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DenisDutton_2010-_达尔文主义的美的理论_
Delighted to be here and to talk to you about a subject dear to my heart, which is beauty. 很高兴来到这里 与大家探讨我至为关心的一个主题, 那就是”美“。
Delighted:adj.高兴的; v.使高兴; (delight的过去分词和过去式)
I do the philosophy of art, aesthetics , actually, for a living. 我研究艺术与审美哲学, 事实上,这是我的工作。
philosophy:n.哲学;哲理;人生观; aesthetics:n.美学;美的哲学;
I try to figure out intellectually , philosophically , psychologically , what the experience of beauty is, what sensibly can be said about it and how people go off the rails in trying to understand it. 我想在理性,哲学, 以及心理学的层面上理解, ”美”的体验究竟是什么, 哪些感知是能被描述出来的 以及人们在尝试理解它的过程中犯了什么错误。
intellectually:adv.智力上;理智地;知性上; philosophically:adv.哲学上;贤明地; psychologically:adv.心理上地;心理学地; sensibly:adv.明显地;容易感知地;聪明地;
Now this is an extremely complicated subject, in part because the things that we call beautiful are so different. 这是个很复杂的问题, 部分原因是因为我们认为“美”的事物 是如此的不同。
extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式)
I mean just think of the sheer variety -- a baby's face, 想象下这高度的多元性 婴儿的脸蛋,
sheer:adj.纯; v.十足地; n.透明薄纱; v.[航海](使)偏航; (使)转向; variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化;
Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," 柏辽兹所作的“哈罗德在意大利”,
movies like "The Wizard of Oz" 像“绿野仙踪”这样的影片,
Wizard:n.男巫;术士;奇才;adj.男巫的;巫术的;
or the plays of Chekhov, a central California landscape , a Hokusai view of Mt. Fuji, "Der Rosenkavalier," 或是契诃夫的戏剧, 加利福尼亚中部的风景, 北斋眼中的富士山, “玫瑰骑士”,
landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
a stunning match-winning goal in a World Cup soccer match, 世界杯足球赛中的 一场漂亮的决胜赛,
stunning:adj.惊人的; v.使昏迷; (stun的现在分词)
Van Gogh's " Starry Night," 梵高的“星空”,
Van:n.厢式货车;客货车;v.选矿;用车搬运; Starry:adj.布满星星的;闪闪发光的;星光照耀的;星形的;
a Jane Austen novel , 一部简.奥斯丁的小说,
novel:adj.新奇的;异常的;n.小说;
Fred Astaire dancing across the screen. 弗雷德·阿斯泰尔在舞台上起舞。
This brief list includes human beings, natural landforms , works of art and skilled human actions. 这一简单的列表中包含了人类自身, 自然景观, 艺术作品和专业活动。
landforms:n.[地理]地貌(landform的复数形式);[地理]地形; skilled:adj.熟练的;有技能的;需要技能的;
An account that explains the presence of beauty in everything on this list is not going to be easy. 很难用一个解释 就说清楚所有这些事物 中所存在的‘美“。
presence:n.存在;出席;参加;风度;仪态;
I can, however, give you at least a taste of what I regard as the most powerful theory of beauty we yet have. 然而,我能给大家体会一下 我认为迄今为止 我们所有的最有力的 关于’美‘的理论。
And we get it not from a philosopher of art, not from a postmodern art theorist or a bigwig art critic . 这一理论不是来自艺术哲学家, 也不是来自后现代艺术理论家 或是有名的艺术评论家。
philosopher:n.哲学家;深思的人;善于思考的人; postmodern:adj.后现代的; theorist:n.理论家; bigwig:n.权贵之人;有重大影响的人; critic:n.评论家;反对者;批评者;
No, this theory comes from an expert on barnacles and worms and pigeon breeding , and you know who I mean: 不,这一理论来自 一位饲养藤壶、昆虫 和鸽子的专家。 你们知道我说的是谁--
barnacles:n.[无脊椎]藤壶(barnacle的复数);刑具; worms:n.蠕虫;寄生虫;幼虫;v.蠕动,曲折行进;(worm的第三人称单数和复数) pigeon:n.[鸟]鸽子;(非正式)易受骗的人;(非正式)责任; breeding:n.繁殖;饲养;教养;再生;v.生产;培育;使…繁殖;(breed的现在分词)
