时差N小时 新旧数字音乐

Before MP3s and other forms of digitized music there were CDs. Before CDs came vinyl records. And before vinyl?

在MP3和其它形式的数字音乐盛行之前，CD已经出现。在CD出现之前有黑胶唱片,那么在黑胶唱片之前有什么呢？

Most of us are not nearly old enough to remember, but in the early years of the twentieth century popular songs such as "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" were recorded on shellac discs and wax cylinders². Many of these early recordings³ still exist, but with each passing year they grow more fragile and likely to fall apart while being played. Consequently, music archivists are faced with a delicate problem: how to preserve old-time recordings without silencing them forever?

少数的老一辈人可能还记得，在20世纪早期有首流行歌曲“在银色的夜光下”被录制在虫胶唱片和蜡筒里。许多早期的唱片仍然存在，但是年复一年，在播放的时候，这些唱片越来越脆弱，极易破碎。所以唱片保管者们面临着一个微妙的难题：怎样保护好这些古老的唱片，又能让他们播出美妙的音乐？

Enter Carl Haber and Vitaly Fadayev, particle physicists⁴ at the University of California, Berkeley who happened to hear a radio piece on the preservationist's dilemma⁶. These music-loving physicists suspected that the techniques they use to make sensors⁷ that track subatomic particles might help the troubled archivists. With the aid of a powerful microscope they mapped out the grooves⁸ of an old 78 RPM shellac disk and the grooves on a wax cylinder¹ recorded in 1909.

加州大学伯克利分校的粒子物理学家卡尔·哈伯和维塔利偶然在电台听到这些唱片保护者的困境。这些酷爱音乐的物理学家认为他们用于制作跟踪离子的传感器工艺可能对正处困境中的档案保护者有帮助。在两架高倍望远镜的协助下，他们绘制出了一张78转虫胶唱片，以及一张1909年录制的蜡筒上的纹道。

After digitally reproducing the mapped grooves on a computer, Haber and Fadayev then created software to mimic⁹ the effect of a needle moving in the mapped grooves in order to re-create the sounds. Incredibly, the digitized version sounded even better than the original recordings. And as the mapping technique improves, the physicists hope to enable the digital preservation⁵ of large amounts of endangered music. So even if you don't remember the dark ages before CDs, you may soon be able to enjoy down-loadable old-time music, courtesy of the digital revolution.

在电脑上将这些纹道处理成数字音乐后，哈伯和维塔利接着发明了一种软件来模仿唱针在纹道内旋转而重现音乐。令人难以置信的是数字版本的音效比老版更好。并且随着映射技术的不断改进，物理学家们希望能用数字储存大量频临消失的音乐。因此即使你不记得CD出现之前的黑暗时代，但很快你就能享受到可下载的旧时音乐，这是数字改革的恩惠。

1 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

2 cylinders   

n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物

参考例句：

• They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

5 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

6 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

7 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

8 grooves   

n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏

参考例句：

• Wheels leave grooves in a dirt road. 车轮在泥路上留下了凹痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sliding doors move in grooves. 滑动门在槽沟中移动。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。