A mysterious cave has appeared on a London street. Scientists have been baffled by the appearance of it. It is believed that a light earthquake unearthed the cave which is estimated to be over 10 million years old. Initial investigations have indicated that it is likely to be fed by the waters of the River Thames but cannot explain the intense glow of green lights emitting from its depths. Scientists now hope to uncover some of its secrets. Nevertheless, until any solid prove comes up which says there is no radioactive substance involved, passersby, be aware!
一个神秘的洞穴出现在了伦敦的一条大街上。科学家们不明白为什么街上会突然冒出个大洞 来。有人认为是轻微的地震将洞上面覆盖的土震了下去,而洞本身则有至少1000万年的历史了。初步调查表明很可能这个洞被泰晤士河的河水所填充，至于为什么 洞穴深处会发出莹莹绿光，我们就不得而知了。科学家们希望能够 了解一些它的秘密之处。但因目前洞内是否有放射性物质还尚未 明确，所以路人请小心避让!
Scary, isn’t it? Well, now is the time to reveal the truth.
吓人吧？那么现在来揭晓答案。
The mysterious cave is a three-dimensional street painting created by a German artist Edgar Muller and his team.
这个神秘的洞穴只是一副街头画，由德国艺术家埃德加?穆 勒和他的组员们共同完成。
Muller, 40，said that this type of street art had not been around for very long, even though the technique had been used by artists on other surfaces for centuries. He explained: “three-dimensional street painting itself is a very new art form which only a handful of people do worldwide. Its nature is to trick people’s eyes and show them a new ‘reality，. The technique itself is called anamorphism and has been known since the Middle Ages. It was used by famous painters like Michelangelo, da Vinci and others in their murals.”
穆勒现年40岁。他说这种立体街头艺术的存在时间并不长,虽然 艺术家巳经利用这种绘画技术在其他物体表面上作画几百年了。他 解释道:“街头画本身是一种非常新颖的艺术形式，目前全世界也只 有一小部分人在做。它的本质就是使人眼睛产生错觉，看到另一种新 的‘实体’。这种技术叫渐变，从中世纪起就流传开来。著名画家米开 朗基罗、达芬奇等人都在壁画上用过这种技术。”
It gets a little bit complicated out here. Don’t worry. Let’s sort things out
这里有点复杂了。没关系,我们一点点搞清楚。
A three-dimensional street painting is a style of street paintings. And street painting enjoys a very, very long history. It has been recorded throughout Europe since the 16th century. Historically, street painters were itinerant artists who lived a life of travel and freedom. Aware of the festival and holy days in each province and town, they traveled to join in thefestivities. They created imagesin public squares and in front of the local church using bits of charcoal and some white chalk.Passers by would often leave a bit of bread or olive oil for the artist along with an occasional coin. And after the festivities or with the first rain, both the painting and the painter would vanish.
三维立体街头画是街头画的一个种类。街头画的历史非常悠 久。自16世纪起欧洲就有关于它的记录。历史上的街头画家都是流 动的，一生四处周游,居无定所。他们知晓各个省市村镇的庆典和 宗教节日，哪个地方过节就去哪个地方,在公共广场或当地的教堂 附近用小块木炭、白粉笔画画。路过的行人经常给他们留下些面包 或橄榄油，偶尔也留下个硬币。节日结束或一场雨后，画作和画家就都消失无踪了。
For centuries street painters were folk artists, reproducing simple images with crude materials. World War II disrupted their itinerant tradition and reduced their numbers.
几个世纪以来,街头画画家都是民间艺人,用粗糙的原料来来回回地画那几幅简单画作。第二 次世界大战打破了他们的流动传统，艺人的人数也减少了。
In 1972 the first International Street Painting Competition was held in Italy. The purpose of the competition was to record and publicize the work of those considered to be the last practitioners of this traditional art form. The oldest of the painters were already in their 90s. Over the years, the competition has drawn younger painters and larger crowds. Within a decade artists were using high quality commercial and handmade pastels to create copies of well known masterpieces.
1972年第一届国际街头画大赛在意大利举行。这次比赛的目的是记录和宣传那些被认为是最 后一批传统绘画艺人的画作。这些艺人当中年龄最大的已经90多岁了。这些年来,大赛已经吸引了 一批年轻的画家和众多观众。只用了 10年时间,艺人们已经使用高质量的粉笔蜡笔(无论是买来的 还是自制的)来创作闻名于世的杰作了。
In 1982 Kurt Wenner, an American artist, began street painting in Rome, Italy and by 1983 he took the already existing art form known as anamorphic or three-dimensional to the street by drawing and brushing.
1982年，一名美国画家柯特?文那尔开始在意大利的罗马创作街头画。到了 1983年，他将早已 存在的渐变画或三维立体画画在了大街上，形成了三维立体街头画。
Today there are more artists working in the three-dimensional street painting on themes that are more contemporary and appealing to the audience.
现如今，有更多的画家在创作三维立体街头画时融入了现代的、引人入胜的主题。
Michael Kirby has developed the art form with new techniques and themes while breaking away from the traditional themes of the Renaissance. His work is not only created on the pavements but also decorates the interiors and exteriors of major buildings through out the world.
迈克尔?科尔比利用新技术和新主题改进了这种艺术形式，远离了那些传统的文艺复兴主 题。他的画作不仅只画在道路上，也能装饰在全世界主要建筑物的内部和外部上。
Are you intrigued by these artists? If you do, keep your eyes wide open for their next painting. Perhaps you think you are in a bus stop. Check it carefully and you might find out it is just a three-dimensional street painting with the artists hiding in the street comer waving and grinning at your mistake.
你有没有被这些艺人所吸引？如果有,那么可要睁大眼睛注意他们的下一幅画作了。也许你 以为你在车站里，仔细看看，你可能会发现这只是一幅三维立体街头画，而该画的作者正躲在街角 向你挥手示意,为你犯的错误而捧腹大笑呢。