游泳队合唱《孤勇者》

9月1日晚，澳门东亚运动会体育馆举行“我们的骄傲—国家奥运健儿代表团澳门联欢晚会”。晚会上，游泳队张雨霏、潘展乐、覃海洋、徐嘉余、王长浩、孙佳俊合唱《孤勇者》引发热议。

有网友跑到陈奕迅微博评论区“告状”后，陈奕迅发出了邀请：有机会来我演唱会现场，一起唱！

乒乓球队听游泳队唱《孤勇者》的反应：

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. What was the new finding from Hutchins' research compared to previous studies?

A) The number of people who are poor singers is much lower than previously thought.

B) Most people can sing well if they practice enough.

C) A higher percentage of non-musicians are poor singers than previously reported.

D) Genetics is the primary factor in determining singing ability.

A) The tendency of listeners to overlook a singer's mistakes more easily than other musicians'.

B) The tendency of singers to be more generous with their performances.

C) The generosity of the audience in providing feedback to singers.

D) The ability of singers to correct their mistakes quickly.

无注释原文：

Why some of us are terrible singers

From: NBC NEWS, Sept. 29, 2011

Despite a glut of TV singing shows from "American Idol" to "The Voice" to "The X Factor" to "The Sing Off" and even "Glee," 10 to 20 percent of the population fails to sing in tune, according to an often-cited expert estimate. But a new study suggests the number of horrible singers is actually much higher than that, and it explains the reasons why many folks are vocally challenged when it comes to music.

Truth be told, having a great set of pipes is no simple matter.

"Singing is a complex act," says Sean Hutchins, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research at the University of Montreal. Singing is complicated because you need to match a note with your voice and perceive it accurately, you need to figure out the right way to configure your vocal muscles, and you need to control those muscles well enough to belt out a tune, he explains.

That leaves a slew of places for a rock star wannabe or car-radio crooner to mess up. Hutchins' research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, attempts to identify where awful singers go wrong in the process.

In a series of five experiments, researchers compared small groups of people with or without musical training. They tested participants' accuracy at matching their voices to various pitches, to a target vocal or musical tone, or to other singers.

The study found that anywhere from 40 to 62 percent of non-musicians were poor singers, a rate much higher than shown in previous research.

It also found that roughly 20 percent of people can't sing accurately because they don't have good control of their vocal muscles. Another 35 percent of poor singers have trouble matching the pitch of their own voice to the same sound heard in other timbres, such as when it's coming from a trumpet, piano, or a person of the opposite sex. And 5 percent of lousy singers lack the ability to hear differences in pitch or discriminate between two different sounds.

To be sure, some aspects of singing are influenced by genetics. "There are certainly people who are more natural singers, and the physiological shape of their vocal tracts can give a more or less pleasing natural sound to the voice," Hutchins points out. But he says, the best singers just like the best athletes will be those who are blessed with natural talent and have devoted a large amount of practice to their craft.

However, it's the poor singers of the world who are the least likely to practice. And that's what's necessary to get better at it.

To improve, Hutchins suggests that "pitch -- hitting the right notes -- is the most important part of singing well."

If you need motivation to cultivate your vocal chops no matter how hideous you sound, there's what Hutchins calls the "vocal generosity effect."

He says listeners are quite forgiving of singing errors, more so than for other types of music. "Singers actually can be quite out-of-tune before listeners will notice the flubs, but they would pick up on a musician's subtle mistakes sooner in say, someone playing the violin."

What about you? Can you carry a tune?

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Why some of us are terrible singers

From: NBC NEWS, Sept. 29, 2011

Despite a glut of TV singing shows from "American Idol" to "The Voice" to "The X Factor" to "The Sing Off" and even "Glee," 10 to 20 percent of the population fails to sing in tune, according to an often-cited expert estimate. But a new study suggests the number of horrible singers is actually much higher than that, and it explains the reasons why many folks are vocally challenged when it comes to music.

