《中英對照讀新聞》Contraceptive pill can perfect singers’ pitch 避孕藥可讓歌手音準完美

◎鄭寺音

Female singers striving for vocal perfection have been advised to take the contraceptive pill because the hormones can help stabilise their voices.

努力追求聲音完美的女歌手被建議服用避孕藥，因為荷爾蒙有助穩定她們的歌聲。

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Opera singers sometimes have problems hitting high notes in their menstrual cycle because of changes to their vocal chords.

歌劇歌手在月經週期時，因為聲帶改變，有時難以唱到高音 。

The researchers, at Sheffield University, discovered that singers taking the pill benefited from a more stable and controllable vocal range. They claim the hormones help reduce the changes to the vocal chords and ligaments that control them.

雪菲爾大學的研究人員發現，服用避孕藥的歌手，可獲得更穩定與更容易控制的音域 。他們宣稱，荷爾蒙有助減少聲帶以及控制聲帶的韌帶改變。

Dr Filipa La, who carried out the study at Sheffield’s music department, said： "Singers tend to have a more erratic voice around premenstrual and menstrual phases of the cycle. They have less vocal control, and suffer vocal fatigue and also hoarseness."

在雪菲爾大學音樂系進行這份研究的拉博士說：「歌手在月經前與月經期間，聲音通常比較飄忽不定，對聲音的控制較低，聲帶疲勞、聲音也常常嘶啞。」

新聞辭典

perfect：此為動詞，使完美。例句：She went to France to perfect her French.（她為了精進法語去過法國。）

strive for：力求。例句：In her writing she strove for a balance between innovation and familiar prose forms.（她寫作時在創新與慣用的文體形式間力求平衡。）

ligament：紐帶、（肌肉的）韌帶。例句：The desire for personal freedom is a ligament uniting all peoples. （對個人自由的渴望是讓所有民族團結一致的紐帶。）