一说到美国第一任总统华盛顿，美国民众大多会想到三样东西：一，他是一个伟人；二，从美元纸币上看来，他表情严肃木讷，难看无趣；三，他一直戴着一副木假牙。
　　但最近美国科学家研究得出新发现，新的结论让很多美国人“大跌眼镜”。
　　
　　A 1)forensic investigation of America’s first president, George Washington, has led to numerous 2)revelations about the Revolutionary War commander in chief’s physical appearance that 3)debunk popular myths.
　　The results will lead to new 4)depictions of Washington that “will shock”most of the public, according to a spokesperson for 5)Mount Vernon, where the former president used to 6)reside.
　　Historians believe the findings could forever change public perceptions of Washington (1732-1799). For example, according to experts, his image on the dollar bill is not entirely accurate and it is perhaps the least 7)flattering of all known Washington portraits and depictions.
　　“Washington never wore a 8)wig in his entire life, and he certainly never had wooden teeth,”said Mount Vernon spokesperson Emily Coleman. “When people see him as the tall, red headed frontiersman that he was they will be shocked.”
　　Coleman explained that the data of the forensic investigation will be used to construct three 9)sculptures of Washington.
　　The first will show him as a 19 year old surveyor and frontiersman. The second will show him as a 45 year old war leader. The last sculpture will depict Washington as the 57 year old first president.
　　Jeffrey Schwartz, who is a professor of 10)anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a research associate at the Museum of Natural History in New York, is leading the investigation.
　　


　　Schwartz said that while it is true Washington was very tall for his time around 6’3”the story that he had very large 11)hips because of his horsemanship could be a myth. Measurements of a life size marble statue by 12)Jean Antoine Houdon at the Virginia State Capitol Building indicate that Washington had average sized hips and was not as 13)brawny as some myths perpetuate.
　　Recent laser scans of the only known 14)life mask of Washington, and of a 15)bust created at Mount Vernon by Jean Antoine Houdon when the former president was 53, indicate that the underside of Washington’s 16)chin in later life was very 17)asym metrical, likely due to tooth loss and 18)infection, according to Schwartz.
　　
　　The Tooth Myth
　　
　　Schwartz now also believes that Washington had no 19)furrow in his brow, as some portraits show, but he did have a scarred depression on his face just below the left cheekbone. This facial feature was left out of most portraits, which Schwartz said were “20)touched up.”
　　 “He suffered from 21)smallpox, 22)malaria, and flu when he was young, so the smallpox could have resulted in scarring, but the depression might also have been because of extreme dental disease, ”Schwartz explained.
　　The “Father of the United States”began to lose all of his teeth in his twenties. By the time he became president, only one of his own real teeth remained. As a result, Washington engaged nine different dentists. Primarily he relied upon John Greenwood, who made four sets of 23)dentures for the leader.
　　


　　24)Contrary to popular belief, none were made out of wood. Washington’s false teeth were made from 25)ivory that probably came from a 26)hippo, as well as gold, lead, human teeth, horse or donkey teeth.
　　The wooden teeth myth’s origins lie in the fact that ivory has 27)growth rings and can 28)stain. Letters from Greenwood to Washington indicate that port wine, either consumed by the president or used as a soaking agent, stained the teeth black.
　　“I cannot see that Washington got much function out of them,”Schwartz said. “He must have had a very 29)soft diet.”
　　In fact, some experts believe that during his first 30)inaugural in 1789, Washington only read a short, two paragraph address because his mouth could have been bothering him.
　　Schwartz said the dollar bill image of Washington is “One of his least flattering,”mostly because the president did not have his false teeth in, which created a short faced look where the corners of his mouth 31)stick out. Supposedly, Washington’s mouth was stuffed with cotton instead of teeth for the 32)sitting.
　　Because of these 33)distortions and the fact that there are no known portraits of Washington before he reached the age of 40, Schwartz is paying close attention to the evidence related to Washington’s mouth, 34)jaw and teeth.
　　Despite Washington’s tooth troubles, Coleman said, “Washington was not the 35)stiff, 36)stern, old fellow that we tend to think he was. He was a 37)vibrant, athletic man. When our project concludes, I think people will develop a different relationship with our first president.?
　　The three sculptures are scheduled to go on display when Mount Vernon’s new Donald R. Reynolds Museum and Education Center opens in 2006.
　　


