VOA慢速英语2021 加密艺术品售价近7千万美元（在线收听）

A piece of art that exists only on a computer, created by BEEPLE, sold Thursday for nearly $70 million. BEEPLE's real name is Mike Winkelmann.

BEEPLE创作的一幅只存在于计算机上的艺术品，周四以近7000万美元的价格售出。BEEPLE的真名为迈克·温克尔曼（Mike Winkelmann）。

His artwork is a collection of 5,000 images called "Everydays – The First 5000 Days." The work he created is a common image file called a jpeg.

他的艺术作品收集了5000幅图片，叫做“《Everydays: 前5000天》”。他创作的艺术作品是一个普通的“jpeg”图像文件。

It is the first time that an auction company – in this case, Christie's – sold a piece of art you cannot touch.

这是佳士得(Christie’s)拍卖公司首次出售这样一件虚拟的艺术作品。

"EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS" is a collage, by digital artist BEEPLE. It sold at auction Thursday for nearly $70 million. Handout obtained by Reuters. Christie's Images LTD.

Artwork similar to BEEPLE's piece is now known as an NFT, or Non-Fungible Token. Artists use technology called blockchain to prove they are selling original work.

类似于BEEPLE作品的艺术品现在被称为NFT（不可替代加密代币）。艺术家们使用区块链技术来证明他们售出的是原创作品。

BEEPLE will keep making money each time his art sells. He has a contract that pays him 10 percent of the selling price each time someone new becomes the owner.

BEEPLE的作品每售出一次，他的收入就会持续增长。他有一份合同，每当作品易主时，他都会收到售价10%的利润。

BEEPLE makes art about technology, wealth and American politics. He has also made art for music performances by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and One Direction.

BEEPLE创作关于技术、财富和美国政治方面的艺术作品。他还为贾斯汀·比伯、凯蒂·佩里和单向乐队的音乐表演制作过艺术作品。

He said without the new technology that proves the identity of the owner and the creator, there was "no way to collect digital art."

他表示，如果没有能证明所有者和创作者身份的新技术，“就没有办法收集数字艺术品。”

Last month, a 10-second video showing an image of former U.S. President Donald Trump sold on an NFT marketplace for over $6 million.

上个月，一段展示美国前总统特朗普的10秒视频在NFT市场上以600万美元的价格成交。

When asked about his artwork selling for over 10 times that, Beeple said: "It's so crazy."

当被问及他的作品售价超过10倍时，BEEPLE称：“这太疯狂了。”

Since the technology is so new, not many people know what the future holds for NFT art. Some may grow in value while others may become worthless, BEEPLE said.

由于这项技术太过新潮，没有多少人了解不可替代加密代币艺术的未来。BEEPLE表示，一些作品可能会增值，而另一些作品可能会一文不值。

NFTs are used to sell sports videos, pieces of land in worlds that only exist on computers and even the first-ever tweet by Twitter's founder.

数字代币被用来交易体育视频、只存于计算机领域的某些资产，甚至是Twitter创始人的第一条推文。

BEEPLE said NFTs give people who want to invest their money an option beyond the stock market.

BEEPLE指出，不可替代加密代币给那些想要涉足股票市场外的投资者提供了其他选择。

Max Dilendorf is a cryptocurrency lawyer in New York City.

马克思·迪伦多夫（Max Dilendorf）是纽约市的一名加密货币律师。

He said many people who are investing in NFTs do not really know what they are getting into.

他说，许多投资数字代币的人并不真正了解他们将要面临什么。

"From my experience, participants in NFT markets are not really thinking it through carefully."

“根据我的经验来看，数字代币市场的参与者并没有真正仔细地考虑过这个问题。”

At the same time, however, he said he expects NFTs to continue to grow.

但与此同时，他预计数字代币市场将会继续增长。

He said he thinks the physical art market will become digital in the next five years.

他说，他认为实体艺术市场将在未来五年内实现数字化。

Words in This Story

auction –n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most

token –n. something that is a symbol of a feeling, event, etc.

original –adj. made or produced first : not a copy, translation, etc.

digital –adj. using or characterized by computer technology

crazy –adj. very strange or unusual

cryptocurrency –n. money that is protected by digital security that does not have a physical form

participant –n. a person who is involved in an activity or event