前言
节日
Festivals
01 圣诞节Christmas
02 复活节Easter
03 万圣夜Halloween
04 感恩节Thanksgiving
05 威尼斯狂欢节Carnival of Venice
06 里约热内卢狂欢节Rio Carnival
07 日本樱花节Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festivals
神话和宗教
Mythologies and Religions
08《圣经》Bible
09 耶路撒冷Jerusalem
10 耶稣Jesus
11 希腊和罗马神话Greek and Roman Mythology
12 印度教Hinduism
13 佛教Buddhism
14 伊斯兰教Islam
文学
Literature
15 荷马史诗Homer’s Epics
16 莎士比亚Shakespeare
17 歌德Goethe
18 格林童话Grimm’s Fairy Tales
19 雨果Hugo
20 托尔斯泰Tolstoy
21 堂吉诃德Don Quixote
22 海明威Hemingway
23 爱尔兰文学Irish Literature
著名建筑
Famous Buildings
24 埃及金字塔The Pyramids
25 中国长城The Great Wall
26 雅典卫城Acropolis of Athens
27 罗马竞技场The Coliseum
28 圣彼得大教堂St. Peter’s Basilica
29 纽约自由女神像The Statue of Liberty
30 巴黎埃菲尔铁塔The Eiffel Tower
31 莫斯科红场The Red Square
音乐和美术
Music and Art
32 巴赫Bach
33 莫扎特Mozart
34 贝多芬Beethoven
35 歌剧Opera
36 列奥纳多·达·芬奇Leonardo da Vinci
37 伦勃朗Rembrandt
38 印象派绘画Impressionism
39 凡?高Van Gogh
40 毕加索Picasso
著名人物
Famous People
41 孔子Confucius
42 圣女贞德Joan of Arc
43 拿破仑Napoléon
44 林肯Lincoln
45 丘吉尔Churchill
46 甘地Gandhi
47 曼德拉Mandela
48 切?格瓦拉Che Guevara
英国
UK
49 圣乔治St. George
50 英国王室The Royal Family
51 不列颠博物馆The British Museum
52 英式下午茶Afternoon Tea
53 天气The Weather
54 大本钟Big Ben
55 英式足球Football
56 歇洛克?福尔摩斯Sherlock Holmes
57 披头士乐队The Beatles
58 英剧UK TV Series
欧洲
Europe
59 巴黎卢浮宫The Louvre Museum in Paris
60 维也纳美泉宫The Sch·nbrunn Palace in Vienna
61 法国康康舞French Cancan
62 法国香槟酒French Champagne
63 法国香水French Perfume
64 阿姆斯特丹Amsterdam
65 荷兰郁金香Dutch Tulip
66 荷兰风车Dutch Windmill
67 意大利比萨饼Italian Pizza
68 西班牙斗牛Spanish Bullfighting
69 弗拉明柯舞Flamenco Dance
70 爱尔兰酒馆Irish Pubs
71 爱尔兰音乐和舞蹈Irish Music and Dance
72 德国汽车German Cars
美洲
America
73 美国总统大选American Presidential Election
74 大都会艺术博物馆The Metropolitan Museum of Art
75 常春藤盟校The Ivy League
76 美国国家公园American National Parks
77 好莱坞Hollywood
78 美剧US TV Series
79 乌鸦精灵Spirit of Raven
80 玛雅文明Mayan Culture
81 亚马孙河The Amazon
82 足球与桑巴Football and Samba
83 古巴雪茄Cuban Cigars
大洋洲
Oceania
84 悉尼歌剧院The Sydney Opera House
85 原住民Aborigines
86 袋鼠Kangaroos
87 新西兰风景New Zealand Scene
88 部落文化Tribal Cultures
非洲
Africa
89 尼罗河The Nile
90 埃及法老Pharaohs
91 南非钻石SA Diamonds
亚洲
Asia
92 龙Dragons
93 生肖Chinese Zodiac
94 功夫Kung Fu
95 恒河The Ganges
96 圣牛Sacred Cows
97 宝莱坞Bollywood
98 艺伎Geisha
99 和服Kimono
100 动画片Animated Movies
內容試閱:
39 凡.高 Van Gogh
背景介绍
文森特.威廉.凡.高(1853—1890),荷兰后印象派画家,表现主义的先驱,深刻影响了20世纪的艺术。凡.高的作品,如自画像系列、星空系列、向日葵系列、麦田系列等,已跻身于全球艺术珍品行列。凡.高出生于荷兰乡村的一个新教牧师家庭,早年做过职员和矿区传教士。从他27岁决定投身绘画到37岁因精神疾病困扰自杀的十年间,创作了超过2000幅作品。凡.高早期作品风格写实,以灰暗色系进行创作,代表作有《吃马铃薯的人》。后来他在巴黎受到印象派鲜艳色彩与画风的影响。1888年,凡.高移居法国南部小镇阿尔,在此形成了鲜明独特的个人风格。他曾说:“作画我并不谋求准确,我要更有力地表现我自己。”在他的画作里,浓烈的色彩对比、流动的笔触,让麦田、柏树、星空等都处于一种天地交融的旋转中,强烈地震撼着观者的心灵。
情景对话
Paul: Poor old Vincent was a tragic figure during his lifetime, but he’s emerged as virtually, an immortal of the art world of today.
