时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:2017年VOA慢速英语(五)月


英语课

 


Brazilian Zarela Mosquera moved to the United States as a teenager. The adjustment to a new place was difficult. Mosquera says she was a bratty 1 teenager, as a result. But it was not just the adjustment that affected 2 her behavior. Mosquera says there was another major stress in her life at that time: She was the only member of her family who spoke 3 English.


“Being in a country with my family that doesn’t speak Spanish and my parents don’t really speak English, my parents were trying to give me all these responsibilities.”


Along with Spanish and English, Mosquera also speaks Portuguese 4. But there was another universal language she learned to love as a child: art.


Mosquera connected with drawing and painting while in school. But she mostly dismissed art as a path to a career.


She says her Dad would always say, “Think about the future.”


Mosquera did not think he would support the study of art once she went to college.


But, to her surprise, it was her parents who suggested just that. They urged her to apply to technical and liberal arts schools.


“One of them was Rhode Island School of Design so that was like my top choice.”


RISD, as it is called, chose Mosquera as well. She enrolled 5 in industrial design.


“It’s basically to design products and services. I could be doing something more technical or something more related to problem solving. Whether it’s figuring out a better way to filter water or developing a type of specific shelter for refugees for example.”


Mosquera says the course of study was tough including metal working, woodworking and model making.


She says in one class she just drew cubes for an entire month, which led her to a question:


“Wow! Do I really want to do this?”


But, she says, she survived the cube study. And, then began working on more interesting projects.


“So you start kind of divinv more into the creative process when you have a strong foundation and design. And my school is really big on material understanding as well, which is why we’re trained to use every imaginable tool there is like table saw, band saw everything because they give you an understanding of material. And when you have that understanding, that's when you can start designing things that are functional 6 and also form driven.”


Mosquera is now a design strategist for Marshall Moya Design, an architecture and interior design company in Washington, D.C.


Her job, Mosquera says, is to find the best solutions for a client need. She also supports the architecture team and branding department.


“I have experience in exhibit design, product design, website design and textiles. I've been using all of the experience that I’ve had and all the different skills that I've gained.”


Mosquera also has a long-lived and deep interest in public art. This year, she helped create and design “The Walkway,” for the D.C government.


“They wanted to see public art that was related to street harassment 7 and to the public realm and how that affects pedestrian safety.”


The creation was a 11-meter long tunnel-like structure. It was built to narrow sharply as the walker moves through. Bright lights change color along the path.


On the walls are images of people. Voices and city sounds are played through speakers installed in the walkway. At first, the recorded conversations and street noise and pictures have a positive feel. But the images and audio increase in intensity 8 along the path. The experience becomes dark and violent in the middle part of the walkway.


“The purpose of showing these two different human emotions and human reactions is to allow people to reflect upon a variety of different expressions. So that brings up the conversation as to what is the right way to talk to each other in a public space. Should we talk to each other at all? So people are really questioning that. And that's what public art is meant to do.”


For Mosquera, the form of the structure created the greatest impact.


“In a couple of steps, it changes pretty drastically and so actually feeling it versus 9 just seeing it in a drawing was really impactful.”


She enjoys developing public art in her free time, too.


“Throughout my career, I've picked up different things along the way. The best way to learn in my opinion is through working. Getting as many projects as you can. Industrial design kind of makes you a jack 10 of all trades.”


Words In This Story


adjustment – n. the process of adapting or becoming used to a new situation.


bratty – adj. spoiled, self-centered, and badly behaved.


stress – n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.


filter – v. to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas


cube – n. an object that has six square sides


foundation – n. something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something


brand – v. creating a unique name and image for a product


street harassment – n. a form of unwanted comments, whistling and other actions by strangers in public areas


realm – n. an area of activity, interest or knowledge


pedestrian – n. a person who is walking in a city, along a road, etc.


conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people


jack of all trade – n. a person who is adept at many different kinds of work



1 bratty
adj.讨厌的,不服从的
2 affected
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
3 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 Portuguese
n.葡萄牙人;葡萄牙语
  • They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
  • Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。
5 enrolled
adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 );登记,招收,使入伍(或入会、入学等),参加,成为成员;记入名册;卷起,包起
  • They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起,他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 functional
adj.为实用而设计的,具备功能的,起作用的
  • The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了,但现在可以用了。
  • The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的,只是为了实用。
7 harassment
n.骚扰,扰乱,烦恼,烦乱
  • She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
  • The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。
8 intensity
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
9 versus
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
10 jack
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
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