The Simplicity and Joy of Recorded Conversations

刘娴

（广东省中山市第二中学）

人们常用视频、照片记录孩子成长的每一个精彩瞬间，见证陪伴孩子长大的每一个阶段，但是记录意味着不刻意的展示，在无意识的录音记录中，也许会更真实更自然。音频记录，简单美好。

Recently I stumbled across a file of conversations I’d recorded with my seven-year-old son Frank back when he was four.

It was only by listening to these voice notes three years later that I understood just how precious audio recordings are,and also how under-used.The conversations I taped illustrate the nuances（差异）of Frank’s four-year-old self more vividly than any photo or video could.

Listening to that old conversation with my son Frank,I so badly wished I’d made hundreds.In fact I would love nothing more than to listen to an archive of all my lost conversations with loved ones—it’s this that we miss most when people are gone.To be able to hear and replay the words they once said to us—in their actual voices—is comforting and exciting.It’s like digging up buried treasure from the past.

I remember why I taped those early conversations with Frank.Frank loved talking in the bath（he still does）.This was the place where his little mind fully opened up.He was at that magical point in childhood where he had just acquired a full grasp of language but had not yet learned to distinguish between fantasy and reality.I wanted to bottle him in a jar half the time;the other half I was so exhausted that I wanted to cry.

I noticed that if I was able to give Frank my full,undivided attention he would tell me the most astonishing things,but because bath time occurs at the end of the day I would often feel myself becoming impatient.I realised I was missing things,hurrying him into the future.He could sense this,of course,and it irritated him.On the worst nights,what could have been a tender discursive chat devolved into prebedtime bickering,which never speeds anything up.

Aware of what I was missing,and that I would come later to regret it,I tried making bath-time videos.But Frank’s awareness of the camera changed the way he behaved.He’d either become self-consciously cute and performative or crabby—the videos just didn’t work.The voice notes were a discovery.They did not alter Frank’s behaviour,but hitting record did force me to slow down and be a better listener.

With the tape rolling I became more aware of myself,in a way that helped me to be present.The result was that Frank opened up and gave me a full tour of his amazing four-year-old brain—a lost landscape I will never get to visit again but,through the magic of audio,was miraculously able to preserve.

After finding the“Frank bath file”,I’ve resolved to try to record more everyday family conversations just for posterity—a resolution of sorts.

【文章内容简介】作者偶然发现了她儿子小时候与她的一段对话的录音，感悟到录音记录的珍贵和价值——不仅可以真实记录过去，而且让她更加投入当下，学会倾听。

全篇译文

录音谈话的简单和快乐

最近，我偶然发现了三年前与四岁的儿子弗兰克进行的对话的录音文件。

三年后再次聆听这些语音记录，我才意识到音频记录的珍贵性，也意识到它们未被充分利用。我所记录的这些对话比任何照片或视频都更生动地展现了四岁时的弗兰克。

听着和儿子弗兰克的旧对话，我多么希望自己记录了更多这样的对话。事实上，我最渴望的无非是能回顾和亲人们曾经的那些消逝在风中的对话——当人们离我们而去，我们最怀念的也正是这些。能够听到和重放他们曾经对我们说过的话——用他们真实的声音——是令人欣慰和激动的。这就像从过去的岁月中挖掘出埋藏的珍宝。

我记得为什么要录下与弗兰克早期的那些对话。弗兰克喜欢在洗澡时聊天（他现在仍然喜欢）。这是他的小脑袋完全开放的地方。他正处于童年的神奇阶段，刚刚掌握了语言，但还没有学会区分幻想和现实。有时我想把他装在瓶子里；而另一些时候，我又感到如此疲倦，几乎要哭出来。

我发现，只要我能全神贯注地倾听弗兰克，他会告诉我一些惊人的事情。然而，由于洗澡时间总是在一天结束之际，我经常会不耐烦。我意识到自己正在错过一些东西，急切地推着他步入未来。他当然能察觉到这一点，这让他感到烦躁。在最糟糕的夜晚，原本可能是一场温柔的讨论式聊天，最后却变成了睡前的争吵，而这并未让任何事情加快进程。

我意识到自己正在错过的事物，并知道自己日后会为此感到后悔，我尝试录制洗澡时间的视频。但是弗兰克一旦意识到摄像机的存在，他的行为就会发生改变。他要么变得自觉可爱和做作，要么就变得暴躁——视频录制的效果并不理想。语音记录是一个发现。它们并没有改变弗兰克的行为，但按下录音键确实迫使我放慢速度，成为一个更好的倾听者。

