VOA标准英语2013--恩德贝勒艺术家推广传统技术-英语课

时间：2019-01-31 作者：英语课 分类：VOA常速英语2013年(十二月)

英语课

Ndebele Artist Popularizes Traditional Technique 恩德贝勒艺术家推广传统技术

JOHANNESBURG — Esther Mahlangu is almost 80 but she's still going strong. For decades, she has practiced the traditional art of her tribe 1, the Ndebele, located in northeastern South Africa. "This was the old way of doing it, when it was done with black and white soil mixed with powder," Mahlangu said, "and you would draw the pattern with your fingers."Today Ndebele art is colorful with symmetrical patterns. Mahlangu learned 2 to paint from the elders in her home town when she was a little girl. Soon, people realized she was talented. She could draw straight lines without rulers and mastered the colors.

"We mix soil and water to make the pigment," she said. "And we use chicken feathers to paint. We Ndebele don't use rulers.Rulers are in our mind." One day in the late 1980s, two French researchers came to the village. They noticed her paintings and asked her to travel to France to display her art. That marked the beginning of travels that took Mahlangu to more than 20 countries to exhibit 3 her work. "I feel very happy that the Ndebele art is getting international recognition," she said, "and I'm glad I contributed to making it happen."Some years back, Mahlangu opened a guesthouse and a school in her backyard where she mentors 4 young artists. Nomewa Shongwe has been working with Mahlangu since the age of five. She says Mahlangu's life is inspiring and she wants to follow in her teacher's footsteps 5. "I would like to go overseas, earn a living thanks to the art, while carrying the legacy 6 of the Ndebele art and of Madam Esther," Nomewa said.

Mahlangu is prolific 7 and doesn't plan to stop painting anytime soon. "As an Ndebele people, we grew up with this art. It's in our blood. This is why I continue painting," she said. "Young Ndebele people may not know where life will take them, but the art roots them to their Ndebele culture. It's in my heart and it's in my blood."

1 tribe

n.部落，种族，一伙人

This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

2 learned

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 exhibit

vt.展览，展出，陈列；n.展览品；陈列品

Next week those goods will exhibit in that shop. 下个星期，这些货物将在那家商店展出。
The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.9月份，经济继续呈现出衰退的迹象。

4 mentors

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )