The Stradivarius is arguably the finest violin ever made.
斯特拉迪瓦里小提琴可谓世上最好的小提琴。
But could you tell one from a modern instrument? Was that a Strad?
但你还能分辨出它和某个现代乐器的区别么?这是斯特拉迪瓦里制造的?
How about that?
那这个呢?
Well, if you can't tell the difference, don't feel bad.
嗯,如果你不能分辨出差别,别失望。
Neither could a group of accomplished violinists.
一些著名小提琴手也听不出来。
That surprising result appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
这个令人惊诧的结果目前已经发表在《国家科学研究进展》杂志上。
Old Italian violins have a reputation for being superior in sound to newer models.
与现代制造出来的新型小提琴相比,古老的意大利小提琴因为更优美的声音而享誉世界。
But is their reputation deserved?
但它们的声誉是否名副其实?
To find out, researchers blind folded 10 renowned violin soloists and had them play a dozen violins, six new and six old.
为了一探究竟,研究人员们将10位著名小提琴独奏大师的眼睛蒙上并请他们用12把小提琴演奏,其中的是6新6旧。
When asked to guess the age of the instruments, the musicians failed to distinguish classic from modern at levels better than chance.
当猜测这些乐器的实际年龄时,这些音乐家们并不能区分出传统与现代技术制造的这些乐器,虽然他们并不是依靠运气进行猜测的。
And the new violins received higher overall marks than the antiques.
从评价来看,新小提琴比老古董整体上得分要高。
When asked which violin they would choose to take on tour, six out of the 10 went with a modern instrument.
当被问及如果可以选一把作为巡演乐器他们会选哪个的时候,10人中有6人选择了现代乐器。
The others grabbed Strads.
而其他人则挑了斯特拉迪瓦里小提琴.
The results suggest that modern violins perform as well as the classics.
该研究结果显示,现代小提琴与古典小提琴在演奏水平足以媲美。
And that modern violinists are better at performing than at picking violins.
而现代小提琴演奏家们更擅长演奏而不是挑选乐器。