纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 036耶路撒冷沃伦杯(6)

We can date the making of the cup to around the year 10.

我们能确定它的制作时间大约在公元十年左右。

About 50 years later, the Roman occupation of Jerusalem sparked tensions between the rulers and the Jewish community,

约五十年后，罗马对耶路撒冷的统治激起了统治阶层与犹太人的矛盾。

and in AD 66 that exploded and the Jews took back the city by force. There were violent confrontations¹,

公元六十六年，矛盾爆发了。犹太人用武力夺回了这座城市。当时的战况极为惨烈，

and it is thought that our cup may have been buried at this date by the owner fleeing from the fighting.

银杯有可能是它的主人在逃跑前埋起来的。

After this, the cup disappears for almost two thousand years, until it was bought by Edward Warren in Rome in 1911.

之后，银杯消失了约两千年。1911年，爱德华沃伦在罗马购买了它。

For years after his death in 1928, it proved impossible to sell-the subject-matter was just too shocking for any potential collector.

1928年，沃伦去世。杯面上惊世骇俗的绘画主题让银杯在他逝后多年仍无人问津。

In London, the British Museum declined to buy it, as did the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and, at one point, it was even refused entry to the United States of America,

伦敦的大英博物馆和剑桥的菲茨威廉博物馆都拒绝购买。有一段时间，它甚至无法进入美国境内，

when the explicit² nature of its imagery offended a customs official.

因为杯上的图案过于露骨，激怒了美国海关官员。

It was only in 1999-long after public attitudes to homosexuality, and indeed the law, had changed-that the British Museum bought the Warren Cup,

直到1999年，公众对同性恋的态度已有了极大转变，大英博物馆才购买了沃伦杯，

then the most expensive acquisition it had ever made. A cartoon at the time showed a Roman barman saucily³ asking a customer,Do you want a straight goblet⁴ or a gay goblet?

它成为当时收购价格最高的文物。当时有幅漫画，一位罗马酒吧侍者傲慢地问顾客：你想要普 通杯子还是同性恋杯子？

A hundred years after he bought it, Warren's cup is now on permanent public display here in the British Museum, and it serves I think a very useful purpose.

在沃伦买下它一百年后，沃伦杯终于成为大英博物馆的永久公开藏品。

It's not just a superb piece of Roman Imperial metalwork-from party cup to scandalous vessel⁵

它不仅是罗马帝国精湛的金属加工工艺的代表。它的历史变迁从宴会用品到有伤风化的容器，

and finally to an iconic museum-piece-this object reminds us that the way societies view sexual relationships is never fixed⁶.

再到博物馆的标志性展品，这一过程让我们看到，社会对性关系的态度一直在改变。

1 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

2 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

3 saucily   

adv.傲慢地，莽撞地

参考例句：

• The servants likewise used me saucily, and had much ado to keep their hands off me. 有几个仆人对我很无礼，要他们的手不碰我是很难的。 来自辞典例句

4 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。