经济学人246:审美和金钱 弦动我心

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　Aesthetics¹ and money

　　审美和金钱

　　Fiddling² with the mind

　　弦动我心

　　Old, expensive violins are not always better than new, cheap ones

　　古老，昂贵的小提琴不并总是胜过崭新，廉价的小提琴

　　THOUGH individual tastes do differ,

　　尽管个人的品位不同，

　　the market for art suggests that those who have money generally agree on what is best.

　　但艺术市场却昭显着有钱人通常会认同最好的东西。

　　The recent authentication³ of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, for example, magically added several zeroes to the value of a work that had not, physically⁴, changed in any way.

　　例如，最近被确定为达芬奇真迹的一幅作品，在价格上不可思议般比非真迹的作品要多上好几个零，变化就这样自然而然的发生着。

　　Nor is this mere⁵ affectation.

　　这不仅仅因为大众的喜爱。

　　In the world of wine,

　　在酒界，

　　being told the price of a bottle affects a drinker's appreciation⁶ of the liquid in the glass in ways that can be detected by a brain scanner.

　　被告知一瓶酒的价格会影响饮用者对于瓶中酒的鉴赏，而这些变化是可以透过脑部扫描仪检测出来的。

　　It seems, now, that the same phenomenon applies to music.

　　现在，相同的现象也展现在音乐领域里。

　　For serious players of stringed instruments the products of three great violin-makers of Cremona, Nicolo Amati, Giuseppe Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari, have ruled the roost since the 17th century.

　　对于内行的弦乐演奏家来说，出自三大小提琴制造商的Cremona，Nicolo Amati, Giuseppe Guarneri和Antonio Stradivari自17世纪起就处在行业内领先地位。

　　Their sound in the hands of a master is revered⁷.

　　他们被大师演奏，音色备受好评，

　　They sell for millions.

　　价值数百万美元，

　　And no modern imitation, the story goes, comes close.

　　而且没有现代仿品能够与之媲美。

　　Unfortunately, however, for those experts who think their judgment⁸ unclouded by the Cremonese instruments' reputations,

　　然而，不幸的是，一些专家认为他们的评论对于Cremona器乐的名声来说是无足轻重的，

　　Claudia Fritz of the University of Paris VI and Joseph Curtin, an American violin-maker, have just applied⁹ the rigorous standards of science to the matter.

　　巴黎第六大学的Claudia Fritz和美国小提琴制造家Curtin 用一些严苛的标准检验器乐。

　　Their conclusion, published in the Proceedings¹⁰ of the National Academy of Sciences, is that the creations of Cremona are no better than modern instruments, and are sometimes worse.

　　他们得出的结论出版在Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences一书之中，即Cremona制造的提琴并不比现代器乐要好，有时甚至更糟。

　　Unlike previous blind trials of violins, in which an instrument's identity was concealed¹¹ from the audience but not from the player himself,

　　之前关于小提琴的盲试为小提琴的特性不告知观众，但演奏者本人是知道的。而这次试验与以往的试验不同。

　　the one organised by Dr Fritz and Mr Curtin sought to discover the unbiased opinion of the men and women who actually wield¹² the bow.

　　此次实验是由Fritz 博士和Curtin先生联合发起，旨在研究演奏者的真实看法。

　　They and their colleagues therefore attended the Eighth International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, held in September 2010,

　　他们和同事参加了2010年9月的印第安纳波利斯第八届国际小提琴竞赛，

　　which gathering¹³ provided both a sample of testable instruments and a pool of suitable volunteers to play them.

　　那里云集了可用作实验的样品小提琴，也有一大堆合适的志愿演奏者。

　　Exactly which instruments were tested remains¹⁴ a secret.

　　被用作测试的器乐的信息要保密。

　　That was a condition of the loans, in order that an adverse¹⁵ opinion should not affect a fiddle's market value.

　　这里有前提保障,以确保不利的观点不会影响小提琴的市值。

　　There were, however, six of them: two Stradivarii and a Guarnerius, and three modern violins made to Cremonese patterns.

　　参与测试的有六只小提琴：两只Stradivarii提琴，一只Guarnerius提琴和三只按照Cremonese样式定做的现代小提琴。

　　A total of 21 volunteers—participants in the competition, judges and members of the local symphony orchestra—were asked to put the instruments through their paces.

　　总共有21名志愿者—分别来竞赛的选手，评委和当地交响乐团的乐手—来检验这些小提琴的优劣。

　　The catch was that they had to do so in a darkened room while wearing welders¹⁶' goggles¹⁷,

　　关键在于他们必须在一间黑屋里拉琴，同时要带上电焊工的护目镜，

　　so that they could not see them clearly, and that the chin-rest of each violin had been dabbed¹⁸ with perfume,

　　这样他们就不能清楚得看到小提琴的模样，在他们下巴架在小提琴上的部分涂抹了一些香水，

　　lest the smell of the wood or the varnish¹⁹ give the game away.

