Britain's“Shark House”

江蘇 許 麗

主題語境：人與社會 篇幅：278詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1A famously strange statue in the city of Oxford,England recently received official protection as a historic landmark.However,Magnus Hanson-Heine,the son of the man who built the artwork,was not happy about the special recognition.

2It is a 7.6 meters tall model of a shark.The strange part is in the sculpture's being positioned up on the top of the Hanson-Heine house.It appears from the street as if the huge fish dove straight through the home's roof.

3Magnus Hanson-Heine's father,Bill,put up the sculpture in 1986 as a protest against war and nuclear weapons.He worked on the art project with his friend,sculptor John Buckley.

4Bill was an American who studied law at the University of Oxford and made the town his home.He got the idea for the sculpture after he heard American warplanes fly over his house one night in April,1986.

5Magnus Hanson-Heine called the local government's declaration about the sculpture“absurd”.His father,he explained,never sought nor accepted permission to put up the shark.“In fact,he strongly believed,”his son said,“that the government should not decide what art the public should see.”And,Magnus Hanson-Heine noted,the same local council(議會) that declared the shark historic and to be protected,had spent years seeking its removal.

6While that message is serious,the strange sculpture that rises over the otherwise normal street incites some fun and laughter as well,especially when someone asks about the model shark's unseen head.The story is that it crashed through to just above the toilet.“That,”a laughing Magnus Hanson-Heine said,“is a myth.”

Reading Check

Inference 1.How did Magnus Hanson-Heine feel after the shark's official protection?

A.Surprised. B.Unhappy.

C.Shocked. D.Curious.

Detail 2.Why did Bill put up the sculpture?

A.To offer a myth.

B.To tell a story.

C.To fight against war.

D.To ask people to appreciate art.

Vocabulary 3.What does the underlined word“absurd”in paragraph 5 mean?

A.Unique. B.Professional.

C.Common. D.Ridiculous.

Language Study

Text-centered chunks

as if 好像

put up 建造；搭建

in fact 事實上

as well 也；還