翻译学习 | 流媒体时代的复古浪潮
2024年08月11日 00:01
以下文章来源于翻译圈 ，作者王思琪
在流媒体时代，年轻流行歌星如比莉·艾利什等重新强调专辑的完整性，拒绝提前发布单曲，回归了专辑作为艺术作品的传统。这一趋势表明，即使在即时满足的时代，音乐人对专辑整体性的追求依然不减。
To Billie Eilish, things like cassettes and CDs probably seem charmingly retro. Born in 2001, the musician was six years old when Spotify launched; today she is the fourth-most popular artist on the platform.
对比莉·艾利什来说，磁带和CD之类的东西可能有一种迷人的复古魅力。这位音乐人出生于2001年，音乐流媒体平台Spotify推出时她才六岁，如今她已是该平台上第四受欢迎的音乐人。
Ms Eilish has only ever known 21st-century listening habits. And yet she has emerged as an unlikely champion of a time-worn format: the album.
艾利什只了解21世纪的听歌习惯。然而，她却出人意料地成为了专辑这种传统歌曲发布形式的倡导者。
She declared that her new record, “Hit Me Hard and Soft”, released in May, was a “cohesive” piece of work, “ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end”. No singles were released in advance as amuse-bouches for famished fans.
她宣称，她于5月发行的新唱片《温柔重击》是一部“连贯”的作品，“最好是从头到尾完整地听完”。为了满足粉丝们长久的期待，她并未提前发布任何单曲作为预热，而是让整张专辑成为一次完整的音乐盛宴。
cohesive
中文解释为“连贯的，凝聚的”，用于形容各部分之间紧密相连、协调一致的整体。作为形容词使用，英文解释可以是“forming a unified and harmonious whole; characterized by unity or consistency.”
例句:The team’s cohesive play was the key to their victory in the championship game.
翻译: 球队在冠军赛中的默契配合是他们获胜的关键
同义词或短语：unified, consistent, integrated, seamless等，这些词都可以表达类似的连贯性或整体性的概念。
in advance
中文解释为“提前，预先”，用于描述在某个主要事件或活动之前进行的行为或准备。作为副词短语使用，它通常与动词连用，英文解释可以是“before a particular time or event, especially in order to be ready for it.”
例句:Please let us know your travel plans in advance so we can arrange for accommodation accordingly.
翻译: 请提前告知您的旅行计划，以便我们能够相应地安排住宿。
同义词或短语：beforehand, ahead of time, prematurely (虽然“prematurely”含义略有不同，但在某些语境下可表达类似的时间先后的概念，但需注意其负面含义)，in anticipation等。在这个上下文中，“beforehand”或“ahead of time”是最合适的同义词。
Amuse-Bouches
中文解释为“开胃小吃”，通常用于餐宴开始前提供给客人品尝的小份精致食物，旨在激发食欲。在此上下文中，它被用作比喻，指提前发布的单曲，用以吸引并满足粉丝的期待。英文解释为：Small, tasty dishes served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, used here metaphorically to refer to singles released in advance to entice and satisfy eager fans.
例句：Before the main course, the chef served us a selection of exquisite amuse-bouches to whet our appetites.
翻译: 在主菜上桌之前，厨师为我们提供了一系列精美的开胃小点，以激发我们的食欲。
同义词或短语：appetizers, starters, teasers, previews等，这些词汇在类似语境下可以替换使用。
Famished
中文解释为“极度饥饿的，渴望的”，用于形容人非常饿或非常渴望某物。在此上下文中，它用来形容粉丝对新专辑的极度期待和渴望。英文解释为：Feeling extreme hunger or a strong desire for something, here used to describe fans’ intense anticipation and eagerness for her new album.
例句：After a long hike, we were famished and eagerly devoured our sandwiches.
翻译: 长途跋涉之后，我们饿得要命，迫不及待地吃掉了三明治。
同义词或短语：ravenous, starving, eager, longing等，这些词汇都可以用来表达类似的情感状态。
She is not the only hitmaker emphasising the album rather than its component parts. Dua Lipa’s debut album in 2017 was preceded by six singles; she scaled back for her latest record. And Taylor Swift has issued four successive sets of new material with no advance singles.
