彭蒙惠英语：America’s First Landscape Architect

America’s First Landscape Architect

 

By Karen Lingo¹ and Steve Bender © 2004 Southern Living Inc.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services International

 

Living legacies²: His landscapes remain as vibrant³ today as when he created them more than a century ago

 

1

Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s first landscape architect and co-designer of New York City’s Central Park, was a visionary. While most people see only moments ahead, Olmsted could plant a landscape and know what it would look like 100 years later.

 

During his distinguished⁴ career, Olmsted designed everything from parks to private gardens. Two places that bear his mark are Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C.

 

Biltmore Estate

Spread across 8,000 acres in the Blue Ridge⁵ Mountains, Biltmore Estate reflects one man’s wealth and another man’s genius. In 1889, George Washington Vanderbilt began constructing a 250-room mountain retreat near Asheville, North Carolina. If the structure seemed immense, the grounds were colossal⁶. Buying up forests and farmland in every direction, Vanderbilt acquired 125,000 acres. He then hired Olmsted to turn them into a proper setting for his home.

 

Olmsted envisioned a series of small pleasure gardens around the mansion⁷. He also designed the 250-acre Deer Park, a wooded game preserve like those found on English country estates. Most of the remaining land, some 100,000 acres, was planted as timberland. He recommended that bottomland along the French Broad River, which flows through the property, be used to raise cattle for manure⁸ to be spread as fertilizer.

 

The gardens at Biltmore are spectacular, especially in spring, but the 3-mile approach road to the mansion provides an unforgettable experience. “Olmsted worked in concert with nature,” says Bill Alexander, landscape and forest historian at Biltmore. “His great strength was his mastery of grading and the landform, the subtle positioning of roads and paths so that you don’t notice them when you’re looking across the landscape. It’s this grasp of scale and the earth that is the fundamental canvas of Olmsted.”

 

 

Vocabulary Focus

distinguished (adj) [dis5tiN^wiFt] relating to a respected and admired person, or that person’s work

bear one’s mark (idiom) to show someone’s imprint⁹ on something

in concert (idiom) together; in agreement according to a design or plan

 

Specialized¹⁰ Terms

game preserve (n phr) 野生动物保护区 an area of land kept in its natural state for wild animals to live in to be protected

manure (n) 粪肥，肥料 excrement¹¹ from animals, especially horses and cattle, which is spread on the land in order to make plants grow well

grading (n) 缓和坡度，平整地 the act of bringing the surface of land to a desired level; the shaping of land, performed by machine or by hand

landform (n) 地形 a natural feature of a land surface, such as a valley or hill

 

美国景观建筑之父

 

活生生的遗产：他百余年前创造的庭园设计，今日依然生气盎然

 

胡怡敏 译

 

1

弗雷德里克·劳·奥姆斯特德，美国的第一个景观建筑师和纽约市中央公园的共同设计师，是位远见卓识者。大部分的人都只看到眼前的片刻，奥姆斯特德不仅能够布置出一个庭园景观，还能知道它100年之后的样子。

在奥姆斯特德脱颖而出的职业生涯当中，其设计从公园到私人花园样样都有。他有两个流芳百世的庭园设计作品，一个是北卡罗莱纳州的毕尔特摩尔庄园，另一个是华盛顿特区的美国国会大厦庭园。

 

毕尔特摩尔庄园

占地8000英亩的毕尔特摩尔庄园坐落在蓝脊山脉，它反映了一位巨子的财富和另一智者的非凡天赋。1889年，乔治·华盛顿·范德比尔开始在北卡罗莱纳州的艾希维尔市附近大兴土木，兴建一个拥有250间房间的山中别苑。如果这个建筑物看来巨大无比，那它的所在地更是浩瀚无际。范德比尔买下各个方位的森林和农地，购得12.5万英亩的土地。然后他聘请奥姆斯特德将土地设计成适合他居住的家园。

奥姆斯特德构思了一系列围绕着宅邸的休闲庭园。他也设计了占地250英亩的鹿园，一个类似英国乡村庄园会看到的那种茂密动物保护区。所剩的大部分土地，约10万英亩，则作为育木林地。至于那些坐落于穿过园区的法国宽河旁的洼地，奥姆斯特德建议用来牧养牛群，用其粪便当作肥料。

毕尔特摩尔的花园让人叹为观止，特别是在春季的时候；但是通往宅邸的3英里通道，则提供一个难以忘怀的经验。“奥姆斯特德与大自然和谐同工，”毕尔特摩尔的景观和森林历史学家比尔·亚历山大表示：“他的特长，在于精通修平坡度和地形，以及道路和小径的微妙位置分配，因此当你在远眺景色时，不会注意到它们。这种对于比例和陆地的理解，正是奥姆斯特德的基础画布。”

 

 

1 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

2 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

5 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

6 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

7 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

8 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

9 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

10 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

11 excrement   

n.排泄物，粪便

参考例句：

• The cage smelled of excrement.笼子里粪臭熏人。
• Clothing can also become contaminated with dust,feathers,and excrement.衣着则会受到微尘、羽毛和粪便的污染。