英语听力：Beethoven 贝多芬 - 18

 Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26th , 1827, at the age of 56,in this room in the house of the Black-Robed Spaniards. 

 

The very end of his life, his health got even worse than it normally was . His intestines¹ started to swell², the condition was dropsy, and it got so bad that he had to be cut up and to let the waters drain out and the water would leak out onto the bed and onto the floor. And it was a rather miserable³ death. 

 

The funeral was a miraculous⁴ event even by Viennese standards of the day . More than 20,000 people were said to have attended it. There was a very special ceremony. It was very public, and very telling tribute to Beethoven’s fame and to what Beethoven meant to the people of Vienna.

 

If I wanted to try and define the importance of Beethoven today, I would have to start very personally. And Beethoven’s music is actually addictive⁵, I mean he leads you on all the time and you can’t stop listening. And this kind of intensity⁶ that he demands for listening is something that you don’t want to give up. One may resent the amount of attention which one is supposed to give to the music when we like music, which one could relax a little more. But you keep coming back to it because you have to.

 

For me the reason why he’s the greatest composer is that I feel that he’s prepared to share his life with you more than any other composer. He’s prepared to show all the bad parts of life as well. And because of that, I think you learn more about your own life. And it’s multidimensional even when it’s the saddest, there’s something about it as hopeful as well. Even when its hopeful is something better than sad. It’s like looking through a kaleidoscope, you can look at it in so many different angles.

 

It’s like a mirror until you are told this is you, this is me. And only a great artist can do that. Any other thing that makes you dance, makes you jump, makes you laugh, makes you weep. But a great piece of music is like a mirror. Everybody sees himself.

 

Of all the things in Beethoven that impresses me the most is the remarkable⁷ generosity⁸ that I hear in the music. It's a matter of how a stormy and difficult life with a lot of conflict in it, returns again and again with his most important pieces and with the most telling moments to a kind of deep grateful hymn-like utterance⁹. So to say your life is good, it’s all worth it!

1 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

2 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

3 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

4 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

5 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

6 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

9 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。