Charles Darwin. 查尔斯·达尔文。
Of course, a lot of people think they already know the proper answer to the question, "What is beauty?" 当然,许多人认为他们已经知道了 关于这个问题的正确答案, 什么是美？
It's in the eye of the beholder . 美是观者的主观感受
beholder:n.旁观者;观看者;
It's whatever moves you personally . 它是那些让你感动的东西。
personally:adv.个人;亲自;本人;就本人而言;
Or, as some people, especially academics prefer , beauty is in the culturally conditioned eye of the beholder. 或者说,如一些人-- 尤其是学院派的人--推崇的, 美存在于处在文化环境中的 观者的眼中。
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; academics:n.学术水平;学术知识;专业学者; prefer:v.更喜欢;宁愿;提出;提升; culturally:adv.从文化角度,文化意义上;在人文学方面;
People agree that paintings or movies or music are beautiful because their cultures determine a uniformity of aesthetic taste. 人们都同意绘画、电影或音乐 是美妙的。 这是因为他们的文化决定了统一的审美品味。
determine:v.决定;确定;测定;查明;形成;影响;裁决;安排; uniformity:n.均匀性;一致;同样;
Taste for both natural beauty and for the arts travel across cultures with great ease. 对自然美景和对艺术作品的品味 能轻而易举 跨越不同文化。
Beethoven is adored in Japan. 贝多芬在日本收到推崇,
Beethoven:n.贝多芬(德国作曲家);
Peruvians love Japanese woodblock prints. 秘鲁人喜爱日本木版画,
woodblock:n.木版;木板;adj.木板的;木版印刷的;
Inca sculptures are regarded as treasures in British museums, while Shakespeare is translated into every major language of the Earth. 印加雕刻则被英国博物馆 视若珍宝, 莎士比亚的著作被译成 地球上各种主要语言。
Inca:n.印加;印加人; sculptures:n.[建]雕塑(sculpture的复数); v.雕刻; Shakespeare:n.莎士比亚(英国剧作家);
Or just think about American jazz or American movies -- they go everywhere. 再想下美国爵士乐 或美国电影-- 他们随处可见。
There are many differences among the arts, but there are also universal , cross-cultural aesthetic pleasures and values. 这些艺术之间有许多不同, 但也包含着普世的, 跨越文化的审美愉悦 和审美价值。
universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的; cross-cultural:adj.跨文化的;交叉文化的;
How can we explain this universality ? 我们如何解释 这一普世性呢？
universality:n.普遍性;广泛性;一般性;多方面性;
The best answer lies in trying to reconstruct a Darwinian evolutionary history of our artistic and aesthetic tastes. 最佳答案存在于对我们艺术和 审美品味的达尔文主义进化过程的 重新构建的尝试中。
reconstruct:vt.重建;改造;修复;重现; Darwinian:adj.达尔文的;达尔文学说的;n.进化论者; evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; artistic:adj.艺术的;风雅的;有美感的;
We need to reverse-engineer our present artistic tastes and preferences and explain how they came to be engraved in our minds by the actions of both our prehistoric , largely pleistocene environments, where we became fully human, but also by the social situations in which we evolved . 我们需要进行逆向组建 我们当前的艺术品味和爱好 并解释它们是如何 被铭刻在我们思想中的。 通过我们在史前, 很可能是在我们完全进化成人类的 ”更新世“环境中, 以及在我们在进化过程中所处的 社会环境中的活动。
preferences:n.偏爱;爱好;喜爱;偏爱的事物;(preference的复数) engraved:adj.铭记于心的; v.在…上雕刻(字或图案); (engrave的过去分词和过去式) prehistoric:adj.史前的;陈旧的; largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地; pleistocene:n.[地]更新世(的); evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式)
This reverse engineering can also enlist help from the human record preserved in prehistory . 这种逆向重建 能从史前的 人类记录中 有所启发。
