Three Ways Museums Will Change in 20 Years

⊙ By Marc Sollinger ⊙ 翻译：Portia

有参观博物馆习惯的人都知道，博物馆引入新技术的步伐不算快。似乎在不太久以前才有了语音导览，后来可以扫二维码，再后来，AR技术也被引入了，但要排队使用，而且好像不太灵光。不过，致力于博物馆发展的专家说，科技的飞速发展会让不可能变成可能，而且变化已经在路上啦。

There’s something calming about museums. Everyone moves slowly and seems1)engrossed [ɪn΄ɡrəʊst] adj. 全神贯注的engrossed by those2)rectangular [rek΄tæŋɡjulə] adj. 长方形的rectangular3)plaque [΄plæk] n. 牌plaques next to the paintings.

It can be tough to imagine such4)static [΄stætɪk] adj. 静止的，静态的static institutions clawing their way into the 21st century, iPhone and FitBit in tow. But that’s exactly what museums should, and will do, according to5)entrepreneur [ɒntrəprə΄nзː(r)] n. 企业家entrepreneur Brendan Ciecko and Elizabeth Merritt, the6)founding [΄faʊndɪŋ] adj. 创办的，创始的founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums.

Here are three ways the museum will be7)radically [΄rædɪkəlɪ] adv. 根本上radically different in 20 years:

1. Emotional 8) response [rɪ΄spɒns] n. 回答，反应Response Measures

There are some paintings, sculptures and historical artifacts that9)quicken [΄kwɪkən] v. 加快quicken the blood, make you feel10)engaged [ɪn΄ɡeɪdʒd] adj. 注意力被吸引的engaged, and somehow, deeply human. Other pieces can bore you to dead. What if museums were able to know the difference? Brendan Ciecko says this isn’t out of the11)realm [relm] n. 领域，范畴realm of possibility.

“I saw a fascinating demonstration in Switzerland where they were using12)biometric [ˌbaɪəʊme΄trɪk] adj. 生物计量的biometric information. It measures your heart rate and sweat, your emotional and physical response to the art, to determine certain things about your experience with the work. It’s the13)intersection [ɪntə΄sekʃ(ə)n] n. 相交，交点intersection of art,technology and science that makes this such a powerful time right now.”

14)device [dɪ΄vaɪs] n. 器件，装置Devices that measure heart rate and body temperature are becoming more and more mainstream, making this an even bigger possibility.

2. Helpful Apps

Lots of people spend their entire museum visit glued to their smartphone.So, some museums are looking at smartphones to15)enhance [ɪn΄hæns] v. 增加，提高enhance exhibits. Ciecko started a company called Cuseum, which uses electronic beacons to do just that.

“As I get closer and closer to that particular art piece and I enter the viewing range,16)content [΄kɒntent] n. 内容content can be delivered to my device17)seamlessly [΄siːmlɪslɪ] adv. 无缝地seamlessly,” he explains. “I didn’t need to scan anything or type anything into my phone.It becomes a very18)fluid [΄fluːɪd] adj. 流畅的fluid experience.”

Apps, like the ones Ciecko designs, can give museum visitors a wealth of information,all19)tailored [΄teɪləd] adj. 特制的tailored to what they’re actually interested by.

3. 20) augmented reality 增强现实Augmented Reality

As augmented reality continues to develop, there are ways museums can tap into those opportunities. Merritt is reminded of a small child who believed that dinosaurs consisted21)solely [΄səʊlɪ] adv. 只是solely of22)skeleton [΄skelɪt(ə)n] n. 骨骼skeletons, because that’s what he saw in museums.

“There’s where an augmented reality app that shows the flesh on top of the bones,and shows the dinosaur walking, can really help make that leap from what you’re seeing to what it represents.”

