Metzner

張翔

吉姆·梅茨納花了近50年的時間記錄和分享來自大自然的聲音，這些聲音記錄了不同地方的人和野生動物帶來的難忘時刻。

主題語境：人物 篇幅：348詞 建議用時：6分鐘

Jim Metzner has spent nearly five decadesdocumenting and sharing the sounds of the world，from immersive portraits of American cities to un?forgettable moments with people and wildlife in var?ied places.

Now more people will be able to hear more ofthe world through Metzners tape. The Library ofCongress announced that it has acquired the full body of his lifes work. The recordings in?clude soundscapes of every description from around the world and interviews with scien?tists， artists and local people. Whereas many recordists focus entirely on a single subject—nature， music or science， Metzners recordings convey various human experiences accompa?nied by the vast range of sounds from the natural world.

Metzner's career began in the 1970s， when he first ventured onto the campus of UMassAmherst equipped with a stereo recorder， a microphone and ear phones. Metzner recalledpushing the red button and hearing a lifelike symphony： a couple walking and talking near?by， a bicycle riding through gravel， a bird flying overhead， bells in the distance.“And I was?going like，‘Wow， this is amazing. What an extraordinary coincidence（巧合）！”he re?called.“But it wasnt a coincidence—this stuff was happening all the time， and I just hadntbeen paying attention to it. And it was the microphone and the recorder that said，‘Wakeup！ You live in a world of sound. Here it is.And it was， like， handing it to me on a plate.”

Metzner continued to focus on those moments over the years. Now in his seventies，Metzner isnt hanging up his microphone quite yet. He says that hes grateful to the Libraryof Congress for preserving his life's work， which he describes as a deep honor. He alsowants to make sure that its actually being heard， not just“buried in an archive （檔案室）”.

He hopes more people will get to experience and recognize the value of soundscapes，which he describes as“part of our natural heritage”and“the touchstones of our feelings”.

“You can go to a museum and see Diane Arbus' photographs. You can see Rene Magri?tte's paintings，”he adds.“Why not soundscapes？”

Reading Check

1. What is special about Metzners recordings？

A. They describe the interviews with local people.

B. They convey sounds from human activities.

C. They display sounds on different subjects.

D. They focus entirely on a single subject.

2. What inspired Metzner to take up the recording career？

A. A symphony he heard on the campus of UMass Amherst.

B. A sound?rich moment on the campus of UMass Amherst.

C. A realization that he was well equipped with recording devices.

D. A coincidence that he happened to be waken up by the recorder.

3. Which aspect does Metzner value most about his lifes work？

A. The Library of Congress has preserved it.

B. It has recorded unforgettable moments.

C. It can become our natural heritage.

D. More people can actually hear it.

4. What does Metzner probably mean in the last paragraph？

A. Soundscapes are every bit as much of an art form.

B. More and more people choose to appreciate soundscapes.

C. Photographs and paintings are recognized as natural heritages.

D. The value of soundscapes deserves more recognition than others.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Metzner's career began in the 1970s， when he first ventured onto the campus ofUMass Amherst equipped with a stereo recorder， a microphone and ear phones. 梅茨納的職業生涯始于20世紀70年代，當時他第一次冒險進入馬薩諸塞大學阿默斯特分校的校園，并配備了立體聲錄音機、麥克風和耳機。

【點石成金】本句中，when引導的是一個定語從句，修飾先行詞the 1970s；equippedwith a stereo recorder， a microphone and ear phones為過去分詞短語作伴隨狀語。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

be equipped with 配備有……

all the time 始終；一直

in ones seventies 在某人七十多歲時

be grateful to sb 感激某人

make sure 確保