Italian City Invites Florida Students, Parents to Visit ‘David’ Statue

Italian City Invites Florida Students, Parents to Visit ‘David’ Statue

What does a small school in the American state of Florida have to do with the famous Italian statue of David in Florence, Italy?

Well, the mayor¹ of Florence and the museum where David is housed recently invited parents, students and the former principal² of the school to visit.

The invitation came after some parents were upset when their sixth-grade children at Tallahassee Classical School saw a photo of the statue during an art class. Sixth graders are 11 or 12 years old.

Renaissance³ artist Michelangelo completed the 5-meter-tall statue of David in 1504. The famous work shows the Bible⁴ story of David getting ready to fight Goliath. David is represented without clothing and armed with a sling⁵ over his shoulder and a rock in his hand.

Two Florida parents said, under school policy, they should have been warned that their children were going to see the image of David's statue without clothing. A third parent called the statue pornographic – or overly sexual⁶.

The principal of Tallahassee Classical school in Florida said she was asked to leave her job as a result. But school leaders claimed it was one of several reasons for her removal⁷. The private school follows a program of studies designed by a conservative⁸ Christian⁹ college.

Cecilie Hollberg is the director of the Italian museum in Florence. She told the Associated Press, "To think that David could be pornographic means truly not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture and not understanding Renaissance art."

Visitors coming to see David

The statue of David is the main reason thousands of people visit the museum, called Galleria dell'Accademia, every day. Following the controversy¹⁰, visitors, including many Americans, arrived in large numbers this week to see the statue.

Isabele Joles was there with a school group from the U.S. state of Ohio. She studies French and Italian art. "It's part of history," she said. "I don't understand how you can say it's ‘porn.'"

Brian Stapley is from Seattle, Washington. He said he was sad for the school's children. He called the statue "one of the most incredible¹¹ parts of our history," and said he feels "sorry for the children that don't get to see it."

Back in Florida, the local newspaper in Tallahassee reported a large crowd came out to a school board meeting on Monday night. Some parents disagreed with the decision of the school leaders to remove the principal. And the board chairman rejected a request from a teacher to resign.

Words in This Story

former –adj. a person who does not hold a position or title anymore

principal –n. the leader of a school

upset –adj. the feeling of being hurt or angry

grade –n. a year in school

sling –n. a small weapon made from animal skin used to throw a rock

principal –n. the leader of a school

controversy –n. something that has may people concerned or upset

incredible –adj. something hard to believe

board –n. a leadership or advisory group for a school, university or business

1 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

2 principal   

adj.主要的；n.负责人，校长，资本

参考例句：

• When he saw the principal,he raised his hand in salutation.他看到校长时举手敬礼。
• Their school gave a reception to their new principal.他们学校为新校长举办了一个招待会。

3 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

4 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

5 sling   

vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓

参考例句：

• The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。

6 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

7 removal   

n.去除，消除；挪走，移走，搬迁

参考例句：

• After the removal of the soup,fish was served.汤撤去后，鱼就上来了。
• The factory announced its removal to another town.这家工厂宣布迁往另一座城镇。

8 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。