托福听力短文 II-11-3

(WB) And as we enter this next gallery, please turn your attention to the statue on your right. It's a bust¹ of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. It was done by American sculptor² Hiram Powers. Mr. Powers is particularly significant to our sculpture collection here at the Metropolitan³ Museum of Art. His statue entitled California was the first work by an American artist to become part of the collection at the Met. But back to this piece. When Powers was modeling this bust, he asked the President, who was 68 years old at the time, if he wanted to be made to appear younger than that. President Jackson replied that he didn't; so as you can see, he's shown here with wrinkles and lines of aging etched on his face. Consequently, this bust is considered to be one of the most realistic portrayals⁴ of Andrew Jackson. Powers traveled from his studio in Italy to the White House to do the original study for the bust. He did the study in clay, cut he sculpted⁵ the final statue from fine Italian marble, as you can see. I should add that the usual practice at the time was to get local artisans to do the actual carving⁶ of the marble. Note that the President is draped in a Roman toga. This is because in the nineteenth century that was the customary attire⁷ for representations of heads of state and other important figures. Powers kept the bust in his studio until after President Jackson's death, when it was sold to the Democratic Club in New York City. It was lent to us here at the Met in 1874 and twenty years later became part of our permanent collection. Now, ... if you'll step this way, we'll move on to the next piece.

1 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

2 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

3 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

4 portrayals   

n.画像( portrayal的名词复数 )；描述；描写；描摹

参考例句：

• And painters alluded to her eroticism in their bare breasted portrayals of the dying queen. 画家们把她描绘为裸胸垂死的贪欲的女王。 来自互联网

5 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

6 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。

7 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。