原文
It was a brief, shining moment in Egypt's history--a time of epochal change presided over by a Pharaoh named Akhenaten and his beautiful wife Nefertiti. During his 17-year reign the old gods were cast aside, monotheism was introduced, and the arts liberated from their stifling rigidity. Even Egypt's capital was moved to a new city along the Nile called Akhetaten (modern Amarna). But like Camelot, it was short-lived, and its legacy was buried in the desert sands.
Now Akhenaten's 3,400-year-old world has been brilliantly recalled in an exhibit titled "Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen," which opens this week at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Part of the city's eight-month tribute to ancient Egypt (operas, ballet and an IMAX film), it is a unique assemblage of more than 250 objects from Egypt's 18th dynasty, some of which have languished unseen in storerooms and private collections for decades. They range from larger-than-life statues of Akhenaten to exquisitely sculpted reliefs and dazzling jewelry to such poignant reminders of everyday life as a perfectly preserved child's sandal.
The exhibit illuminates a murky period in Egyptian history that curator Rita Freed describes as having "all the elements of a soap opera." When Amenhotep IV, as he was originally called, ascended the throne in 1353 B.C., Egypt was a flourishing empire, at peace with its neighbors. Yet there were troubling signs. His father Amenhotep III had already challenged the powerful priesthood by proclaiming the sun god Aten as foremost among Egyptian deities and himself as his living incarnation.
His son shook things up even more, not only changing his name to honor the new god (Akhenaten means "one who serves Aten") but also banishing the older gods, especially the priestly favorite Amen. Some scholars believe Akhenaten's monotheism, a historic first, inspired the Hebrew prophets, but it had the more immediate effect of freeing Egypt's artists. They could now portray the Pharaoh and the voluptuous Nefertiti (who may have shared the throne with him) in a far more casual, realistic way. Akhenaten's cone-shaped head, elongated face, fingers and toes, pot belly and flaring hips have led some scholars to suggest that he had hydrocephalus or Marfan's syndrome.
He was certainly a revolutionary, propelled either by madness or by great vision. Still, his changes did not endure. After his death, his son-in-law (and perhaps son) Tutankhamen moved the political and religious capitals back to Memphis and Thebes respectively and reinstated the old gods. Egyptian art returned to its classic, ritualized style. And like Camelot, Akhenaten's once bustling capital became only a mythic memory. "Pharaohs of the Sun" will remain in Boston until February, then travel to Los Angeles, Chicago and Leiden, the Netherlands.
重點詞彙
epochal adj. 劃時代的
monotheism n. 一神論
languish v. 持續不前；毫無進展
poignant adj. 深刻的；傷感的
murky adj. 昏暗的；不明朗的
curator n.（美術館）館長
incarnation n. 化身
banish v. 拋棄；廢除
voluptuous adj. 妖冶的；性感的
hydrocephalus n. 腦積水
Camelot 傳說中的地名，在英格蘭西南部，阿瑟和他的武士們曾居住於此
難句分析
1. Part of the city’s eight-month tribute to ancient Egypt (operas, ballet and an IMAX film), it is a unique assemblage of more than 250 objects from Egypt’s 18th dynasty, some of which have languished unseen in storerooms and private collections for decades.( Line 3, Paragraph 2)
主體句式：it is a unique assemblage…
結構分析：這是一個包含同位語和定語從句的長簡單句。其中 “Part of the city’s…”是主語it（指展覽）的同位語，定語從句 “some of which have ….”修飾名詞 objects。
句子譯文：這次展覽只是波士頓爲期8個月的致意古埃及活動中的`一部分（其它形式還有歌劇、芭蕾、一部IMAX電影）。這次獨特的展覽展出了埃及第18個王朝的250多件物品，其中有些物品幾十年來一直深藏於博物館或爲私人所藏而不得面世。
2. They range from large-than-life statues of Akhenaten to exquisitely sculpted reliefs and dazzling jewelry to such poignant reminders of everyday life as a perfectly preserved child’s sandal.
