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Civilisations2018-文明
I've always felt at home in the past. 我总能在过去找到归家的感觉
For after all, what is the present except an endless chain of memories? 毕竟 没有那连绵不断的过往记忆 又何来今朝呢
endless:adj.无止境的;连续的;环状的;漫无目的的;
Some of them are translated into stone. 有些记忆被镌刻在石头上
We are all the inheritors of those memories, and we look after them as best we can. 我们都是这些记忆的继承者 并尽可能地看顾好这些遗产
inheritors:n.继承者;后继者(inheritor的复数);
All this so we can pass on their revelation to the future. 只有这样 我们才能将古人的启示传到未来
revelation:n.披露; adj.暴露的;
But every so often something comes along to shake them from our grip . 但有些事总会时不时地发生 动摇着我们的继承权
every so often:adv.偶尔;常常;时常; grip:n.紧握;柄;支配;握拍方式;拍柄绷带;vt.紧握;夹紧;vi.抓住;
In Mosul , in a matter of hours, the forces of Isis destroyed the work of centuries. 在摩苏尔 仅用几个小时 伊斯兰国就毁掉了数百年来的杰作
Mosul:n.摩苏尔(伊拉克北部城市);
And when they took the ancient trading city of Palmyra where the cultures of Greeks, Romans, Persians , 而当他们夺下巴尔米拉这座古老的贸易之城 这座希腊人 罗马人 波斯人
Persians:n.波斯人;波斯语;百叶窗;波斯绸;adj.波斯的;(persians是Persian的复数);
Arabs and Jews have mixed and merged , it was feared that exactly the same would happen. 阿拉伯人以及犹太人的文化相互融合的城市 人们担心同样的暴行也会在此上演
merged:adj.(美俚)结了婚的;v.(使)合并,并入;相融;(merge的过去分词和过去式)
Here in Geneva, a few Palmyrene artefacts have been saved stolen before the violence began, arrested at customs as black marketeers tried to sell them. 在日内瓦 有几件巴尔米拉的工艺品被保存了下来 在暴力发生之前被盗了出来 黑市商人销赃时 在海关被查获
artefacts:人工制品; violence:n.暴力;侵犯;激烈;歪曲; marketeers:n.市场商人;
Like this bust of a priest . 比如这座牧师半身像
bust:n.(石或金属的)半身像; v.打破; adj.破碎; priest:n.司祭,神父;教士,祭司,僧侣;v.使成为教士;任命…为祭司;
His eyes wide open, he seems not dead at all, just translated to a life elsewhere . 他的双眼圆瞪 看起来绝非已死之人 只不过是转生到另一个世界罢了
elsewhere:adv.在别处;到别处;
These lovingly carved likenesses of the dead looted from their tombs ended up in exile , but safe for posterity . 这些为已故之人 精心雕刻的肖像于主人墓中遭劫 虽流离他乡 却能安然流传后世
lovingly:adv.亲切地;钟爱地; carved:v.雕刻;刻;把(熟肉)切成块;(carve的过去分词和过去式) likenesses:n.相似,相像;样子,肖像;照片,画像;相似物; looted:v.(暴乱、火灾等后)打劫,抢劫,劫掠;(loot的过去分词和过去式) exile:n.流放,充军;放逐,被放逐者;流犯;v.放逐,流放;使背井离乡; posterity:n.子孙,后裔;后代;
Saving the art that remained in Palmyra, however, could come at a terrible price. 然而 拯救巴尔米拉残存的古迹 可要付出难以想象的代价
Khaled al-Asaad, the chief curator of Palmyra, was 81 when Isis took the town. 伊斯兰国夺下巴尔米拉时 博物馆馆长哈立德.阿萨德已经八十一岁了
curator:n.馆长;监护人;管理者;
And when their soldiers demanded he tell them where the city's artworks had been hidden, he refused. 当伊斯兰国的士兵命令他供出 古城艺术品的隐藏地点时 他拒绝作答
