VOA标准英语2011--NASA Art Captures 50 Years of Exploratio

NASA Art Captures 50 Years of Exploration

One of the nation's most prolific¹ art collectors is the U.S. space agency. For nearly a half-century, NASA has commissioned artists to document its missions and projects. Seventy of the 3,000 works in its collection are in a traveling exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
The art is mounted in a quiet corner gallery on the second floor of this cavernous museum, perched above an atrium filled with hanging spacecraft and missiles and crowds of visiting tourists. The show retraces² milestones³ in space history through the unique visions and sensibilities of a diverse group of artists.
"The whole collection leaves me with this wonderful artistic⁴ notion of what we've been through over the 50 years of NASA history," says curator Tom Crouch⁵, "from the very first launches, down to the latest planetary probe, and you see it through the eyes and the experience of these artists, all different, all interested in some different aspect of this, and yet when you see it here in the gallery it all comes together."
As you enter the gallery, you come face-to-face with a life-size portrait of astronaut Gordon Cooper by Mitchell Jamieson. It is 1963 and Cooper, in his silver-colored spacesuit, steps out of his Mercury space capsule after 22 orbits of Earth onto the bright sunlit deck of the recovery ship.
Nearby is a large painting by famed American illustrator Norman Rockwell of two astronauts suiting up for the first flight of the Gemini program in 1965.
"It's like two knights⁶ putting on their armor going out to do battle," Crouch says. "We have another Rockwell called ‘Behind Apollo 11' that is nothing but faces in profile, from the three Apollo 11 astronauts, to the backup crew, to their wives, to scientists, engineers and managers who stood behind them and helped them get to the moon."
A range of works in the show are inspired by the Apollo program which, as President John F. Kennedy envisioned, successfully landed the first men on the Moon in July 1969. The program carried five more crews to the lunar surface before ending in 1972.
Pop artist Andy Warhol captures the iconic image of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the lunar surface in vivid neon pink, yellow and blue. And, oil painter Robert McCall imagines the sight of the rocket engine firing to propel the lunar lander back to earth.
Crouch says artist Crystal Jackson shows spectators watching the historic events unfold. "The Crystal Jackson in the show is called ‘The Moon Hut' and it was a hamburger place outside the NASA main gate with a big moon and these wonderful characters who were down there drawn⁷ by the excitement of this program."
The show also includes photographs by William Wegman, known for his Weimaraner dog portraits, here suited-up as astronauts peering out from the portholes of the International Space Station.
And high overhead there's a twisted rubber sculpture made from tire fragments called "Remembering Columbia," that evokes⁸ the loss of the Columbia Space Shuttle and its crew in a disastrous⁹ reentry accident in 2003.
Another commissioned piece by watercolorist Barbara Ernst Prey¹⁰ is the X-43, the fastest airplane in the world, clocked at more than 11,000 kilometers per hour. Prey studied the craft for months and did sketches¹¹ at Edwards Air Force Base in the California's Mojave Desert an hour before its launch from the wing of a high-flying carrier jet.
"What was going through my mind is: Do I make this abstract? Do I make it concrete?" says Prey. "It kept on coming to me. It's really about the blue sky and this object going as fast as it can across and just the energy. And that's what I tried to get with the yellow and the different colors in the cloud going behind it."
Prey stationed herself in front of a large TV screen to watch the flight. She says the experience filled her with a sense of awe¹². "It's the amazing gifts that these people have to do amazing things, and I think that's what I've really learned. And it helps you look differently because you are looking and you are thinking of the cosmos¹³ and universe and that helps you look at things differently."
Visitor Barbara Baldwin from San Antonio, Texas shares that enthusiasm. "You know, growing up with space exploration was a neat thing,"she says. "I'll never forget where I was when the men landed on the moon and what we did that day. Our family gathered around the TV that night. So I have great memories as a child."
Hunter Thorton from Vidalia, Louisiana, came to the museum with some high school friends. He says it was a chance to put on his "Star Wars" movie gear. He is a fan of science fiction, but likes how the artists in this show interpret real events. "It really goes to show how America is propelling in technology and being in space. And hopefully one day we'll be walking in costumes likes this for real."
"NASA Art: Fifty Years of Exploration" was originally slated¹⁴ to make its last stop at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. But popular demand for the show has extended its journey into 2012.

1 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

2 retraces   

v.折回( retrace的第三人称单数 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• He often retraces the happy time during his young age. 他经常回忆起年轻时代的幸福时光。 来自互联网
• The museum retraces the history of the relationship between the United States and Morocco. 此博物馆在探源美国与摩洛哥的关系之历史。 来自互联网

3 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

4 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

5 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

6 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

11 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

13 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

14 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。