主體句式： They range from … to … and … to such … as …
句子分析：其中最後一個to接的是“such…as”短語。
句子譯文：展品包羅萬象，既有阿肯納坦比真人還大的雕像，做工精緻的浮雕，又有令人眼花繚亂的珠寶首飾，甚至還有日常生活起居用品，比如一隻保存完好的童鞋。
篇章剖析
本篇文章以正在波士頓舉辦的一場展覽爲引子，採用敘述的寫法，帶領讀者重溫了3400年前古埃及一段輝煌的歷史。
第一段簡介了太陽神法老統治時期埃及社會發生的變化，
接着在第二段中說明波士頓正在舉辦古埃及周，其中包括一場展覽，
第三、四段詳細說明兩任法老所做的變革，
最後一段說變革持續時間不長。
參考譯文
這是埃及歷史上短暫輝煌的時期，是法老阿肯納坦和他美麗的妻子奈菲提提統治下發生劃時代變革的時期。在他17年的統治期間，以往的多神論被摒棄，一神論被引入，藝術也從令人窒息的一成不變中解脫出來，甚至埃及的首都也遷到尼羅河邊的新城市阿肯納坦（現阿瑪納）。不過同卡蒙洛的結局一樣，這個時期持續時間不長，其遺蹟也淹沒於漫漫黃沙。
現在，3400年前阿肯納坦時代的輝煌將在波士頓美術館被人們重溫。這兒正舉辦“太陽神法老：阿肯納坦、奈菲提提、塔坦卡門”展覽。這次展覽只是波士頓爲期8個月的致意古埃及活動中的一部分（其它形式還有歌劇、芭蕾、一部IMAX電影）。這次獨特的展覽展出了埃及第18個王朝的250多件物品，其中有些物品幾十年來一直深藏於博物館或爲私人所藏而不得面世。展品包羅萬象，既有阿肯納坦比真人還大的雕像，做工精緻的浮雕，又有令人眼花繚亂的珠寶首飾，甚至還有日常生活起居用品，比如一隻保存完好的童鞋。
這次展覽向世人展示了埃及歷史上一段不爲人所熟知的時期，一段被館長瑞塔弗瑞稱爲擁有“肥皂劇全部要素”的時期。當阿蒙赫特普四世——阿肯納坦本來叫這名字——公元1353年上臺執政時，埃及國運昌盛，同鄰國友好相處。但也有徵兆表明要出亂子。他的父親阿蒙赫特普三世已經質疑勢力強大的教會。他宣稱太陽神阿坦是埃及諸神中最具威力的神靈。他本人則是太陽神的轉世化身。
他兒子做的更甚。他不僅把自己的名字改爲阿肯納坦（意爲阿坦的僕人）以表示對太陽神的敬意，而且不許人們崇拜以往的神靈，特別是教會的至愛阿門神。有些學者認爲阿肯納坦倡導的一神論——歷史上前無古人的做法——啓發了希伯來先知，但它對埃及的藝術發展則有更爲直接的影響。它解放了埃及藝術家。現在他們可以更爲真實隨意的描畫法老和妖豔性感的奈菲提提（或許曾和阿肯納坦共同執政）。阿肯納坦的頭圓錐形，臉、手指和腳趾較常人略長，大腹便便，臀部肥大，這使得某些學者認爲他曾得過腦積水。
不管他的所作所爲是瘋狂所致還是由於遠見卓識，他都稱得上一位變革者。但這變革卻沒能持久。在他死後，他的女婿（或許也是兒子）塔坦卡門把政治中心移回孟斐斯，宗教中心移回底比斯。那些被摒棄的舊神重新歸位，埃及藝術又回到拘泥呆板的古典風格。正如卡蒙洛一樣，阿肯納坦時曾經繁華熙攘的首都現在只是神話中的記憶罷了。“太陽神法老”展覽在波士頓持續到二月份，然後在前往洛杉璣、芝加哥、荷蘭的雷登市。
