(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Barbara Klein with People In America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Winslow Homer, considered to be the greatest American artist of the nineteenth century. Homer created pictures that showed the relationship between humans and nature. The strong, clear images he drew and painted matched the wild, developing and proud United States of the late eighteen hundreds.
Winslow Homer was the second of three sons of Henrietta Benson and Charles Savage Homer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in eighteen thirty-six and grew up in Cambridge. His father was an importer of tools and other goods. His mother was a painter. Winslow got his interest in drawing and painting from his mother. But his father also supported his son's interest. Once, on a business trip to London, Charles Homer bought a set of drawing examples for his son to copy. Young Winslow used these to develop his early skill.
Winslow's older brother Charles went to Harvard University in Cambridge. The family expected Winslow would go, too. But, at the time, Harvard did not teach art. So Winslow's father found him a job as an assistant in the trade of making and preparing pictures for printed media. At age nineteen, Winslow learned the process of lithography. This work was the only formal training that Winslow ever received in art.
Winslow did this work for about two years. Then the young man decided to become an independent illustrator, someone who makes drawings and pictures for a living.
He worked in Boston for a few years, drawing illustrations for stories in several newspapers. He also did work for a magazine that was different from any other of the time. Harper's Weekly, in New York City, needed good illustrations and had lots of space for them. The young Winslow began to establish himself as an artist in demand.
In eighteen fifty-nine, Winslow Homer moved to New York City to work for Harper's Weekly. Homer also started to paint seriously. He hoped to go to Europe to study painting. But, something would intervene that would change the direction of Winslow Homer's artistic work. Harper's magazine would send him to draw pictures of the biggest event in American history since independence. It was the Civil War between the Union and the rebel southern states.
Winslow Homer went to Washington, D.C., in eighteen sixty-one. He drew pictures of the campaign of Union Army General George McClellan the next year. His pictures of the war showed the many ways that conflicts affect people.
In one illustration, he showed Union soldiers on horses advancing heroically. The Southern Confederate soldiers are shown forced under the feet of the horses, while the horsemen hold their swords high. The illustration is called "The War for the Union, Eighteen Sixty-Two — A Cavalry Charge."
In another famous illustration, "The Army of the Potomac — A Sharp-Shooter on Picket Duty," Homer showed a different side of war. A soldier sitting in a tree is holding a rifle. He is aiming at a target far in the distance. Many critics say the picture shows the cold, mechanical nature of warfare, bringing death to the unsuspecting.
Winslow Homer also made a famous painting called "Home, Sweet Home." It shows two soldiers listening to music played by military musicians. This was common during the Civil War. At the end of the day, musicians on both sides would play to raise the spirits of soldiers. Often they would play the song "Home, Sweet Home."
Homer painted two Union soldiers preparing a meal. The musicians are in the distance. The two soldiers appear to be stopped in the middle of their preparations by thoughts of home and family.
Critics widely praised Homer's work during the Civil War. His work gained him membership in what is now called the National Academy. One painting, "Prisoners from the Front," was chosen to represent the United States at the Exposition Universelle. This event was held in Paris, France in eighteen sixty-six. Homer went to Europe for the first time. However, little is known about his stay in Europe.
The next major change in Winslow Homer's life was a decision to work in a new medium. Until now, Homer had used oil-based paints. Colorful substances are mixed with oil. These thick paints can be spread in layers, one over another, to produce interesting effects of light and color.
Oil paints are usually put on canvas cloth. Most people consider oil painting "serious painting." But in the summer of eighteen seventy-three, Homer began using watercolor paint.
Watercolor paint is color, or pigment, dissolved in water. The paint is thin. Sometimes you can see through the paint to the paper underneath. Watercolor paint can be used to color drawings or by itself. It is a much faster medium than oil painting. But it is a different and difficult skill to learn.
Homer's decision to use watercolor may have been connected with another major decision. Two years after he started using watercolor, he stopped illustrating for magazines like Harper's. In doing so, he ended a good way to earn a living. Instead, he decided to make a living only from selling his paintings. He was completely independent. Just as he said he always wanted to be.
One of Homer's best paintings from this period is called "Breezing Up." It was shown for the first time in eighteen the rudder, which controls the direction of the boat. The two other younger boys hold on for the ride.
"Breezing Up" is considered one of Homer's finest paintings. Today, it is part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In the late eighteen seventies, experts say Homer experienced some kind of crisis. Before, he had been a very social person. But after this period, he withdrew from social activities. Some critics say he had an unhappy relationship with a woman.
