VOA文化艺术2022 梦想般的未来博物馆在迪拜开幕

Dreamlike Museum of the Future Opens in Dubai

Dubai has opened the dreamlike world of its new Museum of the Future.

The torus-shaped, rounded structure rises almost 70 meters. It is held up by an unusual network of supports. Light flows in through the many windows around the building. The windows are shaped in beautiful forms of Arabic letters.

The Museum of the Future represents Dubai's continuing desire to be seen as a modern city of the United Arab Emirates. Its political system, however, remains¹ rooted in ancestral rule. Freedom of expression is limited in the emirate.

The museum presents an idea of what the world could look like 50 years from now. The imagined future crystalizes the UAE's 50 years of development from a small, sea-based community to a center of oil and gas riches.

"It was an imperative² requirement to develop so fast because we needed to catch up with the rest of the world," said Sarah Al-Amiri. She is the UAE's minister of state for high technology. She also is the chair of the UAE Space Agency. She added that, before 1971, there were "no basic road networks, no basic education, electricity network and so on."

The UAE announced last year that it would join other nations in cutting the release of heat-trapping gasses and reducing fossil fuel use in the country. Fossil fuels include oil, coal and natural gas.

The museum deals with the idea of a sustainable future. It invites visitors to reconnect with their senses and disconnect from their phones. However, digital screens and similar media also play a big part in many areas. The museum's digital screens urge visitors to think about the planet's health and biological mix in a city that celebrates riches, high-cost living and material goods.

Al-Amiri said the museum organizers hope to show that progress toward a sustainable future and healthy planet should not bar economic growth.

Creative director Brendan McGetrick agrees. Dealing³ with climate change "doesn't mean that you have to return to ... some hunter gatherer lifestyle," he said. People can still invent and build and grow technologically⁴, he said. McGetrick added, "...It should be done with an awareness⁵ of our relationship to the planet and that we have a lot of work to do."

The museum's goal is to get people to think about what is possible and to turn that into real world action, he said.

Visitors to the Museum of the Future hear about a future of flying taxis, windfarms and a world powered from space. Some projects would capture the sun's energy and send it to the moon. The so-called "Sol Project" would cover the moon with solar collectors that would direct energy toward devices on Earth.

As the museum presents it, humans will be healthy and happy in the future. And, life on the future planet includes a new plant that is resistant⁶ to fire.

McGetrick said the museum wanted to create a powerful picture "of what would happen if we imagine space as a shared resource."

The museum shows a future in which humanity's collective energy project is directed by a space station called the OSS Hope. It is the same name the UAE gave its real space mission to the atmosphere of Mars. Last year, the UAE became the first Arab country to send a spacecraft to another planet.

The museum's imagined future also is influenced by Islam's past. For example, one area displays the planets in our solar system mapped using scientific tools called astrolabes. Muslims developed these complex devices hundreds of years ago.

The museum's Arab influence includes a meditation⁷ space that is part of a larger sensory⁸ experience guided by vibration⁹, light and water. These three elements were important to life for tribes in the Arabian Peninsula.

The oil-fueled cities of the Gulf¹⁰ that have grown in the recent past continue to change how people in the area live, interact and connect with nature.

"It's always important to continue to evolve and develop and understand what parts of the culture actually push development forward," said Al-Amiri. "Creating new norms and new ways of living and new ways of coexisting is OK."

The centerpiece of the museum is a darkened mirrored space lit by tall columns of small glass shapes. The shapes hold the imaginary DNA¹¹ of animals and plants that disappeared from existence, the polar bear among them.

In this idea of the future, the health of the planet is observed much like a person's heartbeat and temperature are.

Entrance to the Museum of the Future costs about $40 for an adult.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin¹² Rashid Al Maktoum was present at the official launch of the museum. It is his poetry that covers the building in Arabic lettering.

The building's designers, UAE-based Killa Design, said the building has been awarded LEED Platinum¹³ status. The rating is given to building designs that use energy as efficiently¹⁴ as possible and meet other environmental goals.

Words in This Story

torus-shaped –n. a rounded circular shape

crystallize –v. to cause something such as an idea or belief to become fully¹⁵ formed

imperative –adj. very important

sustainable –adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

digital screen

meditation –n. the act or process of spending time in quiet thought; the act or process of meditating¹⁶

vibration – n. continuous slight shaking movement; a series of small, fast movements back and forth¹⁷ or from side to side

evolve –v. to change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state

norm –n. a normal way of doing something

column –n. a long post made of steel, stone, etc., that is used as a support in a building

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

7 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

8 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

9 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

13 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

14 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

15 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。

16 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。