考满分 toefl

1 .Listen to part of a lecture in a history of musical instruments class.

听一段乐器历史的演讲

1 .So musical instruments evolved in ways that optimize their acoustical properties, how the instrument vibrates and sends those vibration through the air to our eardrums.

因此，乐器的改进主要在音质的优化方面，即乐器的震动方式和通过空气将这些震动传至耳膜的方式的改进。

1 .Now professional musicians are very particular about their instruments, they want instruments that help them fully express the intent of the composer, which of course translates into a more enjoyable listening experience for the audience members.

今的专业音乐家们对乐器是十分挑剔的，他们想要的是能够帮助他们充分表达创作者的创作意图的乐器，当然了，这种乐器还要能将这种意图转化成一种令听众愉悦的听觉享受。

2 .Yet most audience members probably aren't even aware of how much the instrument matters.

但是，大多数听众可能完全不了解乐器的重要性。

3 .I mean, OK. Think about the last concert you attended.

我的意思是，呃，你回忆一下自己最近听的一场音乐会，

4 .When you applauded, what went through your mind?

在你鼓掌的时候，你的脑袋里想的是什么？

1 .I recently heard a violinist who totally blew me away.

我最近听了一位小提琴家的演奏，我完全被震撼了。

2 .So when I applauded, I guess I was showing my appreciation for his skill, the hours of practicing he must have put in.

所以当我鼓掌的时候，我想我是在表达我对他技艺的欣赏以及对他投入那么多时间苦练琴艺的钦佩。

1 .And his violin?

当时有想过他的琴吗？

2 .Didn't really think about it. It looked exactly like mine, which is inspiring in a way knowing my violin could also produce beautiful tones, that maybe I would sound that good someday.

这还真没有。他的琴看起来和我的几乎一模一样，这还挺激励我的，因为它让我相信我的琴也能发出那样美妙的声音，也许某一天我也能奏出那样美妙的旋律。

1 .I hope you do.

我也希望如此。

2 .But if your violin isn't as good as his...

但如果你的琴并没有他的好...

1 .You mean he might not sound as good playing my violin?

您是说，如果他用我的琴演奏可能就没有那么好听了？

1 .As I said, tone quality differs from instrument to instrument.

正如我所说，音质会因乐器的不同而不同。

2 .The question is why.

问题在于为什么会这样

3 .Why does one instrument sound more beautiful than another, even if they look identical?

为什么某件乐器的声音比另一件的声音听上去更悦耳，即便它们看上去一模一样？

1 .There's a particularly interesting case with an extraordinary generation of violins made in Northern Italy, in the city of Cremona, back in the late 1600s - early 1700s.

举一个很有趣的例子，在17世纪末到18世纪初，北意大利的克里蒙纳市曾产出过一批一流的小提琴。

2 .These vintage Cremonese violins are considered the best in the world.

这批经典的克里蒙纳小提琴被公认为世界上最好的小提琴。

3 .But it's not like the makers of those violins were any more skilled than their modern-day counterparts. They weren't.

但这并不意味着制造这批琴的琴工们比现代的琴工们技艺高超，事实上也的确是这样。

4 .Today's top violin makers can pretty much replicate all the physical attributes of a Cremonese violin.

现今最顶级的小提琴琴工能复制几乎所有克里蒙纳小提琴的物理属性，

5 .But it's generally thought that the acoustical quality of modern violins doesn't live up to the quality of the vintage ones.

但人们一致认为现代小提琴的音质始终比不上那批经典的小提琴。

1 .So what attributes of the old violins have been replicated?

那么，那些旧提琴的哪些属性被复制了呢？

1 .Oh, their dimensions, shape, their fingerboard height, uh, general craftsmanship.

哦，它们的尺寸，形状，指板的高度，嗯，整体的工艺。

2 .For a long time, people thought the varnish used to coat and protect the violins was special.

相当一段时间以来，人们以为那层覆盖和保护小提琴的清漆很特别。

3 .But research showed it was the same ordinary varnish used on furniture.

