible¹⁹ superpowers, which all eventually fall. 历史是看似所向无敌的强权的接替，那些强权全终将殒落。

Greece, during its Golden Age—roughly 400 B.C.—set the tone of so much of Western civilization to follow. 希腊，在它的黄金时期时－－约西元前四百年－－定下许多西方文明遵循的方式。

The city of Athens was the site of a cultural explosion, which, 雅典城是一次文化爆发的地点，那次文化爆发，

within a couple of generations, essentially²⁰ invented our notion of democracy, theater, literature, mathematics, science, philosophy, and so much more. 在几世代内，基本上创造出我们对民主、戏剧、文学、数学、科学、哲学的概念，以及其他更多。

An evocative remnant of Greece's glory days is the sculpture, which once decorated the Parthenon—a temple on the Acropolis Hill in Athens. 一项唤起希腊光荣时日的残物是那雕刻，它曾装饰帕德嫩神殿－－一座位在雅典卫城山上的神庙。

Here, a long procession of citizens honors the goddess Athena. 这儿，一列长长的市民队伍向雅典娜女神致敬。

The carvings²¹ of the temple's pediment—even in their ruined state—are a masterpiece, showing gods and goddesses celebrating the birthday of Athena. 神殿山型牆的雕刻品－－即便在它们毁损的状态下－－都是个杰作，展示出众神和女神欢庆雅典娜的生日。

The Greeks prided themselves on creating order out of chaos²², here, symbolized²³ by the struggle between half-animal centaurs²⁴ and civilized²⁵ humans. 希腊人以从混乱中创造秩序为豪，这儿，以半兽的人马和文明人类间的对抗为象征。

First, the centaurs get the upper hand. 最初，人马占上风。

Then, the humans rally and drive them off. 接着，人类重整并将人马击退。

In Golden Age Greece, civilization finally triumphed over barbarism. 在黄金时期的希腊，文明终于战胜野蛮。

 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

3 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 hieroglyphs   

n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
• This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 placated   

v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She hardly knew how to answer this, and yet her wrath was not placated. 她几乎不知道该如何来回答他，然而她的怒气并没有气息。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

9 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

10 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

12 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

13 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

14 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

15 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

17 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

18 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

19 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

20 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

21 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》

22 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

23 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

24 centaurs   

n.（希腊神话中）半人半马怪物( centaur的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Centaurs – marauders does not have penalty when shooting into support. 半人马掠夺者在支援射击时不受惩罚。 来自互联网
• Centaurs burn this, observing the fumes and flames to refine the results of their stargazing (OP27). 人马用烧鼠尾草产生的火焰和烟雾来提炼他们观星的结果（凤凰社，第27章）。 来自互联网

25 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为