reverse engineering:逆向工程; enlist:vi.支持;从军;应募;赞助;vt.使入伍;征募;谋取…的赞助或帮助; preserved:v.保护;维护;保留;保存;保养;(preserve的过去式和过去分词) prehistory:n.史前;史前史;(导致事件,危机等的)背景;
I mean fossils , cave paintings and so forth. 我指的是化石、洞穴绘画等等。
fossils:n.[古生]化石(fossil复数形式);
And it should take into account what we know of the aesthetic interests of isolated hunter-gatherer bands that survived into the 19th and the 20th centuries. 并且,应该考虑到 生存到十九世纪和二十世纪的 与世隔绝的狩猎族群 的审美情趣。
take into account:考虑;重视;体谅; isolated:adj.偏远的; v.隔离,孤立,脱离; hunter-gatherer:n.采集狩猎的人; bands:n.乐队;法官;
Now, I personally have no doubt whatsoever that the experience of beauty, with its emotional intensity and pleasure, belongs to our evolved human psychology . 我个人 确信任何 强烈而令人愉悦 的“美”的体验, 都属于我们进化之后的人类心理的一部分。
whatsoever:pron.无论什么; emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的; intensity:n.强度;强烈;[电子]亮度;紧张; psychology:n.心理学;心理状态;
The experience of beauty is one component in a whole series of Darwinian adaptations . 美的体验是整个达尔文主义 适应过程中的一个成份。
component:n.成分;部件;组成部分;adj.构成的; series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书; adaptations:n.适应;改编(adaptation的复数);
Beauty is an adaptive effect, which we extend and intensify in the creation and enjoyment of works of art and entertainment. 美是一种适应性效果, 我们在艺术娱乐的 创作与享受中 将其延伸 并强化。
adaptive:adj.适应的,适合的; extend:vt.延伸; vi.延伸; intensify:vi.增强,强化;变激烈;vt.使加强,使强化;使变激烈; creation:n.创造,创作;创作物,产物; enjoyment:n.享受;乐趣;享有;
As many of you will know, evolution operates by two main primary mechanisms . 正如大家可能知道的, 进化有两个主要的机制。
mechanisms:n.机制;[机]机构(mechanism的复数);机械;[机]机构学;
The first of these is natural selection -- that's random mutation and selective retention -- along with our basic anatomy and physiology -- the evolution of the pancreas or the eye or the fingernails . 第一个是自然选择-- 这是中是随机的基因突变和选择性保留-- 与我们基本解剖学和生理学结构一起-- 如胰腺、眼睛或指甲的进化。
natural selection:n.自然选择;物竞天择; random:adj.[数]随机的;任意的;胡乱的;n.随意;adv.胡乱地; mutation:n.[遗]突变;变化;元音变化; selective:adj.选择性的;有选择的;认真挑选的;严格筛选的; retention:n.保留;扣留,滞留;记忆力;闭尿; anatomy:n.解剖;解剖学;剖析;解析; physiology:n.生理学;生理机能; pancreas:n.[解剖]胰腺; fingernails:n.手指甲;(fingernail的复数)
Natural selection also explains many basic revulsions, such as the horrid smell of rotting meat, or fears, such as the fear of snakes or standing close to the edge of a cliff . 自然选择也解释了 许多本能性的恐惧和反感, 比如腐肉的可怕的气味, 比如对蛇的惧怕 或站在悬崖边缘的恐惧。
horrid:adj.可怕的;恐怖的;极讨厌的; cliff:n.悬崖;绝壁;
Natural selection also explains pleasures -- sexual pleasure, our liking for sweet, fat and proteins , which in turn explains a lot of popular foods, from ripe fruits through chocolate malts and barbecued ribs . 自然选择也解释了愉悦-- 性愉悦, 对糖、脂肪和蛋白质的喜爱, 这反过来解释了许多广受欢迎的食物, 从成熟的果实到巧克力糖 和烤排骨。
sexual:adj.性的;性别的;有性的; proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); ripe:adj.成熟的;口味浓郁的;醇美可口的;强烈的; malts:n.麦芽;麦芽酒;adj.麦芽的;含麦芽的,用麦芽作的;vt.用麦芽处理; barbecued:v.(在烤架上)烤,烧烤;(barbecue的过去分词和过去式) ribs:n.[解剖]肋骨;排骨(rib的复数);
The other great principle of evolution is sexual selection, and it operates very differently. 进化的另一大原则 是性选择, 它运作的方式则大相径庭.
