HERE is a lng wrd fr yu； it is Renaissance. It means rebirth.
f curse， nthing can be brn again. But peple call this time we have nw reached the Renaissance， the timef rebirth. Here is the reasn why they call it that.
Yu remember the Agef Pericles， dn"t yu， when such beautiful sculptures and buildings were made in Athens？ Well， in the fifteen hundreds nt everyne was rushingff t the New Wrld in searchf adventure. While the vyages that I have tld yu abut were taking place， there were living and wrking in Italy smef the greatest artists the wrld has ever knwn.
Architects built beautiful buildings smething like theld Greek and Rman temples. Sculptrs made statues that were almst as beautiful as thsef Phidias. Peple began t take an interestnce mre in theld Greek writers， whse bks were nw printed fr everyne t read. It seemed almst as if Athens in the Agef Pericles had been brn again. That is why peple speakf this time as the Renaissance.
nef the greatestf these artistsf the Renaissance was a man named Michelangel. But Michelangel was nt just a painter； he was a sculptr， an architect， and a pet as well. Michelangel thught nthingf spending years wrkingn any statuer painting that he was ding. When he had finished， he had dne smething that peple even nw g frm allver the wrld t see.
Nwadays， sculptrs first mdel a statue in clay and then cpy it in stner cast it in brnze， but Michelangel did nt d this. He cut his figures directlyutf the stne， withut making a mdel first. It was as if he saw the figure imprisned in the stne and then cut away the part that clsed the figure in.
A large blckf marble had been spiled by anther sculptr. Michelangelsaw a figuref David in it， and， setting t wrk， he cut this yung athleteut.
He made als a statuef Mses sitting dwn. It is nw in a church in Rme， and when yu walk up t it， it is s lifelike that it seems as if yu were in the presencef the prphet Mses himself. The guide tells yu that when Michelangel had finished this statuef Mses he was s thrilled by the figurehe had created that， feeling it must cme t life， he struck itn the knee with his hammer and cmmanded as he did s， "Stand up！" And then the guide shws yu a crack in the marble t prve that the stry is true！
Michelangel at wrk ( 米开朗基罗在工作 )The ppe wanted Michelangel t paint the ceilingf the Sistine Chapel. This is the ppe"s private chapel in Rme. At first Michelangel didn"t want t d the painting. He tld the ppe he was a sculptr and nt a painter. But the ppe insisted， and Michelangel at last gave in.nce having agreed t d the wrk， hwever， Michelangel gave himself t it heart and sul.
Fr fur years he lived in this rm-the Sistine Chapel-and hardly ever left it dayr night. Beneath the ceiling， he built himself a platfrm， and lyingn this scaffld， he wuld read petry and the Bible and wrk as the spirit mved him. Lcking himself in， he wuld let nne enter， nt even the ppe himself. He wanted t be alne and t be left alne.
ne day the ppe， finding a dr leftpen went int the chapel t see hw things were getting alng. Michelangel， thereupn， accidentally drpped smef his tls， and they just barely missed hitting the ppen the head. The ppe was very angry， but he never returned uninvited again.
Peple nw g frm allver the wrld t see this ceiling， whichnly can beviewed cmfrtably by lyingn the flrr by lking at it in a mirrr.
Michelangel lived t be nearly ninety yearsld， yet he had very little t d with peple. He culd nt stand being bred by them. He lived apart， in the cmpanyf the gds and angels that he painted.
Raphael was anther famus Italian artist. He lived at the same time as Michelangel. Raphael， hwever， was just theppsitef Michelangel inmst ways. Michelangel liked t be by himself. Raphael lved cmpany. He was very ppular and cnstantly surrunded by his friends and admirers， fr everybdy lved himn accuntf his genius and kindly nature. Yung men swarmed abut him， drinking in his wrds and humbly cpying everything he did. He had fiftyr mre pupils studying and painting under him， and they went alng with him whenever he wentut even fr a walk. They almst wrshiped the grund he walkedn.
