本篇文章共分 5 段，針對舊石器時代原始人所遺留下來的洞穴壁畫進行研究，分析這些壁畫在當時人類祖先生活中所扮演的角色，抽絲剝繭之後提出最終的結論。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

Paleolithic Cave Paintings 舊石器時代的洞穴壁畫

1. 舊石器時代洞穴壁畫的功能

   In any investigation of the origins of art, attention focuses on the cave paintings created in Europe during the Paleolithic era (c. 40,000-10,000 years ago) such as those depicting bulls and other animals in the Lascaux cave in France. Accepting that they are the best preserved and most visible signs of what was a global creative explosion, how do we start to explain their appearance? Instinctively, we may want to update the earliest human artists by assuming that they painted for the sheer joy of painting. The philosophers of Classical Greece recognized it as a defining trait of humans to “delight in works of imitation”—to enjoy the very act and triumph of representation. If we were close to a real lion or snake, we might feel frightened. But a well-executed picture of a lion or snake will give us pleasure. Why suppose that our Paleolithic ancestors were any different?

   在對藝術起源的任何調查中，注意力都集中在舊石器時代（約 4 萬至 1 萬年前）在歐洲創作的洞穴畫上，如法國拉斯科洞穴中描繪公牛和其他動物的洞穴壁畫。如果承認它們是當時全球創造力爆發的最好的保存和最明顯的標誌，我們如何開始解釋它們的出現呢？本能地，我們可能想更新人類最早的藝術家，假設他們是為了純粹的繪畫樂趣而作畫。古典希臘的哲學家們認為，「以模仿的作品為樂」是人類的一個決定性特徵—享受表現的行為和勝利。如果我們接近一隻真正的獅子或蛇，我們可能會感到害怕。但是，一幅繪製精美的獅子或蛇的圖片會給我們帶來快樂。為什麼要認為我們的舊石器時代的祖先會有任何不同呢？

2. 洞穴壁畫主題侷限

   This simple acceptance of art for art's sake has a certain appeal. To think of Lascaux as a gallery allows it to be a sort of special viewing place where the handiwork of accomplished artists might be displayed. Plausibly, daily existence in parts of Paleolithic Europe may not have been so hard, with an abundance of ready food and therefore the leisure time for art. The problems with this explanation, however, are various. In the first place, the proliferation of archaeological discoveries—and this includes some of the world's innumerable rock art sites that cannot be dated—has served to emphasize a remarkably limited repertoire of subjects. The images that recur are those of animals. Human figures are unusual, and when they do make an appearance, they are rarely done with the same attention to form accorded to the animals. If Paleolithic artists were simply seeking to represent the beauty of the world around them, would they not have left a far greater range of pictures—of trees, flowers, of the Sun and the stars?

   這種為藝術而藝術的簡單接受有一定的吸引力。把拉斯科看作是一個畫廊，使它成為一種特殊的觀賞場所，有成就的藝術家的手藝可以在這裡得到展示。按理說，舊石器時代歐洲部分地區的日常生活可能沒有那麼艱苦，有豐富的現成食物，因此有閒暇時間進行藝術創作。然而，這種解釋的問題還不少。首先，考古發現的激增—這包括世界上一些無法確定年代的巖畫遺址—有助於強調一個非常有限的主題。反覆出現的圖像是那些動物的圖像。人類的形象並不常見，而且當他們出現時，很少像動物那樣關注其形態。如果舊石器時代的藝術家只是想表現他們周圍世界的美，他們難道不會留下更多的樹木、花朵、太陽和星星的圖片嗎？

3. 洞穴壁畫的寫實性與繪製地點

   A further question to the theory of art for art's sake is posed by the high incidence of Paleolithic images that appear not to be imitative of any reality whatsoever. These are geometrical shapes or patterns consisting of dots or lines. Such marks may be found isolated or repeated over a particular surface but also scattered across more recognizable forms. A good example of this may be seen in the geologically spectacular grotto of Pêche Merle, in the Lot region of France. Here we encounter some favorite animals from the Paleolithic repertoire—a pair of stout-bellied horses. But over and around the horses' outlines are multiple dark spots, daubed in disregard for the otherwise naturalistic representation of animals. What does such patterning imitate? There is also the factor of location. The caves of Lascaux might conceivably qualify as underground galleries, but many other paintings have been found in recesses totally unsuitable for any kind of viewing—tight nooks and crannies that must have been awkward even for the artists to penetrate, let alone for anyone else wanting to see the art.