principle:n.原理,原则;主义,道义;本质,本义;根源,源泉;
The peacock's magnificent tail is the most famous example of this. 孔雀那华丽的尾巴 就是最著名的例子。
magnificent:adj.高尚的;壮丽的;华丽的;宏伟的;
It did not evolve for natural survival . 这不是为了自然生存而进化出来的。
survival:n.幸存,残存;幸存者,残存物;
In fact, it goes against natural survival. 实际上,这与自然生存相违背。
No, the peacock's tail results from the mating choices made by peahens. 不,孔雀的尾巴 是雌孔雀 交配选择的结果。
mating:n.交尾;交配;v.交配;交尾;使交配;(mate的现在分词)
It's quite a familiar story. 这是个大家耳熟能详的故事。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
It's women who actually push history forward. 实际上是女性推动了历史前进。
Darwin himself, by the way , had no doubts that the peacock's tail was beautiful in the eyes of the peahen . 顺便说一句,达尔文本人 也毫不怀疑孔雀的尾巴 在雌孔雀眼中是美丽的。
by the way:顺便说一下; peahen:n.雌孔雀;
He actually used that word. 他事实上用过“美”这个词。
Now, keeping these ideas firmly in mind, we can say that the experience of beauty is one of the ways that evolution has of arousing and sustaining interest or fascination , even obsession , in order to encourage us toward making the most adaptive decisions for survival and reproduction . 现在,把这些牢记在心, 我们可以确定美的体验 是进化用来 激发和维持兴趣、 魅力甚至是 痴迷的方式之一, 是为了鼓励我们 做出最有利于 生存和繁衍的决策。
arousing:adj.振奋人心的;v.激发;萌生,唤醒(arouse的现在分词); sustaining:adj.持续的;支持的;v.维持(sustain的现在分词);支持;承受; fascination:n.魅力;魔力;入迷; obsession:n.痴迷;困扰;[内科][心理]强迫观念; reproduction:n.繁殖,生殖;复制;复制品;
Beauty is nature's way of acting at a distance , so to speak . 可以说 美是自然用来 间接运作的方式
at a distance:在远处;有相当距离; so to speak:可以说;打个譬喻说;
I mean, you can't expect to eat an adaptively beneficial landscape. 人们并不指望可以吃一个 利于适应性的风景。
beneficial:adj.有益的,有利的;可享利益的;
It would hardly do to eat your baby or your lover . 也不会想吃你的孩子 或你的爱人。
lover:n.爱好者;情侣;热爱者;
So evolution's trick is to make them beautiful, to have them exert a kind of magnetism to give you the pleasure of simply looking at them. 因此,进化的方式是 让他们看起来赞, 让他们散发出一种吸引力, 让你仅仅是看着他们就觉得超爽的。
exert:v.施加;努力;运用;行使; magnetism:n.磁性,磁力;磁学;吸引力;
Consider briefly an important source of aesthetic pleasure, the magnetic pull of beautiful landscapes . 想一下简单且重要的审美愉悦的来源, 美丽风景的 吸引力。
briefly:adv.简要地;简短地;暂时地; source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; magnetic:adj.像磁铁的;有磁性的;磁的;富有吸引力的; landscapes:n.风景; v.从事庭园设计;
People in very different cultures all over the world tend to like a particular kind of landscape, a landscape that just happens to be similar to the pleistocene savannas where we evolved. 全世界在完全不同的 文化背景下的人们 都倾向于某种特定的风景, 这种风景恰巧与我们进化而来的 更新纪大草原相似。
savannas:n.热带稀树草原(savanna的复数);
This landscape shows up today on calendars , on postcards , in the design of golf courses and public parks and in gold-framed pictures that hang in living rooms from New York to New Zealand . 今天这类风景在 日历中、明信片中、 高尔夫球场设计和公共公园中 还有挂在起居室中的 镶金画框中找到。 从纽约到新西兰都能看到。
calendars:n.日历;挂历;日程表;记事本;(calendar的复数) postcards:n.明信片;(postcard的复数) Zealand:西兰岛(丹麦最大的岛)
It's a kind of Hudson River school landscape featuring open spaces of low grasses interspersed with copses of trees. 这是一种有点像哈得逊河画派的风景画, 描绘了开阔的原野上 低低的草地 点缀着些许树木。
