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A Whale of a Song 一鸣「鲸」人

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Zoe and Bern are a young couple savoring a lazy Sunday at home. Bern decides to put on some music.

柔伊和伯尔尼这对年轻的爱侣，正在家中享受悠闲的假日时光。伯尔尼决定要放些音乐来听。

B: Any preferences, Zoe?

柔伊，有特别想听什么吗？

Z: Hmm … something soothing. How about a symphony?

嗯……来点舒服的吧。交响乐如何？

B: All right. How does this grab you?

好啊。这首你喜欢吗？

Z: Uh … I was thinking more along the lines of Beethoven. What exactly is this?

呃……我还以为你会放贝多芬呢。那到底是什么？

B: It’s whale music.

是鲸鱼的音乐。

Z: Oh, yeah. Wasn’t that New Age magazine giving those CDs away as a promotion?      

喔。该不会是新世纪杂志促销送的CD吧？

B: Don’t be cute. Humans are not the only music makers on this planet, you know. Scientists have found basic musical patterns in the songs of whales.

别逗了。地球上又不只人类会做音乐而已，懂不懂啊。科学家已经发现，鲸鱼的歌可是有基本音乐模式的。

Z: But do whales actually compose music?

但鲸鱼真的会创作音乐吗？

B: Yep. Complete with repeating themes and movements.

没错。有反复的主旋律，还有完整的乐章。

Z: Really? I though those sounds were genetically programmed. I didn’t realize that whales could be creative.

真的啊？我还以为那些声音是他们的遗传造成的。没想到鲸鱼竟然会有创作能力。

B: And they’re not the only ones. Birds also compose original music, and even collaborate in singing complicated songs.

而且还不只鲸鱼有创作力而已。鸟类也会自创音乐，甚至还会协力哼唱复杂的旋律呢。

Z: I wonder how this “music” is perceived among the animals who make it. I mean, do they enjoy music in the same way we do?

我很好奇，动物真能感受牠们做出来的音乐吗？我的意思是，牠们能和人类一样品味音乐吗？

B: That’s still being studied. Even in humans, music perception isn’t completely understood. But it does seem that both humans and animals are primed from birth to comprehend, learn, and enjoy music.

这点还在研究当中。即使是人类的音乐感受力也尚未完全研究出来。然而乍看之下，人类和动物似乎都是天生就能理解音乐、学习音乐和品味音乐的。

Z: Well, whatever the reason, I really am enjoying this.

呵，管它什么理论，我真的很喜欢这片CD。

B: Me, too. Think it’ll ever reach the Top 40?

我也是耶。你想这张能不能打进排行榜前四十名？

－End

Vocabulary

单词发音

savor [ˋsevɚ] v. 品尝；欣赏；【喻】品味

grab [græb] v. 引起…的注意；吸引

along the lines of something 类似 similar to something

compose [kəmˋpoz] v. 作（诗，曲等）

complete [kəmˋplit] adj. 兼有的；附带的[F][（+with）]

movement [ˋmuvmənt] n.【音】乐章；速度，拍子

perception [pɚˋsɛpʃən] n. 感知能力；洞察力

prime [praɪm] v. 使准备好; 使做好准备

comprehend [͵kɑmprɪˋhɛnd] v. 理解，领会

Sentence of the Day

That’s music to my ears.

那真是个好消息。

music to one’s ears 佳音; 好消息