2015年職稱英語閱讀輔導講義(七)

　　Most people think of Beethoven’s hearing loss as an obstacle to composing music. However, he　produced his most powerful works in the last decade of his life when he was completely deaf.　This is one of the most glorious cases of the triumph of will over adversity1, but his biographer,

　　Maynard Solomon, takes a different view. ____1____. In his deaf world Beethoven could experiment,　free from the sounds of the outside world, free to create new forms and harmonies.　Hearing loss does not seem to affect the musical ability of musicians who become deaf. They　continue to “hear” music with as much, or greater, accuracy than if they were actually hearing it being　played.　____2____. He described a fascinating phenomenon that happened within three months: “my　former musical experiences began to play back to me. I couldn’t differentiate between what I heard　and real hearing.2 After many years, it is still rewarding to listen to these play backs, to ‘ hear’ music　which is new to me and to find many quiet accompaniments for all of my moods. ”

　　How is it that the world we see，touch，hear，and smell is both “out there” and at the same time　within us? There is no better example of this connection between external stimulus and internal　perception than the cochlear implant3. ____3____. However, it might be possible to use the brain’s　remarkable power to make sense of the electrical signals the implant produces.

　　When Michael Edgar first “switched on” his cochlear implant, the sounds he heard were not at　all clear. Gradually, with much hard work, he began to identify everyday sounds. For example, “The　insistent ringing of the telephone became clear almost at once.”

　　The primary purpose of the implant is to allow communication with others. When people spoke　to Eagar, he heard their voices “coming through like a long-distance telephone call on a poor　connection.” But when it came to his beloved music, the implant was of no help.4 ____4____. He　said, “I play the piano as I used to and hear it in my head at the same time. The movement of myfingers and the feel of the keys give added ‘ clarity’ to hearing in my head.5”　Cochlear implants allow the deaf to hear again in a way that is not perfect，but which can change　their lives. ____5____. Even the most amazing cochlear implants would have been useless to　Beethoven as he composed his Ninth Symphony at the end of his life.

　　詞匯：

　　obstacle / ??bst?k(?)l /n.障礙

　　biographer / bai??ɡr?f? / n.傳記作者

　　insistent / ?n?s?st(?)nt / adj.連續(xù)的

　　adversity / æd?v ?:s?t? / n.逆境;不幸

　　fascinate / ?fæs?ne?t / vt. 使著迷，使神魂顛倒

　　accompaniment / ??k?mp(?)nim(?)nt / n. 伴奏

　　注釋：

　　1.the triumph of will over adversity：the successful overcoming of difficulty through determination

　　用意志力成功戰(zhàn)勝不幸

　　2.I couldn’t differentiate between what I heard and real hearing.我不能分辨我聽到的和真實的聲

　　音有什么不同。

　　3.cochlear implant：a device, surgically placed in the ear, that changes sounds into electric signals

　　人工耳蝸;耳蝸植入

　　4.But when it came to his beloved music, the implant was of no help.但是，如果碰到鐘愛的音樂，

　　人工耳蝸沒有任何幫助。(我不用人工耳蝸就能聽出來)

　　5.The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added “clarity” to hearing in my head.

　　由于我手指在鋼琴上的飛動，我能感覺到琴鍵，因而使我聽到的東西在腦海里更加清晰。

　　練習：

　　A No man-made device could replace the ability to hear.

　　B When he wanted to appreciate music, Eagar played the piano.

　　C Still, as Michael Eagar discovered, when it comes to musical harmonies, hearing is irrelevant.

　　D Michael Eagar, who died in 2003,became deaf at the age of 21.

　　E Beethoven produced his most wonderful works after he became deaf.

　　F Solomon argues that Beethoven’s deafness “heightened” his achievement as a composer.

　　答案與題解：

　　1.F 本段的開頭講：貝多芬的例子是一個意志力戰(zhàn)勝耳聾的極好的例子。但是，他的傳記作家 Maynard Solomon 卻持不同的意見。貝多芬的耳聾不是一種災難;相反，對他成為作曲家起到了促進作用。后一句解釋了耳聾如何使貝多芬更好地創(chuàng)作。

　　2.D 該句是本段的開頭，根據后一句：他描述了在三個月之內發(fā)生的奇妙的現象：我先前的音樂經歷開始在我的腦海里回放。再有后一句的 what I heard and real hearing 可以判定 D是恰當的。

　　3.A 依據前一句：只有人工耳蝸才能使外部刺激和內心感知聯系起來(耳聾的人通過人工耳蝸聽到外部的聲音)。人工耳蝸就是一種 man-made device，后一句也是在講人工耳蝸的功能。所以 A 是對的。

　　4.B 依據后一句的 play the piano 呼應 When he wanted to appreciate music, Eagar played the　piano，可以斷定答案為 B。

　　5.C 前一句講人工耳蝸的作用：它能使耳聾的人聽到聲音，盡管不完美，但改變了他們的生活;Still 表示轉折，該句承上啟下，雖然人工耳蝸能幫助耳聾的人，但談到音樂的韻律時，聽力是不相關的(聽力不起作用)。所以后一句講貝多芬在他生命的最后時刻創(chuàng)作第九交響樂時，無論多么完美的人工耳蝸對他來說都沒有用。