她不是唯一一个强调专辑而非组成专辑的歌曲的热门音乐创作者。杜阿·利帕在2017年发行首张专辑之前推出了六首单曲，发布最新的唱片之前她缩减了单曲数量。而泰勒·斯威夫特已经连续发行了四张新专辑，之前都没有推出单曲。
preceded
中文解释为“在…之前发生，先于…”，作为动词的过去式和过去分词形式，它描述了一个事件或事物在另一个事件或事物之前出现或存在的状态。英文解释可以是“to happen or exist before something else.”
例句: The concert was preceded by a heartfelt tribute to the late musician, honoring his life and work.
翻译: 音乐会开始前，对已故音乐家进行了深情的致敬，以纪念他的一生和作品
同义词或短语：preceded by 可以被替换为“came before”, “was preceded with”, “preceded the release of”等，这些短语都表达了相同的时间先后的概念。
在原文的上下文中，“preceded”用来描述杜阿·利帕在发行首张专辑之前已经推出了六首单曲的情况，强调了这些单曲作为专辑发布前预热的作用。
For decades after the birth of recorded music in the 1920s, the single was the only thing that mattered, mostly because it was the only thing there was: early gramophone records could hold just a few minutes of music on each side.
自20世纪20年代录制音乐诞生后的几十年里，单曲是唯一重要的东西，主要是因为当时只有单曲：早期的留声机唱片每面只能容纳几分钟的音乐。
As technology improved, playing times increased, and groups such as the Beatles came to see LPs (“long play”) as statements of ambition. From the mid-1960s onwards, albums became something to be appreciated as complete works of art.
随着技术的改进，播放时间延长，披头士等乐队开始将LP（“长时间播放唱片”）视为展示雄心的一种方式。从20世纪60年代中期开始，专辑被视为完整的艺术作品来欣赏。
In 1988 Prince released his “Lovesexy” album on CD as one continuous track, with the explicit goal of making it impossible to cherry-pick songs.
1988年，王子以CD形式发行了他的专辑《爱与性感》，CD中只有一个连续的音轨，目的非常清晰，就是让人们无法挑着听歌。
No doubt Ms Eilish and co want to prove their serious musical chops. Pop music is still often regarded as ephemeral, because it relies on catchy tracks that can dominate airwaves and charts.
毫无疑问，艾利什等人想要证明她们的音乐具有严肃的艺术价值。因为流行音乐依赖洗脑的旋律才能在广播和榜单上占据首位，所以这种音乐仍然常常被视为是不能长久流传的。
hold
中文解释为“容纳，装载”，作为及物动词使用，描述了一个物体或介质能够承载或包含一定量的内容。英文解释可以是“to contain or accommodate something within its limits or capacity.”
例句:Hold the door open for me, please. I’m carrying a heavy box.
翻译: 请帮我扶着门，我搬着一个重箱子。
同义词或短语：contain, accommodate, store, carry等，这些词都可以表示类似的容纳或装载的概念。
cherry-pick
中文解释为“精挑细选，挑选出最好的”，通常用于描述从多个选项或项目中选出最优秀或最符合要求的几个。作为及物动词短语使用，英文解释可以是“to select the best or most desirable items from a group or collection.”
例句: She cherry-picked the best ideas from her team’s brainstorming session to develop her project plan.
翻译: 她从团队的头脑风暴中挑选出了最好的想法，来制定她的项目计划。
同义词或短语：selectively choose, pick and choose, single out等，这些短语都表达了从多个选项中选择出最佳或特定部分的概念。
ephemeral
中文解释为“短暂的，易逝的”，用于形容那些存在时间不长或很快就会消失的事物。作为形容词使用，英文解释可以是“lasting only for a very short time; fleeting, transitory.”
例句:The beauty of the sunset was ephemeral, fleeting in an instant before disappearing into the night.
