【轻松英文阅读】心室

 Ra Paulette learned how to dig when he was working in Dixon, New Mexico in 1985. He was digging outhouses and building wells there. But Ra had a longing¹ to do something more artistic². A short time later he found his perfect medium, the sandstone cliffs of northern New Mexico (map).

 

In 1987, he completed his first work of art, a cave he called the ‘Heart Chamber³.’ He carved it out of a cliff with only hand tools over a couple of years near Taos, New Mexico. Soon many people were drawn⁴ to the artistic beauty of the cave. It became something like a shrine⁵. In fact, so many people were coming, Ra decided⁶ to fill it in. He thought the crowds would damage the delicate natural environment around the cave and there were safety issues too.

 

Since that time, Ra has created 14 caves. The Ra Caves, as they are often called, are spectacular. They have been compared to the works of Gaudi because of their smooth curves and the the interplay of light and shadow.

 

Thanks to a documentary released recently about Ra’s caves, he is finally becoming known outside of New Mexico. The Documentary is called Cavedigger and could get an Oscar nomination⁷ next year.

 

If you are interested, there is one cave for sale now. It is on a 208-acre property in New Mexico. The price is just under one million dollars.

1 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

2 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。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。