How Deafness Makes It Easier to Hear
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 adversity, 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 playbacks, 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 implant. 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 sound's 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 . He said," I play the piano as I used to and hear it in my head at the same time. The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added ' clarity' to hearing in my head. ''
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.
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 hearin9.我不能分辨我聽到的和真實(shí)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(lái))
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(dòng)，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(xí):
A No man-made device could replace the ability to hear.
B When he war, ted to appreciate music, Eagar played the piano.
C Still, as Michael Eagar discovered, when it comes to musical harmonies,heating 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