VOA标准英语2010年-Marine Artist Receives Stamp of Approv

He is known by a single name: Wyland. 

Born and raised in Detroit, the automotive capital of the United States, Wyland's hero was ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau - whose adventures he watched on television during the 1960s and 1970s - inspired him as a boy.

"He had such a passion for the ocean that he instilled¹ in a whole generation of people like myself," says Wyland.

Stamp of approval

Wyland used that passion to become an artist and activist² whose monumental murals promote ocean conservation and marine³ life protection efforts.

Marine artist and activist Wyland

Wyland's work has inspired a new collection of stamps, put out by the United Nations Postal⁴ Administration.

The four stamps mark the 50th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, which promotes the research and protection of the ocean.

The stamps can only be used when mailed from U.N. facilities.

Life-changing experience

Wyland saw the ocean for the first time on a family vacation to California when he was 14 years old.

"I remember seeing the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach and just immersed myself in it," he says. "It felt like I was being reborn."

When Wyland resurfaced, a huge gray whale spouted⁵ right in front of him. He says the sight of it changed his life. Ten years after that first whale encounter, Wyland moved to Laguna Beach and struggled to make his living as an artist.

"I felt that if I created good art, good things would happen," he says.

And Wyland thought big. In 1981 he painted his first life-size whale on the wall of the Hotel Laguna parking lot. The mural stopped traffic and helped launch Wyland's career as a marine artist and advocate for whales and their habitat.

"As the environmental movement grew, so did the appreciation⁶ of my art, and eventually I became very successful," he says.

Wyland spent more than two decades painting 100 marine murals in cities across the globe.

Monumental ambitions

When Wyland was 25, he made a 30-year promise to himself.  He would paint 100 marine murals in cities across the globe. He finished the "Whaling Walls" in 2009, three years ahead of schedule.

He did the murals for free, recruiting volunteers and children to work with him.

"If we can inspire these kids to be better stewards," he says, "then we have a real chance of creating that sea change in the next 10 years and protecting the beauty that we still have."

For his 100th and final "Whaling Wall," 7,000 children from 110 countries joined him in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

They painted aquatic⁷ art on canvas panels stretching nearly a kilometer through a city park. "You couldn't put into words how much it meant to me to pass my art and knowledge and inspiration on to the next generation," he says.

Looking to the future

Wyland brought some of that art home to display to passersby⁸ on the National Mall in Washington, where he had come recently to paint with area school children.

Out on her lunch break, Cynthia McArthur says the murals give her hope for the future.

"I think that it helps reawaken those of us who are used to 'business as usual' to see in such a creative and energetic way how valuable oceans are and the creatures there," she says.

Wyland's financial success from paintings, prints, sculptures and a market of marine-inspired products led him to create the Wyland Foundation to support education and conservation projects.

And he continues to explore the undersea world. He loves to swim with whales and dolphins, and he never tires of the ocean as the subject of his art. 

His latest long-term commitment to public art: the installation of 100 life-size marine sculptures in cities around the world.

 

1 instilled   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nature has instilled in our minds an insatiable desire to see truth. 自然给我们心灵注入了永无休止的发现真理的欲望。 来自辞典例句
• I instilled the need for kindness into my children. 我不断向孩子们灌输仁慈的必要。 来自辞典例句

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

8 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。