澳大利亚的乡村壁画艺术

汤润

在澳大利亞的农村生活并不容易，你最近的邻居可能在几百英里之外，每次降雨之间可能需要几年的时间……

难词探意

1. reinvigorate /·ri·nv·ɡ·re·t/ v. 使再振作;使复兴

2. mural /·mj··r·l/ n. 壁画

3. silo /·sa·l··/ n. 筒仓

4. depict /d··p·kt/ v. 描绘

5. moisture /·m··st··（r）/ n. 水分;湿气

6. detour /·di：t··（r）/ v. 绕路;绕道

Life isnt easy in rural Australia， where your nearest neighbor might be hundreds of miles away， and it could be years between each rainfall. In southwest Queensland， Thallon is one of many Australian outback towns now at risk of being wiped off the map by climate and population changes.

“In 2015 Thallon was on its knees， so we got the community together to see what we could do to reinvigorate the town，” said Leanne Brosnan， secretary of the Thallon Progress Association. Then some changes took place， including a massive mural covering four 98foottall grain silos opposite the town campground. Named “The Watering Hole，” the outsize mural by Brisbane street artists Joel Fergie and Travis Vinson depicts a fiery sunset over a landscape dotted with sheep， rainbowcoloured parrots and a scarred tree. It took the artists 21 days and 500 cans of spray paint to finish the piece， working from the basket of a longarmed crane.

Their great efforts were worth it： “The Watering Hole” has been a lifeline for Thallon， and it was named the best work of public art at the first Australian Street Art Awards in 2019. “Thallon wasnt a tourist destination at all before，” said Brosnan. “The mural now attracts visitors to come out here and maybe spend a few dollars at the local pub. It has given locals a bit of hope for the future.”

Thallon was not the only town with a mural in Australia. Melbourne art agency has helped put 17 murals up on silos across the country. While painting silos isnt a huge stretch for street artists accustomed to largescale projects， they do face challenges—paint that dries slowly due to moisture， wind or uncomfortable weather. They had to get up before dawn， work until around 11 a.m， then go back in the evening when its hot.”

While the silo trails may be hard to be found， its easy to get a picture of what they look like and where to find them， thanks to two retirees from Western Australia. Setting out for a fishing trip in 2018， retirees Annette and Eric Green detoured to see the painted silo in Tumby Bay， South Australia. “After we finished our fishing trip and were deciding where to go next， I thought， well， theres some silos in Victoria–lets go there，” said Annette. Frustrated by a lack of online information about the silos， Annette created a Facebook page to guide other road trippers and launched the Australian Silo Art Trail website in 2019 to document the trails on a national level.

“It has taken us to so many places we never would have thought to visit，” she says， adding that the economic impacts of the art are also being felt beyond the silo towns. “There are often a couple of towns between each silo. That means more people stopping for fuel or a meat pie， which helps to support the small businesses keeping some of these towns alive.”

Reading check

1. Which can best describe Thallon before 2015·

A. Prosperous.

B. Peaceful.

C. Developing.

D. Endangered.

2. What can we know about “The Watering Hole”·

A. Its about a beautiful sunrise.

B. It was completed in more than a month.

C. It made a great difference to Thallon.

D. It was done by street artists working with ladders.

3. Why did Annette create a Facebook page·

A. To show her travel journals.

B. to guide other travelers.

C. To post her wonderful pictures.

D. To inspire other fishermen.

Language study

Sentence for writing

That means more people stopping for fuel or a meat pie， which helps to support the small businesses keeping some of these towns alive.

【信息提取】該句中which引导非限制性定语从句，对主句进行补充说明。

【句式仿写】他最优秀的电影，就是荣获几项大奖的那一部，是关于甘地生平的。