# 第四册 Lesson 31 The sculptor speaks 雕塑家的语言

## 一、课文原文

Appreciation of sculpture depends upon the ability to respond to form in three dimensions. That is perhaps why sculpture has been described as the most difficult of all arts; certainly it is more difficult than the arts which involve appreciation of flat forms, shape in only two dimensions. Many more people are 'form-blind' than colour-blind. The child learning to see, first distinguishes only two-dimensional shape; it cannot judge distances, depths. Later, for its personal safety and practical needs, it has to develop (partly by means of touch) the ability to judge roughly three-dimensional distances. But having satisfied the requirements of practical necessity, most people go no further. Though they may attain considerable accuracy in the perception of flat form, they do not make the further intellectual and emotional effort needed to comprehend form in its full spatial existence.

This is what the sculptor must do. He must strive continually to think of, and use, form in its full spatial completeness. He gets the solid shape, as it were, inside his head — he thinks of it, whatever its size, as if he were holding it completely enclosed in the hollow of his hand. He mentally visualizes a complex form from all round itself; he knows while he looks at one side what the other side is like, he identifies himself with its centre of gravity, its mass, its weight; he realizes its volume, as the space that the shape displaces in the air.

And the sensitive observer of sculpture must also learn to feel shape simply as shape, not as description or reminiscence. He must, for example, perceive an egg as a simple single solid shape, quite apart from its significance as food, or from the literary idea that it will become a bird. And so with solids such as a shell, a nut, a plum, a pear, a tadpole, a mushroom, a mountain peak, a kidney, a carrot, a tree-trunk, a bird, a bud, a lark, a ladybird, a bulrush, a bone. From these he can go on to appreciate more complex forms or combinations of several forms.

— HENRY MOORE, *The Sculptor Speaks* from The Listener

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| appreciation | /əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃn/ | n. | 欣赏，鉴赏 | appreciate v. 欣赏；appreciation of art 艺术鉴赏 |
| dimension | /daɪˈmenʃn/ | n. | 维度，尺寸 | three dimensions 三维；two-dimensional 二维的 |
| form-blind | — | adj. | 形体盲的 | 仿造 colour-blind 构造 |
| distinguish | /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ | v. | 区分，辨别 | distinguish A from B 把A和B区分开 |
| attain | /əˈteɪn/ | v. | 达到，获得 | attain accuracy 达到精确度；attain to 达到 |
| perception | /pəˈsepʃn/ | n. | 感知，知觉 | perceive v. 感知；perception of form 对形体的感知 |
| spatial | /ˈspeɪʃl/ | adj. | 空间的 | spatial existence 空间存在；space n. 空间 |
| strive | /straɪv/ | v. | 努力，奋斗 | strive to do 努力做；过去式 strove |
| visualize | /ˈvɪʒuəlaɪz/ | v. | 想象，形象化 | visual adj. 视觉的；visualize 形成心像 |
| identify | /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ | v. | 认同，识别 | identify oneself with 与……认同 |
| gravity | /ˈɡrævəti/ | n. | 重力 | centre of gravity 重心 |
| volume | /ˈvɒljuːm/ | n. | 体积，容积 | 体积（物理）；音量；卷册 |
| displace | /dɪsˈpleɪs/ | v. | 排开，取代 | the space that the shape displaces 形体排开的空间 |
| reminiscence | /ˌremɪˈnɪsns/ | n. | 回忆，联想 | reminiscent adj. 回忆的 |

**固定搭配：**
- **as it were**：可以说，仿佛
- **identify oneself with**：与……认同
- **apart from**：除……之外

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. as it were 虚拟语气插入语

> He gets the solid shape, **as it were**, inside his head

as it were = so to speak，意为"可以说、仿佛"，是虚拟语气的固定表达。

| 插入语 | 含义 | 例句 |
|--------|------|------|
| as it were | 可以说 | He is, as it were, a walking dictionary. |
| so to speak | 可以说 | He is, so to speak, the boss here. |
| as it is | 实际上 | As it is, we can't go. |

### 2. as if 引导的虚拟语气

> as if he **were** holding it completely enclosed in the hollow of his hand

as if 引导虚拟语气，用过去时（were）表示与事实相反的假设。

| 情况 | 动词形式 | 例句 |
|------|----------|------|
| 与现在相反 | 过去时（were） | He acts as if he were the boss. |
| 与过去相反 | had + 过去分词 | He looked as if he had seen a ghost. |
| 可能实现 | 现在时 | It looks as if it is going to rain. |

