VOA标准英语2010年-Critics Decry Dostoevsky Subway Stop

A few commuters in a subway train making stop at Park Kultury subway station in Moscow, 29 Mar¹ 2010

Moscow has one of the most extensive metro² systems in the world, and arguably one of the best. But, a new stop dubbed³, "The Station of Suicides," has many critics up in arms.  The station is dedicated⁴ to 19th century Russian Novelist, Fyodor Dostoevsky.

 

On a typical day in the Moscow metro, passengers ride the escalator down into the depths, beneath Russia's biggest city. One can see businessmen and women running down the escalators, most likely late for work, couples holding hands, others seemingly asleep as they wait to get off, listening to the music that blares from the loudspeakers overhead.

But somehow, this station is different. As passengers arrive inside the newly-opened Dostoevsky stop, it's eerily⁵ quiet. Some people even stop dead in their tracks, so they can stare at the newly unveiled murals that have been created on the station's walls.

Unhappy murals

Right there, in black and white, are giant, floor to ceiling mosaics⁶ depicting⁷ death and suicide.

In one, a character from Dostoevsky's The Demons⁸ is raising a gun to his temple.

The renderings⁹ were so controversial that some critics blamed the disturbing images for the station's delayed by one-month opening.

Vladimir Supkin, a professor of Russian literature at the International University in Moscow, says he is completely against the murals.

He says the station is not a happy one. He says when he saw it, he was very scared because the station isn't light, it's very dark. He says the murals aren't calming and that they are very strange, and he adds that they put people in very bad moods.

Supkin goes on to say that he doesn't understand why the author was even chosen to be the face of the new station.

Unpopular author?

He says that first of all, people don't read as much as they used to and people know his name, but they don't read his novels. He says he thinks that Dostoevsky isn't a very popular author now and that people like to read Tolstoy more.

Some mental health practitioners¹⁰ have even gone so far as to say that the morbid¹¹ murals could convince some to take their own lives.

Jayla Siklinskaya, a psychiatrist¹² in private practice in Moscow, says the pictures could play a role but one would have to be in a predisposed state then one may see the morbid murals with very different eyes, which could adversely¹³ affect someone.

Siklinkskaya goes on to say she doubts that the average person would be adversely affected¹⁴ by seeing the images on a daily basis.  She says there are a lot of graphic¹⁵ images that people see every day, even on the news and those images don't drive people to commit suicide.

Pros¹⁶ and cons¹⁷

This is the local station for Vera Gallavina, 63. She says although the pictures might be depressing, Dostoevsky is an important part of Russian history.

"The pictures, the style itself, I think it's just wonderful. It's his face, it's his nature, it's his soul. I think it's absolutely genius," she said.

Oleg Boraxov, 65, says he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.  He says not everyone likes the images, some do, some don't. He says he's just happy that the station was finally built. He says he's been waiting years for it to open because it makes his life much easier to have a metro station right around the corner.
 

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

3 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

8 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 renderings   

n.（戏剧或乐曲的）演奏( rendering的名词复数 )；扮演；表演；翻译作品

参考例句：

• Research about the usability of architectural renderings supports this notion. 关于建筑渲染的可用性研究支持上面提到的这种观点。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Note: Attached Bugatti renderings are for illustrative purposes only. 注：附加布加迪渲染是仅用于说明的目的。 来自互联网

10 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

11 morbid   

adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的

参考例句：

• Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。

12 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

13 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

16 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》