　　不然木材的气味或者是亮光漆的味道就会泄实验的信息，使试验失败。

　　There were two tests: a series of pairwise comparisons between old and new instruments that allowed a player one minute to try out each instrument, and a comparison between all six,

　　进行两项测试：第一数个新旧小提琴的两两对比，演奏者有一分钟的时间来拉每个提琴；

　　in which the player was allowed to play whatever he wanted for however long he wanted, subject to a total time-limit of 20 minutes.

　　第二项是六只提琴之间的对比，演奏者总共有20分钟的时间，可以随心拉他想演奏的小提琴。

　　In the pairwise test, five of the violins did more-or-less equally well, but the sixth was consistently rejected.

　　在对比实验中，其中有五只小提琴表现地差不多好，但是剩下来的一只却普遍，

　　That sixth, unfortunately for the reputation of Cremona, was a Strad.

　　而那一只，不幸的是享有盛名的Cremona, Strad制造的提琴.

　　In the freeplay test, a more subtle approach was possible.

　　在自由演奏测试中，得以进行更为精细的比较。

　　Players rated the six instruments using four subjective²⁰ qualities that are common terms of the violinist's art:

　　演奏者用常用的评断小提琴演奏标准来评判六只小提琴：

　　playability, projection²¹, tone colours and response.

　　即手感, 音响, 音色和回音。

　　The best in each category scored one point, the worst minus one, and the rest zero.

　　每项中最好的小提琴得一分，最差的减一分，其余的得分为零。

　　Players were also asked which violin they would like to take home, given the chance.

　　演奏者们要假设可以带一只小提琴回家，要他们选择最想要的那只。

　　In this case, two of the new violins comprehensively beat the old ones, while the third more or less matched them.

　　在这个实验中，两只新小提琴完全打败了那些古董提琴，而第三只新提琴则和那些古董程度相当。

　　The most popular take-home instrument was also a new one:

　　最受欢迎，最想被带回家的是一只新提琴：

　　eight of the 21 volunteers chose it, and three others rated it a close second.

　　21名志愿者中有8人首选了它，3个人把它评为紧随其后的选择。

　　Not surprisingly, the least popular instrument in the second test was the Stradivarius that did badly in the first.

　　结果在意料之中，在第二轮测试中最不受欢迎的提琴上就是在第一轮中表现糟糕的Stradivarius提琴。

　　The upshot was that, from the players' point of view, the modern violins in the study were as good as, and often better than, their 18th-century forebears.

　　结论是，从演奏者的角度来看，测试中的现代小提琴和18世纪的古董提琴相比差不多，甚至比它们还好。

　　Since Dr Fritz estimates the combined value of the three forebears in her experiment as 10m,

　　Fritz博士估计用于她实验的三只古董小提琴的总价值为1000万美元，

　　and the combined value of the three modern instruments as around 100,000, that is quite a significant observation.

　　而那三只现代小提琴的总价值只有10万美元左右，鉴于此，以上得出的真是一个惊人的结论。

　　Human nature being what it is, this result will probably have little effect in the saleroom:

　　人的天性就是如此，这个结果难以对销售产生很大的影响：

　　the glamour²² of Cremona will take more than one such result to dispel²³ it.

　　cremona的盛名不会因为这一项测试结果而被抹黑。

　　But it does suggest that young players who cannot afford a Strad should not despair.

　　但这意味着买不起Strad提琴的年轻的演奏家不应陷入绝望。

　　If they end up with a cheaper, modern copy instead, they might actually be better off.

　　如果他们买了一只便宜的现代仿品，很有可能比古董的提琴还要好。

1 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

2 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

3 authentication   

鉴定，认证

参考例句：

• Computer security technology includes mainly:Authentication,Encryption,Access Control,Auditing and so on.计算机网络安全技术主要有: 认证授权、数据加密、访问控制、安全审计等。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

10 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

11 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

12 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

16 welders   

n.焊接工( welder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifty welders were declared redundant. 已公布削减五十名焊工。 来自辞典例句
• Arcs more readily than AC welders, with longer arcing. 起弧比交流电容易，电弧加长一倍。 来自互联网

17 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

18 dabbed   

（用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）…

参考例句：

• She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛，擤了擤鼻涕。
• He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。

19 varnish   

n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰

参考例句：

• He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实，但那是徒劳的。
• He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。

20 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

21 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

22 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

23 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。