Day 9 The struggle to tell the story of colonialism

"economist文章"

The struggle to tell the story of colonialism

要讲述殖民主义的故事

colony /'kɒlənɪ/n.殖民地

colonialism殖民主义

Belgium’s revamped Africa Museum is a magnificently bizarre hybrid

比利时改造后的非洲博物馆是一个奇怪的混合体

revamp v.修订

revamped a.修补的

magnificently ad.壮丽地，宏伟地

bizarre a.奇异的/bɪ'zɑː/

hybrid n.混合物 a.混合的

IT IS Amagnificently bizarre hybrid.

Still officially called the Royal Museum for Central Africa, but better known as the Africa Museum, it cannot help but ooze colonial triumphalism, despite recent protestations of egalitarian diversity.

ooze v.渗出n.泥浆

triumphalism n. 必胜信念

egalitarian /ɪ,gælɪ'teərɪən/ a.主张平等的n.平等主义

protestation n.申明，抗议

diversity  n.多样化，分歧

Housed in a majestic purpose-built palace 20 minutes’ drive east of Brussels, it stands above a lake amid parkland.

majestic a.雄伟的

Brussels布鲁塞尔(比利时首都)

amid prep.在中间

Immaculate gravel paths sweep around the site.

Immaculate a.整洁的

gravel n.碎石

However radically the interior may have been refashioned to reflect new attitudes to Africa, the grandeur of King Leopold II’s design and the fervour of his desire to promote his imperial venture into the continent’s heart still overwhelm the visitor.

radically ad.彻底地，激进地

refashion v.重做

grandeur n.宏伟

imperial a.皇帝的

overwhelm v.淹没，覆盖

The monarch ruled Congo as a private estate nearly 80 times bigger than his European homeland from 1885 until a year before his death in 1909;

monarch n.君王

Congo 刚果

his double-Lmotif is embossed on almost every wall and above many an alcove.

motif n.主题，动机

emboss v.饰以浮饰

alcove n.壁龛