智慧人生篇章 第1期:想象与表象(1)
时间：2018-12-03 作者：英语课 分类：社会—In the Community
英语课
Last week, I was in Bruges. We were standing 1 in front of yet another unbelievably stunning 2 painting by the Flemish artist Hans Memling, in a 12th century hospital built specifically for the poor, when my daughter said: "Oh no. Another picture of Jesus. Did they ever paint anything else?"
上周我去了布鲁日，在一家12世纪专门为穷人建造的医院里，我们正欣赏着佛兰德艺术家Hans Memling的一副惊世画作，我女儿突然说，“我了个去，又是耶稣像，他们还能画点别的么。”
"Source": "I had to laugh. Although I knew that most artists of the 15th century were obliged to paint religious scenes and that these were some of the best ever painted, I shared her complaint. For the last hour we'd gone from one brilliant depiction 3 of the infant Jesus to another, without a profane 4 image in sight. The whole town was saturated 5 in a heavy religious culture. The accumulative effect was becoming monotonous 6 - even oppressive.
我只能笑笑。我对此深有同感，虽然我知道，15世纪的艺术家们不得不去画那些宗教场景，即便有些是存世画作中最好的。最后一小时，我们看了一幅又一幅小耶稣的精彩画像，全无半点亵渎之意。整个小镇浸淫在一种浓厚的宗教文化氛围中，日积月累之后略显单调甚至沉闷。
Which got me thinking: if someone who believes in what's being depicted 7 in these paintings is struggling to connect with their spiritual content, perhaps all this rich culture is obscuring rather than enhancing the story that inspired it. Is it possible to find the original spark of faith in it - or has it been snuffed out by the weight of tradition and history. Could I even spot the difference?
我不由得想，如果相信画中场景的人难以与画作精神内涵取得共鸣，恐怕这丰富的文化不但没能突出画中的故事，反而使其面目模糊。能否在其中发现最初那一星半点的信仰呢？又或者，这种信仰是不是最终被传统和历史的厚重感给抹杀了呢？我能看出这两者的差别来吗？
1 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
2 stunning
adj.极好的；使人晕倒的
- His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
- The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。
3 depiction
n.描述
- Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
- A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。
4 profane
adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污
- He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
- His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。
5 saturated
a.饱和的，充满的
- The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
- a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液
6 monotonous
adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的
- She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
- His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。
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