纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 036耶路撒冷沃伦杯(5)

And the Warren Cup is a good bit of exquisite¹ hard evidence that proves that.

而且沃伦杯是一件极为珍贵的物证。

This cup is telling us what actually went on, how homosexual activity was something which took place in high aristocratic circles.

这只杯子告诉我们到底发生过什么,同性性行为如何在高贵族圈子里上演。

I think it's very interesting with this cup,

我认为这只杯子非常有趣，

because it's actually physically² made from the inside out, so it's beaten from the inside and that's how you get the form on the outside, and that is almost what the Warren Cup is-it's a covert³ demonstration⁴ of what was actually going on in the real world outside."

因为它实际上是由内而外,从内部开始进行锻造, 依照内部有了外部形状。这就是是沃伦杯的一切—这实际上是由内而外展现外在的现实世界。”

Silver cups of this date are now exceptionally rare, as so many were melted down, and among the survivors⁵, few in the world can match the virtuoso⁶ skill of the Warren Cup.

制作于这一时期的银杯，流传于世的极为稀少，其中大部分都已被熔化，极少数幸存者也鲜有沃伦杯这样精湛的工艺。

To buy a cup like this you would have had to be rich, for it would have cost you somewhere around 250 denarii-and for that money you could have bought 25 large jars of the best wine, two thirds of an acre of land, or even an unskilled slave like the one we see peering round the door.

这样的杯子只有富人才买得起，一只的价格大约二百五十枚古罗马银币。这笔钱可以让你买二十五罐最好的葡萄酒，三分之二英亩土地，或是一个类似图中在门后窥探的奴隶少年。

So this indulgent little dining-piece places its owner firmly in the echelons⁷ of high society, in that very world that St Paul was so eloquently⁸ condemning⁹ for its drunkenness and its fornication.

因此这件小小的宴会用具的主人一定属于上流社会那个因为骄奢淫逸而受到圣保罗强烈谴责的阶层。

We don't know for certain, but it's thought that the Warren Cup was found buried at Bittir, a town a few miles south-west of Jerusalem.

我们对酒杯的发现地并不确定，据称，它来自比提提尔附近的墓葬。这座镇子位于耶路撒冷西南数英里。

How it got to this location is a mystery, but we can make a guess.

酒杯为何会在此出现还是一个链团， 但我们不妨一猜。

1 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 virtuoso   

n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手

参考例句：

• He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师，他声誉日隆。
• His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。

7 echelons   

n.（机构中的）等级，阶层( echelon的名词复数 )；（军舰、士兵、飞机等的）梯形编队

参考例句：

• Officers were drawn largely from the top echelons of society. 这些官员大都来自社会上层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Except in the higher echelons, extensive classification has no place in the classification of vegetation. 除高阶类级之外，外延分类在植物分类中还是没有地位的。 来自辞典例句

8 eloquently   

adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地)

参考例句：

• I was toasted by him most eloquently at the dinner. 进餐时他口若悬河地向我祝酒。
• The poet eloquently expresses the sense of lost innocence. 诗人动人地表达了失去天真的感觉。

9 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》