ｉＰｏｄ，時(shí)尚先鋒還是健康殺手？

對(duì)于時(shí)尚追求者來(lái)說(shuō)，擁有一個(gè)iPod的急迫心理，既在于它本身的功能吸引，更在于它所帶來(lái)的心理炫耀和安慰因素。甚至于連iPod的白色耳線，都成為一種時(shí)尚的象征。然而，就在那根象征著年輕與時(shí)尚的白色耳線泛濫于街頭時(shí)，我們也不禁要思考，這種時(shí)尚的代價(jià)是什么?

專(zhuān)家指出，長(zhǎng)時(shí)間、大音量地收聽(tīng)iPod或其他MP3音樂(lè)播放器，會(huì)引起永久性聽(tīng)力喪失。那么，究竟怎樣才算長(zhǎng)時(shí)間、怎樣才算大音量?究竟，在時(shí)尚與健康之間，我們又該如何選擇?

這則podcast語(yǔ)速較快，比較適合泛聽(tīng)。另外建議各位讀者，經(jīng)過(guò)泛聽(tīng)大概掌握內(nèi)容后，可就這個(gè)話題準(zhǔn)備一個(gè)“一分鐘演講”。最后翻到后面的“The iPod Debate”部分，看看其他人對(duì)于這個(gè)話題又有怎樣的看法。假如你愿意與我們分享你的看法，可訪問(wèn)《瘋狂英語(yǔ)口語(yǔ)版》官博(http://csblogs.blog.163.com/)。

(Music)

It’s oh so quiet

Shhh， Shhh

It’s oh so still

Shhh， Shhh

John (Host): “If it’s too loud， you’re too old.” That used to be the 1)rallying cry of young music-lovers everywhere. But these days， try， “If it’s too loud. You’re taking a big risk.”

To begin， now that Apple has sold over 175 million iPods and remade the music business and changed the way we buy music， it’s time to consider something else that MP3 players like the iPod can hurt our hearing. More than two thirds of iPod users face 2)premature deafness， says one study. And no wonder. The players can get nearly as loud as a jet engine at takeoff.

3)Audiologists say they’re seeing more young people with old ears.

Joining me in the studio is Dr. Ellen Finkelstein. She’s an audiologist at Madison Audiology Associates here in Manhattan. Ellen Finkelstein， thank you for joining us.

Ellen (Guest): My pleasure.

John: So， 4)in a nutshell， are MP3 players making us deaf?

Ellen: They’re contributing to our earlier loss of hearing because what’s happening is that previous technology did not…we…it didn’t have the loudness capability or the 5)battery life or the…to allow people to be hearing sounds and music for extended periods of time.

John: Is that the big difference between iPods and the Sony Walkman back in， like， 1980， because， you know， we had this conversation 27， 28 years ago.

Ellen: Absolutely! The newer generation of iPods or MP3 players held [sic] thousands of songs， and the battery life is extended and they have the capabilities of going up to about 130 6)decibels. So， that combined with the fact that we’re now using 7)ear buds， which are closer to the 8)eardrum， we’re—and people are just walking around with them constantly—this is contributing to earlier hearing loss.

John: So…

Ellen: When…when you look at it， it’s duration and decibel levels， so the combination of the two of them is really very 9)detrimental to hearing.

John: So， the higher the decibel level， the smaller amount of time your ears can…can absorb that without 10)unduly damaging the little hairs inside.

Ellen: That’s correct.

John: So， how extensive is the problem now? I mean， this one study says up to two thirds of iPod users are at risk.

Ellen: Well， that sounds very reasonable， because about 10 million people suffer noise-induced hearing loss， which is about a third of the hearing losses that we see are 11)attributed to noise exposure， so that we also see younger children using iPods for extended periods of time. We see people on subways 12)blasting iPods or MP3 players for extended periods of time to block out the environmental noise. So， I always…when I’m on a subway or on a bus or in the street， I know that if I’m sitting next to somebody and I can hear their iPod or I can hear the 13)leakage， we’re in trouble， that that person is really experiencing a good risk of hearing loss.

