2007年VOA标准英语-Simulated Asian Garden Tour on Exhibit in DC

By Tabinda Naeem
Washington
17 April 2007

Visitors to The Smithsonian Museum's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. are experiencing the beauty and splendor¹ of Asian gardens without taking a step outside. The exhibit, called "East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art," features dozens of artworks depicting² centuries of gardens in Asia. For Urdu TV's Tabinda Naeem, VOA's Jim Bertel has more on the rich imagery of the collection.

East of Eden exhibit

For centuries, gardens in Asia have vividly³ depicted⁴ the human relationship with nature. From intimate courtyards planted with flowers and trees to monumental temples, tombs and pleasure gardens, each culture has developed its own distinct artistic⁵ tradition.

Matssumeh Garhad is the exhibit's chief curator. "It really covers a vast area and a vast time period,” she tells us. “But also in terms of geography it covers basically from Iraq to Japan. So, again, it really covers most of Asia. And the idea was to give a sense of how gardens were represented in these different areas, what elements they had in common and what set them apart."

More than 60 pieces of art spanning nearly a millennium⁶ are incorporated into the exhibit including scrolls⁷, folding screens, manuscript paintings, ceramics⁸ and textiles.

Artist Tom Bower⁹ of the Smithsonian Institution says many of the most popular pieces in the collection were created during the 300-year reign¹⁰ of the Mughals in northern India.

"They were a group of individuals that came from what was then known as Persia and moved into northern India and the general area of India and when the rulers came in they also brought their artists with them and created many beautiful things. The Taj Mahal is probably the ultimate magnificent item. But they created many books as you can see here," Bower points out.

Unlike western artists who usually sign their work, most of the Moghal artwork on display bears no names. Instead, curators like Farhad are more likely to know for whom the piece was created.

"We can guess on the basis of style where they were made, whether it was made in Lahore (Pakistan), or whether it was made in Delhi (India), whether it was made in Heart (Afghanistan) based on stylistic characteristics,” Farhad explains. “But, in many instances, we just don't know. In many instances these paintings were part of a manuscript so they went together with the illumination, with the calligraphy¹¹, with the binding¹². So it really was a collective work.”

1 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

2 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

3 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

4 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

5 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。

6 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

7 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

8 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。

9 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

10 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

11 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。