英语听力精选进阶版 6476

What would you do if you were told that the masterpiece you bought for ￡100,000 was actually a fake? That's what happened to British businessman Martin Lang. He thought he was the proud owner of a painting by Marc Chagall, which he bought in 1992. But, recently the Chagall Committee in Paris ruled it wasn't genuine and should be destroyed.

Forgery¹, the ugly side of the art world, is big business. Last year in Germany, police raided warehouses² and art galleries across the country in an operation to smash a ring of forgers specialising in works by Wassily Kandinsky and other avant-garde artists. In Wiesbaden they seized more than 1,000 objects.

And how difficult is it to find out if a painting is authentic³? When verifying if an artwork is the real deal, experts take into consideration if it's done in the particular style of the painter it is attributed to; with his or her characteristic brushstrokes, themes and technique. They also analyse if the materials used – canvas, paint and the frame – belong to the particular period in which the painting is supposed to have been produced.

Following the paper trail also helps those who don't want to be duped. Philip Hook, senior director of Impressionist and Modern art at Sotheby’s in London, says it's always good to look at the back of the painting. That's where you may find inscriptions⁴ by the artist, labels attached by dealers⁵ who've handled the picture and labels from exhibitions in museums – all of which can be checked.

But Hook believes in some cases spotting a counterfeit⁶ is difficult. He explains: "The easiest art to copy and get away with it is art done within the past 50 or 100 years because that submits less easily to chemical analysis. For instance, Van Goghs have been proven not to be by Van Gogh through the analysis of a pigment⁷ of the paint and it's been revealed that a certain sort of white wasn't invented till 30 years after his death. But the closer you get to present day, the less relevant this becomes."

It remains⁸ to be seen if future technology will help those who deceive in the art world - or those who uncover deception⁹. One thing is for sure: if genuine masterpieces have a place in a museum, then forgeries¹⁰ do too - or at least stories about them. Yes, they do: in Vienna, there's a Museum of Art Fakes.

Quiz 测验

1. Why was Martin Lang ordered to destroy his painting?

Because it was a fake.

2. Which three components¹¹ are used in a painting?

Canvas, paint and frame.

3. Which paintings might forgers be able to sell without being found out?

According to expert Philip Hook, the ones created in the last 100 years.

4. Which two words describe the study of the composition of a substance?

Chemical analysis.

5. Which word means ‘an outstanding work of art’?

A masterpiece.

Glossary 词汇表

fake 赝品、假货

genuine 真的

forgery 伪造品

warehouse 仓库

forger 做假货的人

avant-garde 前卫的、先驱的

authentic 真正的

to verify 验证

the real deal 真货

to attribute （认为）出自某人之手

duped 被骗了

inscriptions 铭文

dealer 经销商

to check 检查

counterfeit 冒牌货

to get away with 逃避（被发现）

to deceive （动词）欺骗

to uncover 侦破

deception （名词）欺骗

1 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

2 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

3 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

4 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

5 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

6 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

7 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

10 forgeries   

伪造( forgery的名词复数 )； 伪造的文件、签名等

参考例句：

• The whole sky was filled with forgeries of the brain. 整个天空充满了头脑里臆造出来的膺品。
• On inspection, the notes proved to be forgeries. 经过检查，那些钞票证明是伪造的。

11 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。