从《美国偶像》（American Idol）到《美国之声》（The Voice），再到《X音素》（The X Factor）、《清唱团》（The Sing Off）、以及《欢乐合唱团》（Glee），尽管电视歌唱节目层出不穷，但根据一项经常被引用的研究中专家估计，约有10%到20%的人在唱歌时走调。然而，最新研究表明，这个比例实际上要高得多，该研究也解释了为何许多人在唱歌时音不准。

glut /ɡlʌt/ 表示“供过于求，供应过剩”，英文解释为“a supply of something that is much greater than can be sold or is needed or wanted”举个🌰：The fall in demand for coffee could cause a glut on/in the market. 咖啡需求减少会导致市场供应过剩。

glee /ɡliː/ 表示“快乐，兴奋，高兴”，英文解释为“happiness, excitement, or pleasure”举个🌰：She opened her presents with glee. 她兴高采烈地打开礼物。

表示“合调，入调；在调子上”，英文解释为“singing or playing notes that are at the right pitch (= level) or that agree with others being sung or played”

tune /tʃuːn/ /tuːn/表示“曲调，曲子；旋律”，英文解释为“a series of musical notes, especially one that is pleasant and easy to remember”如：a theme tune 主题曲。

vocally /ˈvəʊ.kəl.i/ 1）表示“发声的，歌唱的”，英文解释为“in a way that relates to or is produced by the voice, either in singing or speaking”举个🌰：This song really shows what she can do vocally. 这首歌真正展示了她在声乐方面的能力。

2）表示“畅所欲言地；直言不讳地”，英文解释为“by expressing opinions and complaints often”举个🌰：She was vocally opposed to the war. 她公开反对战争。

vocal /ˈvəʊ.kəl/ 1）表示“喜欢畅所欲言的；直言不讳的；大声表达的”，英文解释为“often expressing opinions and complaints in speech”举个🌰：During these years, suffrage demands by women became increasingly vocal. 那些年，女性要求获得投票权的呼声越来越高。

2）表示“嗓音的；发声的”，英文解释为“connected with the voice”如：vocal music 声乐。

3）作名词，通常复数，表示“（乐曲中的）歌唱部分，声乐部分”，英文解释为“the part of a piece of music that is sung, rather than played on a musical instrument”如：backing vocals 伴唱。

Truth be told, having a great set of pipes is no simple matter.

事实上，要拥有一副好嗓子并非易事。

pipe /paɪp/ 表示“管；管子；管道”，英文解释为“a tube inside which liquid or gas flows from one place to another”如：a water/gas/sewer pipe 供水/煤气/下水管道，也可以表示“笛（子）；管乐器”，英文解释为“a simple musical instrument made of a short, narrow tube that is played by blowing through it”

📍a great set of pipes是个俚语表达，通常用于指某人的歌喉特别好，嗓音强劲、清晰且有力。在这里，pipes（管子）是对人嗓子的隐喻，形象地把人声比作乐器的管子。拥有a great set of pipes意味着这个人的嗓音很出色，特别是在唱歌方面表现得非常优秀。

"Singing is a complex act," says Sean Hutchins, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research at the University of Montreal. Singing is complicated because you need to match a note with your voice and perceive it accurately, you need to figure out the right way to configure your vocal muscles, and you need to control those muscles well enough to belt out a tune, he explains.

“唱歌是一项复杂的技能，”该研究的第一作者、蒙特利尔大学大脑、音乐和声音研究国际实验室博士后研究员肖恩·哈钦斯（Sean Hutchins）说。他解释说，唱歌之所以复杂，是因为你不仅要用声音准确地匹配音符，还要能够精确地感知音高，同时，你需要正确调控声带的使用，并足够熟练地控制这些肌肉，才能唱出正确的曲调。

note /nəʊt/ 表示“音；音符”，英文解释为“information written on paper: ”举个🌰：She played three long notes on the piano. 她在钢琴上弹了3个长音。

perceive /pəˈsiːv/ 1）表示“感知，察觉，注意到，意识到”，英文解释为“to see something or someone, or to notice something that is obvious”举个🌰：He perceived a tiny figure in the distance. 他注意到远处有个很小的身影。

2）表示“认为；看待；视为”，英文解释为“to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something”举个🌰：How do the French perceive the British? 法国人是如何看待英国人的？

