原文：
Opera is expensive: that much is inevitable. But expensive things are inevitably the province(範圍) of the rich unless we abdicate(退位、放棄) society’s power of choice. We can choose to make opera and other expensive forms of culture, accessible(易接近的，可達到的) to those who cannot individually pay for it. The question is: why should we? No body denies the imperatives(必要的)of food, shelter, defence, health and education. But even in a prehistoric cave, man-kind stretched out a hand of not just to eat, drink or fight, but also to draw. The impulse(衝動) towards culture, the desire to express and explore the world through imagination and representation(表述、陳述)is fundamental. In Europe, this desire has found fulfillment(完成、成就) in the masterpieces of our music, art, literature and theatre. These masterpieces are the touchstones(標準、試金石) for all our efforts; they are the touchstones for the possibilities to which human thought and imagination may aspire(立志、追求目標、渴望); they carry the most profound (深厚的`、深刻的)messages that can be sent from one human to another.
譯文：
欣賞歌劇是一種奢侈：你必須爲此支付昂貴的票價。然而，享用昂貴的東西並不完全是富人的特權，除非我們放棄社會選擇的權利。我們有權利使歌劇和其他昂貴的文化形式面向大衆，面向那些個人沒有支付能力的人。然而，問題是我們爲什麼要這麼做。沒有人會否認食物、居所、防護、健康與教育是不可或缺的。但是，即使在史前的穴居時代，人們伸出手來，也不僅僅是爲了吃喝，爲了搏殺，而且還有一個目的，那就是動手作畫。人們對文化的衝動，即人們希望通過想象和再現來表現並探索這個世界的願望，纔是最根本的。在歐洲，人們通過音樂、美術、文學和戲劇等方面的不朽作品的創作，實現了這一願望。這些傑作是衡量人類努力程度的試金石，是檢驗人類思維和想象潛能的標準，它們有着最深厚的寓意，並在人們彼此之間傳播。