Raphael painted many beautiful pictures.nef the best knwn is Schlf Athens. He painted many picturesf the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. These are called Madnnas.nef the best knwnf these picturesf Mary and the Christ child is called Sistine Madnna. It was painted fr a little church， but it is nw in a great picture-gallery.
Raphael died when he was still a yung man， but he wrked s hard and s cntinuusly that he has left a large numberf pictures. He paintednly the very imprtant partsf his pictures himself-perhapsnly the faces. The bdies and hands and clthing he usually left t be painted by his pupils. They were glad t be allwed t d even a fingerf a paintingn which their master had wrked.
Lenard da Vinci is anther great artist wh lived at this time. He culd d any numberf things exceptinally well. He wuld be called a jack-f- all-trades， but unlike mst jacks-f-all-trades， he was gd at everything. He was an artist， an engineer， a pet， and a scientist. He made， hwever， very few paintings， because he did s many things besides， but these few pictures are beautiful and famus.nef these is The Last Supper. It is cnsidered， as is the Sistine Madnna，nef the greatest paintings in the wrld. Unfrtunately， it was painted directlyn a plastered wall， and in the cursef time muchf the plaster with the paint has peeledff， s that there was little leftf theriginal painting. Recently this painting was restred. The clrs were brightened up s，nce again， we can see its full beauty.
Lenard usually painted his wmen smiling.nef his mst famus paintings is the picturef a wman called Mna Lisa. She has a smile that is called quizzical. Yu can hardly tell whether she is smiling at yur with yu.
【中文阅读】
你见过"复兴"这个单词吗？ 这个词的意思是"再生"。
当然，没有什么能够再生。但是人们把我们现在讲到的这一时期叫做文艺复兴时期，也就是再生的时期。接下来我们就要说说人们为什么这么称呼它。 还记得伯里克利时代，是不是？就是雅典制作美丽的雕刻和建造美丽的建筑物的那个时代，当然喽，在 15 世纪并不是每一个人都冲向新大陆去探险。当航海家正 在探险的时候（他们的故事已经读过了），在意大利却平静地生活和工作着一些艺术 家。他们迄今仍是世界上最伟大的艺术家。