Whatever changed him, Homer must have felt a need to escape. He traveled to Britain in eighteen eighty-one. He spent most of his time in the fishing village of Cullercoats, near New Castle. There he painted many pictures of life and events on and near the sea.
Homer returned to the United States the following year. He settled in Prouts Neck, Maine. He would call it home for the rest of his life. His brothers, Arthur and Charles, both owned houses there. It appeared that Homer withdrew from social life. He avoided visits from people wanting to meet America's greatest living painter.
But Homer's later life was also filled with travel, which provided subjects for his paintings. He visited warm places – Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cuba and the American state of Florida. He made several trips to fish and to paint. In these places, he used bright watercolor paints.
Homer also spent time in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. There he found rich subject matter in the people, hunters and wildlife of the area. But now, a new subject became more important in his work. As he grew older, Homer increasingly painted subjects facing death.
One of Homer's last paintings is called "Right and Left." It shows two ducks that have just been shot by a hunter as they fly above the surface of a wide expanse of water. The painting is named for a hunter's trick. It describes how a hunter can use both barrels of a shotgun to bring down two birds very quickly.
In the painting, the water and sky are grey. It is very early in the morning. If you look carefully at the painting, you can see two small points of the color orange. Looking closer still, you can see that one is a small part of a rising sun. The other is more surprising. It is the firing of the shotgun.
Almost hidden behind one of the falling ducks is the boat carrying the hunter. Here, Homer did something very unusual. The observer of the painting is directly in the line of gunfire.
Winslow Homer died at Prouts Neck, Maine, in nineteen ten. He was firmly established as America's greatest painter of the time. You can see many painting by Winslow Homer online at the National Gallery's Web site, www.nga.gov. Click on Search and enter the name Winslow Homer.
重点解析
1.importer 进口商
Japan is the biggest importer of U.S. beef.
日本是美国牛肉的最大进口国。
2.illustrator 插图画家
She models for an illustrator.
她为一位插图画家当模特儿。
3.membership 成员资格
Who is eligible to apply for membership of the association?
谁有资格申请加入这个协会？
4.Today we tell about Winslow Homer, considered to be the greatest American artist of the nineteenth century.
be considered to 被认为...
This book could be considered to be the anti-classical education manifesto.