artworks:艺术品(artwork的名词复数);
They beheaded him in the Roman theatre, suspended his mutilated body from a traffic light , placed his head between his feet... 他们在罗马剧场砍下了他的头 将他的残肢挂在了信号灯上 将他的头夹在他的双脚之间
beheaded:v.将(某人)斩首(尤指刑罚);(behead的过去分词和过去式) Roman:n.罗马人;古罗马语;adj.罗马的;罗马人的; suspended:v.悬;挂;吊;暂停;中止;(suspend的过去式和过去分词) mutilated:adj.残缺的;破坏的;v.切断;使残废(mutilate的过去分词); traffic light:交通灯
and attached a placard identifying him as director of idolatry . 还张贴了告示 称其为邪神崇拜的始作俑者
attached:adj.依恋;v.重视;把…固定;(attach的过去分词和过去式) placard:n.海报,标语牌;招贴;vt.张贴,悬挂;公布;张贴公告于;vi.张贴公告; identifying:n.识别,标识;标识关系;v.识别;(identify的现在分词) idolatry:n.偶像崇拜;盲目崇拜;邪神崇拜;
Or we might say, protector of what needs to be saved, cherished , passed on as the work of civilisation. 而在我们眼中 他是珍贵宝藏的守护者 守住了瑰丽的文明 守住了传世的杰作
protector:n.保护器;保护者;保护装置;防御者; cherished:adj.珍爱的;珍视的;珍视;珍爱;珍藏的;
A lot of us spend our days talking about art. 我们许多人会花时间谈论艺术
I doubt very many of us are prepared to lay down our lives for it, but for Khaled al-Asaad, the stones and statues and columns of Palmyra were more than simply an ensemble of antiquity . 但我怀疑大多数人 都没有为艺术献出生命的觉悟 但对哈立德.阿萨德来说 巴尔米拉的这些石头 雕像和石柱 并不只是简单的古董集合
statues:n.[建]雕像(statue的复数);v.在…处装饰;用雕像装饰(statue的三单形式); columns:n.柱:(通常为)圆形石柱:(书,报纸印刷页上的)栏(column的复数) ensemble:n.全体;总效果;全套服装;全套家具;合奏组;adv.同时; antiquity:n.古代;古老;文物;古迹;
He didn't need a UNESCO certificate to tell him that the significance of Palmyra was at once both local and universal . 他并不需要联合国教科文组织的证书来告诉他 巴尔米拉的重要意义 并不局限于一地一区 而是属于全世界
certificate:n.证明;证明书;合格证书;文凭;v.发给结业证书;(尤指)发给职业培训证书; significance:n.意义;重要性;意思; universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的;
It's there for believers and unbelievers , for East and West, and somehow it had fallen to him to be the guardian of that inheritance . 它既属于信徒 也属于不信教的人 既属于东方 也属于西方 而鬼使神差般地 守护这份遗产的重任就落到了他的肩上
unbelievers:n.异教徒;无信仰的人;不相信者; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; guardian:n.[法]监护人,保护人;守护者;adj.守护的; inheritance:n.继承;遗传;遗产;
We can spend a lot of time debating what civilisation is or isn't, but when it's opposite shows up in all its brutality and cruelty and intolerance and lust for destruction , we know what civilisation is. 我们可以花上许久来争论 什么是文明 什么不是 但当文明的对立面将其全部的粗暴与残忍 狭隘与毁灭欲展现在我们眼前时 我们便知道了文明为何物
debating:v.讨论,辩论;仔细考虑;思考;盘算;(debate的现在分词) brutality:n.无情;残忍;暴行(需用复数形式); cruelty:n.残酷;残忍;残酷的行为; intolerance:n.(尤指对别人的意见)不宽容;偏狭; lust:n.性欲;强烈的欲望;vi.贪求,渴望; destruction:n.破坏,毁灭;摧毁;