但研究表明，那就是用在普通家具上的那种清漆。

4 .However, researchers have discovered that there are something special about the wood the violins were made from.

然而，研究人员发现制作那些小提琴所使用的木材很特别，

5 .And recently they have been able to replicate that too.

而且最近他们也能复制那种木材了。

1 .How? Unless the trees that Cremonese used are still alive.

怎么复制？除非克里蒙纳人取材的那些树还活着。

1 .The trees weren't replicated, just the wood, specifically the wood's density.

研究人员复制的不是树，而是木材，特别是木材的密度。

2 .Density is determined by how trees grow.

密度是由树的生长方式决定的。

3 .Trees, old trees that don't grow in the tropics grow seasonally, they grow faster early in the year in the springtime than they do later in the year.

那些不长在热带的老树是季节性生长的，它们在春天比在其他季节长得更快。

4 .So early growth wood is relatively porous.

所以春天里长出的木材渗透性较好，

5 .Late growth wood is denser, less porous.

其他季节里长出的木材密度较大，渗透性就较差。

6 .And this variation shows up in the trees growth rings.

这种变差体现在树的年轮上。

7 .The denser layers are generally darker than the less dense layers.

轮较密的截面往往比年轮较疏的截面颜色更深。

8 .We call this variation the density differential.

我们将这种变差称为密度差。

9 .Variations in wood density affect vibrations, and therefore, sound.

密度的变差会影响震动，从而影响声音。

10 .When scientists first analyzed the wood of vintage Cremonese violins in compared with the modern violin wood, they calculated the average density and found no difference.

最初，科学家们在对比分析那些克里蒙纳小提琴和现代小提琴的木材时发现，他们计算出的二者的平均密度没什么区别。

11 .Later, other researchers measured the density differential and found a significant difference.

后来，其他一些研究人员测量了它们的密度差并发现了明显的不同。

12 .Modern violins had a greater variation, a larger differential.

现代小提琴的密度差更大。

1 .So you mean the density of the wood in the Cremonese violins is, is more uniform?

所以您的意思是那些克里蒙纳小提琴的木材的密度更，更均匀？

1 .Correct. But Northern Italy isn't in the tropics.

没错。可是北意大利也不在热带呀？

1 .No. But climate matters.

的确不在。但气候才是关键。

2 .Turns out the Cremonese violins were made from trees that grew during a Little Ice Age, a period when temperatures across Europe were significantly lower than normal.

人们发现那些克里蒙纳小提琴取材于生长在小冰川期的树木，那一时期，欧洲的温度明显低于常值

3 .So the trees grew more evenly throughout the year, making the density differential relatively small.

所以树木终年生长的速度比较平均，因此密度差就相对较小了。

1 .But you said someone replicated the Cremonese wood.

可你刚才说有人复制了克里蒙纳的木材。

1 .The density differential was replicated.

我说的是他们复制了木材的密度。

1 .What did they do?

那他们是怎么做到的？

1 .Try to simulate an Ice Age climate in their greenhouse and grow some trees in there?

难道是在他们的温室里模拟冰川时期的气候种树吗？

2 .No, what happened was a material scientist figured out a way to process wood to make it acoustically similar to the Cremonese wood.

不是。是一位材料学家发现了一种处理木材的方法，这种方法可以使木材的音质与克里蒙纳木材的音质相似。

3 .He basically exposed the wood to a species of fungus, uh, a mushroom.

其实就是将一种真菌，呃，或者说一种蘑菇，置于木材之上。

4 .In the forest, fungi are decomposers.

在森林中，真菌是分解者，

5 .They break down dead wood.

它们能分解枯树。

6 .But this particular fungus nibbles away only at certain layers in the wood, leaving other layers alone.

但这种特殊的真菌只会咬掉木材的某几圈轮，其他轮不会受影响。

7 .As a result, the density differential of the fungi-treated wood approach that of the Cremonese wood.

这样一来，经真菌处理过的木材的密度差就很接近克里蒙木材的密度差了。