How a tiny gadget1 has changed the way teens listen to music
In 1877, Thomas Alva Edison invented the phonograph2. The first commercial device for playing back recorded sound, it revolutionized the world of music. People were then able to listen to their favorite tunes in the comfort of their own homes.
Flash3 forward more than 125 years. What would Edison think of an army of young people walking around with white plugs4 in their ears, carrying their entire music collections in their pockets?
No invention since the phonograph has altered the way we listen to music more than the MP3 player — especially, Apple's iPod. Introduced in 2001, iPod holds anywhere from 120 to 15,000 songs. But it isn't just a mega5 -Walkman. With its sleek6 look and white earbuds7, it has also become a sign of the times. In fact, today's teens are sometimes referred to as “the iGeneration.”
“A Soundtrack for Your Life”
How have iPod and other MP3 players changed the way music is played and heard? For one thing, wearing an iPod makes you a portable, self-contained8 music machine. “You can put all your CDs on it, which is much easier to carry around,” says Brianna Harney, 16, a junior9 at Somerville High School in New Jersey. “It's all just right there.”
Alex Halavais, a technology professor at the University of Buffalo in New York, has studied the iPod phenomenon; iPod, he says, lets you “basically create a soundtrack10 for your life.”
For many teens, having an iPod also means saying goodbye to the record store. “It's overpriced11 and time-wasting to have to go to the store to buy a CD,” says John Train, 15. Instead, says the sophomore12 at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington, “I download my songs.”
The availability of music on the Internet is a revolution in itself. With Apple's iTunes, for example, users can purchase up to 1.5 million songs legally at the click13 of a mouse. (The music industry gets a portion of the profits.) If you don't want every song on a CD, you can buy just one or two songs individually.
Mere Background Noise
On the other hand, does an unlimited stream of songs playing in your ear 24/714 cause music to become mere background noise? Is the iGeneration using its personal soundtracks to tune out15 the rest of the world?
Some people think so. “Riding on the [school] bus used to be a time to meet new people and exchange casual remarks,” observed an editorial16 in the student newspaper at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. “[Now,] the ever-present17 white earphones end conversations before they start.”
Hearing experts also caution18 that listening to iPods or other portable music devices at high volume through earbuds puts kids at greater risk of hearing loss later in life. Worse, iPods have been the objects of a new rash19 of thefts, and sometimes violence. Recently, a teen in Brooklyn, New York, was murdered for his iPod.
Pod People
Despite such concerns, iPod remains the “in”20 thing. It has even helped popularize a new form of communication, podcasting21, which is giving teens a creative way to express themselves.
John Train is a podcaster. “My podcast is the epitome22 [ideal example] of teenage life,” John said. “I talk about all of the things teenagers live23 day in and day out24.”
The craze has even reached commercial radio. In fact, many stations are making their shows available as podcasts. Now, listeners can hear programs whenever and wherever they want.
Of course, no revolution lasts forever. A hundred years from now, iPod will have gone the way of Edison's phonograph. But for now, Pod people rule. Just ask them—though you may have to ask them to turn down25 their iPods first!