John: So， is it the fact that the…that the， the current generation of players， that the 14 earpiece actually sits inside your ear? Is it a different thing if you have old-fashioned headphones that cover your ears?

Ellen: Well， there’s research being done as…there’s no definite answer to that. They’re really researching that， but from…from a…if you look at it logically， the closer you are to the eardrum， the louder the sound， the worse the 15)vibrations that are going through， and the worse the problem， the more potential a problem.

John: Alright， now you mention research. There was a study done recently at the University of Colorado in association with the Children’s Hospital of Boston that suggests that teenage boys listen to music at a louder volume than teenage girls， that teens just in general play their music louder， and that they don’t even realize how loud it is; they think it’s a normal…you know， that teenager on the bus that you’re talking about， with the sound bleeding out of his or her ear buds， thinks it’s a perfectly normal room level kind of sound and doesn’t realize how loud it is. Do these findings surprise you? Do they...do theysort of fit with what you’re seeing in your practice?

Ellen: They absolutely do not surprise me because， first of all， teenagers and...and having grown up with loud music and rock and roll and whatever， teenagers and… they love to blast music， they love to hear music louder， so that’s…that’s just the nature of the beast. But also， the more exposure that they have to noise and the closer it is to the drum， it really…we’re seeing…we’re seeing hearing losses way younger than we ever did before.

John: So is your clientele changing?

Ellen: My…my practice has shifted. The average age level in my practice has shifted down significantly. I’m seeing younger…younger children， younger kids. Kids are experiencing noise-induced hearing loss with some 16)tinnitus or ringing in the ears， where， when I first started out dispensing 17)hearing aids， for example， maybe the average age of my patient was in their late 70s or early 80s. A very big part of my practice now are[is] people in their 50s， in their 60s， and a lot of the reason that they’re coming in earlier has to do with the fact that they’ve been exposed to noise. Now that was before having iPods…

John: Mm hmm.

Ellen: …and MP3 players and whatever， so…

John: That’s the 18)Pete Townsend generation.

Ellen: That’s correct.

John: Now we’re talkin’ about the 19)Justin Timberlake generation.

Ellen: Right， so shift that down， fast forward a little bit， shift that age down， so I anticipate seeing a way younger individuals for hearing aids or for 20)diagnostic testing related to hearing loss than I’ve…than I’ve been experiencing in the past.

(音樂(lè))

現(xiàn)在是如此安靜

噓，噓

現(xiàn)在是如此靜謐

噓，噓

約翰(主持人):“如果這太大聲了，那說(shuō)明你太老了”。這曾經(jīng)是世界各地年輕的音樂(lè)愛(ài)好者的戰(zhàn)斗口號(hào)。但如今，可能得這么說(shuō)了，“如果這太大聲了，那你就危

險(xiǎn)了。”

開(kāi)始這個(gè)話題之前我們先來(lái)看看，蘋(píng)果公司已經(jīng)售出超過(guò)一億七千五百萬(wàn)臺(tái)iPod，重整了音樂(lè)行業(yè)，也改變了我們購(gòu)買(mǎi)音樂(lè)的方式，既然如此，是時(shí)候來(lái)考慮一下其他問(wèn)題，比如說(shuō)像iPod這樣的MP3播放器對(duì)我們聽(tīng)力的傷害。一項(xiàng)調(diào)查指出，超過(guò)三分之二的iPod使用者都面臨過(guò)早耳聾的問(wèn)題。其實(shí)這并不奇怪。這些播放器的音量可以達(dá)到噴氣式發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)在飛機(jī)起飛時(shí)所發(fā)出的音量。聽(tīng)覺(jué)病矯治專(zhuān)家說(shuō)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)越來(lái)越多的年輕人的實(shí)際聽(tīng)力水平比應(yīng)有水平差

得多。

在演播室跟我一起的是艾倫·芬克斯坦恩博士。她是位于曼哈頓的麥迪遜聽(tīng)力協(xié)會(huì)的聽(tīng)覺(jué)病矯治專(zhuān)家。艾倫·芬克斯坦恩，謝謝你來(lái)跟我們一起聊天。

艾倫(嘉賓):這是我的榮幸。

約翰:那么，簡(jiǎn)單來(lái)說(shuō)，MP3播放器會(huì)不會(huì)致聾?

