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VOA慢速英语2012 EXPLORATIONS - The US Capitol Represents American Democracy

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EXPLORATIONS - The US Capitol Represents American Democracy

MARIO RITTER: I’m Mario Ritter.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. is one of the most recognized buildings in the world. Its design was influenced by the classical buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.

The United States Congress meets in the Capitol. The building was created as a physical representation of democracy. But it is also a museum filled with art and sculpture that tell about America’s social and political history.

(MUSIC)

MARIO RITTER: Our story begins on the Caribbean island of Tortola during the hot summer of seventeen ninety-two. William Thornton is hard at work on a set of building drawings. Mister Thornton came from a family of wealthy landowners who grew sugar on the island. He was trained as a doctor. But he had many interests including history, mechanics, government and building design. Mister Thornton was working to complete drawings for the design of the United States Capitol.

FAITH LAPIDUS: A few months earlier, the government of President George Washington had started a contest for the best design for the Capitol. William Thornton wanted the building to express the democratic goals of this young country. It would be a physical version of America’s constitution. His design was influenced by the Pantheon in Rome, Italy and the Louvre museum in Paris, France.

William Thornton sent his building design to federal officials in Washington with a letter. “I have made my drawings with the greatest accuracy, and the most minute attention”, he wrote. “In an affair of so much consequence to the dignity of the United States,” it was his request that “you will not be hasty in deciding.”

President Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson selected a later version of Mister Thornton’s design for the Capitol. George Washington praised the design for its “grandeur, simplicity1, and beauty.”

(MUSIC)

MARIO RITTER: Over the centuries, the United States Capitol has had many changes and additions. Many architects have worked on its extensions. But just as important as the building’s design are the priceless collections of art and sculpture inside. They tell a detailed2 story about different events in America’s past. And, they provide an interesting commentary on how America’s government, people, and artists have chosen to represent their history.

We asked Barbara Wolanin to take us through several important rooms to learn more about the building’s art and statue collection. She is the curator for the Architect of the Capitol.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “The Capitol, from the very beginning, the architects envisioned art sculpture for it, paintings for it. They were really built in as part of the architecture in each of the different construction stages of the Capitol.”

(SOUND)

FAITH LAPIDUS: We start in the most beautiful room, the Rotunda3. This large circular room inside the Capitol’s tall white dome4 measures over fifty-four meters high. It was completed in eighteen twenty-four. The room connects the Senate side of the building with the House of Representatives side. So, it is both the physical and symbolic5 center of the building. Visiting the room is a wonderful experience. The room has a feeling of solidity and permanence, but it also is a celebration of light and airiness.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “We’re in the Rotunda, right in the center of the United States Capitol and starting from the top down, the very top is the fresco6 painting called the “Apotheosis7 of Washington”. It was painted by a Roman-born artist Constantino Brumidi in eighteen sixty-five, at the end of the Civil War.”

MARIO RITTER: At the top of the dome is a colorful painting showing groups of people arranged in a circular shape. George Washington sits in the center of the painting, with women representing Liberty and Victory at his sides.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “He’s the one in the lavender lap robe. And he’s rising up into the heavens. Apotheosis means being raised to the level of an ideal or a god.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: It might seem strange today to show an American president as a god. But during the nineteenth century, Americans greatly loved and respected President Washington. This included Americans from both the North and South after the Civil War. Several Roman gods are also in the painting. They are holding examples of American technologies of the time.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “They are mixed in with new American technology, the latest inventions. Like Ceres there is sitting on a McCormick reaper8, which is the new way for reaping grain quickly. And Neptune9 with a Trident is helping10 lay the trans-Atlantic cable which was just being laid when he was painting this.”

MARIO RITTER: The artist Constantino Brumidi finished this huge work in only eleven months. He also painted much of the frieze11 that extends along the Rotunda walls under the room’s thirty-six windows. A frieze is a long stretch of surface that has been painted or sculpted12. This one tells the history of America. The people in the frieze are painted to look three- dimensional, like sculptures. Below the frieze, eight huge historical paintings hang on the curved walls. Four paintings tell about the events of the Revolutionary War in the late eighteenth century. The four others show examples of early explorations of the country. These include the landing of explorer Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the Mississippi River.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Sculptures are another important part of the room’s decoration. One marble sculpture of Abraham Lincoln was created in eighteen seventy-one, after his death. Vinnie Ream made the sculpture. She was the first woman hired by the government to create a work of art. She was only eighteen years old when she was asked to make the statue.

