说起PROFESSOR.K的大名，关注Sneaker比较早的很多人应该都比较熟悉。这位Sneaker界的“神”曾花费四年多的时间制作运营kicksology网站，完成了对超过150双鞋的测评，为无数鞋迷提供了莫大的帮助。他的评测一直是后来者的标杆，甚至能影响到对全球运动鞋的消费趋势（我本人就是看了他的那篇关于UltraFlight的测评才买了那双鞋的），而他用家里浴缸中探索出的鞋的照相方式和效果，更让无数SNEAKER倾倒。现在论坛里的那些经典造型和标准姿势，几乎都是是从他那里传下来的；踝部支撑、缓震、舒适度等几个分类也是由他开创的。

    遗憾的是，2004年底, 随着PROFESSOR.K被SOLE COLLECTOR杂志招安, 这个如球鞋圣地般的网站也不能再支撑下去了。虽然域名还在，但现在登陆能看到的只有网站倒计时关闭前的专访和少量评测文章。有一天在鞋狂上偶然看到一哥们的帖子，里面有一个下载之PROFESSOR.K之前几乎所有测评的链接，立刻下载了下来,越看越激动，于是萌生了一个想法，把这些评测翻译过来，让更多的Sneaker们看到这样优秀的测评。这个系列今后将不定期更新，尽请期待：
   
    东西部全明星的全部阵容终于出炉了，在早一些公布的首发阵容里，A.I.后来居上，力压T-Mac成为了西部的首发后卫。曾连续七年获得全明星东部首发控位的A.I.终于证明了，在西部，他一样可以做得到。回想00-01赛季，A.I是何其的辉煌，常规赛得分王，常规赛MVP，全明星赛MVP...如不是最后败在了拥有OK组合的湖人之手，那将是多么的完美。在那一年，我们记住了经典的Answer IV，同样，在全明星赛上我们又一次看到了The Question，这双A.I.职业生涯的第一双签名鞋承载了太多的回忆。今天我所翻译的这篇就是Professor K在2001年对其的评测。

Q: What Was A.I.'s First Shoe from Reebok?
A: The Reebok Question Mid
by Professor K, posted May 8, 2001

问题：A.I签约Reebok之后的第一款鞋是那双？
答案：Reebok Question Mid
作者：Professor K，2001年5月8日

After years of being the sole bright spot on an underwhelming Philadelphia 76ers team, Allen Iverson is finally on a winning squad and in the national spotlight as the leading candidate for Most Valuable Player honors. He's unquestionably Reebok's most important athlete endorser, so much so that he now has his own clothing line and sub-brand, the I3 line. To our knowledge, the only other hoops player with a dedicated sub-brand prior to Iverson was Michael Jordan. But before all of the accolades, before the chants of MVP, before the brand extensions, there was the Reebok The Question Mid.
多年以后作为从未给人留下深刻印象的76人队的唯一亮点，阿伦.艾弗森在无数聚光灯的笼罩下终于赢得了最有价值球员的称号。他无疑是Reebok旗下最为重要的的签约球员，以至于他现在拥有自己的服装系列和子品牌，“I3”。在艾弗森之前，唯一的一个拥有自己子品牌的篮球运动员就是迈克尔.乔丹。但在所有荣誉之前，在获得最有价值球员之前，在品牌延伸之前，这些都源于Reebok The Question Mid。

Originally released in 1996, Iverson's first year in the NBA, the The Question was A.I.'s first signature shoe. Reebok subsequently released four signature shoes for Iverson, the Answer I through IV, but none has enjoyed the popularity or staying power of the original The Question Mid.
作为A.I.的第一双签名鞋The Question在发售于1996年，艾弗森的第一个NBA赛季。Reebok在其后又为艾弗森推出了四款签名鞋，Answer I到IV，但没有一款比最初的The Question Mid的所欢迎程度高，影响深远。

figure 1. Visible here is the large midsole and the translucent outsole, which has a slight blue tint. The honeycomb structures on the sides of the midsole are purely for show, but the actual Hexalite unit is partially visible at the bottom of the shoe in the heel area.
图1.可以见到大的中底和半透明的外底，其中还有一个若隐若现的蓝色Reebok标志。中底两边的蜂巢结构纯粹就是摆设，但实际上一部分鞋后跟部分的蜂巢单位是可见的。

Being an older shoe, the Reebok The Question is the only shoe in the Iverson line not to make use of DMX for cushioning. The Question instead employs Reebok's older Hexalite cushioning technology in which a honeycomb-like structure is used to absorb impact. To be honest, I'm not quite convinced that Hexalite really does much at all. Based on my experience with the shoe I think that the thick EVA midsole is what does the work of cushioning. While the shoe does provide excellent cushioning, my one real criticism of it is its overly thick and clunky midsole. While the outsole provides excellent traction and the wide base provides a stable platform for take-offs and landings, the large, blocky midsole makes lateral movement a bit cumbersome.
作为一双老款的鞋，Reebok The Question是艾弗森签名鞋当中唯一一双没使用DMX作为缓震技术的鞋款（译者注：这篇评测写于2001年，当时还没有推出The Question II和III）。The Question采用了Reebok的老牌蜂巢缓震技术。这种蜂窝样结构，是用来吸收的因落地冲击所产生的影响。老实说，我并不是很确信这种蜂巢科技真的能起到缓震的效果。根据我对于鞋的经验，真正起到缓震效果的其实是那厚厚的EVA中底。的确，这双鞋提供了非常好的缓震效果，但对于此唯一的缺点就是这双鞋过于厚重的中底。虽然外底提供了非常棒的抓地力，起跳和落地的时候稳定性也不错，但过于厚重的中底使其在做横向运动的时候稍显累赘。

