VOA慢速英语2014 Shaping Human Evolution at the Smithsonian 史密森尼美国博物馆塑造人类进化过程

Shaping Human Evolution at the Smithsonian 史密森尼美国博物馆塑造人类进化过程

Welcome to American Mosaic 1 from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Today on the show, we visit a museum where art and science help tell the story of human evolution.

今天的节目，我们参观博物馆，那里的艺术和科学有助于讲述人类进化的故事。

But first, we hear about some heroic Americans.

但是，首先，让我们来听听美国人的英雄事迹。

Bravery of Soldiers, and Civilians 2, Honored

享有荣誉的勇敢的战士和民众们

Americans who received the highest honor for bravery from the U.S. military gathered in Knoxville, Tennessee this week. They attended the first showing of a documentary film on the history of the Medal of Honor.  But these American servicemen and women also recognize bravery among civilians.  For several years now, Medal of Honor winners have been awarding Citizen Medals of Honor.  The medal recognizes acts of bravery and service in communities around the country. 

接受美国军队为勇敢而颁发的最高荣誉的美国人这周聚集在田纳西州的诺克斯维尔。他们出席了关于荣誉勋章的历史的纪录片的首映。但是美国男军人和女军人也被认为在民众中很勇敢。几年来，荣誉勋章获得者已经被授予了公民荣誉勋章。勋章表彰在国内表现勇敢和为社区服务的行为。

On a snowy day at Arlington National Cemetery 3, living Medal of Honor winners gather to recognize service members killed in the line of duty.

在一个下雪天，美国阿灵顿国家公墓，长眠着在执行任务的时候遇害的勋章获得者。

"Thank you for inspiring us then and now with your strength, your will and your heroic hearts."

“感谢一直以来用你们的坚强，你们的意志和你们勇敢的心来激励鼓舞我们。”

And later at the White House, their numbers increase as a group of veterans from past wars receive the Medal for their own bravery.

后来在白宫，他们的数量以主体为退伍军人的群体增加。过去他们因在过去战争中的勇敢表现而获得荣誉勋章。

But they also took some time to recognize non-military bravery.  They honor a group of ordinary citizens for their heroic actions in the face of danger.

但是他们也会花时间去确认非军事的勇敢表现。他们因为一群普通民众在面对困难时的英勇行为而表彰了他们。

"We all started to feel this pull, and swimming back to the beach became difficult if not impossible for some of the others. I realized that because of my junior lifeguard training how to recognize that we were in a riptide."

“我们都开始感受到了这种拉力，并且如果对一些其他人来说不是不可能的话，游回岸边变得很困难。我认识到由于我初级的救生员训练让我知道如何辨别我们处于激流中。”

Nineteen-year-old Connor Stotts risked his own life to rescue three friends from drowning in California in 2011.

19岁的康纳斯达茨在2011年在加利福尼亚冒着自己的生命危险把他的三个朋友从溺水中解救出来。

"The thought never crossed my mind that I would just swim back to shore without them."

“我从来没有想过我不能把他们一起带回海岸。”

"Do you consider yourself a hero?”

“你觉得你自己是一个英雄吗？”

“I know this is something everyone would say but I don't consider myself a hero.  I would consider myself, I hope, more of an example."

“我知道这是每个人都会说的话，但是我并不认为自己是一个英雄。我更希望自己可以成为一个榜样。”

Eight years ago, the living Medal of Honor recipients 4 established an award for average people who demonstrated bravery, sacrifice and service.

八年前，在生的荣誉勋章获得者为勇敢表现，乐于牺牲和服务他人的普通民众设立了一个奖励。

"He was a very caring person who loved to teach and he loved his kids and he loved his family."

“他是一个很有爱心的人，他乐于教导别人，他热爱提到小孩和他的家庭。”

Sharon Landsberry remembers the love of her life, Michael. The mathematics teacher saved students' lives at a shooting at a Nevada middle school last year.  The 12-year old shooter killed Michael Landsberry.   He became the first citizen to be awarded the honor after death.

"I know my husband would do it over again if it were to happen again. That was just who he was.  He would put his life up to protect those who he loved."

“如果这样的事情再发生，我知道我的丈夫还是会这样做。这就是他。他会用上他的生命来保护他爱的人。”

Ronald Rand heads the Medal of Honor Foundation.  He says the award is about selfless service.

罗纳德兰特领导着荣誉勋章基金会。他说这个一个对于无私奉献的奖励。

"Everyone could be one of those heroes.  And, if in fact everyone knew that and recognized that and looked for ways to perform those acts, our society would be a truly wonderful team of people focused on the right values and the right outcomes."

“每个人都可以成为其中之一的英雄。而且，实际上如果每个人都知道这点，意识到这点，并且通过寻求各种方式来表现的行为，我们的社会将会是一个人们都关注正确的价值观和结果的名副其实的精彩的团体。”

The Citizen Medal of Honor recipients say they hope their acts of bravery and service will move other ordinary people to help those in need, and make a difference in their communities.

公民荣誉勋章获得者说他们希望他们勇敢的和为人服务的行为可以感动其他普通民众去帮助有需要的人，并且为他们的社区作出贡献。

A popular exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington explores human evolution. The exhibit includes lifelike representations of ancient primates 5, or hominids, the early versions of us. Paleo-artist John Gurche creates a world that modern humans can relate to.

