VOA标准英语2012--Famous Children's Author Leaves Legacy of Wild Things

 

Famous Children's Author Leaves Legacy¹ of Wild Things

Maurice Sendak, one of the most important American children’s book authors of the 20th century, has died at the age of 83 of complications from a recent stroke.

In “Where the Wild Things Are,” Max is a hyperactive boy with an imaginary world inhabited by wild monsters.

Maurice Sendak created this wild children's book, which became a movie in 2009. "Where the Wild Things Are" is his most famous creation.

At a New York exhibit of his illustrations,curator Nick Leone had this to say about Sendak's work. "Maurice Sendak, I think, to the world has made such a huge impression with his illustrations and his technique and his story because there's alwasy a story within the story. So once you read one of his stories and you understand beyond being a child, as an adult looking back, you can understand what the story is all about," he said. 

In "The Wild Things," Max misbehaves. He escapes into a world where he leads a wild rumpus. 

For more than 50 years, Sendak wrote and illustrated² books focusing on kids’ fears, insecurities, and complexes. “Where the Wild Things Are,” first published in 1963, changed the image of kids in literature as well-scrubbed and well behaved.

Throughout his life, Sendak refused to be regarded as a children’s writer. He said he wrote about the human condition. 

And he refused to give in to popular trends like ebooks. 

Earlier this year, in one of his last TV interviews, he told Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert he was not fond of ebooks. "I hate those ebooks. They cannot be the future. They may well be. I will be dead," he said. 

Sendak’s art went beyond books. In the second half of his career, he designed theatrical³ sets.

One of his happiest moments was when “Where the Wild Things Are” came out as a movie. “It feels very string," he said. "This whole procedure is very strange. I don't believe this is happening. It's a dream, right?" 

Maurice Sendak will always be remembered for Max and his monsters. 

He showed how the inner world of even the most frail⁴ is inhabited by wild things.

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

3 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

4 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。