Cremonese Violins托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

Cremonese Violins托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

一、Cremonese Violins托福听力原文：

NARRATOR:Listen to part of a lecture in a history of musical instruments class.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.Now,professional musicians are very particular about their instruments.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.Yet,most audience members probably aren't even aware of how much the instrument matters.I mean...OK,think about the last concert you attended.When you applauded,what went through your mind?FEMALE STUDENT:I recently heard a violinist who totally blew me away.Uh so,when I applauded,I guess I was showing my appreciation for his skill,the hours of practice he must've put in.MALE PROFESSOR:And his violin...?FEMALE STUDENT:Didn't really think about it.It looked exactly like mine,uh,which is inspiring,in a way,knowing my violin could also produce such beautiful tones,that maybe I'll sound that good someday.MALE PROFESSOR:I hope you do.But if your violin isn't as good as his...FEMALE STUDENT:Y'mean he might not sound as good playing my violin?MALE PROFESSOR:As I said,tone quality differs from instrument to instrument.The question is...why?Why does one instrument sound more beautiful than another,even if they look identical?

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.These vintage Cremonese violins are considered the best in the world.But it's not like the makers of those violins were any more skilled than their modern-day counterparts; they weren't.Today's top violin makers can pretty much replicate all of the physical attributes of a Cremonese violin.But it's generally thought that the acoustical quality of modern violins doesn't live up to the quality of the vintage ones.

FEMALE STUDENT:So,what of the old violins have been replicated?MALE PROFESSOR:Oh,their dimensions,shape...their fingerboard height,uh,general craftsmanship.For a long time,people thought the varnish used to coat and protect the violins was special.But research showed it was the same ordinary varnish used on furniture.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.FEMALE STUDENT:How...unless the trees the Cremonese used are still alive....MALE PROFESSOR:The trees weren't replicated,just the wood...specifically the wood's density.Density's determined by how trees grow.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.So early-growth wood is relatively porous;late-growth wood is denser,less porous.And this variation shows up in the tree's growth rings.

The denser layers are generally darker than the less-dense layers.We call this variation the"density differential."MALE PROFESSOR:Variations in wood density affect vibrations,and therefore,sound.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.Later,other researchers measured the density differential and found a significant difference:modern violins had a greater variation...larger differential.

FEMALE STUDENT:So you mean the density of the wood in the Cremonese violins is,is more uniform?MALE PROFESSOR:Correct.FEMALE STUDENT:But northern Italy isn't in the tropics!MALE PROFESSOR:No,but climate matters.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.So the trees grew more evenly throughout the year,making the density differential relatively small.FEMALE STUDENT:But you said someone replicated the Cremonese wood.MALE PROFESSOR:The density differential was replicated.FEMALE STUDENT:What did they do,try to simulate an ice-age climate in a greenhouse and grow some trees in there?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.He basically exposed the wood to a species of fungus,a mushroom.In the forest,fungi are decomposers;they break down dead wood. But this particular fungus nibbles away only at certain layers in the wood,leaving other layers alone.As a result,the density differential of the fungi-treated wood approached that of the Cremonese wood.

二、Cremonese Violins托福听力中文翻译：

旁白：听乐器历史课的一部分讲座。男教授：所以，乐器以优化其声学特性的方式进化，乐器如何振动，并通过空气将这些振动发送到我们的耳膜。现在，专业音乐家对他们的乐器非常挑剔。他们希望乐器能帮助他们充分表达作曲家的意图……当然，这会为观众带来更愉快的聆听体验。然而，大多数观众可能甚至不知道乐器有多重要。我是说…好吧，想想你参加的最后一场音乐会。当你鼓掌时，你脑子里想的是什么？女学生：我最近听说一位小提琴家完全把我迷住了。嗯，当我鼓掌的时候，我想我是在表达我对他的技巧的赞赏，他一定花了很多时间练习。男教授：他的小提琴。。。？女学生：我真的没想过。它看起来和我的一模一样，从某种程度上说，这是鼓舞人心的，因为我知道我的小提琴也能发出如此美妙的音调，也许有一天我会听起来如此美妙。男教授：我希望你这样做。但是如果你的小提琴不如他的…女学生：你的意思是说他拉我的小提琴听起来可能不如我？男教授：正如我所说，不同乐器的音质不同。问题是…为什么？为什么一种乐器听起来比另一种更美，即使它们看起来相同？

