可疑的镶嵌画The questionable mosaic

常用词汇

同义词与近义词

常用短语与固定搭配

• looking back over one's shoulder：回头看。原文用法：The scholar is looking back over his shoulder at a menacing Roman soldier。
• with drawn sword：持拔出的剑。原文用法：with drawn sword and a pointing arm。
• the last moments of：……的最后时刻。原文用法：this mosaic commemorates the last moments of Archimedes。
• the volcanic eruption of：……的火山喷发。原文用法：the volcanic eruption of the year 70。
• under excavation：正在挖掘中。原文用法：when that city was under excavation not many years ago。
• be believed to be：被认为是。原文用法：This origin of the mosaic is now believed to be fraudulent。
• a copy of：……的复制品。原文用法：a sixteenth-century copy of some earlier work。
• cast into doubt：陷入怀疑。原文用法：or at least cast into grave doubt。

常用句式

• There is, in [place], a [thing] [doing] ...：在某地有一个……正做……。原文例句：There is, in the Municipal Art Institute at Frankfurt am Main, a mosaic picturing a venerable scholar seated in a chair before a sand tray resting on a low table.
• It is believed that ...：人们认为……。原文例句：Until recently, it was believed that the mosaic had been uncovered in the floor of a room of ancient Pompeii...
• It is thought that ...：人们认为……。原文例句：it is thought that the mosaic is a sixteenth-century copy of some earlier work, or perhaps is a pure falsification.

长难句解析

Until recently, it was believed that the mosaic had been uncovered in the floor of a room of ancient Pompeii (which was destroyed and buried in the volcanic eruption of the year 70), when that city was under excavation not many years ago.

• 主干：it was believed that the mosaic had been uncovered in the floor of a room of ancient Pompeii（it 是形式主语，that 引导主语从句）。
• 修饰与从句：

- 句首 Until recently 是时间状语，限定这种说法的"有效期限"； - (which was destroyed and buried in the volcanic eruption of the year 70) 是非限制性定语从句，补充说明 Pompeii 的命运； - when that city was under excavation not many years ago 是时间状语从句，说明"发现"发生的背景。

• 逻辑关系：先陈述一个被广泛接受却已被推翻的说法（"镶嵌画出土于庞培"），再点出该说法的考古背景，最后用 Until recently 暗示现在观点已改变。

There is, in the Municipal Art Institute at Frankfurt am Main, a mosaic picturing a venerable scholar seated in a chair before a sand tray resting on a low table.

• 主干：There is ... a mosaic ...（倒装的存在句）。
• 修饰与从句：

- in the Municipal Art Institute at Frankfurt am Main 是地点状语； - picturing a venerable scholar seated in a chair before a sand tray resting on a low table 是现在分词短语作后置定语，描述镶嵌画的内容； - 该分词短语内部包含两个并列的过去分词短语：seated in a chair（描述学者的姿态）和 resting on a low table（描述沙盘的位置）。

• 逻辑关系：用存在句开门见山引出"主角"——镶嵌画，再以层层修饰细致描绘画中场景。

语言使用特点

• 故事以 There is ... 倒装存在句引出镶嵌画，再用 picturing 引导的现在分词短语细致铺陈画面，节奏舒缓而信息密集。
• 在真伪辨析部分，作者交替使用 it is believed that 和 it is thought that，体现"公众一度相信—如今学者判断"的立场转变。
• 结尾用 Thus another pretty little story has been discredited, or at least cast into grave doubt 的并列结构，既承认了不确定性，又以文学化笔调（pretty little story）点出戏剧性反差。

迁移练习

1. 用 There is, in [place], a [thing] picturing ... 结构，用英文描述一幅你熟悉的画作或艺术品。
2. 用 Until recently, it was believed that ... 写一个句子，引出一个"曾经被广泛接受、如今被推翻"的观点。
3. 用 It is believed that ... 和 It is thought that ... 分别造句，对比两种表达的语气差异。