美国国家公共电台 NPR--Our 5 favorite exhibits from 'This Is New York' — a gritty, stylish city celebration

Our 5 favorite exhibits from 'This Is New York' — a gritty, stylish¹ city celebration

Transcript²

Visiting New York City this summer? A fun, family-friendly exhibit celebrating movies, TV shows, music, books, fashion and art inspired by the city is now open at the Museum of the City of New York.

This Is New York is in celebration of the museum's own centennial. It turns out that the past 100 years have been rich ones for depicting³ the city.

"1923 is really at the beginning of mass American culture ... Radio, film, it's at the beginning of a whole cultural explosion," said Lilly Tuttle, one of the curators. She said the exhibit is meant to capture New York as artists have experienced it during that time. It's not a love letter.

"It's a crowded, dirty, smelly, rude, cacophonous⁴ place. And also glamorous⁵ and wonderful and glitzy and fabulous⁶ and elegant and cool. And artists across time and across media have captured that," she said. "It's all in here, all at once."

But there's so much to see — in this corner, Jake LaMotta's boxing gloves from Raging Bull! In that corner, a video mocking the meme Pizza Rat! — that it can be overwhelming. To help you know where to start, here are our top five picks.

1. Step on a song

Step on an illuminated⁷ icon⁸ of one of the five boroughs¹⁰, and a song about New York by musicians from that borough⁹ pours out of speakers. There are 112 songs in almost every style — from standards to salsa to punk to rap to reggae.

Step on the Bronx — maybe you'll hear "Jenny from the Block" by Jennifer Lopez. Hop¹¹ over to Queens — hey that's "Rockaway Beach" from The Ramones. And though many, many songs have been written about Manhattan, you may be lucky enough to hear a famous one — like Frank Sinatra's version of "New York, New York."

2. Be immersed in the city

Sixteen screens. Four hundred movies, TV shows and documentaries, including scenes you'll recognize from Ghostbusters, Do the Right Thing, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Working Girl and In The Heights. Thousands of clips flicker¹² by in the dark, illuminating¹³ the ways New York has been portrayed¹⁴ — crowded and dirty and dangerous, sure, but also glamorous and ambitious and liberating¹⁵. A place to be yourself ... even if that self lives in an apartment with four other people and hundreds of cockroaches¹⁶.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights is just one of 400 films that make up "This Is New York."

Macall Polay/"In the Heights," 2021, Reproduction Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

3. Salivate over the skyline cape¹⁷

This floor-length, white silk cape is hand-beaded with an image of the New York skyline, the beads¹⁸ sparkling like the city's lights. The silhouettes¹⁹ of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building call to mind the elegance²⁰ of all the 1930s black-and-white movies set in Manhattan, with their top hats and late night supper clubs.

But it's just one of the items celebrating the city's love affair with fashion — and fashion's love affair with the city. Sharp eyes will also spy the ballet dress Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the original pilot episode of Sex and the City. And next to the stunning²¹ cape is a painted denim²² graffiti jacket from the artist PART ONE (Enrique Torres), who pioneered this kind of vibrant²³ street writing in the 1970s and 1980s. In New York, you could imagine people standing²⁴ next to each other, one wearing the cape, the other the jacket, waiting for a cab.

"It's the idea that New York fabulous dresses up - or doesn't," Tuttle said.

4. Hear Lea DeLaria and Matthew Broderick read favorite books

In a long, narrow, room of its own is a library of books and DVD cases. Take a book off the shelf, drop it on a scanner, and hear Matthew Broderick read from John Cheever's short story The Enormous Radio or Lea DeLaria read an excerpt²⁵ from the children's classic Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Or try a DVD case instead and see a clip from The Jeffersons, Seinfeld or I Love Lucy. Each work on the shelf portrays²⁶ a New Yorker's view of home, which often is a crowded apartment with views of the neighbors.

Tuttle said it reminds people that people may think of the city as a public place of spectacle and performance, but those who live here are often working out private dramas.

"Sometimes maybe you're catching²⁷ a murderer out your window and other times you're just yelling at each other," Tuttle said, laughing. She's a lifelong New Yorker herself. "But it's basically the idea of cramped²⁸ quarters, bickering²⁹ and spying on your neighbors."

5. Salsa at Orchard³⁰ Beach

For about 50 years, Latinos in the Bronx have been meeting to salsa on Sundays at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. Cheyenne Julien's painting may not literally³¹ take you there, but looking at it, you can feel the heat of the hazy³² sun and hear the beat of the music.

The rest of the art scattered³³ throughout the galleries will likewise sweep you away. It's like a treasure hunt. There's a quilt from Faith Ringgold, with a family enjoying a quiet dinner on a rooftop; a lonely look into a movie theater with Edward Hopper; a drawing of a ferocious³⁴ knockout punch from George Bellows³⁵. There's joy, too, in a life-size plaster casts of girls playing double Dutch on the street in the Bronx, and a lamppost from Sesame Street.

All of it captures the people parade that is everyday life in New York City.

Tuttle noted³⁶ that every few years, like during the middle of the pandemic, someone declares that the city is over.

But art like this proves it's not, she said. "Once you move away from the hot dogs and the pizza and the dirty apartments and the subway, it's like, no, the city will always rise again, because of the creativity that we're celebrating in this exhibition."

1 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

4 cacophonous   

adj.发音不和谐的，粗腔横调的

参考例句：

• They produced the most cacophonous beat of pop music. 他们制造了流行音乐最不协调的节拍。 来自辞典例句

5 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

6 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

7 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

8 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

9 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

10 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

11 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

12 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

13 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

14 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

16 cockroaches   

n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At night, the cockroaches filled the house with their rustlings. 夜里，屋里尽是蟑螂窸窸瑟瑟的声音。 来自辞典例句
• It loves cockroaches, and can keep a house clear of these hated insects. 它们好食蟑螂，可以使住宅免除这些讨厌昆虫的骚扰。 来自百科语句

17 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

18 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

19 silhouettes   

轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影

参考例句：

• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• They could see silhouettes. 他们能看得见影子的。

20 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

21 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• 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。

22 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

23 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• 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。

25 excerpt   

n.摘录，选录，节录

参考例句：

• This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
• Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？

26 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

28 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

29 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

30 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

31 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

32 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

33 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

34 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

35 bellows   

n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• His job is to blow the bellows for the blacksmith. 他的工作是给铁匠拉风箱。 来自辞典例句
• You could, I suppose, compare me to a blacksmith's bellows. 我想，你可能把我比作铁匠的风箱。 来自辞典例句

36 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。