VOA常速英语2015--那件衣服究竟是什么颜色

So, What Color IS That Dress, Anyway? 那件衣服究竟是什么颜色

A new dress by British retailer¹ Roman Originals attracted the world's attention when an international survey showed that people looking at it on the Internet could not agree on what color it is.

英国零售商Roman Originals的一件新衣服吸引了全世界的眼球，一份国际调查显示人们在互联网上看到后对于它的颜色说法不一。

Some say it's blue and black; others go with white and gold. Still others offer slight variations on those pairings.

这条裙子是什么颜色的?蓝黑,它是白金色的。

So what are the true colors? Images uploaded on various social media websites caused a worldwide debate Friday, with many celebrities² voicing support for one camp or another. The photo also got some people worrying about whether they needed to see an eye doctor, especially after the British retailer gave a definite answer.  

那么到底真正的颜色是什么呢? 星期五这张图片上传到各大社交媒体网站后引起了全球大讨论,许多名人表示支持一方或另一方阵营。这张照片也使得一些人担心自己是否需要去看眼科医生,尤其是这家英国零售商给出确切答复后更加剧了人们的担忧。

"I would like to definitely resolve this big enigma³ by clarifying that the color is royal blue and black," said Michele Bastock, the design director at Roman Originals. "It is not white and gold at all. But we are happy to put into production the white and gold if the demand comes along."

“我想完全澄清这个大谜团,这件衣服的颜色是皇家蓝黑色。并非盛传的白金色。但如果有需求我们很乐意投入生产白金色。”

Optometry experts say the photo is a perfect example of how people's brains perceive color and process contrast in dramatically different ways.

视光学专家表示这张照片是人们大脑截然不同感知颜色及对比过程的完美范例。

"The visual system is very complex between males and females, or just between individuals," said Ramin Rabbani, a California ophthalmologist. "So context has to do with, lighting⁴ has to do with how we see things, and ultimately our brain is what interprets [what we see]."

“男女或个体之间的视觉系统非常复杂。所以我们看待事物需要凭借参照物,因此最终我们依靠光进行感知并传达给大脑进行处理。”

Managers at Roman Originals said they had no idea that the dress, shot in a particular light, might be perceived in different color schemes — not until Friday, anyway, when they were flooded by phone calls and emails. The retailer said there were a million hits on its sales site in the first 18 hours following the photo's distribution.

该公司经理表示他们不清楚这条在特定光线下所拍摄的裙子有不同的颜色感知,可能不只周五这一天他们已被电话和电子邮件淹没。这家零售商表示照片发布18小时后其网站上就有上百万的点击量。

1 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

2 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

3 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。