这本书可以被看作“反传统教育宣言”。
5.He is aiming at a target far in the distance.
in the distance 在远处
The sound of the car died away in the distance.
小轿车发出的噪音消逝在远处。
6.The two other younger boys hold on for the ride.
for the ride 寻开心
The rest of us were just along for the ride.
我们其余的人就安心看吧。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。我是芭芭拉·克莱恩。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述温斯洛·霍默的故事。温斯洛·霍默被认为是19世纪最伟大的美国艺术家。霍默的画作展现了人类和自然的关系。强烈清晰的画面和1800年荒凉、发展中的骄傲美国相映衬
温斯洛·霍默是汉丽埃塔·班森和查尔斯·萨维奇·荷马的二儿子，他们有三个儿子。1936年，他在马萨诸塞州波士顿出生，在剑桥长大。他的父亲是工具和其他商品的进口商，他的母亲是一名画家。温斯洛从母亲那里继承了绘画的兴趣，而他的父亲也支持儿子的兴趣。一次，在去伦敦的旅途中，查尔斯·荷马给他的儿子买了一套绘画册子。年轻的温斯洛用这些画册发开自己的绘画技巧。温斯洛的哥哥查尔斯去了剑桥的哈佛大学。家人也希望温斯洛去那读书，但是那时的哈佛大学没有艺术专业。所以温斯洛的父亲给他找了一份助理工作，给印刷媒体准备画作。19岁的时候，温斯洛学会了平板印刷术。这个工作是温斯洛接受的唯一正式艺术训练。
温斯洛这个工作做了约两年。然后这个年轻人决定成为一名独立的插画家，以画画为生。他在波士顿工作了几年，给不同的报纸上刊登的故事画插画。他也为一本杂志工作。这本杂志和那个时代的其他杂志非常不同。纽约的《哈珀周刊》需要好的插画且量大。年轻的温斯洛开始成为受欢迎艺术家。1859年，温斯洛·霍默为了《哈珀周刊》搬到纽约。霍默也开始认真画画。他希望去欧洲学习画画，但是发生了一些事情改变了温斯洛·霍默艺术作品的方向。《哈珀周刊》派他去绘画独立后美国历史上的重大事件。这是联邦和南方州反叛者之间的内战。1861年，温斯洛·霍默前往华盛顿。第二年，他绘制同盟军将军乔治·B·麦克莱伦战役的图画。他关于战争的画作展现了战争对人们的各种影响。在一幅插画中，他展现了联邦士兵骑马英勇前进。而南方同盟士兵在马匹脚下被驱赶，而骑兵则高举宝剑。这幅画叫做《联盟军战争之骑兵冲锋》。另一幅名画是《波拖马可河军队之站哨的神枪手》，在这幅画中，霍默展现了战争的另一面。坐在树下的一名士兵拿着一只步枪。他瞄准了远方的一个目标。很多评论家表示这幅画展现了战争冰冷机械的本质，让人相互猜忌。温斯洛·霍默还有一幅名画《家，甜蜜的家》。画中两名士兵听着军队乐师的音乐。这种场面在内战中常见。一天结束后，双方乐师都会开始演奏提升士兵士气。他们通常会演奏歌曲《家，甜蜜的家》。霍默画了联邦军准备午餐，乐师在远处的画面。两名士兵在准备过程中，想起了自己的家乡和家人。评论家大肆赞扬了霍默内战期间的作品。他的作品为他赢得了美国国家科学院的成员身份。画作《前线的囚犯》被选为年世界博览会的美国代表。
此事件发生于1866年的法国巴黎。霍默第一次去欧洲，但是关于他在欧洲的情况知之甚少。温斯洛·霍默生命中第二个重大改变是他决定用一种新媒介作画。霍默至今都用油基漆。色彩物质与油相混合。这些厚漆可以一层一层蔓延以产生光和色彩的有趣效果。油画常会盖上防水布。很多人认为油画是“严肃画作”。但是1873年夏天，霍默开始画水彩画。水彩画是色彩或颜料溶解于水中。画作很薄。有时你可以通过画看到底下的纸张。水彩画可以被用作给图纸上色，也可独自成画。是比油画更快速的媒介。但是需要学习一种不同且很难的技巧。霍默决定画水彩画或许和另一项做大决定有关。他开始画水彩画两年后，便停止为《哈珀周刊》画插画。这么做便失去了谋生的工作。而他决定卖自己的画来谋生。他是完全独立的，正如他所说，他一直想成为独立画家。那个时期霍默最好的画作之一是《微风吹起》。该画于1876年首次展出。画中三个小男孩和一个男人载着小船。水上风很大。男人掌握航行加速。画中首次画出控制船只的船舵，两名其他少年轻的男孩子享受着旅途。《微风吹起》被认为是霍默最好的画作之一。今天这幅画成为了华盛顿国家艺术馆的永久展品。1870年代晚期，专家称霍默经历了某些危机。在此之前，他一直是个善于社交的人。但是那段时期后，他从社交活动中退出。不论他怎么改变，霍默一定是感到了一种逃离的需要。1881年，他来到英国。他的大部分时间都是待在纽卡斯尔附近卡勒海岸的小渔村里。他绘制了很多关于生活和海边的画。第二年霍默返回纽约，定居缅因州Prouts Neck。余生都在那里度过。
他的兄弟亚瑟和查尔斯在那里都有房子。似乎霍默从社交生活中退出了。他避开了那些想见美国最伟大画手的访客。但是霍默的晚年也在旅行中度过，这些旅行为他提供了绘画的主题。他去过温暖的地方—百慕大群岛、巴哈马群岛以及美国佛罗里达州。他在旅途中垂钓作画。在这些地方，他画明亮的水彩画。霍默还在纽约阿第伦达克山脉待过。在那里他发现了关于人、猎人和野生动植物的主旨。但是现在新的主题在他的画中更加重要。随着年纪增长，霍默画的主题更多的是面临死亡。霍默后期画作之一是《双管齐下》。画中是两只鸭子，在它们从宽阔的水面起飞时，被猎人击中。这幅画被定为是猎人的诡计，其描述了猎人如何利用霰弹猎枪迅速击落两只鸟。画中，水和天空是灰色的，这是在清晨。如果你仔细看，你会看到两个橙色的小点。再近一点，你会看到其中一个是升起的太阳的一小点。另一个更加惊奇，那时霰弹猎枪枪火。几乎藏在被击落的那只鸭子身后的是载有猎人的船只。在这里霍默进行了一些特殊的处理。
画作的观察角度正好是在枪火那条线上。1910年，温斯洛.霍默在缅因州Prouts Neck去世。他建立了自己作为美国那个时代最伟大画家的坚实地位。你可以在国家美术网站上观看到温斯洛.霍默的很多画作。点击搜索输入Winslow Homer。
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