考满分 toefl

1 .<-NARRATOR:->Listen to part of a lecture in a history of musical instruments class.

旁白：听一段乐器史课程。

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->So, musical instruments evolved in ways that optimized their acoustical properties-how the instrument vibrates and sends those vibrations through the air to our eardrums.

教授：乐器一直在不断演变，优化声学特性，即乐器是怎样振动的，且怎样将所产生的振动通过空气传到我们的耳膜。

1 .Now, professional musicians are very particular about their instruments.

专业音乐家对乐器非常讲究。

2 .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.

他们希望乐器能帮他们充分地传达作曲者的意图，当然，对听众来说，这也会给他们带来更愉快的听觉享受。

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

但大多数听众很可能根本意识不到乐器的重要性。

4 .I mean...OK, think about the last concert you attended.

我是说，好吧，想想你最近去的一次音乐会。

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

当你鼓掌，你想的是什么呢？

1 .<-FEMALE STUDENT:->I recently heard a violinist who totally blew me away.

学生：我最近听了一位小提琴家的演奏，让我惊呆了。

2 .Uh so, when I applauded, I guess I was showing my appreciation for his skill, the hours of practice he must've put in.

当我鼓掌，我在表达我对他高超技艺的赞赏，他肯定花了大量时间练习。

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->And his violin...?

教授：他的小提琴呢？

1 .<-FEMALE STUDENT:->Didn't really think about it.

学生：我还真没想过。

2 .It looked exactly like mine, [afterthought] uh, which is inspiring, in a way, knowing my violin could also produce such beautiful tones, that maybe I'll sound that good someday.

那看起来和我的琴一样，这挺鼓舞人心的，让我知道我的琴也能发出这样优美的音色，也许有一天我也能拉得那么好。

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->I hope you do. But if your violin isn't as good as his...

教授：我也希望你能。但假如你的小提琴没有他的好……

1 .<-FEMALE STUDENT:->Y'mean he might not sound as good playing my violin?

学生：你是指，他拉我的琴可能就没这么好听了？

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->As I said, tone quality differs from instrument to instrument.

教授：就像我说的，每件乐器的音质都不同。

2 .The question is...why?

问题是为什么。

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

为什么看起来一样的乐器，这个就比那个音质好呢？

4 .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.

有一个特别有趣的例子，在17世纪末期18世纪初，意大利北部城市克雷莫纳产了一批非常棒的小提琴。

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

这些古老的小提琴被认为是世界上最好的小提琴。

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

但并不是说这批小提琴的制造者就比其他现代制琴师的技艺高超。他们并不是。

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

现在顶级的小提琴制琴师能基本复制出克雷莫纳小提琴的物理性质。

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

但普遍认为，现代小提琴的音质并不如以前的小提琴好。

1 .<-MALE STUDENT:->So, what attributes of the old violins have been replicated?

学生：那么，古老的小提琴的什么属性被复制出来了呢？

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->[Listing] Oh, their dimensions, shape...their fingerboard height, uh, general craftsmanship.

教授：噢，大小、形状、指板高度，嗯，基本的工艺。

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

很长时间以来，人们以为小提琴的表面防护涂层很特别。

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

但调查表明，涂层和普通家具涂层是一样的。

4 .However, researchers have discovered that there's something special about the wood the violins were made from, and recently, they've been able to replicate that, too.

但研究人员发现，制造小提琴的木材有些特别之处，最近人们也能复制出来了。

1 .<-MALE STUDENT:->How...unless the trees the Cremonese used are still alive...

学生：怎么做到的？除非克雷莫纳人用的树到现在还活着。

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->The trees weren't replicated, just the wood...specifically the wood's density.

教授：人们没有复制树，只复制木材，特别是木材密度。

2 .Density's determined by how trees grow.

密度由树的生长方式决定。

3 .Trees, all 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.

所有不生长在热带地区的树都是季节性生长的，它们在每年初（春天）长得较快，之后较慢。

4 .So early-growth wood is relatively porous; late-growth wood is denser, less porous.

所以前期生长的木头相对多孔；后期生长的木头更紧密，没这么多孔。

5 .And this variation shows up in the tree's growth rings.

在树的年轮也能看出这个差异。

6 .The denser layers are generally darker than the less-dense layers.

密度更大的木层通常比密度较低的木层要暗。

7 .We call this variation the "density differential."

我们把这种差异称为密度差。

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

密度差异性会影响振动，从而影响声音。

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

最初科学家在分析对比古老的克雷莫纳小提琴与现代琴的木材时，他们只算了平均密度，没有找到不同之处。

3 .Later, other researchers measured the density differential and found a significant difference: modern violins had a greater variation... a larger differential.

随后，别的研究人员测了密度差，发现了显著差异：现代小提琴的（密度）差...更大。

1 .<-FEMALE STUDENT:->So you mean the density of the wood in the Cremonese violins is, is more uniform?

学生：你是说，克雷莫纳小提琴木材密度更均一？

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->Correct.

教授：对。

1 .<-FEMALE STUDENT:->But northern Italy isn't in the tropics!

学生：但意大利北部不在热带啊。

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->No, but climate matters.

教授：不。但气候很重要。

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.

原来克雷莫纳小提琴所用木材取材于从小冰河期生长的树木，这期间欧洲的温度比平时明显低得多。

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

树木在这一年长得更慢，密度差相对就更小。

1 .<-MALE STUDENT:->But you said someone replicated the Cremonese wood.

学生：但你刚刚说有人复制出克雷莫纳木材了。

1 .<-MALE STUDENT:->The density differential was replicated.

教授：（木材）密度差被复制出来了。

1 .<-MALE STUDENT:->What did they do, try to simulate an ice-age climate in a greenhouse and grow some trees in there?

学生：他们做了什么？是在温室里模拟小冰河期种了一些树吗？

1 .<-MALE PROFESSOR:->No. What happened was a materials scientist figured out a way to process wood to make it acoustically similar to the Cremonese wood.

教授：不，其实是一位材料学家发现了一个处理木头的方法，处理后其声学性质与克雷莫纳木材非常相似。

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

他基本上就是让木头接触一种真菌，呃，一种蘑菇。

3 .In the forest, fungi are decomposers; they break down dead wood.

在森林里，真菌是分解者，它们能分解枯木。

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

但这种特殊的真菌仅仅蚕食木头中的某几层，别的它不管。

5 .As a result, the density differential of the fungi-treated wood approached that of the Cremonese wood.

结果，木头经真菌处理后，其密度差与克雷莫纳木材就很接近了。