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述比特币的文章中提到：Scarcity is a trait of many things that are perceived to have value. 稀缺性正是许多被视为有价值的事物共有的特征。

configure /kənˈfɪɡ.ər/ 表示“装配，配置，设定（计算机或其他装置的设备）”，英文解释为“to arrange something or put its parts together in a particular form or arrangement”如：Online buyers can build their own version of the car: many of the company's customers configure their own vehicles.

belt sth out表示“引吭高歌；高声演奏”，英文解释为“to sing or play a musical instrument very loudly”举个🌰：The band was belting out all the old favourites. 乐队正在高声演奏所有的经典老歌。

That leaves a slew of places for a rock star wannabe or car-radio crooner to mess up. Hutchins' research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, attempts to identify where awful singers go wrong in the process.

这意味着，想要成为一名摇滚歌手或是在车里尽情歌唱的人，多个环节都可能出现问题。哈钦斯的研究发表在《实验心理学杂志：综合》（Journal Experimental Psychology: General）上，其研究试图找出那些唱歌走调的人在这一过程哪里出了问题。

slew /sluː/ 表示“很多，大量”，英文解释为“a large amount or number”举个🌰：There have been a whole slew of shooting incidents. 已经发生过大量枪击案。

wannabe /ˈwɒn.ə.bi/ 表示“梦想成功（或出名）者”，英文解释为“a person who is trying to become famous, usually unsuccessfully”举个🌰：The bar is frequented by wannabe actresses and film directors. 这家酒吧经常有梦想成名的女演员和电影导演光顾。

crooner /ˈkruː.nər/ 表示“低声哼唱者，低吟歌手（尤指男歌手）”，英文解释为“a singer, especially a man, who sings love songs”

表示“搞砸，弄糟”，英文解释为“to spoil or damage something, or to do something wrong or badly”举个🌰：I messed up my chances of becoming a great singer. 我觉得自己已把成为一名伟大歌手的机会毁掉了。You really messed up this time. 这次你的确把事情搞砸了。

In a series of five experiments, researchers compared small groups of people with or without musical training. They tested participants' accuracy at matching their voices to various pitches, to a target vocal or musical tone, or to other singers.

在一系列的五项实验中，研究人员对受过和未受过音乐训练的参与者进行了比较。他们测试了参与者将自己的声音与各种音高、目标声乐或音调、其他歌手进行匹配的准确性。

pitch /pɪtʃ/ 作名词 1）表示“投球”，英文解释为“a throw in a baseball game”如：a good/bad pitch 质量好/差的投球。

2）表示“运动场地；（尤指）足球场”，英文解释为“an area painted with lines for playing particular sports, especially football”如：a football/hockey/cricket pitch 足球/曲棍球/板球赛场。

3）表示“（尤指乐音的）音高”，英文解释为“how high or low a sound is, especially a musical note”举个🌰：A basic sense of rhythm and pitch is essential in a music teacher. 基本的韵律感和音高感是音乐教师的必备素质。

4）表示“（感情、活动等的）程度，力度；（事物的）最高点”，英文解释为“the degree or strength of a feeling or activity; the highest point of sth”举个🌰：By this time their disagreement had reached such a pitch that there was no hope of an amicable conclusion. 此时，他们的分歧已如此之大，不可能善罢罢休。

作动词，pitch /pɪtʃ/ 表示“竭力劝说”，英文解释为“to try to persuade someone to do something”举个🌰：She pitched her idea to me over a business lunch. 她在一次吃工作午餐时竭力向我游说她的想法。

📍“pitch”还是一个商业术语，通常用于描述提出一个想法、产品、服务或企业给潜在的投资者、客户或合作伙伴的过程。可以将它翻译为“推销”，“销售提案”或“推介”。

The study found that anywhere from 40 to 62 percent of non-musicians were poor singers, a rate much higher than shown in previous research.

研究发现，40%到62%没有受过音乐训练的人都唱歌不准，这一比例远远高于以往的研究。

It also found that roughly 20 percent of people can't sing accurately because they don't have good control of their vocal muscles. Another 35 percent of poor singers have trouble matching the pitch of their own voice to the same sound heard in other timbres, such as when it's coming from a trumpet, piano, or a person of the opposite sex. And 5 percent of lousy singers lack the ability to hear differences in pitch or discriminate between two different sounds.