Hudson:n.哈得孙河; interspersed:adj.点缀的;散置的;v.点缀(intersperse的过去式);散布; copses:n.杂树林;小灌木丛;
The trees, by the way, are often preferred if they fork near the ground, that is to say , if they're trees you could scramble up if you were in a tight fix. 顺便说一下,通常这些树开叉 离地面较低, 也就是说,如果有紧急情况, 你可以爬到这些树上。
preferred:v.较喜欢;喜欢…多于…;(prefer的过去式和过去分词) that is to say:就是;即;换言之; scramble:vt.攀登; n.抢夺,争夺; vi.爬行,攀登;
The landscape shows the presence of water directly in view, or evidence of water in a bluish distance, indications of animal or bird life as well as diverse greenery and finally -- get this -- a path or a road, perhaps a riverbank or a shoreline , that extends into the distance, almost inviting you to follow it. 风景中会在视野可见范围内能 直接看到水流, 或是远处的黛青色暗示着水的存在, 指明有动物或鸟类生命的迹象 还有各种不同的绿色植物 最后--还有这个-- 一条小径 或是一条路, 也许是河岸或是海岸, 延伸向远方, 几乎就是在邀请你沿着它走下去。
directly:adv.直接地;立即;马上;正好地;坦率地;conj.一…就; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明; bluish:adj.带蓝色的;有点蓝的; indications:n.适应症,显示;标志(indication复数形式); as well as:也;和…一样;不但…而且; diverse:adj.不同的;多种多样的;变化多的; greenery:n.绿色植物;温室; finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; riverbank:n.河堤; shoreline:n.海岸线;海岸线地带; extends:v.使伸长;扩大;扩展;延长;使延期;(extend的第三人称单数)
This landscape type is regarded as beautiful, even by people in countries that don't have it. 这种类型的风景大家一致公认是很漂亮的, 甚至生活在没有这种风景的人们 也是这样认为的。
The ideal savanna landscape is one of the clearest examples where human beings everywhere find beauty in similar visual experience. 理想的热带稀树大草原风景 是最显著的例证之一, 在世界各地的人都能 找到有相似的 视觉体验的美。
visual:adj.视觉的,视力的;栩栩如生的;
But, someone might argue, that's natural beauty. 但有人也许会争辩, 那是自然美。
How about artistic beauty? 艺术的美又如何呢？
Isn't that exhaustively cultural? 那难道不是纯粹的文化影响吗？
exhaustively:adv.耗尽一切地;
No, I don't think it is. 不,我不这么认为。
And once again, I'd like to look back to prehistory to say something about it. 再次,我们回到史前, 聊聊史前的一些事。
It is widely assumed that the earliest human artworks are the stupendously skillful cave paintings that we all know from Lascaux and Chauvet. 普遍认为, 最早的人类艺术品 是极富技巧的洞穴画, 我们都知道从拉斯科洞窟 到萧韦洞窟。
assumed:adj.假定的;假设的;v.假定;假设;认为;承担;(assume的过去分词和过去式) artworks:艺术品(artwork的名词复数); stupendously:adv.巨大地;惊人地; skillful:adj.熟练的;巧妙的;
Chauvet caves are about 32,000 years old, along with a few small, realistic sculptures of women and animals from the same period. 萧韦洞窟 大约有3万2千年的历史, 其中还有同一时期的一些小的、写实的 妇女和动物的雕像。
realistic:adj.现实的;现实主义的;逼真的;实在论的;
But artistic and decorative skills are actually much older than that. 但艺术和装饰技巧的存在 实际上要更早些。
decorative:adj.装饰性的;装潢用的;
Beautiful shell necklaces that look like something you'd see at an arts and crafts fair, as well as ochre body paint, have been found from around 100,000 years ago. 漂亮的贝壳项链, 看起来就像是艺术品和手工艺品, 还有赭色的人体绘画, 远在 10万年前就存在了。
shell:n.壳;炮弹;壳层;骨架;v.脱壳;剥壳;采集贝壳;用壳体包被;short.shewill; necklaces:n.项链(necklace复数); arts and crafts:n.手工艺; ochre:n.赭石;赭色;vt.涂赭色于;adj.赭色的(等于ocher);
But the most intriguing prehistoric artifacts are older even than this. 但最酷的史前人工制品 比这些还要早。
