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Following Our Noses Through History 浪漫幽香令人醉：香水物语

 

课文朗读

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

When the glamorous Hollywood actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe was once asked what she wore in bed, she replied with the immortal words “Chanel No. 5, of course.” She wasn’t referring to her pajamas, but one of the most recognized brands of a product that has come to be indispensable to many: perfume.

风情万种的好莱坞女星、被誉为性感偶像的玛丽莲．梦露曾被问到她都穿什么入睡，她的回答：「当然是香奈儿5号。」这句话，成了不朽的名言。她说的不是睡衣，而是一种著名商品的品牌，这项商品对许多人而言不可或缺──那就是香水。

 

Man has been trying to smell sweeter by creating perfumes ever since the time of the first major civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The world’s earliest known perfume-maker was a Mesopotamian chemist called Taputti, who lived around 1200 B.C. She distilled various flowers and oils to produce pleasant scents. Later on, the art of perfumery was refined by the Persians and the Romans. Indeed, the word “perfume” is derived from the language of the Romans, Latin, and means “through smoke.” The oldest specimen of perfume, discovered on the island of Cyprus, has been dated back to 4,000 years ago.

自美索不达米亚与埃及两大文明时期开始，人类就已经藉由制造香水，希望让自己更好闻。全世界最早有记载的香水制造师是一位生于公元前1200年左右，名叫塔普堤(Taputti)的美索不达米亚化学家。她将多种花与精油经蒸馏的方式产生出怡人的香味。其后，香水调制艺术由波斯人及罗马人加以改良，发扬光大。其实perfume（香水）一词源自于罗马人的语言拉丁文，意思是「透过烟雾」。最古老的香水样本于塞浦路斯岛发现，时间可回溯至四千年前。

 

In the Middle Ages, most developments in perfume manufacture took place in Europe. In 1370, a Hungarian queen requested a special blend of scented oils to be made for her, a mixture that came to be known throughout Europe as Hungary Water. Later, in 15th-century Italy, wealthy aristocrats and royalty took to spraying themselves with perfume, perhaps to mask unpleasant body odors resulting from the comparatively infrequent bathing habits back then! By the 16th century, though, France had become the leader of the perfume industry, a position which it still very much holds to this day.

中世纪香水制造的发展大抵都在欧洲发生。1370年，一位匈牙利皇后要求专人为她调制一种特殊香精油，而这一混合物随后便以「匈牙利之水」闻名全欧洲。后来，15世纪意大利的王公贵族也开始习惯喷香水，或许是为了盖过身体的异味，因为相较于今，当时习惯不太常洗澡。然而到了16世纪，法国已然成为香水产业的龙头，直至今日屹立不摇。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

glamorous [ˋglæmərəs] adj. 富有魅力的；迷人的

immortal [ɪˋmɔrt!] adj. 不朽的

indispensable [͵ɪndɪsˋpɛnsəb!] adj. 必不可少的，必需的

civilization [͵sɪv!əˋzeʃən] n. 文明

scent [sɛnt] n. 气味，香味

refine [rɪˋfaɪn] v. 精炼；精制

specimen [ˋspɛsəmən] n. 样品，样本

request [rɪˋkwɛst] v. 要求，请求

blend [blɛnd] n. 混合

mixture [ˋmɪkstʃɚ] n. 混合; 混合体

royalty [ˋrɔɪəltɪ] n.（总称）皇族或王族（成员）

take to 喜欢; 开始习惯做

mask [mæsk] v. 掩饰；遮蔽

odor [ˋodɚ] n. 气味

comparatively [kəmˋpærətɪvlɪ] adv. 相对地

 

More Information

单词发音

 

reply [rɪˋplaɪ] v. 回答，答复

pajamas [pəˋdʒæməs] n.（宽大的）睡衣裤

Mesopotamia [͵mɛsəpəˋtemɪə] n. 美索不达米亚

chemist [ˋkɛmɪst] n. 化学家

distill [dɪsˋtɪl] v. 蒸馏

perfumery [pɚˋfjumərɪ] n. 香水调制术; 香水调制法

Persian [ˋpɝʒən] n. 波斯人

Latin [ˋlætɪn] n. 拉丁语

Cyprus [ˋsaɪprəs] n. 塞普勒斯（西亚岛国）

Hungarian [hʌŋˋgɛrɪən] adj. 匈牙利的

aristocrat [æˋrɪstə͵kræt] n. 贵族（指个人）

hold [hold] v. 持续; 保持  controlling force or influence

 

 

 

课文朗读

课文讲解

 

In describing a perfume’s scent, you will often hear experts use the musical metaphor of fragrance “notes.” Each perfume is made up of three sets of these notes, divided into top, middle, and base. They are identified according to the order in which one’s nose detects certain scents in the perfume, with the base note being the last and deepest. Another popular method of perfume classification nowadays is the Fragrance Wheel, which was invented in 1983. It helps to simplify classification and naming schemes by presenting the individual classes of scent in an easily accessible visual way.

