Underwater sculptures on the floor of the Caribbean加勒比海的水下雕塑

李畅

世界上第一個水下雕塑公园在格林纳达海岸开放，得到了许多的称赞。现在，艺术家们又将31个新雕塑浸入加勒比海的水下。

主题语境：雕塑 篇幅：332词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Nearly two decades ago， the world＇s first underwatersculpture garden opened off the coast ofGrenada to much acclaim and wonder. Now， artistshave expanded the unique installation by submerging31 new sculptures under the waters of the Caribbean.

2 Located in a protected marine area off the westcoast of Grenada， an island nation northeast of Venezuela， the Molinière UnderwaterSculpture Park covered 8600 square feet of seafloor when it first opened and included 75sculptures created primarily by British artist and ecologist Jason deCaires Taylor.

3 Taylor had proposed the idea to help Molinere Bay recover from damage it suffered in2004 during Hurricane Ivan， as well as to raise awareness about the threats posed by globalwarming. His sculptures， which are made of durable， pHneutralnatural cement （水泥），provide habitat for coral polyps （珊瑚虫） and other types of marine life—they serve asmanmadecoral reefs. The sculpture garden quickly proved popular among humans， too，attracting snorkelers， scuba divers and sightseers in glassbottom

4 In late October， 2023， deCaires Taylor installed additional works he created in cooperation with Grenadian artists， including 25 collectively titled The Coral Carnival.Commissioned by the Grenadian Ministry of Implementation and Tourism， the newadditions are inspired by Spicemas， Grenada＇s annual carnival celebration.

5 Each piece represents an iconic Spicemas masquerader， like Jab Jab， a characterwho symbolizes freedom， and Shortknee， a figure who wears a colorful jumpsuit and anklebells. Four other sculptures， created by Grenadian artist Troy Lewis， were also installed，including the endangered leatherback turtle. The large creature， which can weigh morethan 1000 pounds， visits Grenada＇s northern beaches to lay its eggs every spring.

6 For the first time， deCaires Taylor added color to the underwater sculptures， whichare typically gray. Marine life quickly moved into the new sculptures after installation，including an octopus and a family of crabs. But， longer term， since the new additions arecolorful， deCaires Taylor is curious to see whether they＇ll be colonized in any different waythan the original sculptures.

Reading Check

1. How many sculptures added under the waters of the Caribbean？

A. 75 sculptures. B. 31 new sculptures.

C. 25 by Troy Lewis. D. Over 100 sculptures.

2. What＇s the purpose of the underwater sculpture park according to Taylor？

A. To promote Grenada as a tourist destination.

B. To experiment with underwater art installations.

C. To attract marine biologists for scientific research.

D. To increase awareness about the threats by global warming.

3. When do leatherback turtles visit Grenadas northern beaches to lay their eggs？

A. Every spring.

B. In late October.

C. During the Spicemas carnival.

D. After the installation of new sculptures.

4. What can we know about the new sculptures according to the text？

A. They are made entirely of plastic.

B. They can attract more marine life.

C. They have been painted with color.

D. They are larger than the original sculptures.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

The large creature， which can weigh more than 1000 pounds， visits Grenadas northernbeaches to lay its eggs every spring. 這种重达1000多磅的大型生物每年春天都会到格林纳达北部的海滩产卵。

【点石成金】本句中，which引导非限制性定语从句，且which在从句中作主语；主句是The large creature visits Grenadas northern beaches to lay its eggs every spring。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks.

Almost 20 years after opening， the world＇s first underwater sculpture garden offGrenada＇s coast， 1. ________（know） as the Molinière Underwater Sculpture Park， hasexpanded with 31 new sculptures underwater in the Caribbean. 2.________（Initial）covering 8600 square feet with 75 sculptures primarily 3. ________（create） by JasondeCaires Taylor， the park was meant to help healing from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and tohighlight global warming dangers. The underwater sculptures provide habitat for all kindsof marine life， 4. ________attract snorkelers， divers and sightseers in glassbottomboats.

In October 2023， Taylor， 5. ________（cooperate） with local artists， installed additionalworks including 25 pieces 6.________（reflect） Grenadas Spicemas festival， with characterssuch as Jab Jab and Shortknee. Troy Lewis， a Grenadian artist， contributed four sculptures，7.________（include） the endangered leatherback turtle， a frequent visitor to Grenada＇snorthern beaches for egglaying.Taylor introduced color to his 8.________（typical） graysculptures for the first time， with marine life quickly 9. ________（inhabit） them. He＇scurious to observe how these additions will be colonized differently 10.________（compare）to the original ones.