How Deafness Makes It Easier to Hear
Most people think of Beethoven’s hearing loss as an obstacle to composing music. However, he produced his most powerful works in the last decade of his life when he was completely deaf.
This is one of the most glorious cases of the triumph of will over adversity1, but his biographer, Maynard Solomon, takes a different view. ____1____. In his deaf world Beethoven could experiment, free from the sounds of the outside world, free to create new forms and harmonies.
Hearing loss does not seem to affect the musical ability of musicians who become deaf. They continue to “hear” music with as much, or greater, accuracy than if they were actually hearing it being played.
____2____. He described a fascinating phenomenon that happened within three months: “my former musical experiences began to play back to me. I couldn’t differentiate between what I heard and real hearing.2 After many years, it is still rewarding to listen to these play backs, to ‘ hear’ music which is new to me and to find many quiet accompaniments for all of my moods. ”
How is it that the world we see，touch，hear，and smell is both “out there” and at the same time within us? There is no better example of this connection between external stimulus and internal perception than the cochlear implant3. ____3____. However, it might be possible to use the brain’s remarkable power to make sense of the electrical signals the implant produces.
When Michael Edgar first “switched on” his cochlear implant, the sounds he heard were not at all clear. Gradually, with much hard work, he began to identify everyday sounds. For example, “The insistent ringing of the telephone became clear almost at once.”
The primary purpose of the implant is to allow communication with others. When people spoke to Eagar, he heard their voices “coming through like a long-distance telephone call on a poor connection.” But when it came to his beloved music, the implant was of no help.4 ____4____. He said, “I play the piano as I used to and hear it in my head at the same time. The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added ‘ clarity’ to hearing in my head.5”
Cochlear implants allow the deaf to hear again in a way that is not perfect，but which can change their lives. ____5____. Even the most amazing cochlear implants would have been useless to Beethoven as he composed his Ninth Symphony at the end of his life.
词汇：
obstacle / ˈɔbstək(ə)l /n.障碍
biographer / baiˈɔɡrəfə / n.传记作者
insistent / ɪnˈsɪst(ə)nt / adj.连续的
adversity / ædˈv ə:sɪtɪ / n.逆境;不幸
fascinate / ˈfæsɪneɪt / vt. 使着迷，使神魂颠倒
accompaniment / əˈkʌmp(ə)nim(ə)nt / n. 伴奏
注释：
1.the triumph of will over adversity：the successful overcoming of difficulty through determination用意志力成功战胜不幸
2.I couldn’t differentiate between what I heard and real hearing.我不能分辨我听到的和真实的声音有什么不同。
3.cochlear implant：a device, surgically placed in the ear, that changes sounds into electric signals人工耳蜗;耳蜗植入
4.But when it came to his beloved music, the implant was of no help.但是，如果碰到钟爱的音乐，人工耳蜗没有任何帮助。(我不用人工耳蜗就能听出来)
5.The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added “clarity” to hearing in my head.由于我手指在钢琴上的飞动，我能感觉到琴键，因而使我听到的东西在脑海里更加清晰。