　　


　　
　　一个运用高科技手段进行研究调查的小组得出了许多有关美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿的容貌的新结论，否定了此前对这位革命战争时期总司令的相貌的种种传说。
　　华盛顿故居弗农山的发言人说，由该小组得出的研究结果，将会展现华盛顿的新形象，而这新形象会让许多民众“大吃一惊”。
　　历史学家认为，新发现会彻底改变公众对华盛顿（1732—1799）的印象。例如，依照专家说法，美元纸币上的华盛顿头像不完全符合史实，也许在众多画像中，那张是令华盛顿看起来最不讨好人的一张。
　　“华盛顿一辈子从没戴过假发，也从没镶过木牙，”弗农山的发言人艾米丽·科尔曼说，“当民众看到华盛顿原来是个红发、魁梧高大、边远地区的拓荒者时，一定会大吃一惊。”
　　科尔曼解释说，研究小组的这些调查数据会被用于建造三座华盛顿的雕像。
　　第一座雕像是19岁时的华盛顿，那时他还是个长期在野外作业的测量员和拓荒者，第二尊雕像，45岁的他是位战争将领了，而最后一座雕像，57岁的华盛顿成了美国第一任总统。
　　杰弗里·施瓦兹是匹兹堡大学的人类学教授，同时也是纽约国家历史博物馆的研究员，这次调查是在他的带领下进行的。
　　施瓦兹说，传统的关于华盛顿身材高大的说法在这次研究中得到印证，他身高大约6尺3英寸（约1.91米），以那个时代的标准来衡量，的确算得上是身材魁梧，但一直以来流传着由于华盛顿经常骑马，因此他的臀部很丰满，这一说法可能有点言过其实了。弗吉尼亚州的国会大厦里有一座出自吉恩·安托万·赫德顿之手的华盛顿大理石雕像，对这座与华盛顿真人大小一致的雕像进行测量之后，我们发现华盛顿的臀部属中等大小，他不是流传中的肌肉结实的人。
　　最近人们用激光扫描了现时惟一的华盛顿面模，以及由吉恩·安托万·赫德顿在弗农山所制作的53岁的华盛顿半身石膏像，结果发现晚年的华盛顿下巴下侧非常不对称，施瓦兹说，这可能是由于他牙齿脱落，以及他曾经受过感染而造成的。
　　
　　关于牙齿的迷
　　
　　现在，施瓦兹相信，就如一些画像画的那样，华盛顿的额头并不是满布皱纹，但他的左颧骨下方确实是有一块凹陷下去的疤痕，然而他的这个面部特征在绝大多数的肖像画中都没有体现出来，用施瓦兹的话说，华盛顿是被“美化”了。
　　“他年轻时得过天花、疟疾以及流感，天花会在他脸上留下斑斑点点的痕印，但他面部出现凹陷，也许是严重的牙齿疾病引起的，” 施瓦兹解释道。
　　这位“美国之父”在二十多岁的时候牙齿就开始脱落，很快牙齿就几乎掉光。他当上总统的时候，没脱落的真牙只剩下一颗。因此，华盛顿看过九位不同的牙医，但约翰·格林伍德是他主要的牙医，他为华盛顿做了四副假牙。
　　与普遍流传的说法不同，华盛顿的假牙没有一副是木制的，而是象牙质的，可能是来自河马，还有其它用金、铅做的假牙，还有些甚至是真人、马或者驴的牙齿所做成的。
　　人们之所以会产生木牙的误解，是因为这种象牙质的假牙上面有年轮，并且会变脏变色。格林伍德给华盛顿的信里说到，葡萄酒—无论是华盛顿喝的，还是被用作湿润剂—会让牙齿变黑。
　　“我想华盛顿的假牙并没有对他有太大的帮助，”施瓦兹说，“他一定要食用容易咀嚼消化的松软食物。”
　　事实上，有的科学家认为，华盛顿在1789年第一次发表就职演说的时候，演说词很短，只有两段，因为牙齿的问题，他说起话来不方便。
　　施瓦兹说，美元纸币上的华盛顿头像是最不“美化”他本人的一张了，很大程度上是因为他没戴假牙，这样一来，他的脸就显得短了，嘴角突了出来。也许别人给他画这幅肖像的时候，他的嘴里塞满了棉花，而不是戴上假牙。
　　正因为人们对华盛顿样貌的曲解太多，并且现时找不到他40岁之前的肖像画，施瓦兹格外留意有关华盛顿嘴、下巴和牙齿的资料。
　　尽管华盛顿的牙齿有严重的缺陷，科尔曼说：“华盛顿并不是我们想象中的一个呆板苛刻的老家伙，他充满活力，极富运动细胞。当我们的整个计划完成后，我想人们会对我们的第一任总统产生不同的印象的。”
　　2006年，弗农山全新的堂纳德·R·雷诺兹博物馆与教育中心揭幕，届时这三座雕像也会在那里展出。