### 3. 分词完成式作状语

> **Having satisfied** the requirements of practical necessity, most people go no further

having + 过去分词表示分词动作发生在主句动作之前。

### 4. while 引导的时间状语从句

> he knows **while** he looks at one side what the other side is like

while = at the same time as，强调两个动作同时发生。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：比较结构

> **Many more** people are 'form-blind' **than** colour-blind

- 比较级 + than，强调"形体盲"比"色盲"更普遍
- many 修饰比较级 more

### 句型2：长难句——分号连接并列结构

> he knows while he looks at one side what the other side is like; **he identifies himself with** its centre of gravity, its mass, its weight; **he realizes** its volume, as the space that the shape displaces in the air

- 三个并列分句描述雕塑家的三维空间思维
- identifies himself with（认同）→ realizes（领悟），由内而外
- as 引导方式状语

### 句型3：排比列举

> a shell, a nut, a plum, a pear, a tadpole, a mushroom, a mountain peak, a kidney, a carrot, a tree-trunk, a bird, a bud, a lark, a ladybird, a bulrush, a bone

- 16个名词排比，涵盖自然界的各种立体形状
- 每个物体代表一种独特的三维形态

## 五、课文翻译

对雕塑的欣赏取决于对三维形体的反应能力。这也许就是为什么雕塑被描述为所有艺术中最困难的一种；它确实比只涉及二维平面形式欣赏的艺术更难。"形体盲"的人比色盲的人多得多。学习观看的儿童首先只能区分二维形状；它不能判断距离和深度。后来，出于个人安全和实际需要，它必须发展（部分通过触觉）粗略判断三维距离的能力。但是，在满足了实际需要之后，大多数人就不再深入了。虽然他们可能在平面形状的感知上达到相当的精确度，但他们没有做出进一步的智力和情感努力来理解形体在完整空间中的存在。

这就是雕塑家必须做到的。他必须不断努力去思考和运用形体的完整空间性。可以说，他在头脑中获得了立体的形状——不管它有多大，他都想着仿佛完全握在手心里。他在脑海中从各个角度想象一个复杂的形体；他看着一边就知道另一边是什么样子，他与其重心、质量、重量融为一体；他认识到它的体积，即形状在空气中排开的空间。

而雕塑的敏锐观察者也必须学会仅仅把形状作为形状来感受，而不是作为描述或联想。例如，他必须把鸡蛋看作一个简单的立体形状，完全不顾它作为食物的意义，也不考虑它会变成鸟的文学联想。贝壳、坚果、李子、梨、蝌蚪、蘑菇、山峰、肾脏、胡萝卜、树干、鸟、花蕾、云雀、瓢虫、芦苇、骨头这些立体物也是如此。从这些他可以进一步欣赏更复杂的形体或几种形体的组合。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：类比论证

- 将"形体盲"与"色盲"类比，使抽象概念具体化
- 儿童视觉发展的类比，说明三维感知需要后天培养

### 2. 逻辑结构

| 段落 | 主题 | 论证方式 |
|------|------|----------|
| 第一段 | 三维感知的困难 | 类比（色盲）、儿童发展 |
| 第二段 | 雕塑家的三维思维 | 描述（内心感受） |
| 第三段 | 观察者的训练方法 | 举例（16种立体物） |

### 3. 文化背景

- Henry Moore（1898-1986）：英国最著名的现代雕塑家
- 其作品以大型抽象铜雕和石雕闻名
- 本文原载于 The Listener（BBC 刊物）

### 4. 修辞分析

- 16个名词排比——强调自然形态的丰富性
- "as it were""as if he were holding"——虚拟语气使描述更具想象空间
- "feel shape simply as shape"——反复强调核心观点

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 dimension、spatial、visualize、identify、volume 等核心词
2. **语法练习**：as if 虚拟语气；having done 分词完成式；as it were 插入语
3. **翻译练习**：注意虚拟语气的翻译；排比结构的处理
4. **写作练习**：模仿课文用类比法说明一个抽象概念

## 八、本课小结

本课探讨雕塑欣赏的本质——**对三维形体的感知能力**。作者从普通人的"形体盲"现象入手，说明三维感知需要额外的智力和情感努力，然后分别阐述雕塑家和观察者应如何培养这种能力。语法重点为 as if 虚拟语气、having done 分词完成式和 as it were 插入语。写作特色是类比论证和排比列举。