   對為藝術而藝術的理論提出的另一個問題是，舊石器時代大量出現的圖像似乎不是對任何現實的模仿。這些是由點或線組成的幾何形狀或圖案。這種標誌可以在一個特定的表面上孤立或重複出現，但也可以散佈在更多可識別的形式中。這方面一個理想的例子可以在法國洛特地區的 Pêche Merle 的地質壯觀的石窟中看到。在這裡，我們遇到了舊石器時代的一些最受歡迎的動物—一對具有粗壯馬腹的馬匹。但在馬的輪廓上方和周圍有多個黑點，這些黑點的塗抹方式無視於這些動物在其他方面的自然表現。這種圖案模仿的是什麼？還有一個因素是地點。可以想像，拉斯科的洞穴可以作為地下畫廊，但許多其他的畫作被發現在完全不適合任何形式的觀看的凹處—狹小的角落和縫隙，即使對藝術家來說也很難穿過，更不用說對其他想看藝術的人來說。

4. 洞穴壁畫的狩獵主題

   Finally, we may doubt the notion that the Upper Paleolithic period was a paradise in which food came readily, leaving humans ample time to amuse themselves with art. For Europe it was still the Ice Age. An estimate of the basic level of sustenance then necessary for human survival has been judged at 2200 calories per day. This consideration, combined with the stark emphasis upon animals in the cave art, has persuaded some archaeologists that the primary motive behind Paleolithic images must lie with the primary activity of Paleolithic people: hunting.

   最後，我們可能會懷疑舊石器時代晚期是一個天堂，食物來的很容易，讓人類有足夠的時間用藝術來消遣。對歐洲來說，那仍然是冰河時代。據估計，當時人類生存所需的基本營養水準估算為每天 2200 卡路里。這種考慮，再加上洞穴藝術中對動物的強調，使一些考古學家相信舊石器時代圖像背後的主要動機必定在於舊石器時代人類的主要活動：狩獵。

5. 洞穴壁畫為狩獵祈福

   Hunting is a skill. Tracking, stalking, chasing, and killing the prey are difficult, sometimes dangerous activities. What if the process could be made easier—by art? In the early decades of the twentieth century, Abbé Henri Breuil argued that the cave paintings were all about “sympathetic magic.” The artists strived diligently to make their animal images evocative and realistic because they were attempting to capture the spirit of their prey. What could have prompted their studious attention to making such naturalistic, recognizable images? According to Breuil, the artists may have believed that if a hunter were able to make a true likeness of some animal, then that animal was virtually trapped. Images, therefore, may have had the magical capacity to confer success or luck in the hunt.

   狩獵是一種技能。追蹤、跟蹤、追趕和殺死獵物是困難的，有時是危險的活動。如果這個過程可以通過藝術變得更容易呢？在二十世紀初的幾十年裡，亨利．步日耶神父認為洞穴壁畫都是關於「交感巫術」。藝術家們努力使他們的動物形象能喚起回憶和逼真，因為他們試圖捕捉他們獵物的精神。是什麼原因促使他們專注於製作這種自然的、可識別的圖像呢？根據步日耶的說法，藝術家們可能認為，如果一個獵人能夠做出某種動物的真實肖像，那麼這個動物實際上就被困住了。因此，圖像可能具有神奇的能力，可以在狩獵中獲得成功或運氣。