形容香水时，常会听到专家采取音乐的比喻，称之为「香调」。每一种香水都是由三组香调组合而成，分为前、中、后。这些香调是根据鼻子在香水中闻到的香味顺序来鉴定，其中后调是最后一个且气味最浓。现今另一种广为使用的香水分类法是1983年发明的「香气轮」。它以浅显易懂的视觉方式呈现了各种香气的类别，有助于简化分类以及命名系统。

 

It’s easy enough to appreciate the aroma of a perfume without stopping to think about all the effect that goes into its production. Professional perfumers (sometimes called “nez,” from the French word for “nose”) are the ones trusted with the very precise task of coming up with new scents to delight our sense of smell. It goes without saying that, to become a skilled perfumer, a sensitive set of nostrils plus a keen sense for what kinds of scents will appeal to the public are imperative.

在品味香水的芬芳时，很容易忽略制造时所耗费的心力。专业的闻香师（有时被称为nez，在法文中是「鼻子」的意思）负责这项需要极高精确度的工作：研发出沁鼻的香氛。不言而喻地，要成为专业闻香师，除了要有灵敏的嗅觉，还要能敏锐地察觉何种香味能取悦大众。

 

Not everything associated with perfume is quite so sweet, however. If used excessively, perfumes can lead to various health problems, such as asthma, skin allergies, and even, in extreme cases, cancer. In addition, environmentalists warn that certain animal species hunted for their scent, like the musk deer and African civet, are at risk of becoming endangered. As long as we use perfume in moderation, though, and buy only animal-friendly products, we can happily keep on smelling as lovely as ever!

然而，不是所有跟香水有关的一切都如此怡人。如果使用过量，香水可能引起气喘、皮肤过敏等种种健康问题，在极端情形，甚至可能导致癌症。除此之外，环境保护论者也提了警告，某些因为身上气味而遭猎捕的麝香鹿及非洲麝猫，已面临濒临绝种的危机。无论如何，只要我们适度使用香水、只购买对动物无害的商品，就能够开心地继续散发动人香气！

 

−by Davis Vickers

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

fragrance [ˋfregrəns] n. 香味；香气

divide [dəˋvaɪd] v.分; 划分[（+into/from）]

identify [aɪˋdɛntə͵faɪ] v. 识别；鉴定

detect [dɪˋtɛkt] v. 察觉；查出

classification [͵klæsəfəˋkeʃən] n. 分类

simplify [ˋsɪmplə͵faɪ] v. 简化

accessible [ækˋsɛsəb!] adj. 可（或易）使用的; 易到达的; 易进入的

appreciate [əˋpriʃɪ͵et] v. 欣赏; 鉴赏

precise [prɪˋsaɪs] adj. 精确的﹐准确的

delight [dɪˋlaɪt] v. 使高兴; 使愉快; 使快乐

it goes without saying 不消说, 不言而喻, 毋庸置疑 it should be generally understood or accepted

keen [kin] adj. 敏锐的

imperative [ɪmˋpɛrətɪv] adj. 必要的

endangered [ɪnˋdendʒɚd] adj. 快要绝种的

in moderation 适度地; 有节制地

 

 

More Information

单词发音

 

metaphor [ˋmɛtəfɚ] n. 隐喻

note [not] n. 调子

Fragrance Wheel 香气轮

name [nem] v. 给……取名

scheme [skim] n. 系统; 计划；方案

aroma [əˋromə] n. 芳香，香气

perfumer [pɚˋfjumɚ] n. 香料制造人, 香水调配者

come up with (针对问题等)想出; 提供 to bring forth, discover, or produce

nostril [ˋnɑstrɪl] n. 鼻孔

asthma [ˋæzmə] n. 气喘（病），哮喘

allergy [ˋælɚdʒɪ] n. 过敏症

musk deer 麝香鹿

civet [ˋsɪvɪt] n.【动】麝猫；麝猫香料

 

 

Reading Questions 

 

1.  What does the article tell us about the history of perfume?

A. The inventor of perfume was a woman called Taputti.

B. Persians and Romans were the first to use perfume.

C. Perfume has been around for at least 4,000 years.

D. Perfume manufacture was based in Europe until the Middle Ages.

 

2.  According to the article, what connection does France have with perfume?

A. It is the center of today’s industry.

B. The first perfumers in Europe were made there.

C. The word “perfume” comes from the French language.

D. It used to be the leading manufacturer of perfume in the world.

 

3.  What is true about fragrance “notes”?

A. They make it easier to name perfumes.

B. There are three of them on each section of the Fragrance Wheel.

C. The base note usually leaves the longest impression.

D. The top note is the first scent to be added to the perfume.

 

4.  Which of the following is NOT implied in the article?

A. Using too much perfume can harm your body.

B. Many people probably don’t consider how a perfume is made.

C. We should be careful about choosing which perfume to buy.

D. The hunting of some animals is damaging the perfume industry.

 

Chanel No. 5 - Marilyn Monroe

 

 

The new CHANEL N°5 film

 

 

J ADORE DIOR 2011 005

 

 

 

 Answer

1. ( C )

2. ( A )

3. ( C)

4. ( D)