英语听力—环球英语 600 The Talking Machine

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby² Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
Voice 1
Have you heard that poem before? The story of young Mary and her white sheep is a popular English poem for children. It is a very old poem, and many people know it. Maybe you have even shared it with a child in your life!
Voice 2
So why are we sharing it today? Because today’s Spotlight is about the history of recording³ sound. And this poem, Mary Had a Little Lamb, is the first thing a human voice ever recorded!
Voice 1
Inventor Thomas Edison recorded himself reading this poem for the first time in 1877. He recorded it using one of his own inventions—the phonograph. You may have heard about Edison in a Spotlight program called ‘Lighting.’ In that program, we discussed another of his inventions – the light bulb.
Voice 2
Thomas Edison did not always know that the phonograph would be an important invention. He only hoped that it would help people communicate over long distances. You see, in the 1840’s, people developed a new system to send messages over long distances: the telegraph⁴. This system required an operator⁵ at each end of the telegraph to send or receive a message. First, the sending operator translated a person’s message into a code⁶ of long and short signals. They sent these signals over wires. Then, a receiving operator translated the signal code back into words and wrote down the message. Finally, this operator sent the written message to the correct person.
Voice 1
However, Edison had heard of a new invention – the telephone. With this invention, people could communicate over wires using their own voices instead of code. Edison thought the telephone would be a better way for operators⁷ to send messages. Operators could listen to the messages, write them down, and send them to the correct person. This would be much easier than using a telegraph system. However, there was a problem with Edison’s plan. Often, people spoke⁸ too fast for the operator to write everything down. Messages could still be lost, or missed.
Voice 2
Edison wanted to solve this problem. He wondered if there was a way to avoid a written record of the message. To do this, he needed a way to record the spoken messages that the operator received. Edison believed he needed to record the vibrations⁹, or sound movements, created by the voice. Then, the operator could listen to the message by playing back the recorded vibrations. This would allow the worker to write the message without mistakes.
Voice 1
Edison immediately drew plans for a device¹⁰ to record sound vibrations. But he always worked on many inventions at one time. So it was another four years before he was able to build the phonograph – which in Latin¹¹ means “Voice Writer.”
Voice 2
Edison operated his first phonograph by turning a handle with his hand. This handle caused a cylinder¹² or tube to keep turning. While the cylinder turned, Edison spoke into a mouthpiece. This mouthpiece sent the vibrations from the sound of his voice into the cylinder. In the cylinder there was a sheet of tinfoil¹³ – a piece of metal as thin as paper. And there was an instrument that made markings in the tinfoil. The sound vibrations are what caused the instrument to mark the tinfoil. And the marked tinfoil sheet was the recorded sound.
Voice 1
In order to play the recorded sounds back, there was a second instrument in the tube. The second instrument followed the marks made by the first instrument. This caused it to play the vibrations again. When the vibrations played, a copy of the original voice could be heard.
Voice 2
Do you remember the poem we read earlier? Well, on December sixth, 1877 Thomas Edison recorded ‘Mary Had Little Lamb.’ And this was the first time that someone recorded the human voice, and then played it back. The French inventor Edouard–Leon Scott had already recorded sound. But his invention, the phonautograph, could not play sound back. Instead, it created a picture of the sound. So, Thomas Edison was the first man to record and play back sound.
Voice 1
Edison began showing his invention to many people. People were shocked because they had never seen such a machine before! They began calling Edison’s invention “The Talking Machine.” Frank¹⁵ Lewis Dyer wrote a book about Thomas Edison’s life. In his book, he shares this story, as told by Edison. It is about one man who went to Edison’s laboratory¹⁶ to see the talking machine.
Voice 4
“For a long time some people thought it was a trick. One morning a man came to the laboratory. He asked to see the phonograph. It was Bishop¹⁷ Vincent. I showed him the machine and how it worked. Then he asked if he could speak a few words. I put on a fresh foil¹⁴ and told him to begin. He began to say many Biblical names very quickly. On hearing it played back, he said: ‘I am satisfied, now. There isn’t a man in the United States who could say those names with the same speed.’”
Voice 1
On February 19 of 1878, the United States government gave Thomas Edison a patent for his invention. Edison requested this patent so that no one else could copy his talking machine. He was the only person who could make or sell a phonograph that used a cylinder and tinfoil.
Voice 2
People all over the world were surprised by Edison’s talking machine. In 1888 some people in London, England had a party to celebrate the phonograph. But since Edison lived in the United States, he did not attend the party. Instead he sent a recording of his voice! A writer for the New York Times newspaper wrote about the party.
Voice 5
“Mr. Edison was not completely present neither was he completely not present. The people at the party could not understand how they could hear the human voice while its owner was 3,000 miles away.”
Voice 1
Thomas Edison’s talking machine was a great invention. His discovery influenced many other inventors. Together, they continued to research and develop new ways to record and play sound. It is possible to see the influence these inventions have in our lives every day. Without Thomas Edison’s Talking Machine, we would not have Spotlight!
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 telegraph   

n.电报，电报机；v.打电报，显示

参考例句：

• A new telegraph line has been set up between the two cities.那两个城市之间架设了一条新的电报线。
• Telegraph communication was broken off.电讯中断了。

5 operator   

n.（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员

参考例句：

• He is a computer operator.他是个电脑操作员。
• The telephone operator connected us.话务员给我们接通了电话。

6 code   

n.代码，代号，密码；法典，法规，规划

参考例句：

• What's the code for Tianjin?天津的代号是多少？
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

7 operators   

n.（某企业的）经营者( operator的名词复数 )；（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员；投机取巧者

参考例句：

• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market. 大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。 来自辞典例句
• Green house operators have considerable opportunity for precise manipulation of nutrients. 温室管理员有很多机会来准确控制养分。 来自辞典例句

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

11 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

12 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

13 tinfoil   

n.锡纸，锡箔

参考例句：

• You can wrap it up in tinfoil.你可以用锡箔纸裹住它。
• Drop by rounded tablespoon onto tinfoil.Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.用大餐勺把刚刚搅拌好的糊糊盛到锡纸上，烘烤9至11分钟，直到变成金黄色。

14 foil   

n.箔，金属薄片，陪衬；vt.挫败，使受挫折

参考例句：

• Milk bottle tops are made of tin foil.牛奶瓶盖是用锡箔做的。
• An ugly woman serves as a foil to a pretty girl.一个丑女人可以将美丽的姑娘反衬得更加漂亮。

15 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

16 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

17 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。