在华盛顿的美国自然历史博物馆的一个受欢迎的展览会探索了人类的进化过程。展览会包括了栩栩如生地展示古代灵长累，或者人类，早期版本的我们。古代艺术家约翰古尔奇创造出了一个和现代人有关系的世界。

Artist-Scientist Shapes Our Past

艺术科学家塑造了我们的过去

The Hall of Human Origins is crowded with visitors. They study five life-size bronze models. The models show what scientists believe ancient everyday life looked like, starting millions of years ago. In one representation a homo erectus struggles to carry a newly-killed antelope 6.  Another model shows a homo floresiensis surprised by a deadly animal. This look at homo floresiensis is set about 18,000 years ago.

人类起源大厅挤满了参观者。 他们研究了5个真人大小的铜像。铜像展示了科学家认为的祖先们百万年前看起来应该过的生活。在一个展示里，一个直立人争着搬运一只刚刚杀死的羚羊。另外一个模型展示了一个佛洛瑞斯人因为一个致命的动物而吃惊不已。对佛洛瑞斯人的探究从约18,000年前就开始了。

John Gurche also created the models of hominid heads found in the exhibit.  The artist is an expert in prehistoric 7 subjects and ape and human body structure.

约翰古尔奇还创造了在展览会上可以看到的原始人类的头的模型。艺术家是史前题材和猿和人类身体结构方面的专家。

“Really to succeed in doing one of these reconstructions 8, it has to be something you can relate to as a living being, that you almost expect to see breathe and you also have to base it on the best science available or else you really have just a fantasy.”

“要实际上成功地完成这之中一个的重建，它必须是你能联想到的有机生命体，它让你几乎期望会看到呼吸而且你也不得不把它建立在最好的现在的科学依据上，要不然你真的就来个幻想。”

Mr. Gurche brings faces from the past to life.  He starts with a plaster form of a skull 9. He adds layers of clay and sculpts 10 a face. He covers the work in silicone and adds details and color and to the face. He also attaches hair, one single piece at a time. He says what makes the pieces seem so real, though, are the eyes.

古尔奇现在把过去的面孔带到了现实生活中。他开始于一个头盖骨的石膏模型。他增加了粘土的层数并且塑造出了一张脸。他用硅树脂和增加了各种细节和颜色直到做成了一张脸。他还每次一片地粘上了头发。然而，他说让这些点点细节变得如此真实的是眼睛。

“I’m trying to build up an impression that there’s someone home. When you look one of these in the eyes you feel there someone there. There’s some presence. It really feels like it’s more than just clay and plaster. Hopefully people will be a little creeped out by the final result, because they are expecting to see an inanimate object, but what they are seeing is something that has a little bit of a soul.”

“我尝试着制造有人在家的感觉。当你看到其中的一个的眼睛的时候，你会觉得有人在那里，有人在场。这真的不仅仅是粘土和石膏。希望人们可以为最后的结果受宠若惊，因为他们期待看到静物，但是他们所看到的是有一点灵魂的。”

The bronze sculptures capture the moments of the major changes in human development. Visitors follow their ancestors’ footsteps as they move from model to model. They get to see a moment in which early hominids first walked on two feet. Visitors observe as brains get larger, fire is discovered and early humans look for food and react to danger.

铜像捕捉到了人类主要变化的各个时期。参观者通过从一个模型移动到另外一个模型跟随着他们祖先的足迹。他们将会看到早期人类第一次开始用双足行走的时刻。参观者观察到大脑越来越大，火的现和早期人类寻找食物以及对危机的反应。

“Human evolution as revealed by the fossil record is not just a matter of everything we think of as human, starts sort of evolving in tandem 11 together.  It’s much more of a mosaic affair, where different things are added at different times. So each species that is a candidate for human ancestry 12 has its own piece of the human puzzle that it added to the mix.”

“人类进化的化石记录所显示的不只是一种我们认为人类的一切， 开始慢慢地进化连接在一起。 这更多地像是一件拼凑出来的不同的食物连接在不同时期的事件。因此每一个物种作为 人类祖先的候选有它自身的点点的融入在一起的人类之谜。”

Another representation shows a private family moment in Neanderthal life.  John Gurche has created a young child watching his mother as she works with an animal skin. The boy’s head is turned a little to the side and up, as if he is questioning something.

另一个展示品展示了穴居人私人家庭生活的时刻。约翰古尔奇创作了一个幼儿看着他的母亲用动物皮在工作。小男孩的头微微倾向一边并仰起，好像在提问题似的。

“He’s got a piece of skin also and he’s wondering about what she’s doing and whether he should do the same thing.  He’s got that kind of quizzical tilt 13 of his head. And she is responding to him with a lot of joy and hopefully you see some encouragement there is her expression.”

“他也拿着一块皮并且他想知道她在做什么和他是否会做同样的事情。他有点探询地倾着他的头。她用很多笑话来回应他和希望你可以从她的表达里看到鼓励。”

These are not emotions that Stacy Weinberg would usually link to humans that lived 70,000 years ago. Ms. Weinberg is visiting the exhibit with her two children.

这些并不是 史黛丝温伯格经常和生活在70,000年前的人们联系在一起的情绪。温伯格和她的两个孩子一起参观了展览。

“We tend to think that we’ve evolved more and I guess are more intelligent than people that long ago, but it’s cute because it is a very similar position to one that we might be in today.”

“我们倾向于认为我们已经进化了很多了而且我认为比很久以前的人们聪明，然而，它是可爱的，因为它处在一个和我们今天非常相似的情况里。”

That is the connection John Gurche seeks in his work with our human relatives’ long past.

这是约翰古尔奇在他的工作里寻找的 和我们人类亲人久远的过去的连接。

I’m June Simms. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver 14.

Join us again next week for American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.