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Music in a Box 聆听八音盒的悦耳乐章

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Nowadays, it’s easy to hear music wherever you go. All you have to do is turn on your MP3 player or the nearest radio. But what did people who lived hundreds of years ago do if they wanted to listen to music? Was the world back then full of ___1___? Thanks to an ingenious invention ___2___ as the music box, people have been able to listen to music whenever they wanted for nearly two hundred years.

今日，无论走到哪里，人们很容易就可以听到音乐。你只需打开你的MP3播放器或是就近的收音机。但是，生活在几百年前的人如果想听听音乐的话，他们会怎么做呢？难道当时的世界一片寂静吗？近二百年来，幸亏一个称之为八音盒的巧妙发明，让人随时想听音乐，就能听音乐。

A music box can be defined as a case ___3___ an apparatus for producing music mechanically. In ___4___ words, it’s a box that can play music without needing electricity. Music boxes, however, did not gain mass appeal ___5___ the 19th century, when Switzerland became the dominant manufacturer. During this period, music boxes started ___6___ up everywhere. They were even placed in public areas. Thanks to interchangeable discs, some of the more advanced models could play a plethora of different songs. These discs could be considered the world’s ___7___ CDs. Today, most music boxes are made by Japanese and Chinese companies, ___8___ one Swiss company, Reuge, still maintaining a strong presence in the industry.

八音盒可以被定义为一种包含特殊装置、以机械原理来产生音乐的盒子。换言之，八音盒是一种无需电力就可播放音乐的盒子。然而，直到19世纪，瑞士成为主要的制造商时，八音盒才获得大众的青睐。在此期间，八音盒开始像雨后春笋般地出现，它们甚至被摆放在公共场所。多亏有可替换盘片的功能，一些较为先进的八音盒可以播放多到不行的曲目。这些盘片被认为可能是世界上最早的CD。现今，大多数八音盒是由日本和中国公司所制造，但是一家瑞士公司Reuge，仍然在这个产业中占有重要地位。

The popularity of music boxes has ___9___ rapidly in the modern era, but that doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. Because they have been made for such a long time, music boxes represent hundreds of years of human civilization and history. So wind one up and listen to music the ___10__ people used to enjoy it in days gone by.

现今，八音盒的人气迅速下降，但这并不意味它们应该被遗忘。因八音盒已经存在这么长的时间，它们代表人类数百年的文明和历史。因此，上紧八音盒的发条，用从前人们聆听音乐的方式来听听音乐吧！

－by Baxley Aldworth

Vocabulary

单词发音

ingenious [ɪnˋdʒinjəs] adj. 心灵手巧的; 制作精巧的

define [dɪˋfaɪn] v.下定义

mechanically [mɪˋkænɪkəlɪ] adv. 机械方面地

electricity [͵ilɛkˋtrɪsətɪ] n. 电力

appeal [əˋpil] n. 吸引力

dominant [ˋdɑmənənt] adj. 占优势的，支配的

interchangeable [͵ɪntɚˋtʃendʒəb!] adj. 可交换的

advanced [ədˋvænst] adj. 先进的; 高级的

plethora [ˋplɛθərə] n. 过多

Idiom

片语发音

turn on 打开 to cause to begin the operation

pop up 出现, 发生(尤指出乎意料) appear suddenly or unexpectedly

wind up 上紧发条 to tighten the spring of (a clockwork mechanism)

go by (指时间) 过去, 消逝 to elapse; pass

Reuge 50 notes - Turkish March 2 parts

Reuge grand cartel 144 music box

REUGE video

Answer