有一个特别有趣的例子，在意大利北部的克雷莫纳市，在17世纪末、17世纪初制造了一代非凡的小提琴。这些古典克雷蒙小提琴被认为是世界上最好的。但这并不是说这些小提琴的制造者比他们的现代同行更熟练&nbsp；他们没有。今天的顶级小提琴制造商几乎可以复制克雷蒙小提琴的所有物理属性。但人们普遍认为现代小提琴的音质不如古典小提琴。

女学生：那么，哪些旧小提琴被复制了呢？男教授：哦，他们的尺寸、形状……他们的指板高度，呃，一般的工艺。很长一段时间以来，人们认为用来覆盖和保护小提琴的清漆很特别。但研究表明，它与用于家具的普通清漆相同。然而，研究人员发现，小提琴所用的木材有一些特殊之处，最近，他们也能够复制。女学生：如何……除非克雷蒙人使用的树木还活着……男教授：树木不是复制的，只是木头……特别是木头的密度。密度取决于树木的生长方式。树木，所有不生长在热带的树木，都是季节性生长的。它们在一年中的早春比一年中晚些时候生长得更快。所以早期生长的木材是相对多孔的；后期生长的木材密度更高，多孔性更小。这种变异表现在树木的年轮上。

密度较高的层通常比密度较低的层暗。我们称这种变化为“密度差异”。男教授：木材密度的变化影响振动，因此影响声音。当科学家们第一次分析古董克雷蒙小提琴的木材并将其与现代小提琴木材进行比较时，他们计算了平均密度，发现没有差异。后来，其他研究人员测量了密度差异，发现了一个显著的差异：现代小提琴有更大的变化……更大的差异。

女学生：那么你的意思是克雷蒙小提琴的木材密度更均匀？男教授：对。女学生：但是意大利北部不在热带！男教授：不，但气候很重要。事实证明，克瑞蒙小提琴是由生长在“小冰河时期”的树木制成的，当时欧洲各地的气温明显低于正常水平。因此，树木全年生长更加均匀，使得密度差异相对较小。女学生：但是你说有人复制了克瑞蒙木。男教授：复制了密度差异。女学生：他们做了什么，试图在温室里模拟冰河时期的气候，并在那里种一些树？男教授：不。发生的事情是，一位材料科学家找到了一种方法来处理木材，使其在声学上与克雷蒙木材相似。他基本上把木材暴露于一种真菌，一种蘑菇。在森林里，真菌是分解者；他们分解枯木&nbsp；但这种特殊的真菌只会啃掉木材的某些层，而不会啃掉其他层。因此，真菌处理的木材的密度差异接近于Cremonese木材。

三、Cremonese Violins托福听力问题：

Q1:1.What does the professor mainly discuss?

A.Some special techniques used by the makers of vintage Cremonese violins

B.How the acoustical quality of the violin was improved over time

C.Factors that may be responsible for the beautiful tone of Cremonese violins

D.Some criteria that professional violinists use when selecting their instruments

Q2:2.What does the professor imply about the best modern violin makers?

A.They are unable to recreate the high quality varnish used by Cremonese violin makers.

B.Their craftsmanship is comparable to that of the Cremonese violin makers.

C.They use wood from the same trees that were used to make the Cremonese violins.

D.Many of them also compose music for the violin.

Q3:3.Why does the professor discuss the growth cycle of trees?

A.To clarify how modern violin makers select wood

B.To highlight a similarity between vintage and modern violins

C.To explain why tropical wood cannot be used to make violins

D.To explain what causes variations in density in a piece of wood

Q4:4.What factor accounts for the particular density differential of the wood used in the Cremonese violins?

A.The trees that produced the wood were harvested in spring.

B.The trees that produced the wood grew in an unusually cool climate.

C.The wood was allowed to partially decay before being made into violins.

D.The wood was coated with a local varnish before it was crafted into violins.

Q5:5.The professor describes an experiment in which wood was exposed to a fungus before being made into a violin.What point does the professor make about the fungus?

A.It decomposes only certain parts of the wood.

B.It was found only in the forests of northern Italy.

C.It was recently discovered in a vintage Cremonese violin.

D.It decomposes only certain species of trees.

Q6:6.Why does the professor say this:

A.To find out how much exposure students have had to live classical music.

B.To use student experiences to support his point about audience members.

C.To indicated that instruments are harder to master than audience members realize.

D.To make a point about the beauty of violin music.

四、Cremonese Violins托福听力答案：

A1:正确答案：C

A2:正确答案：B

A3:正确答案：D

A4:正确答案：B

A5:正确答案：A

A6:正确答案：B