Tony: A person who died at the age of 37 could hardly be described as old, but you are right about his fame in our time.
Paul: For those short years of his life he was a most prolific and versatile artist.
Tony: But never one that was understood, or appreciated, in his lifetime.
Paul: I guess that is understandable because, his art was such a radical new way of painting, and his technique and colours, were so different from anything that came before.
Tony: Actually, many of his earlier paintings were quite traditional and very somber in their brown colour and painting style.
Paul: Although van Gogh travelled quite a bit around Holland, and to England and France, it was the two years he spent in Paris that seemed to have influenced him the most.
Tony: His brother, Theo, had an Art Gallery in Paris, and that gave Vincent access to Parisian artists.
Paul: And coming into close contact with the likes of Toulouse Lautrec and Gauguin, certainly shows.
Tony: Van Gogh painted some 200 painting during his stay in Paris, but it is the paintings in the last three years of his life for which he is now so famous.
Paul: All told, he’s attributed with more than 2,000 artworks, including some 860 oil paintings and 1300 watercolours.
Tony: Even his sketches and prints fetch a high price today, but what is so remarkable is that so many of his works have survived, despite the poor recognition it received in his lifetime.
Paul: What I find puzzling is why van Gogh shot himself at such a relatively young age.
Tony: That’s quite a strange series of events in actual fact, as no gun was ever found, and he eventually died of infection rather than from the gunshot wound.
Paul: But he did have a long history of mental problems, poor health, over indulgence in smoking and alcohol, not to mention many rejections in his social life.
Tony: Yes, I guess that could mount up to the point of wanting to end it all.
保罗:可怜的老文森特终其一生是一个悲剧性的人物,不过实际上他现在已经成为艺术界的不朽传奇了。
托尼:他辞世时是37岁,不能说他老吧,不过现在他的确是举世闻名。
保罗:他在短暂的有生之年创作了许多作品,多才多艺。
托尼:可是在他活着的时候,他的画作没有一幅得到过理解或欣赏。
保罗:我想,那是可以理解的。因为他的艺术风格是一种非常激进的新画风,他的绘画技巧和对色彩的运用与当时传统的画风迥然相异。
托尼:实际上,他的许多早期作品都很传统,风格都是棕色系的暗淡色调。
保罗:虽然凡.高去过荷兰、英国和法国,但是对他影响最大的是在巴黎的两年时光。
托尼:他的弟弟提奥在巴黎开了一家画廊,这使他有机会接触到巴黎的艺术家。
保罗:是呀,他与图卢兹.罗特列克、高更等艺术家过从甚密。
托尼:凡.高在巴黎的时候画了大约200幅画,不过现在人们最为熟知的是他在人生中最后三年里创作的作品。
保罗:他总共画了2000多幅作品,其中包括860幅油画和1300幅水彩画。
托尼:今天,即使是他的素描作品和版画作品都价值连城。不过值得注意的是,虽然他的作品在他活着的时候没有获得认可,但他的大部分作品都流传到了今天。
保罗:我不明白的是,凡.高为什么那么年轻就开枪自杀了呢?
托尼:那前前后后的事都挺奇怪的,因为没有其他人见过那支枪,而且他最终并不是死于枪伤,而是死于感染。
保罗:不过在很长的一段时间里,他确实患有精神疾病,身体不好,又吸烟酗酒,他在社交生活中遭遇的种种挫折更是让他的生活雪上加霜。
托尼:我想,这么多消极的因素叠加在一起会让人想要自杀吧。
词汇注解
virtually 实际上,几乎
somber 暗淡的
access to 接近,进入
oil painting 油画
watercolour 水彩画
all told 总共
78 美剧US TV Series
背景介绍
美剧一般是指美国晚间时段黄金档播放的剧集,以每年9月中旬至第二年4月下旬为一个播出季。美国的电视网分为无线电视(公共电视)与有线电视(付费电视)两类。艾美奖是美国电视业界的最高奖项。美国三大广播电视公司中,全国广播公司(NBC)优质剧目包括《老友记》《宋飞正传》《欢乐一家亲》《威尔与格蕾丝》《白宫风云》;哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)经典剧目有《人人都爱雷蒙德》《CSI》《生活大爆炸》《犯罪心理》;美国广播公司(ABC)知名剧目有《波士顿法律》《绝望主妇》《成长的烦恼》《迷失》《摩登家庭》《实习医生格蕾》;福克斯广播公司(FBC)知名剧目有《24小时》《X档案》《豪斯医生》《越狱》;哥伦比亚及华纳兄弟联合电视网(CW)的剧目有《邪恶力量》《绯闻女孩》《吸血鬼日记》《尼基塔》等;家庭电视广播网(HBO)经典剧目有《火线》《黑道家族》《权力的游戏》《监狱风云》《欲望都市》《罗马》《兄弟连》。
情景对话
Teresa: Did you catch last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries? It was so amazing. I just love that show!