建筑师建造的美丽房屋有些像古希腊和古罗马的神庙。雕刻家制作的雕像几乎 和菲迪亚斯的雕像一样美丽。人们又一次开始对古希腊的作家产生了兴趣，他们的 书现在被重新印刷，人人都可以阅读。看起来好像伯里克利时代的雅典人又复活了。 这就是为什么人们将这一时期称为文艺复兴时期。
文艺复兴时期最伟大的艺术家之一是个名叫米开朗基罗的人。但是米开朗基罗 不仅仅是一位画家，他还是雕刻家、建筑师和诗人。米开朗基罗认为自己花数年时 间去雕一尊像或创作一幅画是极为正常的了。当他完成一件作品时，也就完成了一 个杰作，这样的杰作即使到现在还吸引人们从世界各地前来欣赏。
如今，雕刻家先用黏土做一个雕像的模型，然后按这个模型把石头雕刻出来或 用青铜浇铸出来，但是米开朗基罗不是这样做。他直接把石块雕成雕像，不需要预 先做模型。就好像他看到雕像被封闭在石头里，然后他把包裹雕像的那部分石头凿 掉就行了。
曾有很大一块大理石被另一位雕刻家弄坏了。米开朗基罗却看到了大卫的身影 "在里面"，于是劲头十足地动起手来，把这位身强力壮的年轻人给雕"出来"了。
他还雕刻了一尊摩西的座像。现在这座雕像还在罗马的一座教堂里，当你走近 它的时候，它看起来栩栩如生，仿佛你就在先知摩西本人的面前。导游会告诉你当 米开朗基罗完成这尊摩西雕像时，他也为自己创作的形象震撼了，觉得它一定会醒 过来，于是就用锤子敲了一下雕像的膝盖，还命令道"站起来！"接着导游会指着 大理石像上的一处裂纹，向你证明这个故事是真的！
教皇想要米开朗基罗为西斯廷教堂绘制穹顶壁画。这是教皇在罗马的私人礼拜 堂。开始，米开朗基罗不想干。他告诉教皇自己是雕刻家，不是画家。但是教皇坚 持要他做，最后米开朗基罗让步了。一旦答应做这件事，米开朗基罗就全身心地投 入其中了。
整整四年，他就住在这堂里--西斯廷教堂--日日夜夜几乎没有离开过。在 穹顶下方，他为自己建了一个平台，总是躺在上面，阅读诗歌和圣经，想工作了， 他就起身工作。他把自己锁在里面，不让任何人进入，甚至教皇本人也不行。他只 想独自待着，不愿被别人干扰。
一天，教皇发现有扇门开着，就进了教堂想看看工作进展得如何。就在此时米 开朗基罗失手丢下一些工具，差点砸到教皇的脑袋。教皇非常生气，但是从那以后 他再也没进教堂了，除非受到邀请。
如今人们从世界各地前来观赏这幅穹顶壁画，不过要想舒服自在地观赏这幅画， 只有躺在地上或者朝镜子里看。
米开朗基罗活到将近 90 岁，不过他几乎不与人来往。和别人在一起，他觉得厌烦，怎么也受不了。所以他离群索居，只有他画的神和天使陪伴着他。 拉斐尔是另一位著名的意大利画家。他和米开朗基罗生活在同一时期。不过拉斐尔在大多数方面都和米开朗基罗正好相反。米开朗基罗喜欢独自一人待着，拉斐 尔却喜欢有人陪伴。他非常受人喜爱，身边总是围绕着他的朋友和仰慕者，由于他 非凡的天分和温和的性情，人人都喜爱他。年轻人簇拥在他周围，全神贯注地聆听 他说话，谦恭地模仿他做的每一件事。他至少有五十名学生在他门下学习和作画， 每当他出去，甚至只是散个步，他们也和他一起。他们对他的仰慕达到了痴迷的 程度。
拉斐尔画了许多美丽的画，最著名的一幅是《雅典学派》。他画了许多圣母马利 亚和圣婴耶稣的画像。这些画像被称为"圣母像"。圣母像一般都有幼年的耶稣，最 著名的一幅是《西斯廷圣母》。它是为一座小教堂画的，不过如今它陈列在一家大型 画廊里。
拉斐尔去世时还很年轻，但是他勤勉创作，持之以恒，所以留下了大量的画作。 他自己只画作品中关键的部分--大概只是脸部。他一般会把身体、手和衣服留给 他的学生去画。哪怕只被允许在老师的画作上画一根手指，他们都很知足。
列奥纳多 达 芬奇是生活在这个时期的另一位伟大的艺术家。什么事情他都能 够做得特别出色。他可谓是"万能博士"，但是跟大多数"万能博士"不一样的是， 他样样精通。他既是艺术家，又是工程师，即是诗人，又是科学家。不过他只创作 了很少几幅画，因为他涉足的领域太多了，但是仅有的几幅画都很美也很出名。其 中一幅是《最后的晚餐》，这幅画和《西斯廷圣母》一样，被认为是世界上最杰出的 画作之一。令人遗憾的是，这幅画是直接画在抹了灰的泥墙上的，随着岁月的推移， 许多灰泥连着彩色涂层一起脱落了，所以原来的画作现在所剩无几了。最近，这幅 画被修复了。色彩变得鲜艳，这样我们又能再次观赏到它美丽的全貌了。
列奥纳多经常画微笑的女人。他最出名的画作之一是一个名叫"蒙娜丽莎"的 女人的画像。她脸上露出的微笑被认为是"揶揄"的笑。你很难分清她是在"对着" 你微笑，还是"和你一起"微笑。