VOA标准英语2014--Smithsonian Artist Brings Faces from Past to Life

 

Smithsonian Artist Brings Faces from Past to Life 

The Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington is a magnet for tourists.

Five life-size bronze dioramas weave a tale of everyday life stretching back more than 6 million years. Visitors feel the burden of a homo erectus 1.5 million years ago as she carries a freshly killed antelope¹, and the fear of a wild-haired homo floresiensis, surprised by a predator² 18,000 years ago. Children climb on, under and around these extinct ancestors in this ancient playground.

It’s the work of paleo-artist John Gurche. So are reproductions of hominid heads displayed in glass cases. Gurche—who specializes in depicting³ subjects linked to our prehistoric⁴ ancestors—comes armed with knowledge of ape and human anatomy⁵.

But, unlike dissection⁶, which he’s also studied, creating the large figures and the heads requires him to work, layer by layer, from the inside out.

“Really to succeed in doing one of these reconstructions⁷, it has to be something you can relate to as a living being, that you almost expect to see breathe," Gurche said, "and you also have to base it on the best science available or else you just have a fantasy.” 

Gurche brings faces from the past to life. He starts with a plaster cast of a skull⁸, adds clay and sculpts⁹ a face. He covers the work in silicone and adds facial details, color and texture¹⁰, tediously attaching hair, strand¹¹ by strand.  He says what really animates¹² the work are the eyes. 

“I’m trying to build out an impression, that there’s someone home," he said. "When you look one of these in the eyes you feel that there’s someone there. There's some presence. It really feels like it is more than just clay and plaster. Hopefully people will be a little creeped out by the final result, because they are expecting to see an inanimate object, but what they are seeing is something that has a little bit of a soul.”

On the other hand, the bronze scenes capture a moment in time at the crossroads of human evolution. As they walk through the exhibit, visitors follow in their ancestors' footsteps, observing how early hominids first walk on two feet, develop bigger brains, discover fire, forage¹³ for food and respond to danger.

“Human evolution as revealed by the fossil record is not just a matter of everything we think of as human, starts sort of evolving in tandem¹⁴ together until you have modern humans," Gurche said. "It's much more of a mosaic¹⁵ affair, where different things are added at different times. So each species that is a candidate for human ancestry¹⁶ has its own piece of the human puzzle that it added to the mix.” 

Gurche makes detailed¹⁷ sketches¹⁸ of everything he does, referring to fossils and plaster casts from across a species to create forensically¹⁹ accurate work. For the full figures, he builds skeletons and fleshes out their bodies on a metal armature before he casts the bronze. 

The result attracts the attention of 6-year-old Jordan Ramsey, who reaches for the outstretched hand of a Homo heidelbergensis, who is offering food from his camp fire.  The time is 200,000 years ago, when our now extinct relatives hunted animals and shared the kill.

Another scene records an intimate moment in Neanderthal life. Gurche portrays²⁰ a toddler watching intently as his mother pokes²¹ holes in an animal hide that she’s holding tightly in her teeth.

“He’s got a piece of skin also and he’s wondering about what she’s doing and whether he should do the same thing," Gurche said. "He’s got that kind of quizzical tilt²² of his head. And she is responding with a lot of joy. Hopefully you see some encouragement there in her expression.” 

These are not emotions that Stacy Weinberg, who visited with her two children, would typically associate with the humans that lived 70,000 years ago.

“We tend to think that we have evolved more and are more intelligent than people that long ago, but it's cute because it is a very similar position to one that we might be in today,” she said. 

That's exactly the connection Gurche hopes his work inspires. Creating them, getting inside and sculpting²³ their ancient bones, muscles and bodies, he says, is a visceral experience, one that has given him new perspective on life.   

 

“I think that when you look at modern humans in the context of our evolutionary²⁴ history and of the wider evolutionary history of life on earth, humans really emerge as something miraculous²⁵.”

1 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 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。

4 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

5 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

6 dissection   

n.分析；解剖

参考例句：

• A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
• Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。

7 reconstructions   

重建( reconstruction的名词复数 )； 再现； 重建物； 复原物

参考例句：

• Multicolored reconstructions have been formed using (black and white) volume holographic plates. 利用黑白体积全息片已经做成了彩色重建象。
• The method gives ways to evaluate collision speed in traffic accident reconstructions. 该模型为交通事故再现推算碰撞速度提供了有效实用的方法。

8 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

9 sculpts   

雕刻( sculpt的第三人称单数 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The Tennessee River sculpts the east side of the Cumberland Plateau. 田纳西河刻蚀着坎伯兰高原的东部边缘。
• Stress sculpts the brain to exhibit various antisocial, though adaptive, behaviors. 压力陶铸下的大脑，虽能表现出各种适应性的行为，但却有碍人际关系。

10 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

11 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

12 animates   

v.使有生气( animate的第三人称单数 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• The soul animates the body. 灵魂使肉体有生命。 来自辞典例句
• It is probable that life animates all the planets revolving round all the stars. 生命为一切围绕恒星旋转的行星注入活力。 来自辞典例句

13 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

14 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

15 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。

16 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

18 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 forensically   

adv.forensic（法庭的，法庭用的；法医的；公开辩论的，论争的）的变形

参考例句：

• 'Now, I'll put you in a corner,' forensically shaking a forefinger at him. “我不会给你退路的。”他像在法庭上一样向他晃着一根指头。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

20 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 pokes   

v.伸出( poke的第三人称单数 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• He pokes his nose into everything. 他这人好管闲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Only the tip of an iceberg pokes up above water. 只有冰山的尖端突出于水面。 来自辞典例句

22 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

23 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

24 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

25 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。