2. 职称英语
  3. When Regina Buenaventura walks onto the stage, all eyes are on her violin. I

When Regina Buenaventura walks onto the stage, all eyes are on her violin. I

游客2024-08-09  25
问题     When Regina Buenaventura walks onto the stage, all eyes are on her violin. In the fifth row, Joseph Nagyvary closes his eyes and listens. He has spent years in a laboratory studying the sound of the most famous instrument of all time. Nagyvary believes that he has finally solved the centuries-old mystery behind the remarkable sound of the Stradivarius violin.
    This young musician holds the result of Nagyvary’s scientific efforts under her chin—the Nagyvarius. She begins playing and the violin makes a clear, brilliant, heavenly sound. Creator Nagyvary opens his eyes. Could this be the magical Stradivarius sound?

    For 150 years, violin makers, musicians, and scientists have tried to solve the mystery of the Stradivarius. Antonio Stradivari lived in Cremona, a small northern Italian city. Before his death in 1737, he made over 1,000 violins, violas (中提琴), cellos(大提琴), and guitars. Two sons followed him into the business, but they died soon after. The details of how their father and other violin makers from Cremona made their remarkable instruments disappeared with them.
    How could an illiterate man with no education produce instruments with such a heavenly sound? Did Stradivari and the other violin makers from Cremona have a secret?
    Joseph Nagyvary’s laboratory in the United States at Texas A&M University is a world away from Cremona. Nagyvary began teaching biochemistry at the university in the late 1960s. About ten years later, he began making violins. Using his knowledge of chemistry, Nagyvary believes that he has found the answer to the Stradivarius puzzle.
    In 1977, Nagyvary presented the results of his research to the Violin Society of America He claimed that the high quality of Stradivari’s instruments was not due to his artistic talent. Rather, the remarkable sound was a result of the materials Stradivari used, specifically the chemical properties of the wood and varnish (清漆). Stradivari himself probably did not understand the importance of these materials. In other words, Stradivari was certainly talented, but he probably owed much of his success to luck.
    Nagyvary ‘s announcement shocked violin makers and dealers. His theory was a direct challenge to the way that violins had been made for years. It also challenged violin makers’ belief in the importance of their artistic talent.

    Nagyvary stands by his theory. " The pieces of the puzzle have been around and I have not invented anything new. But I put the pieces well together while the others could not. I am the first chemist of good international standing… who, obviously, has a much better understanding of the effects of these natural chemicals. "
    The best proof of Nagyvary’s theory may be the instruments he makes. By using what he has learned from his research, Nagyvary claims to produce violins with a sound quality very similar to that of a Stradivairius. This is demonstrated in The Stradivarius Puzzle, a 13-song CD recorded by well-known professional violinist Zina Schiff. On it, Schiff plays both a Nagyvarius and her 1697 Stradivarius, reportedly worth $3,000,000. Schiff says, "I sent the Stradivarius Puzzle to a friend of mine who is a conductor and he had no idea…He just could not tell…The truth is, I would rather be playing on one of Dr. Nagyvary’s instruments."
    So why do violin makers and dealers refuse to even discuss Nagyvary’s theory? Schiff believes that it is because the dealers are threatened by the fairly low cost ($ 3,000 to $22,000) of a Nagyvary violin.
Schiff came from a poor family, so she feels very strongly that people who cannot afford Stradivari violins should still be able to have high quality instruments. According to Schiff, Dr. Nagyvary’s violins have made this possible, without having a negative effect on the beauty and value of a Stradivarius.
    Joseph Nagyvary is a scientist. He has spent many years trying to solve【A1】________of why the eighteenth-century violins made by Antonio Stradivari sound so much better than other violins. Nagyvary has used his【A2】________to try to understand the heavenly Stradivarius sound. Dr. Nagyvary believes that the high quality of Stradivari ‘s instruments was not a result of【A3】________. Rather, he claims that the【A4】________of the materials used to make the violins have an effect on the sound. One way that Dr. Nagyvary is trying to prove his theory is by making his own violins. Many professional musicians cannot tell the difference between his violins and the Stradivari violins. Dr. Nagyvary argues that this is【A5】________that his theory is correct. [br] 【A2】
选项
答案 knowledge of chemistry
解析 文章第五段最后一句提到，纳格瓦里利用他的化学知识找到了斯特拉迪瓦里乌斯难题的答案，故填入knowledge of chemistry。
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