British Museum 大英博物馆

The script of this programme 本节目台词

	The famous Reading Room at the British Museum

Neil: OK Jean, keep your eyes closed until I say.

Jean: Oh, where have you brought me this time?

Neil: Here’s a clue. Where do you think you can see Egyptian mummies, ancient Greek statues and even Chinese Buddhist¹ paintings under one roof?

Jean: Hmmm… 可以看到埃及木乃伊，古希腊雕像，还有中国佛教画卷. Let me see!

Neil: OK, OK. Open your eyes.

 

Jean: Ah, it’s the British Museum. 原来我们是在大英博物馆啊.

Neil: Welcome to On the Town from BBC Learning English, I’m Neil. This is the programme where we visit some of the most interesting places in London. Today we’re at the British Museum.

Jean: It’s probably the most famous museum in London. But the building looks like something from ancient Greece or Rome. 大英博物馆看上去很像是一座古希腊或者古罗马的建筑。

Neil: Well, that’s the interesting thing. Most of the British Museum isn’t about Britain at all.

Jean: What do you mean?

Neil: Let’s go inside and meet Hannah Bolton, who works at the museum.

Insert

The British Museum is really the collection of the cultural achievement of humanity. So to be a bit more specific, it contains collections of material, objects made by people throughout time, across the centuries, across the globe.

Jean: So, it’s called the British Museum, but actually it contains objects from all over the world.

Neil: Hannah says it’s a collection of the cultural achievement of humanity. Cultural achievement.

Jean: 文化方面的成就.

Neil: Humanity.

Jean: 人文.

Neil: Because it contains objects made by people throughout time, across the centuries and across the globe.

Jean: So, what are the highlights – 都有什么精彩的展品呢？

Insert

The Egyptian mummies are always incredibly popular with children and adults alike because there’s obviously a fascination² with ancient Egyptian culture, but we also have wonderful classical collections: material from ancient Greece. We have really iconic objects like the Rosetta Stone, and then we have really wonderful, beautifully made objects that are perhaps less well-known, but things like extravagant³ turquoise⁴ mosaics⁶ from Mexico and we have wonderful masks from Africa.

Neil: She says the Egyptian mummies are incredibly popular.

Jean: Incredibly – 惊人的、不可思议的. Incredibly popular.

Neil: Because of the fascination with ancient Egyptian culture.

Jean: Fascination – 迷恋、兴趣.

Neil: They also have iconic objects.

Jean: Iconic – 偶像的.

Neil: Iconic objects like the Rosetta Stone.

Jean: The Rosetta Stone. 这个大名鼎鼎的罗塞塔石碑，上面雕刻了象形文字，埃及表意文字和希腊文，是用来翻译古埃及文字系统的珍贵史料工具。

Neil: And there are less well-known objects such as extravagant turquoise mosaics from Mexico. Extravagant.

Jean: 奢侈的.

Neil: Turquoise.

Jean: 绿松石

Neil: Mosaic⁵.

Jean: 马赛克.

Neil: And there are wonderful masks from Africa.

Jean: Masks – 面具. Listen to Hannah talking about the museum’s highlights again.

Insert

The Egyptian mummies are always incredibly popular with children and adults alike because there’s obviously a fascination with ancient Egyptian culture, but we also have wonderful classical collections: material from ancient Greece. We have really iconic objects like the Rosetta Stone, and then we have really wonderful, beautifully made objects that are perhaps less well-known, but things like extravagant turquoise mosaics from Mexico and we have wonderful masks from Africa.

Neil: Did you know, some very important Chinese artefacts are coming to the British Museum soon?

Jean: Oh really? 一些重要的来自中国的艺术品也要在大英博物馆展出了. Artefacts – 艺术品.

Neil: Can you tell us more, Hannah?

Insert

The museum – British Museum – is very fortunate in that the Xian Museum have agreed to lend us an awful lot of material from the Terracotta Warriors⁷ Museum.

Jean: Terracotta Warriors 就是兵马俑.

Neil: Yes, the museum in Xian has agreed to lend some of the Terracotta Warriors to the British Museum. To lend.

Jean: 去借出。请大家一定注意不要把它和另一个动词to borrow弄混了。Lend是借出，borrow是借来。

Neil: Yes, Xian Museum is going to lend some statues to the British Museum. Or in other words, The British Museum is going to borrow some statues from Xian. Well, that’s about all we have time for today on BBC Learning English.

Jean: If you want to learn more, go to our website www.bbc.co.uk/china

Neil: But just before we go, let’s ask some tourists what they thought of the museum.

Insert

It was great, I just went to the Japanese art and it was quite interesting.

The African room – that was very impressing.

Oh, just everything – especially the Egyptian artefacts. It was very nice.

1 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

2 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

3 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

4 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

5 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。

6 mosaics   

n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案

参考例句：

• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The unsullied and shining floor was paved with white mosaics. 干净明亮的地上镶嵌着白色图案。 来自辞典例句

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。