VOA标准英语2013--恩德贝勒艺术家推广传统技术

 

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 tribe¹, 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 learned² 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 exhibit³ 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 mentors⁴ 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 footsteps⁵. "I would like to go overseas, earn a living thanks to the art, while carrying the legacy⁶ of the Ndebele art and of Madam Esther," Nomewa said.

Mahlangu is prolific⁷ 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

5 footsteps   

n.脚步（声），一步的距离，足迹；脚步（声）( footstep的名词复数 )；一步的距离；足迹

参考例句：

• the sound of footsteps on the stairs 楼梯上的脚步声
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。