VOA标准英语2013--Beirut Walls Become Forum for Social, Political Messages

 

Beirut Walls Become Forum¹ for Social, Political Messages

Barely a wall in Beirut is untouched.  From murals to political messages to advertisements, the walls are serving as a place for public dialogue and political debate.

Whether it's a message against the Turkish annexation² of Western Armenia, or denouncing rape³, or protesting the war in Syria, these days it seems everyone has something to say.

"No to the extension" says one message, referring the Lebanese Parliament's recent decision to extend its term for another 17 months.  Below it, a continuation: "not even one day."

Graffiti allow people to voice their frustration⁴ according to graffiti artist Yazen Halwani, 20.  He is having the first-ever solo show for a graffiti artist, entitled 'Joumhouriat el Mouz', which means 'Banana Republic'.

"A banana republic is a system where you have very few people governing the country and it's corrupt⁵ and this is exactly an illustration of Lebanon," he explained.

Graffiti artists -- both amateur and professional -- have written about the war in neighboring Syria.  But many messages -- both for and against the regime -- have been removed or crossed out.  Halwani says that inspires graffiti artists to get more creative.

"The most important thing is that the political views should not be blunt, should not be childish, and especially should not be very aggressive," Halwani said.

Graffiti were not always so nuanced.  Public space in Lebanon used to be occupied by inscriptions⁶ and stencils⁷ related to war and sectarian politics, explained Tania Helou, who has studied civil war graffiti.

"It was a way to impose a geographic⁸ territory for each party, or each neighborhood, or each military faction," she said.

Evidence of those markings remain in Ain el-Rammaneh -- a low income Christian⁹ neighborhood covered with symbols of a political party called "The Lebanese Forces".  

Residents like Joseph Elias Harb say it makes them feel protected.

"The love of the leaders is always in our hearts, but when you see the graffiti of your leader next to you, you feel more comfortable," he said.

Tania Helou said that for the most part, messages have evolved away from religious, military and ideological¹⁰ topics to become more social and environmental.

But whether artistic¹¹ or militant¹², as sectarian lines become more strongly etched in the psyches¹³ of Lebanese, conversations that cannot be had on the streets are increasingly etched on city walls. 

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

7 stencils   

n.蜡纸( stencil的名词复数 )；（有图案或文字的）模板；刻蜡纸者；用模板印出的文字或图案v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My job is to cut stencils and sort up mails. 我的工作是刻蜡板和把来信分类。 来自辞典例句
• Stencils are available to aid in the construction of neat flow charts. 型板用于帮助构成简洁的程序框图。 来自辞典例句

8 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

11 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。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 psyches   

n.灵魂，心灵( psyche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You want to fly to haiti for a quickie divorce just for our psyches ? 你想去海地快速离婚是为了我们的精神健康？ 来自电影对白
• Our psyches are naturally attuned to energetic codes and symbolic language. 我们的心灵会自动地与能量和象徵语言共鸣调音。 来自互联网