A The conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when science was regarded as objective and value free. A 历史文物为过去提供绝对可靠证据的信念植根于 19 世纪和 20 世纪早期，在这个时期，科学被认为是客观的且不受价值观左右的。 As one writer observes: 'Although it is now evident that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real/ Such conviction was, until recently, reflected in museum displays. 正如一位作家所说：“虽然现在大家都明白，人工制品很容易像编年史一样被修改，但是公众对其真实性的信仰还在持续：一个有形的遗物似乎事实上就是真实的。”这样的信念直到最后才在博物馆的陈列中体现出来。 Museums used to look - and some still do - much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. 博物馆过去看起来——而且现在有一些仍然看起来——非常像摆放了挤满东西的陈列柜的储藏室，它们对那些想研究设计细微差别的学者来说很有帮助，但对普通游客来说没有什么用处，在他们看来，这些看起来都一样。 Similarly, the information accompanying the objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. 同样，对于外行参观者来说，伴随那些物品的信息也常常没有什么意义。 The content and format of explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of the scientific researcher. 诠释的内容和格式可追溯至博物馆还是科研人员专属领域的时候。

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B Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented have altered. B 然而，最近，对于历史和它应以何种方式被呈现这方面的态度已有所改变。 The key word in heritage display is now 'experience’, the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. 如今，文物展示中的关键词就是“体验”，越刺激越好，如果可能的话，调动所有感官的参与。 Good examples of this approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in London. 在英国，利用这种方法的典范包括约克的约维克中心，布拉德福德的国家摄影、电影和电视博物馆，以及伦敦的帝国战争博物馆。 In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. 在美国，这个趋势的出现要早得多：威廉斯堡一直是世界其他地区许多文物发展的模范。 No one can predict where the process will end. 没有人能预测这个过程将在什么地方结束。 On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical environment. 在所谓的文物古迹上，历史事件的重演越来越流行，电脑会很快提供虚拟的现实体验，给游客呈现他们所选择的历史时期的生动画面，他们自己也可以充当历史环境中的一部分。 Such developments have been criticised as an intolerable vulgarisation, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion. 这样的发展被批评为无法忍受的庸俗，但许多历史主题公园及类似场所的成功表明，大部分公众并不同意这种观点。

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C In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. C在一个相关的发展中，一方面是博物馆和文物古迹，另一方面是主题公园，它们之间的显著差异正在逐渐消失。 They already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. 他们已经彼此借鉴想法和概念。 For example, museums have adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted 'theming' as a relevant tool, and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based presentations. 例如，博物馆已采纳为展览提供故事情节的做法，文物古迹已经接受“主题化”作为一种重要的工具，主题公园也正逐步朝着更具真实性和客观的展示的方向上发展。 In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces, either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert environments in Burgers' Zoo in Holland. 在动物园，动物不再被关在笼子里，而是在广阔的空间里，在露天或者在巨大的温室里，如荷兰的布尔格尔斯动物园的丛林和沙漠环境。 This particular trend is regarded as one of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth century. 这一特定的趋势被视为 20 世纪自然历史演示的重大发展之一。

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D Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. D主题公园还在发生着其他变化，因为他们试图远离幻想，呈现更多严肃的社会和文化问题。 This development is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a special, rather distinct role to fulfil, they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. 这种发展是对市场力量的回应，虽然博物馆和文物遗址需要履行特殊的使命，但是它们也在一个竞争非常激烈的环境下经营。在这个环境中，游客选择打发空闲时间的方式和地点。 Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place. 文物及博物馆专家没有必要虚构故事和重建历史环境来吸引参观者：他们的资产已经到位了。 However, exhibits must be both based on artefacts and facts as we know them, and attractively presented. 然而，展品必须既要以文物和我们所了解的事实为基础，又要外观精美。 Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of 'evidence' and 'attractiveness’ especially given the increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities. 那些专业从事诠释历史的艺术工作的人陷入了困境，因为他们必须在“证据”和“吸引力”的两个要求之间平衡，尤其是考虑到文物产业中对创收活动不断增长的需求。

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E It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 'real’, historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. E他们声称，为了使文物的一切更“真实”，历史的准确性必须不断改变。 For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions. 例如，在印尼博物馆，人们用马来人的面部特征来描述直立猿人，因为这符合公众的看法。 Similarly, in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to his wife. 同样，在华盛顿的自然历史博物馆，尼安德特人对他的妻子表现出一个占主导地位的姿态。 Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. 这样的演示告诉我们的，更多是关于当代人对世界的看法，而不是关于祖先的看法。 There is one compensation, however, for the professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudices. 不过，让这些诠释的专业人士感到欣慰的是：如果他们不提供解释，游客就会根据自己的想法、误解和偏见，自己去做这件事。 And no matter how exciting the result it would contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts. 无论是多么令人兴奋的结果，它都包含了比专家提供的演示还多得多的偏见。

F Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. F人类的偏见是不可避免的，但在展示历史时所产生的偏见的另一个来源，与材料本身的短暂性有关。 The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. 与此相关的一个简单的事实就是，并非历史上的一切事物都在历史的进程中幸存了下来。 Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of ordinary people. 城堡、宫殿和教堂的寿命比一般人的住处的还长。 The same applies to the furnishings and other contents of the premises. 家具和房屋里的其他东西也同样如此。 In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. 在荷兰，像莱顿这样的小镇里，17 世纪就住着跟如今大致相同数量的居民，人们生活在城墙内，而城镇面积不足现在的莱顿面积的 1 / 5。 In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our imagination. 在大多数房子里，好几户人家在我们难以想象的环境中一起生活。 Yet in museums, fine period rooms give only an image of the lifestyle of the upper class of that era. 然而，在博物馆，精致的历史展示间展现的只是那个时代上流社会的生活方式。 No wonder that people who stroll around exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life was so much better in the past. 难怪逛展览的人都充满了怀旧之情。博物馆的证据表明，生活在过去要美好得多。 This notion is induced by the bias in its representation in museums and heritage centres. 这种见解是由对博物馆和文物中心的代表性的偏见而引起的。