A love of miniature 微缩物的独特魅力

时间:2024-03-28 02:24:18

(单词翻译:单击)

  A love of miniature 微缩物的独特魅力
 
  无论是在艺术、电影、文学,还是玩具里,我们都可以看到微缩物的身影。千百年来,人类对微小的物品情有独钟。如今,网上有专做迷你食物的烹饪频道,也有艺术家展示用日常物品创造出的独特微观模型。本期 “随身英语” 讨论为什么有些人会格外喜欢这些袖珍的物件。
  词汇:size 尺寸
  What do table football, a doll's house and a remote-control car all have in common? They are all smaller versions of real things. And humans have long been intrigued1 by all things miniature. The Chinese ancient art of nut carving2 sees artists sculpt3 intricate designs, including microscopic4 people, into fruit or nut stones. English author Mary Norton wrote the fictional5 book series The Borrowers – they are tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of a normal-sized house. And then there are the online channels all about miniature cooking.
  Valarmathi and Rajkumar, who run The Tiny Foods, film tiny versions of traditional Indian dishes being made, set amongst the backdrop of a minuscule6 village complete with teeny cooking utensils7. Speaking to the BBC, Valarmathi says she was inspired by her grandmother who 'used to cook in really tiny pots'. Similarly, Kate Murdoch, who runs Tiny Kitchen, makes meals cooked on a hob that's powered by a tealight. Her videos include whisking eggs in a tiny mixing bowl and then cooking omelettes in pans the size of a postage stamp.
  And then there's the art world… The miniature artist and photographer Tanaka Tatsuya has been rising to online fame. He takes everyday small objects and turns them into new fun-size dioramas. His creations include a face mask resembling lanes in a swimming pool, watermelon mountains and some penguins8 on an iceberg9, which is in fact a bar of soap.
  So, why do we love small things? Simon Garfield, author of In Miniature, says that holding a scaled-down world in our hands, gives us a feeling of control and helps us understand what is too big to envision at full scale, like skyscrapers10 and railways. With models, we can observe, learn and appreciate what we have – with less. He discusses how the fascination11 may also relate to childhood. Toy dolls and plastic construction kits12 make us conquerors13 of worlds. 'We may never have such dominion14 over the world again, unless we continue the play into adulthood15.'
  So, just like the worlds of art and literature, why not embrace a little love of miniature?
  词汇表
  miniature 微型的,袖珍的
  intricate 复杂精细的
  microscopic 极小的,需要用显微镜才能看到的tiny 微小的
  normal-sized 正常尺寸的
  backdrop 背景
  minuscule 微小的,极小的
  teeny 很小的
  tealight 茶蜡
  postage stamp 邮票
  turn into 将…变成…
  fun-size 比普通尺寸小的
  diorama (重现故事场景或自然世界样貌的)立体透视模型resemble 看起来像,与…相似
  scaled-down 缩小比例的
  full scale 全尺寸,原物大小
  model 模型
 

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1 intrigued 7acc2a75074482e2b408c60187e27c73     
adj.好奇的,被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式);激起…的兴趣或好奇心;“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧!
  • He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。
2 carving 5wezxw     
n.雕刻品,雕花
参考例句:
  • All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
  • He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。
3 sculpt TZux2     
n.雕刻,雕塑,雕刻品,雕塑品
参考例句:
  • When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
  • Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。
4 microscopic nDrxq     
adj.微小的,细微的,极小的,显微的
参考例句:
  • It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
  • A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。
5 fictional ckEx0     
adj.小说的,虚构的
参考例句:
  • The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
  • The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。
6 minuscule V76zS     
adj.非常小的;极不重要的
参考例句:
  • The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
  • As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言,香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。
7 utensils 69f125dfb1fef9b418c96d1986e7b484     
器具,用具,器皿( utensil的名词复数 ); 器物
参考例句:
  • Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
8 penguins fc5bf5a50fd6b440a35d113f324c5e75     
n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中? 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹,企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
9 iceberg CbKx0     
n.冰山,流冰,冷冰冰的人
参考例句:
  • The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
  • The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
10 skyscrapers f4158331c4e067c9706b451516137890     
n.摩天大楼
参考例句:
  • A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
  • On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。
11 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
12 kits e16d4ffa0f9467cd8d2db7d706f0a7a5     
衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 ); 成套用品; 配套元件
参考例句:
  • Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
  • Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品,玩具和游戏,木制的玩具,智力玩具,手艺装备。
13 conquerors f5b4f288f8c1dac0231395ee7d455bd1     
征服者,占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信,而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
  • The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心,于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。
14 dominion FmQy1     
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图
参考例句:
  • Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
  • In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里,当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。
15 adulthood vKsyr     
n.成年,成人期
参考例句:
  • Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
  • Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

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