VOA慢速英语2014 街头艺术家在华盛顿特区建筑物涂鸦

 

Street Artists Add Color to Washington, DC Buildings 街头艺术家在华盛顿特区建筑物涂鸦

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning² English.  I’m Caty Weaver³.

Washington D.C. has a graffiti problem. That is a problem it shares with many large cities around the world. Graffiti is an illegal form of artistic⁴ expression. Graffiti artists are usually young people who use a kind of paint that is sprayed⁶ from a can. They illegally paint words and pictures on the sides of buildings -- especially in low-income neighborhoods. Some cities are fighting the graffiti artists with education and possibilities instead of punishment. In Washington, DC, officials are working with graffiti artists to help make the city more beautiful.

About twelve young artists have gathered at a workshop in downtown Washington. They are learning how to use spray⁵ paint to make graffiti that people will want to see. Michelle Chen is one of the artists.  

“So at first it seemed like a very crude⁷ instrument, but just being able to see what artists are able to do with it is really amazing!”

They practice on small walls. They are taught by Eric Ricks. He is a graffiti artist from Liberia. He used to paint on buildings illegally. But now the city is paying him to teach young people.  

“It’s one of those things I love to share and to see young people pick it up with the passion that I myself had, because I feel like I’m a big kid just as much as any one of them.”

The program is called “MuralsDC.” City officials created it to try to solve the graffiti problem. The program provides the young people ten weeks of training. After the training, the students travel with Mr. Ricks to a neighborhood in the north of the city. They will create a large painting called a “mural” on a wall that once had unappealing graffiti. That makes Mr. Ricks happy.

“I guess being an immigrant⁸ I have to say I’m truly living the American dream, because it’s the only place I can think of that I’ve ever been that you could take something so off-the-cuff like graffiti and turn that into something that you can live off.”

Mr. Ricks draws an image. Then the students help him spray-paint the colorful clouds behind the image. They add shapes and words in the same style as graffiti artists.

The city has paid for 50 such artworks since the program began in 2007.

Artist Aniekan Udofia recently painted his eighth mural for the city. It is at a public pool. He used spray paint and house paint. He has taught others how to make beautiful graffiti. He likes teaching⁹.

“So instead of defacing property, what we do is I show them how they can collaborate¹⁰ with artists like myself and create something that not only they can get paid for, but they can also get praised for.”

Sarbjit Singh Kochhar owns a store in Washington. Artists in the MuralsDC program painted a colorful mural on a wall of his store.

“I think this is a beautiful contribution from my part for the community -- clean building, nice artwork, and everybody’s happy.”

Ernesto Zelaya used to create illegal graffiti. He is now paid to paint. He helped Mr. Ricks paint a mural.

“… to express myself, because I get to explode and show a lot of emotion as well and just be who I am, I guess.”

Mr. Ricks says he will go on a trip across America. He hopes to paint a mural in every state.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

4 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

5 spray   

v.喷，(使)溅散；n.浪花，飞沫；喷雾

参考例句：

• The liquid came out of the bottle in a spray.液体从瓶子里呈雾状喷出。
• We were wet with the sea spray.我们被海水的浪花溅湿。

6 sprayed   

v.喷( spray的过去式和过去分词 )；向…扫射（或抛洒），往…上撒；尤指雄猫撒尿（以示领地占有）

参考例句：

• They sprayed aerosol insect repellent into the faces of police. 他们将喷雾驱虫剂喷在了警察的脸上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front of the house had been sprayed with white paint. 房子的正面已喷上了白漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 crude   

adj.粗鲁的，简陋的，天然的，未加工的；n.原油

参考例句：

• The cottage wears a very crude appearance.那幢农舍外观颇为简陋。
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil.汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。

8 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。