艾倫:它們的確會(huì)導(dǎo)致過(guò)早的聽(tīng)力減退，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在的情況是以前的科技沒(méi)有……我們……它沒(méi)有音量調(diào)節(jié)控制能力，或者它的電池壽命(不長(zhǎng))或者其他的技術(shù)……使得人們沒(méi)辦法長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地收聽(tīng)聲音或音樂(lè)。

約翰:這是不是iPod和20世紀(jì)80年代左右出現(xiàn)的索尼隨身聽(tīng)最大的不同?因?yàn)椋阒溃@個(gè)問(wèn)題我們大概27、28年前就討

論過(guò)。

艾倫:沒(méi)錯(cuò)!現(xiàn)在新一代的iPod和MP3播放器能存放上萬(wàn)首歌曲，電池使用時(shí)長(zhǎng)也延長(zhǎng)了，而且它們的音量最高能達(dá)到130分貝。因此，再加上我們現(xiàn)在使用的是更貼近于耳膜位置的耳塞，我們——還有人們到哪兒都戴著耳機(jī)——這種種事實(shí)都會(huì)造成過(guò)早的聽(tīng)力減退。

約翰:那么……

艾倫:當(dāng)……當(dāng)你認(rèn)真思考這件事時(shí)，會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)主要問(wèn)題是(使用MP3播放器等的)使用時(shí)間長(zhǎng)度和分貝大小，這兩者結(jié)合起來(lái)對(duì)聽(tīng)力的傷害是相當(dāng)嚴(yán)重的。

約翰:那么，分貝越高，你聽(tīng)的時(shí)間就應(yīng)該越短，才能保證不傷害耳朵內(nèi)的纖毛

組織。

艾倫:沒(méi)錯(cuò)。

約翰:那么，現(xiàn)在這個(gè)問(wèn)題有多普遍呢?我是說(shuō)，這個(gè)研究表明有高達(dá)三分之二的iPod使用者都有(聽(tīng)力早衰的)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

艾倫:嗯，的確是這樣，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在有大約1000萬(wàn)人正忍受著噪音性聽(tīng)力喪失的折磨，這大概占了由噪音造成的聽(tīng)力喪失案例數(shù)量的三分之一。我們經(jīng)常看到那些年紀(jì)不大的孩子長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地使用iPod。我們?cè)诘罔F上經(jīng)常看到那些人為了阻隔外界環(huán)境的噪音，長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地把iPod和MP3播放器的音量調(diào)到很大。所以，我總是……當(dāng)我乘坐地鐵或者公共汽車(chē)或者走在路上時(shí)，我知道如果坐在我旁邊的人，他們的iPod發(fā)出的聲響連我都能聽(tīng)到，那么問(wèn)題就大了，因?yàn)槟莻€(gè)人真的很有喪失聽(tīng)力的

危險(xiǎn)。

約翰:所以，事實(shí)就是……就是……這與現(xiàn)在新一代的把聽(tīng)筒置入耳朵之中的播放器有關(guān)?如果你還是佩戴那種老式的頭戴式的耳機(jī)，情況是不是有所不同?

艾倫:呃，關(guān)于這個(gè)也有一些研究……不過(guò)并沒(méi)有什么明確的答案。研究者的確進(jìn)行了調(diào)查，不過(guò)從……從一個(gè)……如果你按邏輯來(lái)看，與耳膜越近、聲音越大，穿過(guò)耳膜的聲音振幅就越大，那么問(wèn)題就越嚴(yán)重，而且越有潛在的危險(xiǎn)。

約翰:好的，你剛剛提到了調(diào)查研究。最近，科羅拉多州立大學(xué)和波士頓兒童醫(yī)院聯(lián)合做了一項(xiàng)研究調(diào)查，結(jié)果顯示男孩子聽(tīng)音樂(lè)時(shí)所用的音量要比女孩子的大，另外一個(gè)普遍現(xiàn)象是，青少年聽(tīng)音樂(lè)時(shí)所用的音量都比較大，而且他們甚至都沒(méi)有意識(shí)到那究竟有多大音量，他們還認(rèn)為那是正常音量……你知道的，就像你剛剛提到的公共汽車(chē)上的青少年，聲音已經(jīng)大到從他們的耳塞里傳出來(lái)了，他們還覺(jué)得那只是很平常的普通音量大小，并沒(méi)意識(shí)到實(shí)際音量有多大。你對(duì)這些結(jié)果感到震驚嗎?它們……它們是不是與你從業(yè)中實(shí)際遇到的情況相符合?

