经济学人325:洛杉矶的新星——地景艺术

 　　THE object in question is really just a very large granite¹ boulder². It weighs 340 tons and is the size of a house. It sat unappreciated in a California quarry³ until Michael Heizer, an artist, spotted⁴ it. He decided⁵ to haul the rock to a museum in Los Angeles, in order to suspend it so that visitors could walk through a small channel underneath⁶ it and ponder the menace above.

　　争论中的物体真的是个非常巨大的花岗岩圆石，重340吨，有一座房子那么大。在艺术家迈克尔·黑泽尔发现它以前，它一直默默无闻的躺在加利福尼亚的一座采石场里。迈克尔想把这块巨石拖运到洛杉矶的一座博物馆里，在那里将它悬起来，让游客穿过其下的一条窄窄的通道，来感受头上的重物威胁。

　　Mr Heizer is not just any arty weirdo. Since the 1960s he has been a pioneer of “earth art”. In one project, which has engrossed⁷ him since 1972, he has been carving⁸ a vast “city” into the desert of Nevada (without allowing anybody to see it). Artistically⁹, he enjoys the negative spaces his art creates. Personally, he likes living as a hermit¹⁰ in the desert.

　　黑泽尔先生不仅仅是个艺术怪胎。从20世纪60年代开始，他就是“地景艺术”的先驱。他曾全身心的投入到一个项目中，从1972年开始，他就一直在莫哈维沙漠挖掘一座巨大的“城市”（不让任何人看到）。从艺术上讲，他享受自己艺术创造出来的负空间。而就他自己而言，他喜欢像一位隐士那样住在荒芜的沙漠。

　　So Los Angeles saw its chance. The city loathes¹¹ its reputation as a cultural backwater and is keen to challenge New York and London in the world of art. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has acquired an ambitious new director and some rich patrons, and it carefully planned the $10m logistical effort needed to move the “megalith”.

　　洛杉矶则把这个当做自己的机会。这座城市讨厌被人称为文化上的矮子，并强烈渴望在艺术界挑战纽约和伦敦的地位。洛杉矶艺术博物馆刚迎来一位雄心勃勃的新馆长和几位富有的赞助人，它周密规划了一个耗资一千万美元的物流方案来拖运这个“巨石”。

　　What a trip it was. A firm that normally transports nuclear equipment built a special structure, a sort of rolling centipede with 196 wheels, to prevent damage to either road or rock. For 11 days this monster, bearing the shrink-wrapped boulder, crawled through four counties and 22 cities, travelling only at night and at walking speed, along bridges and roads that could hold the weight. Street carnivals¹² sprang up wherever the rock paused.

　　多么浩大的一个工程！承运的公司（此公司通常运输核设备）建造了一个特殊结构——一座有着196个轮子的蜈蚣样的设施——以防止道路或巨石在运输途中受到损害。这个庞大的设施运着在收缩膜包装下的圆石，走了11天，穿过了4个国家和22座城市。它只能在夜间以步行的速度前进，且只能走可以承受其重量的桥梁和道路。街头嘉年华则在巨石停留的地方兴起。

　　In the wee hours of March 10th the rock finally arrived. It is now being hoisted¹³ into place, and will be unveiled this spring or summer. Fans are promoting it as a private-sector stimulus¹⁴ (no taxpayers¹⁵ were harmed). Sceptics are rolling their eyes, imagining what else the money could have bought. And Los Angeles is suddenly crackling with bad puns, with nobody taking anything for granite and everybody playing rock without paper or scissors.

　　3月10日凌晨，巨石终于到达目的地。它正在被吊到指定位置，预计今年春夏就能和游客见面。粉丝们推崇其为私营部门的刺激物（没有损害纳税人）。而持怀疑态度的人则绞尽脑汁想找出这些钱还能买些其他什么东西。洛杉矶则因坏的双关语而面临分歧，没人为圆石做辩护，所有人都站在同一战线。

1 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

4 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

8 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

9 artistically   

adv.艺术性地

参考例句：

• The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
• The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。

10 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

11 loathes   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的第三人称单数 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• He loathes the sight of crabs. 他看到蟹就恶心。 来自辞典例句
• Loathes this continually air all to bring the false society. 厌恶这连空气都带着虚伪的社会。 来自互联网

12 carnivals   

狂欢节( carnival的名词复数 )； 嘉年华会； 激动人心的事物的组合； 五彩缤纷的颜色组合

参考例句：

• The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and most famous international carnivals in the world. 威尼斯嘉年华是世界上最古老、最富盛名的国际嘉年华会之一。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• A few exceptions would be made, he said, such as for carnivals. 他说一些免责条款将被制定出来，例如嘉年华会。

13 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

14 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

15 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。