Other than that, the Reebok The Question is a very good all-around hoops shoe. Much like the Nike Air Force Powermatic, the The Question is an older shoe that gets the job done without a lot of flash or techno-wizardry. As mentioned above, the midsole is largely EVA-based, the upper is leather, and the inner is a simple fabric-lined job. Pretty old-school, but it all works together well. And, as noted above, the shoe is quite wide inside and out, making it a good choice for people with wide feet.
除此之外，Reebok The Question是一双非常好的全能型的篮球鞋。就像Nike Air Force Powermatic一样是一双不太闪耀也没有太多的科技，但却可以让你在场上随心所欲的球鞋。如上所述，这双鞋的中底，主要是由大块的EVA，鞋面是由是皮革制成的，内靴则由普通的织物内衬构成。漂亮的旧款式，但所有东西组合起来却提供了非常好的性能。而且，正如上文所指出，这双鞋的内靴很宽，易于穿脱，这使之适合的人群非常的广泛。

figure 2. The number 3 at the back of the midsole is for Allen Iverson, who wears the number 3. Note again the thickness of the midsole.
图2.中底后跟处的3号是阿伦.艾弗森的号码。这里再次留意一下中底的厚度。

I did have a couple of issues with the upper, but they were both small and only lasted through my first two wearings of the shoe. Before the leather was broken-in, it was difficult to lace the shoe tightly enough to get a good, locked down fit. The stiffness of the leather combined with the external lacing system is the culprit here. But once the leather breaks-in the fit improves (although it is never at the level of some of the more modern hoops shoes). The other issue is that the portion of the upper covering the toe can rub and chafe against the top of the toes, causing some discomfort. Again, I think that the cause is the stiffness of the leather upper, which is even stiffer over the toes because of the leather toe-cap. But like the lacing problem, this went away after my first two wearings.
我曾经对这双鞋的内靴有些问题，但都在我穿过这鞋两次后就消失了。在皮面磨合之前，很难鞋带将系紧，从而使脚完全的得到包裹。这完全是僵硬的皮面和快速系带系统所造成的。但一旦鞋面磨合期过了，这种情况就明显改善了（尽管这种情况从没出现在现在的这一级别的篮球鞋上）。另一个问题是，鞋前部的内靴会对因摩擦而给脚趾带来一些不适。我认为这也是僵硬的皮革所造成的，但像系鞋带的问题一样，这会随着穿着一两次后完全的消失。

figure 3. As visible here and in all of the photos, the upper of the Reebok The Question Mid is constructed almost entirely of leather. This should make the shoe durable enough for use both indoors and out.
图3.在这张和所有的图上我们可以看到，Reebok The Question的整个鞋帮都是由皮革材料构成的。这使这双鞋无论在内场还是外场都可以保证足够的耐久性。

So, to sum up, the Reebok The Question Mid is a very good all-around hoops shoe with a fairly simple design, which probably has a lot to do with its longevity on the sales front. The leather upper and thick midsole should prove to be just as long-lived, making the The Question a good choice for use indoors and out. The thickness of the midsole can, however, hamper quick lateral movement and so this is a not a shoe that I would recommend to quick footed cutters and slashers (although, ironically, that is precisely the type of game that Allen Iverson plays). The Question also does not provide the locked down type of fit that some of the more modern hoops shoes provide, but at a current retail price of $69.99 for all but the White/Black/Flash Red colorway, which A.I. wore in the 2001 All-Star Game, the Reebok The Question is a steal.
总括来说，Reebok The Question Mid是一双设计简单却又很好的全能型的篮球鞋，这使他会在货架上有很长的销售期。皮质的鞋帮和厚厚的中底使这双鞋会有很长的使用寿命，使这双鞋无论在内场或是外场都是一个很好的选择。过厚的中底会影响到快速横向移动，所以我不会将则双鞋推荐给那些突破型选手（不过，讽刺的是阿伦.艾弗森就是这类选手）。同样The Question也不是为那些防守型选手所准备的，一些现今的许多篮球鞋都比他要适合。除了A.I.在01年全明星赛上穿的白/黑/鲜红配色外，现在The Question的价格普遍在69.99美元左右，这算是相当廉价的了。

Who's Worn It
Allen Iverson (G- Philadelphia 76ers)
穿着者
阿伦.艾弗森（后卫-费城76人）