Mike: Actually, I’m not really that much into sci-fi... I have heard of the series, but never watched it. Last night I was busy watching Prison Break. I am much more interested in action... Plus, I think it’s funny.
Teresa: Funny? Really? A bunch of guys trying to break out of prison? I thought it was more dramatic than funny... But whatever floats your boat.
Mike: You’re right, it’s more of a drama, but sometimes it can be funny. It’s about this guy who is innocent, but serving time for a crime he didn’t commit, and his brother tries to help him break out of prison. It’s pretty good... actually quite popular. And it’s received many awards, like the 2006 People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. It was also nominated for the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama.
Teresa: Maybe I’ll try to catch it on TV sometime. I can stand to watch a little drama now and then. But I’ll tell you one kind of show that drives me nuts...
Mike: What’s that?
Teresa: Reality TV. There are so many reality shows these days it’s crazy. X Factor, Jersey Shore, The Osbornes, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Dancing With the Stars, American Idol...
Mike: Hey, I like watching American Idol! Some of the constestants are very talented!
Teresa: Maybe so, but putting people on the spot with all these high pressure contests for entertainment seems kind of cruel. And the ones that aren’t competitions, well.... To me they seem really fake. The idea of a reality show is that the people and situations are real, not scripted. But everyone knows that the participants are told what to say and how to act... Everything is set up for the camera.
Mike: You know which reality show I like? The Bachelor.
Teresa: That one is the worst! I can’t believe that all those women would sell themselves out just to become famous... And a marriage based on cheap TV gimmicks can’t last very long.
Mike: Not a match made in heaven? Well, I guess TV is all about dreaming anyway.
特雷莎:你看了昨天晚上播的那集《吸血鬼日记》了吗?太好看了!我就是喜欢那部剧!
迈克:事实上,我对科幻小说并不怎么感兴趣……我听说过那部连续剧,不过从来没有看过。昨天晚上,我忙着看《越狱》呢。我更喜欢动作片…… 而且我觉得《越狱》很有意思。
特雷莎:有意思?真的吗?是一群人尝试越狱吗?我觉得与其说它有意思,不如说它具有戏剧性…… 不过看你的喜好吧。
迈克:你说得对,它的戏剧性更强,不过有时候也挺有意思的。故事讲的是:一个无辜的人因他并不承认的罪行而获牢狱之刑,他的弟弟竭力帮他越狱。这部连续剧很好……实际上很受欢迎。它获得了许多奖项,比如“2006年观众最喜爱的新电视剧奖”。它还获得了2005年金球奖最佳电视剧奖提名。
特雷莎:没准儿我哪天就在电视上看看这部电视剧。我可以偶尔看一点戏剧。不过我要告诉你,有一种节目会让我发疯的……
迈克:什么节目呀?
特雷莎:真人秀电视节目。现在有那么多真人秀节目,真是太疯狂了。《X音素》《泽西海岸》《奥斯本一家》《与卡戴珊姐妹同行》《与星共舞》《美国偶像》……
迈克:嘿,我喜欢看《美国偶像》!其中的一些选手非常有天赋!
特雷莎:或许是吧,不过让人现场参加所有这些压力很大的比赛去娱乐别人,这看起来挺残忍的。还有那些不是比赛的真人秀,哦…… 在我看来,它们看起来都很假。真人秀的概念是人物真实、情景真实,而不是按照稿件进行的。不过大家都知道,参与者都被告知要说这个或演那个…… 一切都为镜头服务。
迈克:你知道我喜欢哪个真人秀节目吗?《单身汉》。
特雷莎:那个节目最烂了!我真无法相信那些女人竟然仅仅为了成名而出卖自己……而且基于廉价电视骗局的婚姻也不会长久的。
迈克:没有一对是天造地设的吗?好吧。我想,电视节目都是虚幻的梦。
词汇注解
sci-fi science fiction的简写,科幻小说
whatever floats your boat 随便你,随你心意吧
drives sb. nuts 使某人发疯
Reality TV 真人秀电视节目
scripted 照稿件进行的
gimmick 暗机关,骗局,鬼把戏