翻译: 日落的美景是短暂的，转瞬即逝，随即消失在夜色中。
同义词或短语：fleeting, transitory, momentary, short-lived等，这些词都表达了短暂或易逝的概念。
The current crop of pop stars has recognized that a deluge of songs released simultaneously can be more impactful than a trickle of singles over time. This approach not only incentivizes fans to purchase vinyl records but also promotes album streaming, resulting in double earnings for artists and their record labels, according to Chris Cooke of CMU, a music industry website. Furthermore, by unveiling all tracks at once, musicians enjoy the unparalleled chart dominance that sporadic singles fail to deliver. Billie Eilish, for instance, currently boasts three tracks in the top 20 of the Billboard chart, while Taylor Swift claimed the top 14 spots following the release of “The Tortured Poets Department.” While singles remain a valuable tool for aspiring pop princesses, they hold less significance for established queens of the industry.
当前这批流行歌星已经认识到，一次性发布大量歌曲比零散地发布单曲更具影响力。根据音乐行业网站CMU的克里斯·库克所说，这种做法不仅激励了粉丝购买黑胶唱片，还促进了专辑的流媒体播放，从而让歌手及其唱片公司实现双重收益。此外，通过一次性发布所有歌曲，音乐家们能够享受到零散单曲所无法提供的无与伦比的排行榜统治地位。例如，比莉·艾利什目前有三首歌曲位列公告牌前20名，而泰勒·斯威夫特在《苦难诗社》专辑发布后有14首歌曲进入前20名。虽然单曲对于渴望在流行乐坛崭露头角的“公主”们来说仍然是一个有价值的工具，但对于该行业已经确立的“天后”们来说，其重要性则降低了。
crop
在原文中，crop这个词的意思是“一批”或“一群”，特别指在某个特定时间内出现的一类人或物。crop还有其他的用法和含义，比如“回避(话题)，避开(麻烦或 攻击) 作为及物动词使用，英文解释是“to avoid answering a question or dealing with a problem”，类似于sidestep。除此之外，crop还有农作物或收成的意思。
例句: The farmers were worried about the drought affecting their crop yields for the upcoming season.
翻译: 农民们担心干旱会影响即将到来的季节的作物产量。
Crop表达回避的意思时，同义词有avoid、doge 和evade等，大家可以放在一起记忆。
deluge
这个词作为名词使用，英文解释为“洪水，大量，泛滥”，在这里用来形象地描述大量歌曲或内容的集中发布。英文解释可以是“a great or overwhelming amount of something, especially one that comes suddenly or in a continuous flow.”
例句: The sudden deluge flooded the streets, causing traffic chaos and stranding commuters.
翻译: 突如其来的暴雨淹没了街道，导致交通混乱，许多通勤者被困。
同义词或短语：flood, avalanche, torrent, outpouring等，这些词都表达了大量、迅速且不可阻挡的意味。
sporadic
这个词作为形容词使用，英文解释为“偶尔发生的，零星的，不连续的”，用于描述不规律或不频繁出现的情况。英文解释可以是“occurring at irregular or infrequent intervals; scattered or intermittent.”
例句: Due to the pandemic, live music performances have been sporadic, with long gaps between events.
翻译: 由于疫情，现场音乐表演变得断断续续，演出之间间隔很长。
同义词或短语：occasional, intermittent, scattered, irregular等，这些词都表达了不连续或偶尔发生的意思。
aspiring
这个词作为形容词使用，英文解释为“有抱负的，有志向的”，用于描述那些渴望成功或追求更高目标的人或事物。英文解释可以是“having or showing ambition or desire to achieve a particular goal or status.”
例句: She is an aspiring writer, spending every spare moment honing her craft and writing new stories.
翻译: 她是一名有抱负的作家，利用每一个空闲时间磨练自己的技艺并创作新故事。
同义词或短语：ambitious, aspiring to, eager for success, driven等，这些词都表达了有追求、渴望成功的意味。
A bad excuse is worse than none.
糟糕的借口还不如没有
特别说明：本文仅用于学术交流，如有侵权请后台联系小编删除。