研究还发现，大约20%的人唱歌不准是因为他们不能很好地控制声带肌。另外35%的人难以将自己声音的音高与其他音色的声音相匹配，比如小号、钢琴或异性发出的声音。5%的人缺乏听辨音高差异或分辨两种不同声音的能力。

timbre /ˈtæm.bər/ 表示“音质，音品，音色”，英文解释为“a quality of sound that makes voices or musical instruments sound different from each other”举个🌰：He has a wonderful singing voice, with a rich timbre and resonant tone. 他的歌声真好听——音色饱满，声音洪亮。

trumpet /ˈtrʌm.pɪt/ 表示“小号；喇叭”，英文解释为“a brass musical instrument consisting of a metal tube with one narrow end, into which the player blows, and one wide end. Three buttons are pressed in order to change notes.”

作动词，表示“吹嘘；鼓吹”，英文解释为“to announce or talk about something proudly to a lot of people”举个🌰：The museum has been loudly trumpeting its reputation as one of the finest. 该博物馆一直在大肆吹嘘自己是世界上最好的博物馆之一。

lousy /ˈlaʊ.zi/ 表示“糟糕的，差劲的”，相当于“very bad”如：lousy food/service 糟糕的食物/服务，a lousy book 糟糕的电影。

discriminate /dɪˈskrɪm.ɪ.neɪt/ 1）表示“歧视；区别对待”，英文解释为“to treat a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc.”举个🌰：She felt she had been discriminated against because of her age. 她认为自己受到了年龄歧视。

2）表示“区分，区别；分辨，辨别”，英文解释为“to be able to see the difference between two things or people”举个🌰：Police dogs can discriminate between the different smells. 警犬能辨别各种不同的气味。

To be sure, some aspects of singing are influenced by genetics. "There are certainly people who are more natural singers, and the physiological shape of their vocal tracts can give a more or less pleasing natural sound to the voice," Hutchins points out. But he says, the best singers just like the best athletes will be those who are blessed with natural talent and have devoted a large amount of practice to their craft.

当然，唱歌的某些方面确实受遗传因素影响。哈钦斯指出：“确实有些人天生就更适合唱歌，他们声道的生理结构或多或少会使声音更为悦耳。不过他也强调，最优秀的歌手和顶尖运动员一样，通常都是那些天赋与勤奋兼备的人。

genetics /dʒəˈnet.ɪks/ 表示“遗传学”，英文解释为“the study of how, in all living things, the characteristics and qualities of parents are given to their children by their genes”

physiological /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“生理学的”，英文解释为“relating to the way in which the bodies of living things work”如：the physiological effects of deep-sea diving 深海潜水的生理反应，understanding the physiologic processes involved in disease 理解疾病的生理过程。

tract /trækt/ 表示“（人或动物体内的）管，道，束”，英文解释为“a system of connected tubes and organs with a particular function inside the body of a person or an animal ”如：the urinary/respiratory/digestive tract 尿道/呼吸道/消化道。

表示“幸运地拥有…”，英文解释为“to be lucky in having a particular thing”举个🌰：Fortunately we were blessed with fine weather. 幸运的是我们碰上了好天气。

craft /krɑːft/ 结合我们常见的aircraft/spacecraft/hovercraft等词猜测，craft可以表示“船，艇；飞行器，航空器”，英文解释为“a vehicle for travelling on water or through the air”，如：naval craft 军舰，civilian craft 民用船，patrol craft 巡逻艇，rescue craft 救生艇。

🎬电影《外星人保罗》（Paul）中的台词提到：Hey, imagine if we got buzzed by a craft. 想象一下如果一艘飞船从我们头上掠过。

📍补充：

hovercraft 气垫船，military aircraft 军用飞机，a manned/unmanned spacecraft 载人/无人的宇宙飞船。

此外，craft作名词还可以指“工艺，手艺；技术”，英文解释为“skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience”如：the craft of furniture making/sewing 家具制作/缝纫工艺，political/literary craft 政治手腕／文学手法，rural/ancient/traditional crafts 乡村的/古老的/传统的手艺，craft workers (= skilled workers) 熟练工人，工匠。

craft作为动词表示“精制，（手工）制作”，举个🌰：Each doll is crafted individually by specialists. 每个布娃娃都由专业人员手工制作。

However, it's the poor singers of the world who are the least likely to practice. And that's what's necessary to get better at it.