intriguing:adj.有趣的;迷人的;v.引起…的兴趣;策划阴谋;私通;(intrigue的现在分词) artifacts:n.史前古器物;人工产品;
I have in mind the so-called Acheulian hand axes . 我印象中 是被称为阿舍利手斧的手工制品。
so-called:adj.所谓的;号称的; axes:n.轴线;轴心;坐标轴;斧头(axe的复数);
The oldest stone tools are choppers from the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa. 最古老的石制工具是 在东非的奥杜威峡谷发现的石斧。
choppers:n.直升机(chopper的复数); v.乘直升机飞行; Gorge:n.峡谷;胃;暴食;咽喉;障碍物;vt.使吃饱;吞下;使扩张;vi.拚命吃;狼吞虎咽;
They go back about two-and-a-half-million years. 它的历史要追溯到两百五十万年前。
These crude tools were around for thousands of centuries, until around 1.4 million years ago when Homo erectus started shaping single, thin stone blades , sometimes rounded ovals , but often in what are to our eyes an arresting, symmetrical pointed leaf or teardrop form. 这类粗糙的工具 存在了数千个世纪, 直到大约一百四十万年前, 直立人 开始打磨 单个的薄石刀片, 有时是椭圆形的, 但通常,在我们眼中, 是醒目的对称的尖叶子形 或泪滴形。
crude:adj.粗略的;简略的;大概的;粗糙的;n.原油;石油; Homo erectus:n.直立人(能用腿行走的早期人类); blades:n.刀身;刀片;刀刃;叶片;桨叶;桨身;(blade的复数) ovals:n.椭圆形物;卵形体(oval的复数); symmetrical:adj.匀称的,对称的; teardrop:n.泪珠;泪珠状物;adj.泪珠状的;
These Acheulian hand axes -- they're named after St. Acheul in France, where finds were made in 19th century -- have been unearthed in their thousands, scattered across Asia, Europe and Africa, almost everywhere Homo erectus and Homo ergaster roamed . 这些阿舍利手斧-- 名称取自法国的圣阿舍尔, 这些手斧是十九世纪在那儿发现的-- 出土了数千件, 散布在亚洲、欧洲和非洲, 几乎遍布每一处直立人 或者匠人到过的地方。
unearthed:adj.采掘出的;未接地的;v.发掘;破获(unearth的过去分词); scattered:adj.零散的; v.撒; (scatter的过去分词和过去式) roamed:v.徜徉;闲逛;漫步;(缓慢地)扫遍,摸遍;(roam的过去分词和过去式)
Now, the sheer numbers of these hand axes shows that they can't have been made for butchering animals. 这些手斧众多的数量 表明它们不是用于 屠宰动物。
butchering:v.屠杀;杀戮;屠宰;弄砸;(butcher的现在分词)
And the plot really thickens when you realize that, unlike other pleistocene tools, the hand axes often exhibit no evidence of wear on their delicate blade edges. 更复杂的是当你考虑到, 不像其他更新世的工具, 在这些手斧 精美脆弱的刀刃边缘 找不到任何磨损的痕迹。
plot:n.情节;阴谋;布局;小块土地;v.密谋;暗中策划;(在地图上)标出;绘制(图表); thickens:vt.使变厚;使模糊;使…变复杂;vi.变浓;变厚;变得模糊;变粗;变复杂; exhibit:v.展览;表现;展出;n.陈列品;(在法庭上出示的)物证; delicate:adj.精致的,微妙的,脆弱的,熟练的,柔和的;
And some, in any event , are too big to use for butchery . 而且它们中的一些,无论用在屠宰什么动物上, 都太大了点。
in any event:无论如何;不管怎样; butchery:n.屠场;肉贩;肉食店;
Their symmetry , their attractive materials and, above all, their meticulous workmanship are simply quite beautiful to our eyes, even today. 它们的对称性,和引人注意的材料 还有,尤其是, 它们那精细的做工 对我们来说非常美丽, 即使在今天也是如此。
symmetry:n.对称(性);整齐,匀称; attractive:adj.吸引人的;有魅力的;引人注目的; meticulous:adj.一丝不苟的;小心翼翼的;拘泥小节的; workmanship:n.手艺,工艺;技巧;
So what were these ancient -- 因此这些古老的--
I mean, they're ancient, they're foreign, but they're at the same time somehow familiar. 我是说,它们是古老的,异域的, 但同时它们 也是我们熟悉的。
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时; somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地;
What were these artifacts for? 这些人工制品的用途是什么？