艾倫:我一點(diǎn)都不感到奇怪，因?yàn)椋紫龋贻p人，他們聽(tīng)著音量極大的音樂(lè)長(zhǎng)大，如搖滾之類(lèi)，他們……他們喜歡爆炸性的音樂(lè)，他們喜歡用很大的音量來(lái)聽(tīng)音樂(lè)，所以這個(gè)只是……這個(gè)是問(wèn)題的根本所在。而且，他們接觸的噪音越多，他們的耳塞距離耳膜的距離越近，那真的……我們也見(jiàn)到……我們現(xiàn)在見(jiàn)到的很多聽(tīng)力喪失的病人年齡跟以往相比要小得多。

約翰:那么你的客戶群有改變嗎?

艾倫:我的……我的實(shí)際工作在發(fā)生變化。我接觸的病人的平均年齡有了很明顯的下降趨勢(shì)。我看到越來(lái)越多很年輕的……年紀(jì)小的孩子，小孩們。現(xiàn)在的小孩都出現(xiàn)耳鳴或耳朵里有鈴聲這些噪音性聽(tīng)力喪失的癥狀。然而，舉個(gè)例子來(lái)說(shuō)，在我剛開(kāi)始發(fā)配助聽(tīng)器時(shí)，可能我當(dāng)時(shí)病人的平均年齡都是70歲后期或80左右。而我現(xiàn)在的工作對(duì)象有相當(dāng)一部分都是50多歲、60多歲的人。而他們提早遭遇聽(tīng)力喪失癥狀的原因必然跟他們長(zhǎng)期接觸噪音有關(guān)。這還是在iPod……

約翰:嗯嗯。

艾倫:……和MP3播放器之類(lèi)的東西出現(xiàn)之前，因此……

約翰:那是皮特·唐森德時(shí)代。

艾倫:沒(méi)錯(cuò)。

約翰:現(xiàn)在我們說(shuō)的是賈斯汀·汀布萊克時(shí)代。

艾倫:對(duì)，所以又有變化，(聽(tīng)力喪失的)速度更快，年齡更低。我預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)見(jiàn)到一批相當(dāng)數(shù)量的聽(tīng)力受損的年輕人必須求助于助聽(tīng)器或其他耳朵診斷測(cè)試，數(shù)量大大多于我在過(guò)去見(jiàn)到的。

時(shí)尚與健康，孰輕孰重?

Slaves to the Music

支持者—音樂(lè)發(fā)燒友

● iPods are all the rage. There is no better way to drown out a nagging mother. If you don’t have one， you’re missing out.

Tips: iPod可以說(shuō)風(fēng)靡全球(all the rage)，在全球各地的街頭巷尾，隨處可見(jiàn)佩戴著iPod最具標(biāo)志性的白色耳機(jī)的年輕人。對(duì)于他們來(lái)說(shuō)，iPod是把媽媽的嘮叨統(tǒng)統(tǒng)屏蔽的最好方法了。“drown out”表示“淹沒(méi)、壓過(guò)”的意思，用iPod來(lái)“drown out a nagging mother”，正是聽(tīng)著iPod，不去理會(huì)媽媽的嘮叨叮嚀的意思。

● They aren’t going out of fashion anytime soon. So I say “If you can’t beat ’em， join ’em.”

Tips: 按照iPod的流行趨勢(shì)，它們不可能輕易地就退出時(shí)尚舞臺(tái)。既然改變不了潮流，不如隨波逐流更開(kāi)心。“If you can’t beat ’em， join ’em.”是頗常見(jiàn)的口頭語(yǔ)，這里“’em”是“them”的縮寫(xiě)形式。中文有句文縐縐的話，表達(dá)的卻是相同的意思——無(wú)力勝之則從之。

● Music should be cherished and worshipped. If pumping it down my ears will have consequences later in life， so be it.