With museums’23)core [kɔː(r)] adj. 核心的core audience growing older, Merritt feels that they need to come up with different, innovative ways to connect with a new audience. That can be augmented reality, apps, body feedback. By becoming part of our lives, Merritt believes,museums will become more and more24)relevant [΄relɪvənt] adj. 有重大作用的relevant.

词汇学习

● in tow

Tow作名词时是“拖，拉”的意思，指一物拖着另一物在后面。而该词组最初也只是“拖着某物”之意，后慢慢地多了“随着，陪伴着”的意思，特别在涉及的内容与车船无关时，in tow多使用后面的意思。例如：

✧ A woman with a child in tow boarded a bus.（一个带着孩子的妇女上了公共汽车。）

✧ The couple had a reporter and a photographer in tow.（这对夫妇有一个记者和一名摄影师跟随左右。）● come up with

这个词组有两种用法，一是在针对特定问题想出解决的办法，二是就想办法拿出钱来解决某个问题。注意：两种用法都不能用被动语态。例如：✧ Dad could always come up with a solution for problems in the family.（老爸总能想办法解决家里的问题。）✧ If we can come up with $3,000, Dad will have the operation.（如果我们能拿出三千美元，那爸爸就能动手术了。）

参考译文

博物馆有一种让人平静下来的特性。在博物馆里，所有人都会放慢脚步，似乎都被那些画作旁边的方牌子吸引住了。

因此，人们很难想象这些一成不变的机构也将与苹果手机和智能手环一起，慢慢地步入21世纪。企业家布兰登·西亚库和伊丽莎白·梅里特是未来博物馆中心的创办负责人，他们认为，博物馆理应迈入21世纪，而且它们也会朝着这个方向发展。

以下是博物馆在20年后将与今天截然不同的三个方面：

1. 测量情感变化

博物馆里有些画作、雕塑作品和历史文物会加速你的血液流动，引人入胜，在某种程度上非常有人情味，但另外一些展品却让你烦得要死。如果博物馆可以知道你对展品的不同感受那会怎么样呢？布兰登·西亚库说，这是可能的。

“我在瑞士看到一个使用生物计量学信息的神奇演示。他们测量你的心跳和汗水，测量你对艺术品的情感与身体反应，用以确定你对某件作品的体验。这种做法是艺术、技术与科学的交汇，让参观变成一种震撼人心的感觉。”

由于测量心跳和体温的装置现在越来越成为我们主流生活的一部分，让其在博物馆的应用更具可能性。

2. 有用的应用软件

许多人在参观博物馆时，全程都盯着自己的智能手机。鉴于这种情况，有些博物馆正寻求用智能手机提高展览质量的途径。西亚库创办了一个叫Cuseum的公司，用灯光信标来做这个事儿。

“随着我离某件艺术品越来越近，我进入了展品的观赏范围，展品的内容介绍就可以直接发送到我的手机上，”他解释道，“我并不需要用手机扫描什么或者在手机上输入什么东西，这会是一个非常流畅的体验。”

像西亚库设计的此类应用可以为博物馆参观者提供许多相关资料，而且都是为他们确实感兴趣的展品定制的。

3. 增强现实

随着增强现实技术的不断开发，博物馆可以通过各种途径利用这些资源。梅里特想起她遇到的一个小孩子，他一直以为恐龙就只有骨骼，因为他在多家博物馆看到的恐龙都是这样的。

“这就需要一个增强现实应用，给恐龙骨骼加上皮肉，让恐龙走动起来，这就有助于人们把在博物馆里看到的东西转化为它真正的形象。”

随着博物馆核心访客年龄的增长，梅里特觉得他们需要找到不一样的新方式，与新一代访客取得共鸣。新方式可以是增强现实，或者手机应用，还可以是身体的反馈信息。梅里特相信，随着博物馆成为我们生活的一部分，它们就会变得越发重要。

怎么样？看了这三篇文章，你是不是迫不及待地想到博物馆去？在到博物馆参观之前，别忘了学几个参观用词哦。快到第62页看看小编送的词汇福利吧。