The best available answer is that they were literally the earliest known works of art, practical tools transformed into captivating aesthetic objects, contemplated both for their elegant shape and their virtuoso craftsmanship . 已有的最佳答案是 它们就是 已知最早的艺术品, 从实用工具转变 成迷人的审美对象, 它们那优雅的形状 和精湛的工艺让人凝望深思。
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: practical:adj.实际的;真实的;客观存在的;n.实习课;实践课; transformed:v.使改变形态;使改变外观(或性质);(transform的过去分词和过去式) captivating:adj.迷人的;有魅力的;v.使…着迷(captivate的ing形式); contemplated:v.考虑;思量;深思熟虑;沉思;(contemplate的过去式和过去分词) elegant:adj.高雅的,优雅的;讲究的;简炼的;简洁的; virtuoso:n.艺术品鉴赏家;古董收藏家;艺术大师;adj.行家里手的;艺术爱好者的; craftsmanship:n.技术;技艺;
Hand axes mark an evolutionary advance in human history -- tools fashioned to function as what Darwinians call " fitness signals" -- that is to say, displays that are performances like the peacock's tail, except that, unlike hair and feathers, the hand axes are consciously cleverly crafted . 手斧标志了 人类历史上进化的进步-- 从实用工具到审美对象 就好像达尔文主义者所说的适应性信号 这就是说,它展示出了 类似孔雀尾巴 的用途, 只是与毛发和羽毛不同, 手斧是有意识的 精巧制品。
fitness:n.健康;适当;适合性; displays:v.陈列; n.陈列; performances:n.演出;[法]履行(performance的复数形式); consciously:adv.自觉地;有意识地; cleverly:adv.聪明地; crafted:adj.精心制作的;v.精巧地制作(craft的过去分词);
Competently made hand axes indicated desirable personal qualities -- intelligence , fine motor control, planning ability, conscientiousness and sometimes access to rare materials. 制作精良的手斧 表明了富有魅力的个人品质-- 智力,精细的动作控制, 规划能力, 责任心 有时还有能得到稀有材料的能力。
Competently:adv.胜任地;适合地; indicated:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示;示意;(indicate的过去分词和过去式) desirable:adj.令人满意的;值得要的;n.合意的人或事物; intelligence:n.智力;智慧;才智;(尤指关于敌国的)情报;
Over tens of thousands of generations, such skills increased the status of those who displayed them and gained a reproductive advantage over the less capable . 经过千万代的传承, 这样的技巧提供了 制作者的地位 并比那些能力较差的人赢得了 更多的繁衍后代的优势。
status:n.地位;状态;情形;重要身份; displayed:v.陈列;展出;展示;显露(display的过去分词和过去式) reproductive:adj.生殖的;再生的;复制的; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点: capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的;
You know, it's an old line, but it has been shown to work -- "Why don't you come up to my cave, so I can show you my hand axes?" 这是一句很古老的话了 但是现在仍然能起作用-- “让我们到我的洞里去,这样我就能给你看看我的手斧了。”
come up to:v.达到;等于;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Except, of course, what's interesting about this is that we can't be sure how that idea was conveyed , because the Homo erectus that made these objects did not have language. 当然,有趣的是, 我们无法确认这样的观点是如何传播的, 因为制作这些 物品的直立人 没有语言。
conveyed:vt.传达;
It's hard to grasp , but it's an incredible fact. 这很难理解, 但这也是难以置信的事实。
grasp:n.抓住;理解;控制;v.抓住;领会; incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的;
This object was made by a hominid ancestor, 这一物品是在语言出现之前的 5万年前至10万年前
hominid:n.原始人类;人科动物;adj.人类及其祖先的;
Homo erectus or Homo ergaster, between 50,000 and 100,000 years before language. 由原始人类祖先-- 直立人或匠人-- 制作出来的。
Stretching over a million years, the hand axe tradition is the longest artistic tradition in human and proto-human history. 延绵超过一百万年, 手斧传统 是人类和原始人历史上 最长时间的艺术传统。￡
Stretching:v.拉长;撑大;有弹性;拉紧;拉直;(stretch的现在分词)