Tips: 這個(gè)說(shuō)話者無(wú)疑是音樂(lè)的熱情發(fā)燒友了。他認(rèn)為音樂(lè)就是用來(lái)珍惜的，頂禮膜拜的。如果說(shuō)聲音大小會(huì)對(duì)耳朵造成怎樣的后果的話，也隨便了(so be it)。“So be it.”表示接受已成定局的事實(shí)，根據(jù)語(yǔ)境不同而有不同的理解，通常可譯成“那好吧。”或“該怎么樣就怎么樣吧。”等等。

● Some songs can only be appreciated at full volume. It’s our own finger on the trigger. We are aware of the risks.

Tips: 有些歌曲非要開(kāi)足了音量才能顯出它的特別之處。這位說(shuō)話者就認(rèn)為，用多大音量聽(tīng)音樂(lè)那是個(gè)人選擇的問(wèn)題(It’s our own finger on the trigger)。當(dāng)然了，他也知道(be aware of sth.)，音量太大的確有傷害聽(tīng)力的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。“trigger”指手機(jī)的扳機(jī)，搭在扳機(jī)上的手指的任何一個(gè)動(dòng)作，都有決定性意義。因此，“It’s our own finger on the trigger”這句話正用來(lái)說(shuō)明“無(wú)論如何，這都是我們的選擇”的意思。

Defenders of the Ear Drum

反對(duì)者—耳朵保護(hù)者

● Sure， it may not affect me until I have one foot in the grave， but I’d like to be able to hear my grandkids’ voices.

Tips: 使用iPod或其他MP3播放器給耳朵帶來(lái)的傷害，可能要到年紀(jì)大了、一只腳都邁進(jìn)墳?zāi)箷r(shí)(have one foot in the grave)才顯現(xiàn)出來(lái)，但這位說(shuō)話者顯然更加愿意保護(hù)好耳朵，以能夠聽(tīng)到兒孫們的歡聲笑語(yǔ)，頤養(yǎng)天年。

● The experts have laid out the evidence and it’s crystal clear. You don’t have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to figure out what to do.

Tips: 關(guān)于聽(tīng)MP3會(huì)對(duì)耳朵有所傷害的事情，專(zhuān)家們已經(jīng)列舉了大量證據(jù)和例子，結(jié)論是再明顯不過(guò)了(crystal clear)。因此，也沒(méi)必要故作聰明地大肆宣揚(yáng)應(yīng)該怎么做。“crystal”，水晶。如水晶一樣清透純粹，就是形容某事再清晰不過(guò)，顯而易見(jiàn)。而當(dāng)我們要贊揚(yáng)一個(gè)人很聰明時(shí)，我們就可以把他說(shuō)成是“the sharpest tool in the shed”。不過(guò)，“the sharpest tool in the shed”這個(gè)詞組通常用于否定式，比如說(shuō):I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed.(我知道我并不聰明。)

● It’s almost the same mentality as smoking. As they say， you can lead a horse to water， but you can’t make it drink.

Tips: 其實(shí)人們用MP3聽(tīng)音樂(lè)這件事跟吸煙的心理差不多。這位說(shuō)話者認(rèn)為，我們盡可以規(guī)勸他們，跟他們說(shuō)這樣有損健康，但他們最終能不能聽(tīng)進(jìn)去，就不得而知了。“You can lead a horse to water， but you can’t make it drink.”這句諺語(yǔ)淺顯易懂，中文也有一句對(duì)應(yīng)的諺語(yǔ)呢——師父引進(jìn)門(mén)，修行在個(gè)人。

● I understand everyone has different tastes. However， I like my music the same way I like my women; quiet and out of my ears.

Tips: 人嘛，都有不同的喜好的。以這位說(shuō)話者為例，他喜歡的音樂(lè)類(lèi)型就是安靜，不擾耳根清凈的。他還幽默地表示，他喜歡的女性類(lèi)型也如此哦。