博物馆全攻略:大英博物馆
When the British Muum opened in 1753, it was the world’s first national public muum, free (as it still is) to all “studious and curious persons.” It contains a breathtaking collection of over 8 million objects that paint an interconnected portrait of the world’s cultures. But it also epitomizes the long British traditions of exploration, quirkiness and obssive collecting. You could spend weeks here. But don’t worry; we’ll guide you through.
大英博物馆于1753年对外开放，是世界上第一个国立公共博物馆，免费（至今仍然如此）对所有“勤奋与好奇的人”开放。它的藏品达到惊人的800多万件，为多种世界文化描绘出一幅彼此相联的画卷。但它也体现了英国长期以来探索、怪趣与收藏癖的悠久传统。你可以在这里一连呆上几个星期。但是不要担心：我们可以为你做个向导。
Five Must-Sees
五个必看之处
If you don’t have time to idly wander, start your visit with the collections.
如果你没时间到处闲逛，那就从这些藏品开始吧。
THE KEY TO THE ANCIENT WORLD
通往古代世界的钥匙
The Egyptian Galleries | Room 4
埃及馆 | 4号展厅
This long, spectacular gallery, stretching almost the length of the muum’s west side, hous sculptures and artifacts from about 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization. It features spectacular busts, elaborately engraved sarcophagi and the muum’s most popular exhibit — the Rotta Stone, dating from 196 B.C. and inscribed with near-identical texts in three scripts, which allowed linguists to develop an understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs through comparison.
这个长而壮观的展馆几乎贯穿整个博物馆西翼，藏有横跨3000年古埃及文明的雕塑与文物。
其中有壮观的半身像、精心雕刻的石棺，以及博物馆最受欢迎的展品——罗塞塔石碑(Rotta Stone)，它大约来自公元前196年，以三种文字刻着几乎相同的文本，令语言学家能够通过比较来发展对埃及象形文字的理解。
Why It’s Must See: The exhibits give an instant idea of the magnificence, ambition and sophistication of ancient Egyptian culture.
必看原因：这些展品能令人立刻了解到古埃及文化的宏伟、抱负与复杂性。
What to Look For: A giant sculpture of a scarab beetle, with tenderly carved and curving legs, and an enormous bust of Ramess II, which inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias.”
看点：一座巨大的圣甲虫雕塑，有着柔和的线条和弯曲的腿，还有一座巨大的拉美西斯二世(Ramess II)半身像，正是它启发珀西·比希·雪莱(Percy Bysshe Shelley)写下了《奥兹曼迪亚斯》(Ozymandias)这首诗。
Nearby: Adjacent to the long Egyptian gallery is part of the muum’s Middle East collecti
on. In Room 6, you’ll find the incredible human-headed, winged lion statues (883-859 B.C.) that formed the gates to the throne room of King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (which we now call northern Iraq). And yes, they do have five legs, becau they were designed to be en either from the front or from the side.
附近：长长的埃及馆旁边是博物馆中东藏品的一部分。在6号展厅里，可以看到不可思议的人面狮身有翅雕像（公元前883-859年），它们构成了通往亚述（今伊拉克北部）的阿淑尔纳西尔帕王二世(King Ashurnasirpal II)王座宫殿的大门。是的，它们有五条腿，因为它们是被设计为从正面或侧面观看的。
ART AND MYTH IN ATHENS
雅典的艺术与神话
The Parthenon Sculptures | Room 18
帕台农(Parthenon)神殿雕塑 | 18号展厅
The beautiful friezes and sculptures formed part of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, built between 447 and 438 B.C. They were removed in 1805 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in an attempt to save them from further degradation, but the British Muum’s posssion of the Elgin Marbles, as they came to be called, has long been a subject of inten controversy.
这些美丽的中楣横条(friezes)和雕塑曾经是雅典卫城帕台农神殿的一部分，该神殿于公元前447到438年之间建成。1805年，英国驻奥斯曼帝国大使埃尔金勋爵(Lord Elgin)为保护它们免遭进一步损坏，将它们拆下来带走，此后它们便被称为埃尔金大理石雕，但是大英博物馆对它们的所有权一直存在激烈的争议。
Why It’s Must See: The intricately carved friezes and stand-alone sculptures offer a richly detailed portrait of Athenian society and mores.
必看原因：这些雕刻精美的中楣横条以及独立存在的雕塑丰富详尽地描绘出雅典的社会风貌与习俗。
What to Look For: The riveting hor’s head, with its bulging eyes and veined cheeks, exhausted from drawing the chariot of the moon across the night sky.
看点：雕塑上迷人的马头，眼珠凸起，面颊上血脉贲张，它拉着月神的战车飞过夜空，已经筋疲力尽。
Nearby: The Nereid Monument, a large Lucian tomb found at Xanthos (in modern Turkey), in the adjacent Room 17 and is a wonderful melding of Greek and Middle Eastern figures, with nereids (mythical a nymphs), a Persian king and a Greek army all depicted on its decorative panels.
附近：旁边的17号展厅内有涅内伊德碑像(The Nereid Monument)，以及在桑瑟斯古城（Xanthos，位于现在的土耳其）发现的一个巨大的卢西安(Lucian)坟茔，这座展厅是希腊与中东文物的精彩融合，装饰板上描绘着涅内伊德（神话里的海中仙女）、波斯国王和希腊军队。
THE INVENTION OF PORCELAIN
瓷器的发明
Chine Ceramics (Sir Percival David collection) | Room 95
中国陶瓷（珀西瓦尔·大维德爵士[Sir Percival David]收藏） | 95号展厅
This stunning collection of Chine ceramics is outstanding for its beauty, rarity and historical value. Some pieces date back to the invention of porcelain around 2,000 years ago.
这个令人惊叹的中国瓷器系列以其美丽、稀有和历史价值而闻名。一些展品可追溯到2000年前瓷器刚刚发明出来的时代。
Why It’s Must See: The gallery has more than 1,700 examples of breathtaking beautiful ceramic objects, both practical and fanciful.
必看原因：展厅内有超过1700件陶瓷器物，既有实用器，也有供人赏玩之物，它们的美丽令人惊叹。
What to Look For: The David Vas, probably the most important blue-and-white porcelain pieces in existence, have inscriptions near their tops that date them to 1351. Sir Percival David reunited the vas in 1935, after buying them from two parate collections.
