2006年VOA标准英语-New York's Morgan Library Reopens

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
16 May 2006

 
The Gilbert Court, in New York's Pierpont Morgan Library
  
One of New York's great cultural treasures has reopened after a three-year renovation¹. The Morgan Library and Museum has expanded above and below the ground.

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In a city filled with world-class museums, the Morgan has always stood out because it remains², essentially³ a library. And what a library it is.
 
The Morgan Library was founded by financier J. Pierpont Morgan to house his growing collection of rare prints and drawings and medieval manuscripts and bindings, including prized illuminated⁴ manuscripts, jewel-encrusted gospels and three Gutenberg Bibles. The Gutenberg Bible is the first book printed from moveable type.

The library also has an extraordinary collection of autographed and annotated⁵ libretti and scores from Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mahler, Mozart, and Verdi. But director Charles Pierce says the library also has some more recent wonders from the world of music.

"We have the little piece on paper on which he wrote 'Blowin' in the Wind,'" he said.  "The other Bob Dylan song that we have a manuscript of is 'It Ain't Me, Babe'".

With the expansion, the Morgan's exhibition space had been doubled and the word museum has been added to the institution's full name. But the importance of books remains central. A new reading room is located under a translucent⁶ roof structure to allow scholars to examine manuscripts in natural light.

"This combination of significant new gallery space and a state-of-the-art reading room truly underscores the dual⁷ mission of the Morgan as both a library and a museum, and it allows us to pursue this mission as we have never done before," he added.

The new design integrates three historic buildings, including the Morgan mansion⁸, with pavilions of steel and glass, connected by a four-story atrium. Renowned⁹ architect Renzo Piano has received high praise for the building, which is his first New York commission.

"We always wanted to create here a place where we can find a balance between the serenity¹⁰, the calm, the silence you need for meditation¹¹, for research, for study, and at the same time without forgetting that you are in the middle of chaotic¹² life in the city," he said.

Much of the expansion is not visible because Piano has built down, not just up, creating a storage vault¹³ for the 350,000-object collection in New York's bedrock.

"First we had put in a safe environment a few hundred thousand rare books," he added.  "The safest way to do it is to put them inside the rock of Manhattan."

The Morgan is showing off its collection with an inaugural¹⁴ exhibit of some of its most prized objects including rare printed books, medieval altar vessels¹⁵ of gold and silver, and drawing by Gainsborough, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Picasso, Raphael, Rembrandt and Rubens.

1 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

5 annotated   

v.注解，注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thematic maps should always be annotated with the source and date of the topical information. 各类专题地图，均应注明专题资料来源和日期。 来自辞典例句
• And this is the version annotated by Umberto de Bologna. 并且这是有安博多-德-波罗格那注释的版本。 来自电影对白

6 translucent   

adj.半透明的；透明的

参考例句：

• The building is roofed entirely with translucent corrugated plastic.这座建筑完全用半透明瓦楞塑料封顶。
• A small difference between them will render the composite translucent.微小的差别,也会使复合材料变成半透明。

7 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

8 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

9 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

10 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

11 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

12 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

13 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

14 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

15 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》