托福听力中经常会涉及文艺复兴时期的题材考察，掌握一定的背景知识有利于我们高效备考托福听力，下面我们就来详细了解一下文艺复兴时期的一位代表人物——米开朗琪罗。

The Renaissance (/rɛnəˈsɑːns/) is a period in European history, covering the span between the 14th and 17th centuries. It grew in fragments, with the very first traces found seemingly in Italy, coming to cover much of Europe, for some scholars marking the beginning of the modern age.

“文艺复兴”的概念在14-17世纪时已被意大利的人文主义作家和学者所使用。文艺复兴最先在意大利各城市兴起，以后扩展到西欧各国，于16世纪达到顶峰，带来一段科学与艺术革命时期，揭开了近代欧洲历史的序幕，被认为是中古时代和近代的分界。

【关键词】

renaissance [ˈrenəsɑ:ns] n. 文艺复兴

span [spæn] v. 跨越，持续

scholar ['skɑlɚ] n. 学者

Resistance to Catholic culture first appeared in the 14th-century in Italy, some Italian citizens and intellectuals were sick of the Catholic theocracy and its hypocritical asceticism. Because of the lack of well-developed culture, they chose to revive ancient Greek and Roman culture to convey their thoughts.

在14世纪城市经济繁荣的意大利，最先出现了对天主教文化的反抗。当时意大利的市民和世俗知识分子，一方面极度厌恶天主教的神权地位及其虚伪的禁欲主义，另一方面由于没有成熟的文化体系取代天主教文化，于是他们借助复兴古代希腊、罗马文化的形式来表达自己的文化主张。

【关键词】

resistance [rɪ'zɪstəns] n. 反抗，抵抗力

intellectual [,ɪntə'lɛktʃuəl] n.知识分子 adj.聪明的，明智的

convey [kən'veɪ] v. 传达，表达

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or more commonly known by his first name Michelangelo (/ˌmaɪkəlˈændʒəloʊ/; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

米开朗基罗(1475年3月6日- 1564年2月18日)，意大利文艺复兴时期著名的雕塑家、画家、建筑师和诗人，对西方艺术的发展产生了无与伦比的影响。

【关键词】

exert [ɪɡ'zɝt] v. 运用;施以影响

A number of Michelangelo's works of painting, sculpture and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. He sculpted two of his best-known works, The Pietà and David, before the age of thirty. And he also created two of the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment on its altar wall.

米开朗基罗一生著作巨多，不仅在绘画领域，他在雕塑和建筑方面也颇有成就，为后人留下了许多优秀作品。他最著名的雕刻作品《哀悼基督》和《大卫》，完成时他还不到30岁。绘画方面，他创造了西方艺术史上最具影响力的两个壁画:在罗马西斯廷教堂天花板上的《创世纪》，以及布满教堂祭坛后方墙面的《最后的审判》。

【关键词】

sculpture ['skʌlptʃɚ] n. 雕塑

architecture ['ɑrkə'tɛktʃɚ] n. 建筑

influential [,ɪnflu'ɛnʃl] adj. 有影响力的

fresco ['frɛsko] n. 壁画

scene [siːn] n. 场面，景象