How Art Made The World 人、艺术、世界 -08

And when you say these are pictures of daily life, that just doesn't fit. And when I began to notice all these strange points about the paintings, I thought we've got to find some way of cracking the code of what these paintings are. But when Lewis Williams began his investigation¹, he immediately faced a problem. Because these are the San today. Rather than living in mountains, they now live a thousand miles away on the Kalahari grasslands² of Namibia. Over the centuries, their ancestors were persecuted³ and driven from the Drakensberg. Although the San still hunt, today they no longer paint. And there is a good reason for that. For one thing, there are no rocks in the Kalahari for them to paint on and their ancient tradition has disappeared. The San artists have died out, taking their secrets with them, so the key to unlocking the mystery of these strange paintings in the mountains seemed to be lost forever. There just didn't seem to be any way of getting at that because the people who made the paintings were extinct. But then far away from the Drakensberg, Lewis Williams found the first clue. It was the start of a trail that would eventually lead him all the way back to the prehistoric⁴ cave paintings of Europe.

Although there are no Bushmen today who remember a time when their people painted on rock, there were some still alive at the end of the 19th century. And thankfully, the stories that they had to tell were written down and preserved. They are kept here at an archive in Cape⁵ Town. At the end of the 19th century, a German settler called Wilhelm Blake discovered there were still some San Bushmen alive who had lived around the Drakensberg. Blake realized that they opened a rare window onto the past. He began to interview them. This vast archive, 12, 000 documents, is their testimony⁶. It gives a tantalizing⁷ glimpse of a culture that no longer exists.

Lewis Williams had a hunch⁸ that buried among these papers which were like a Bible of Bushmen belief, there might be clues as to the original significance of the Drakensberg images. There was indeed something there.

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word:

tantalizing:吸引人的

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

4 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

5 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。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。