Another marble statue nearby honors three women who fought for voting rights for women. Adelaide Johnson made this sculpture.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “’Portrait Monument’ has just an amazing history too. This is also by a woman artist. And it was commissioned by the National Woman’s Party in nineteen twenty after women finally got the vote.”

MARIO RITTER: The sculpted forms of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott seem to be coming up out of the huge piece of stone. Behind them, a fourth form rises out of the uncut stone. Adelaide Johnson said this unfinished area was meant to show that the struggle for women’s equality was not over.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Many of the statues in this room and others throughout the Capitol are part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The collection was established in eighteen sixty-four. Congress invited each state to send two statues to the collection. The statues can represent a very famous person, such as an American president. Or, they can represent someone less well known but historically important. States can also replace an older statue with a new one. It has taken a long time to complete the collection. The one hundredth statue arrived in two thousand five.

MARIO RITTER: Barbara Wolanin takes us into the National Statuary Hall. This large room was a meeting room for the House of Representatives until eighteen fifty-seven.

BARBARA WOLANIN: “This room, at the time it was built was considered the most beautiful room in the whole country. Benjamin Henry Latrobe was the architect and he really tried to make it as fine as he could. He was really interested in the classical architectures. So he wanted columns and he had these special capitals for the columns carved in Carrara, Italy based on ancient designs.”

As you can guess from the room’s name, it now houses many statues from the national collection. For example, there is a marble statue of Sam Houston, a leader who fought for independence for the state of Texas. One of the state of Louisiana’s statues is a bronze representation of the politician Huey Long.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The newest building extension of the Capitol is the Capitol Visitor Center. These large underground rooms were completed in December of two thousand eight. The goal is to enrich the experience of the more than two million people who visit the Capitol every year.

The Visitor Center is filled with water fountains, skylights, historical exhibits, a restaurant — and more statues. A bronze statue of the Hawaiian ruler King Kamehameha is hard to miss. His clothing is almost completely covered in gold. Every year in June, Hawaiians come to the Capitol to honor this ancient ruler.

MARIO RITTER: The newest statue in the national collection is from Michigan. It shows Gerald Ford13. He was a member of Congress and Vice14 President before becoming the nation’s thirty-eighth president.

But the biggest statue in the room is not part of the Statuary Collection. It is a plaster form that was used to make the bronze statue of Freedom that stands on the dome of the Capitol high above the city. Freedom is represented as a strong woman wearing the flowing clothing of ancient Rome. She measures over five meters tall.

If you stand under a skylight in the Visitor Center, you can see the bronze statue of Freedom high up on the dome outside. She is watching over the Capitol building as it continues to represent America’s history, government and people.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Faith Lapidus.

MARIO RITTER: And I’m Mario Ritter. You can comment on this and other programs on our Web site, www.voanews.cn. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

 

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯
参考例句:
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
2 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
3 rotunda rX6xH     
n.圆形建筑物;圆厅
参考例句:
  • The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
  • The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人,只零星散布着几个游客。
4 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
5 symbolic ErgwS     
adj.象征性的,符号的,象征主义的
参考例句:
  • It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
  • The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。
6 fresco KQRzs     
n.壁画;vt.作壁画于
参考例句:
  • This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画,清晰有致且又浑然天成,十分和谐。
  • So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此,研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。
7 apotheosis UMSyN     
n.神圣之理想;美化;颂扬
参考例句:
  • The legend of king arthur represent the apotheosis of chivalry.亚瑟王的传说代表骑士精神的顶峰。
  • The Oriental in Bangkok is the apotheosis of the grand hotel.曼谷的东方饭店是豪华饭店的典范。
8 reaper UA0z4     
n.收割者,收割机
参考例句:
  • The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
  • A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。
9 Neptune LNezw     
n.海王星
参考例句:
  • Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
  • Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。
10 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
11 frieze QhNxy     
n.(墙上的)横饰带,雕带
参考例句:
  • The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
  • A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会,其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。
12 sculpted da5be298460bb9f4b0690c2dc86da0af     
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。
13 Ford KiIxx     
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
参考例句:
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
14 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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