然而，唱歌不准的人往往也是最不愿意练习的人，而练习正是提升唱歌水平的关键。

To improve, Hutchins suggests that "pitch -- hitting the right notes -- is the most important part of singing well."

要提高唱歌水平，哈钦斯建议“音准——即唱准音符——是唱歌的关键。”

If you need motivation to cultivate your vocal chops no matter how hideous you sound, there's what Hutchins calls the "vocal generosity effect."

无论你唱得多么糟糕，如果你没动力去提高唱歌水平的话，来了解一下哈钦斯所说的“人声耐受效应”。

chops 复数，1）表示“演奏乐器技巧；吹管乐器（如萨克斯）时用嘴的方式”，英文解释为“ability and technical skill, especially in playing a musical instrument or in acting”举个🌰：The players show their jazz chops and modern sensibility. 这些乐手表现出他们的爵士技巧和现代乐感。

2）表示“（做好…所需的）能力，技巧，经验”，英文解释为“the ability, skill, or experience needed to do something well”举个🌰：She just doesn't have the chops for this demanding role. 她只是没有能力胜任这个高要求的角色。

hideous /ˈhɪd.i.əs/ 表示“极丑的；极坏的”，英文解释为“extremely ugly or bad”举个🌰：They've just built some hideous new apartment blocks on the seafront. 他们刚在滨海区建了一些极为难看的新公寓大楼。

generosity /ˌdʒen.əˈrɒs.ə.ti/ 表示“慷慨，大方；宽宏大量”，英文解释为“the quality or condition of being generous”举个🌰：Her friends take advantage of (= benefit unfairly from) her generosity. 她的那些朋友利用她的慷慨占她的便宜。

He says listeners are quite forgiving of singing errors, more so than for other types of music. "Singers actually can be quite out-of-tune before listeners will notice the flubs, but they would pick up on a musician's subtle mistakes sooner in say, someone playing the violin."

他说，听众对歌唱出错的耐受度很高，比其他类型的音乐更高。“实际上，即使歌手走调，听众也未必会立刻察觉到，但如果是小提琴演奏者，他们的微小失误则更容易被听众发现。”

out-of-tune表示“走调”，英文解释为“singing or playing notes that are at the wrong pitch (= level) or that do not agree with others being sung or played”举个🌰：The piano is out of tune. 恐怕这架钢琴走调了。

flub /flʌb/ 可以作名词，也可以作动词，表示“犯（错误）；搞坏，搞糟”，英文解释为“to make a mistake or do something badly”举个🌰：Several of the actors flubbed their lines. 有几个演员念错了台词。

subtle /ˈsʌt.əl/ 表示“难以察觉，难以理解的；微妙的，细微的”，英文解释为“not easy to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention”举个🌰：The pictures are similar, but there are subtle differences between them. 这些图片很相似，但它们之间有细微的差别。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述企业发现AI难以实施的文章中提到：A more subtle problem is that of deciding what to use AI for. 一个更微妙的问题是决定AI派上什么用场。

say 在这里作为插入语使用，表示例如或比方说的意思（You can use say or let's say when you mention something as an example.）举个🌰：A healthy diet includes various fruits and vegetables, say, apples and carrots, to ensure a balance of nutrients. 健康的饮食包括各种水果和蔬菜，比如说苹果和胡萝卜，以确保营养均衡。

What about you? Can you carry a tune?

你呢？你唱歌能跑调吗？

表示“能把音调唱准确”，英文解释为“to be able to sing the correct musical sounds of a tune”举个🌰：Neither of his brothers can carry a tune, but his sister is a good singer. 他的兄弟们唱歌都不成调，但他妹妹唱歌唱得很好。

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