新一代大学英语电子版U2B2.docx

新一代大学英语电子版U2B2.docx

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新一代大学英语电子版U2B2

U2B2

iExplore1

TryITOut

Beforelearningthisunit,youmighthavesomeknowledgeofhowtogiveapresentation.Lookatthefollowingtask,pleasetakesomenotesandtryitout.

Givingapresentation:

AcomparisonbetweenChineseandWesternpaintings

窗体顶端

●TalkingaboutMonaLisa,whatpopsoutfirstinyourmind?

Andinyouropinion,whatmakesitsuchaninfluentialpiece?

●WhatisyourknowledgeofChinesepainting,itssubjectmatter,paintingtechniques,paintingtools,andartperceptions?

●Whatarethesimilaritiesor/anddifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternpaintingsintheaspectsmentionedabove?

Youcanchooseoneofthemanddevelopyourideas.

●Whydosuchsimilaritiesor/anddifferencesexistbetweenChineseandWesternpaintings?

窗体底端

DemystifyingMonaLisa

E.H.Gombrich

1ThereisaworkofLeonardo'swhichisperhapsevenmorefamousthanTheLastSupper.

2ItistheportraitofaFlorentineladywhosenamewasLisa,"MonaLisa."AfameasgreatasthatofLeonardo'sMonaLisaisnotanunmixedblessingforaworkofart.Webecomesousedtoseeingitonpicturepostcards,andevenadvertisements,thatwefinditdifficulttoseeitwithfresheyesasthepaintingbyarealmanportrayingarealwomanoffleshandblood.Butitisworthwhiletoforgetwhatweknow,orbelieveweknow,aboutthepicture,andtolookatitasifwewerethefirstpeopleevertoseteyesonit.

3WhatstrikesusfirstistheamazingdegreetowhichLisalooksalive.Shereallyseemstolookatusandtohaveamindofherown.Likealivingbeing,sheseemstochangebeforeoureyesandtolookalittledifferenteverytimewecomebacktoher.Eveninphotographsofthepictureweexperiencethisstrangeeffect,butinfrontoftheoriginalintheLouvreitisalmostuncanny.Sometimessheseemstomockus,andthenagainweseemtocatchsomethinglikesadnessinhersmile.Allthissoundsrathermysterious,andsoitis;thatissooftentheeffectofagreatworkofart.Nevertheless,Leonardocertainlyknewhowheachievedthiseffect,andbywhatmeans.

4Thatgreatobserverofnatureknewmoreaboutthewayweuseoureyesthananybodywhohadeverlivedbeforehim.

Hehadclearlyseenaproblemwhichtheconquestofnaturehadposedtoartists—aproblemnolessintricatethantheoneofcombiningcorrectdrawingwithaharmoniouscomposition.ThegreatworksoftheItalianQuattrocentomasterswhofollowedtheleadgivenbyMasacciohaveonethingincommon:

Theirfigureslooksomewhathardandharsh,almostwooden.Thestrangethingisthatitclearlyisnotlackofpatienceorlackofknowledgethatisresponsibleforthiseffect.NoonecouldbemorepatientinhisimitationofnaturethanVanEyck;noonecouldknowmoreaboutcorrectdrawingandperspectivethanMantegna.Andyet,forallthegrandeurandimpressivenessoftheirrepresentationsofnature,theirfigureslookmorelikestatuesthananylivingbeing.Thereasonmaybethatthemoreconscientiouslywecopyafigurelinebylineanddetailbydetail,thelesswecanimaginethatiteverreallymovedandbreathed.Itlooksasifthepainterhadsuddenlycastaspelloverit,andforcedittostandstock-stillforevermore,likethepeoplein"TheSleepingBeauty."Artistshadtriedvariouswaysoutofthisdifficulty.Botticelli,forinstance,hadtriedtoemphasizeinhispicturethewavinghairandtheflutteringgarmentsofhisfigures,tomakethemlooklessrigidinoutline.ButonlyLeonardofoundthetruesolutiontotheproblem.Thepaintermustleavethebeholdersomethingtoguess.Iftheoutlinesarenotquitesofirmlydrawn,iftheformisleftalittlevague,asthoughdisappearingintoashadow,thisimpressionofdrynessandstiffnesswillbeavoided.ThisisLeonardo'sfamousinventionwhichtheItalianscall"sfumato"—theblurredoutlineandmellowedcolorsthatallowoneformtomergewithanotherandalwaysleavesomethingtoourimagination.

5IfwenowreturntotheMonaLisa,wemayunderstandsomethingofitsmysteriouseffect.WeseethatLeonardohasusedthemeansofhis"sfumato"withtheutmostdeliberation.Everyonewhohasevertriedtodraworscribbleafaceknowsthatwhatwecallitsexpressionrestsmainlyintwofeatures:

thecornersofthemouth,andthecornersoftheeyes.NowitispreciselythesepartswhichLeonardohasleftdeliberatelyindistinct,bylettingthemmergeintoasoftshadow.ThatiswhyweareneverquitecertaininwhatmoodMonaLisaisreallylookingatus.Herexpressionalwaysseemsjusttoeludeus.Itisnotonlybehindit.Leonardohasdoneaverydaringthing,whichperhapsonlyapainterofhisconsummatemasterycouldrisk.Ifwelookcarefullyatthepicture,weseethatthetwosidesdonotquitematch.Thisismostobviousinthefantasticdreamlandscapeinthebackground.Thehorizonontheleftsideseemstoliemuchlowerthantheoneontheright.Consequently,whenwefocusontheleftsideofthepicture,thewomanlookssomehowtallerormoreerectthanifwefocusontherightside.Andherface,too,seemstochangewiththischangeofposition,because,evenhere,thetwosidesdonotquitematch.Butwithallthesesophisticatedtricks,Leonardomighthaveproducedacleverpieceofjuggleryratherthanagreatworkofart,hadhenotknownexactlyhowfarhecouldgo,andhadhenotcounterbalancedhisdaringdeviationfromnaturebyanalmostmiraculousrenderingofthelivingflesh.Lookatthewayinwhichhemodeledthehand,orthesleeveswiththeirminutefolds.Leonardocouldbeaspainstakingasanyofhisforerunnersinthepatientobservationofnature.Onlyhewasnolongermerelythefaithfulservantofthenature.Longago,inthedistantpast,peoplehadlookedatportraitswithawe,becausetheyhadthoughtthatinpreservingthelikenesstheartistcouldsomehowpreservethesoulofthepersonheportrayed.Nowthegreatscientist,Leonardo,hadmadesomeofthedreamsandfearsofthesefirstimage-makerscometrue.Heknewthespellwhichwouldinfuselifeintothecolorsspreadbyhismagicbrush.

LanguagePoints:

1.Eveninphotographsofthepictureweexperiencethisstrangeeffect,butinfrontoftheoriginalintheLouvreitisalmostuncanny.（Para.3,Sentence4）

uncanny:

a.verystrangeanddifficulttoexplain离奇的；不可思议的

e.g.Hispowersofobservationwereuncanny.

2.Hehadclearlyseenaproblemwhichtheconquestofnaturehadposedtoartists—aproblemnolessintricatethantheoneofcombiningcorrectdrawingwithaharmoniouscomposition.（Para.4,Sentence2）

1）conquest:

n.[U]whenyougaincontrolofordealsuccessfullywithsomethingthatisdifficultordangerous（对艰难、危险事物的）攻克，征服

e.g.Theconquestofthisrarediseasehasalwaysbeenheraim.

2）intricate:

a.verycomplicatedanddifficulttounderstandorlearn复杂难解的

e.g.Theplotofthenovelisintricateandfascinating.

3.Andyet,forallthegrandeurandimpressivenessoftheirrepresentationsofnature,theirfigureslookmorelikestatuesthananylivingbeing.（Para.4,Sentence6）

grandeur:

n.[U]impressivebeauty,powerorsize壮丽；雄伟

e.g.Thepaintingshowsthegrandeuroftheroyalpalace.

Thissentencecanbeparaphrasedlikethis:

Inspiteofthegrandnessandmagnificencedisplayedintheirfaithfulimitationofnature,theirfigureslookmorelikestatues,whichlackvitality,thananylivingbeing.

4.Thereasonmaybethatthemoreconscientiouslywecopyafigurelinebylineanddetailbydetail,thelesswecanimaginethatiteverreallymovedandbreathed.（Para.4,Sentence7）

conscientiously:

ad.carefullywhendoingsomethingthatisyourjobordutytodo勤勉认真地；细心负责地

e.g.Thedevotedministercarriedoutherdutiesconscientiously.

Inthissentence,thestructure"themore…theless/more…"isusedtosaythatifanamountofsomethingincreases,anotherchangehappensasaresult.

5.ThisisLeonard'sfamousinventionwhichtheItalianscall"sfumato"—theblurredoutlineandmellowedcolorsthatallowoneformtomergewithanotherandalwaysleavesomethingtoourimagination.（Para.4,Sentence14）

1）mergewith:

iftwothingsmerge,ormergewitheachother,youcannotclearlyseethem,hearthem,etc.asseparatethings相融；融入

e.g.Memoriesseemedtomergewithreality.

2）leavesth.tosb.'simagination:

letsomeoneimaginewhatisbeingconveyed为……留下想象空间

e.g.Thewriterdecidednottoexplainthetheme,buttoleavethethemetothereaders'imagination.

6.Everyonewhohasevertriedtodraworscribbleafaceknowsthatwhatwecallitsexpressionrestsmainlyintwofeatures:

thecornersofthemouth,andthecornersoftheeyes.（Para.5,Sentence3）

1）scribble:

vt.towritesomethingquicklyanduntidily潦草地写；乱画

e.g.Iscribbledhisphonenumberinmyaddressbook.

2）restin:

liein在于

e.g.Manyemployees'satisfactionrestsinthekindofpridestimulatedbythejob.

7.Leonardohasdoneaverydaringthing,whichperhapsonlyapainterofhisconsummatemasterycouldrisk.（Para.5,Sentence8）

consummate:

a.showingalotofskill技艺高超的

e.g.Hewontheracewithconsummateease.

8.Butwithallthesesophisticatedtricks,Leonardomighthaveproducedacleverpieceofjuggleryratherthanagreatworkofart,hadhenotknownexactlyhowfarhecouldgo,andhadhenotcounterbalancedhisdaringdeviationfromnaturebyanalmostmiraculousrenderingofthelivingflesh.（Para.5,Sentence14）

1）jugglery:

n.[C]artfultrickerydesignedtoachieveanend玩花招；欺骗

e.g.Nopartycouldsurvivesucharecordofpoliticaltrickeryandfinancialjugglery.

2）counterbalance:

vt.tohaveanequalandoppositeeffecttosomethingsuchasachange,feeling,etc.使平衡；抵消

e.g.Riskierinvestmentstendtobecounterbalancedby