By the end of the hand axe epic , Homo sapiens -- as they were then called, finally -- were doubtless finding new ways to amuse and amaze each other by, who knows, telling jokes, storytelling , dancing, or hairstyling. 在手斧世代结束的时候,智人-- 最终以此来称呼他们-- 毫无疑问的找到了 相互娱乐的新方法, 谁知道呢,通过讲笑话, 讲故事、跳舞或美发。
epic:adj.史诗的,叙事诗的;n.史诗;叙事诗;史诗般的作品; Homo sapiens:n.智人(现代人类); doubtless:adv.无疑地;确定地;大概,多半;adj.无疑的;确定的; amuse:v.逗乐;逗笑;(提供)消遣;(使)娱乐; amaze:v.使惊奇;使惊愕;使惊诧;n.(诗)同"amazement"; storytelling:n.讲故事;说谎话;adj.讲故事的;说谎的;
Yes, hairstyling -- I insist on that. 是的, 美发-- 我坚持这点。
For us moderns, virtuoso technique is used to create imaginary worlds in fiction and in movies, to express intense emotions with music, painting and dance. 对我们现代人来说, 精湛的技术 用于在小说和电影中 创造想象中的世界, 用音乐、绘画和舞蹈 来表达强烈的情感。
technique:n.技巧,技术;手法; imaginary:adj.虚构的,假想的;想像的;虚数的; express:v.表达; adj.特快的; n.特快列车; v.使用快速服务; intense:adj.强烈的;紧张的;非常的;热情的; emotions:n.强烈的感情;激情;情感;(emotion的复数)
But still, one fundamental trait of the ancestral personality persists in our aesthetic cravings : the beauty we find in skilled performances. 但尽管如此, 这种古人的基本品质 保留在我们的 审美渴望中: 我们在技巧性表现 中发现的美。
fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的; trait:n.特性,特点;品质;少许; ancestral:adj.祖先的;祖传的; personality:n.性格;个性;人格;魅力;气质;名人;特色; persists:vi.存留,坚持;持续,固执;vt.坚持说,反复说; cravings:n.渴望(craving的复数);
From Lascaux to the Louvre to Carnegie Hall, human beings have a permanent innate taste for virtuoso displays in the arts. 从拉斯科洞窟到罗浮宫 再到卡耐基音乐厅, 人类 对艺术中的精湛技巧 有种自发的永恒的欣赏。
Louvre:n.(法)罗浮宫(等于louver); permanent:adj.永久的,永恒的;n.烫发; innate:adj.先天的;固有的;与生俱来的;
We find beauty in something done well. 我们在绝世制作的 事物中发现美。
So the next time you pass a jewelry shop window displaying a beautifully cut teardrop-shaped stone, don't be so sure it's just your culture telling you that that sparkling jewel is beautiful. 因此,下次你经过陈列 着切成泪滴形的 漂亮宝石的珠宝店橱窗时, 不要太肯定 这只是你所接收到的文化影响了你 告诉你闪闪发光的珠宝是美丽的。
shop window:n.商店橱窗; displaying:v.陈列;展出;展示;显露(display的现在分词) sparkling:adj.闪亮的; v.闪耀; (sparkle的现在分词)
Your distant ancestors loved that shape and found beauty in the skill needed to make it, even before they could put their love into words. 你的祖先也很喜欢这形状, 并在制作这一形状所需技能中发现了美, 这甚至发生在 在他们能把他们的爱付诸文字之前。
distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? 美是存在于观者的眼中么？
No, it's deep in our minds. 不,它深深的在我们的思想中。
It's a gift handed down from the intelligent skills and rich emotional lives of our most ancient ancestors. 它是一种天赋,来自于我们 远祖的智慧和 丰富的情感生活。
intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的
Our powerful reaction to images , to the expression of emotion in art, to the beauty of music, to the night sky, will be with us and our descendants for as long as the human race exists. 我们对图像、 对艺术中情感的表达、 对音乐与夜空的美妙的 强烈的反应将与我们同在,与我们的后代同在, 只要人类还存在着。
reaction:n.反应,感应;反动,复古;反作用; images:n.印象;声誉;形象;画像;雕像;(image的第三人称单数和复数) expression:n.表现,表示,表达; descendants:n.后裔;后代;子孙;派生物;(descendant的复数) as long as:conj.只要;长达;如果;既然; human race:n.人类;
Thank you. 谢谢大家。
(Applause) （掌声）