一件精巧的小玩意儿何以改变了青少年听音乐的方式
1877年，托马斯·阿尔瓦·爱迪生发明了留声机。作为世界上第一个用来回放录音的商业装置，它给音乐世界带来了一场彻底革命。人们从此可以在自己家里舒适地欣赏他们最喜爱的乐曲。
时光飞梭向前，到了125年后的今天。如果爱迪生看到一支年轻人大军走到哪儿耳朵里都插着白色耳塞，把下载的所有乐曲揣在口袋里，他会作何感想呢？
自留声机问世以来，还没有任何一项发明像MP3播放器——特别是苹果公司的iPod那样改变了我们听音乐的方式。iPod问世于2001年，可储存120到15,000首不等的歌曲。然而，它并非只是一个容量巨大的随身听，其闪亮光滑的外表和白色的耳塞已经成为这个时代的标志。事实上，人们有时把今天的青少年叫作“i 生代”。
“一生的音轨”
iPod与其它MP3播放器何以改变了人们播放和欣赏音乐的方式？首先，戴上一个iPod意味着你拥有了一台便携的、设备齐全的音乐机器。“你可以把你所有的CD内容都装进去，但它携带起来却容易得多，”新泽西州萨默维尔中学的三年级学生、16岁的布莱安娜·哈尼说，“一切尽在其中。”
纽约布法罗大学的工科教授阿莱克斯·哈拉维斯对iPod现象进行了研究。他认为，iPod “差不多可以让你去创造够听一辈子的音轨”。
对于许多青少年来说，拥有一个iPod也意味着对唱片店说再见。“去商店买CD碟片价格太贵，又浪费时间，”15岁的约翰·特伦认为。相反，这名华盛顿州斯诺夸密市蒙特赛中学二年级学生说，“我从网上下载我喜欢的歌曲”。
把音乐放到因特网上供人们使用，这本身就是一场革命。比如，通过苹果公司的iTunes软件，使用者只需轻松点击鼠标，就可合法购买多至150万首的歌曲（音乐产业从中获得一部分利润）。假如你不需要某张CD上的所有歌曲，你可以只单独购买其中的一、两首。
沦为背景噪音
另一方面，让歌曲一天到晚不断地在你的耳边流淌，是否导致音乐沦为一种背景噪音呢？“i生代”在沉浸于个人音轨的同时变得与世隔绝了吗？
有人这样认为。“过去乘坐〔学校〕巴士时大家可以结识新朋友，相互间随便聊上几句，”弗吉尼亚州哈里斯博格市的詹姆逊·麦迪逊大学校报的一篇社论这样评述道，“〔现在，〕无处不在的白色耳机使得人们的谈话还没开始就结束了。”
听力专家也告诫人们，当孩子们通过耳机在高音量下听iPod或其它便携式音乐设备时，他们日后听力受损的危险性更大。更糟的是，iPod已成为一连串新的盗窃、有时甚至是暴力的对象。最近，纽约市布鲁克林区的一个十几岁的少年就因为他的iPod而惨遭杀害。
Pod一族
尽管人们有这些担心，iPod仍然是时尚的宠儿。它甚至还促成一种新的交流方式即“播客”的兴起，这为青少年提供了一种表达自我的创造性方式。
约翰·特伦是一个播客手。“我的播客是青少年生活的典型”，约翰说，“我谈论的是青少年日日夜夜经历的全部生活。”
这股时尚甚至已经蔓延到广播的商业领域。事实上，许多电台正把他们的节目制成播客的形式供人们收听和使用。如今，听众可以随时随地收听广播节目了。
当然，没有一场变革可以恒久持续。一百年以后，iPod也会像爱迪生的留声机一样成为历史，但眼下却是iPod一族独领风骚。去问问他们——虽然你或许得先请他们把iPod的音量调小点！
1. gadget n. 小装置，小玩意儿
2. phonograph n. 留声机，电唱机
3. flash v. 飞驰而过
4. plug n. 塞子
5. mega （前缀）巨大的
6. sleek adj. 光滑闪亮的
7. earbud n. 耳塞
8. self-contained 配套齐全的
9. junior n. 美国中学或大学的三年级学生
10. soundtrack n. 声道，音带
11. overprice v. 对…定价过高
12. sophomore n. 美国中学或大学的二年级学生
13. click v. 使发出卡嗒声，点击
14. 24/7 即1天24小时，1周7天
15. tune out 不过问，忽略
16. editorial n. 社论
17. ever-present 经常存在的
18. caution v. 警告，告诫
19. rash n. 短期内一连串事件的爆发
20. in adj. 当前流行的
21. podcasting 源于 iPod 与broadcast的合成词，指一种在互联网上发布文件并允许用户订阅以自动接收新文件的方法，或用此方法来制作的电台节目。
22. epitome n. 典型，范例
23. live v. 经历，度过
24. day in and day out 天天，日复一日
25. turn down 降低，减弱