Ever thought you’d get to experience the smell of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair, or the scent(气味) of the sun? Visitors to the Reg Vardy Gallery will soon be able to do just that.
The gallery, at Sunderland University, England, is holding a new exhibition
“If There Ever Was”. It focuses on scent rather than sight.
The innovative(创新的) idea is the brainchild of curator(馆长) Robert Blackson. His inspiration came from reading the book Fast Food Nation. The book discussed the use of artificial chemicals to flavor things such as milkshakes, making them smell and taste like strawberries, when they’re not actually made from them.
A smell can often conjure up(召唤) memories such as school dinners or a childhood holiday by the sea, but the smells on display, will allow visitors to experience smells their noses won’t have been able to pick out before.
“There’s a whole variety of diffe
rent smells, including some extinct flowers,” explains Blackson. “Some have been gone for hundreds of years.”
One extraordinary fragrance(香气) is the aftermath(灾难的后果) of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan on August 6,1945.
There is also the smell of Clepatra’s hair, based on incense(熏香) that was popular among ancient Egyptians.
The Soviet Mir space station, which burnt up in the atmosphere in 2001, smells of charred(烧焦的) material (the space station caught fire).
Among the stranger smells is the “surface of the sun”.
“It is hard to sum up. It is an atmospheric smell, like walking into a room when the sun has been pouring i
n” says Blackson. “It gives a freshness, a sun kissed feel with a bit of metal. If you can say something smells hot, this is it.”
A team of 11, including perfume designers, have been working on recreating the smells for the exhibition. James Wong, a botanist（植物学家）at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK, helped in the recreation of the smells of four extinct flowering plants.
He did this by closely linking the extinct flowers with the smells of existing ones. With the help of historical reports of how the extinct flowers smelled, he was able to remix the aromas(芳香).
The exhibition runs until June 6.Fourteen extinct and impossible smells are on display.
小题1:What might be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Reg Vardy Gallery | B．Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair |
| C．A visit to a new exhibition | D．The scents of ancient Egypt |
小题2:Visitors can enjoy all of the following scents at the Reg Vardy Gallery EXCEPT
.
| A．the scent of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair |
| B．the smells of charred material of the Soviet Mir space station |
| C．the scent of having a childhood vacation by the sea |
| D．the smell of the aftermath of the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan |
小题3:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Visitors go to Reg Vardy Gallery to enjoy beautiful sights. |
B．James Wong managed to remix the aromas by referring to some historical reports . |
| C．The exhibition will last until July 6. |
| D．The scents visitors will smell are found in the tomb (坟墓) of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. |
小题4:In which session are you likely to read the passage in a newspaper?
| A．Science | B．Education | C．Entertainment | D．Economy |
口算能手系列答案
otter than die earth that matter can exist only as a gas, except at the core．In the core of the sun, the pressures are so great against the gases that, despite the high temperature, there may be a small solid core．However, no one really knows, since the center of the sun can never be directly observed．