随着磁带的转动，我更加了解自己，这在某种程度上帮助我活在当下。结果是，弗兰克敞开心扉，给了我一个完整的游览他惊人的四岁大脑的机会——一个我永远无法再次访问的失去的景观，但通过音频的魔力，我奇迹般地保存下这珍贵的记忆。

发现了“弗兰克洗澡文件”后，我决定尝试记录更多的日常家庭对话，以留作纪念——算是一种决心吧。

人教版课标单词复现

filen.文件；文件夹；档案（必修二 U3）

preciousadj.珍稀的；宝贵的（必修三 U2）

illustratevt.（举例）说明；阐明（必修三 U2）

comfortn.安慰；舒服 vt.安慰；抚慰（选修二U2）

buryvt.埋葬；安葬（必修一 U5）

bathn.洗澡 vt.给……洗澡（选修二 U5）

acquirevt.获得；购得（选修四 U5）

graspvi.理解；领会；抓紧（选修二 U2）

distinguishv.区分；辨别（选修一 U4）

fantasyn.幻想；想象（选修一 U2）

realityn.现实；实际情况；事实（选修一 U5）

occurvi.发生；出现（必修三 U3）

chatvi.聊天；闲聊（必修二 U3）

awareadj.知道；发觉；有……意识的（必修二U2）

behavevt.表现 vi.&vi.表现得体（选修二 U2）

behaviourn.行为；举止（必修一 U2）

landscapen.（陆上,尤指乡村的）风景（必修二U4）

preservevt.保存；保护 n.保护区（必修二 U2）

sortn.种类；类别（必修三 U5）

词汇积累

stumblev.绊脚；蹒跚而行；结结巴巴地说；偶然发现

nuancen.（声音、感觉、外貌或意义等方面的）细微差别

archiven.存档材料，档案；档案室

irritatev.使不耐烦，激怒；刺激（身体某部位）

discursiveadj.散漫的；离题的；东拉西扯的

bickeringn.争吵；争论

crabbyadj.脾气乖戾的；易怒的

posterityn.后裔；子孙；后代

名词的动词化用法

例句：I wanted to bottle him in a jar half the time...有时我真希望能把他装在一个瓶子里保存起来……

bottle 在这里动词化的用法，意为“用瓶子装”，所有有容器性质的名词，几乎都可以作动词。名词动词化使句子更简洁生动。类似的用法如下：

（1）bag 把……装入袋中=put...into a bag

The supermarket clerk bagged the groceries.超市的店员把食品打好包了。

（2）bottle 把……装入瓶中=put...into a bottle

The wine was bottled near the vineyard.葡萄酒在葡萄园附近被装瓶封藏。

（3）barrel 把……装入桶中=put...into a barrel

They planned to barrel the beer next Monday.他们打算下星期一把啤酒装桶。

（4）can 把……装罐=put...into a can

Fruit is often canned in winter.冬天的时候人们常常把水果装进罐里贮存起来。

（5）pocket 把……装入袋内=put...into a pocket

She pocketed her wallet and door keys.她把钱包和门钥匙放进了口袋里。

（6）house 为……提供住所=put...into a house

We should manage to house and feed the poor.我们应该设法解决贫民的食宿问题。

阅读小练

一、用所给单词的正确形式填空。

1.On March 7,1907,the English statistician Francis Galton published a paper which __________（illustrate）what has come to be known as the wisdom of crowds effect.

2.Lots of people who have been to space have described___________（vivid）what it’s like to live in zero gravity.

3.Afterwards,people came from far and wide to see the spot where the dog __________（bury）.

4.When someone __________（acquire）a positive attitude toward life,success and pleasure may be achieved.

5.Her __________（fantasy）include painting the classrooms of shabby schools,leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town,and giving money secretly to a proud old lady.

6.Well before the arrival of freezers,there was a demand for ice for food __________（preserve）.

7.If the engine lacks power,a road accident probably__________（occur）.

二、根据文章内容，选择最佳答案。

1.What did the author come across recently?

A.A file of conversations with her son Frank.

B.A collection of old photos and videos.

C.A lost treasure from the past.

D.A jar containing her son Frank.

2.Why did the author wish they had made more audio recordings of conversations with her son?

A.To have something to show to her loved ones.

B.To capture real memories of her son’s childhood.

C.To become a better listener.

D.To make her son feel more comfortable.

3.Which word can best describe her 4-year-old son from Para.4 and Para.5?

A.Naughty. B.Impatient.

C.Talkative. D.Determined.

4.What did the author discover about recording

conversations with her son?

A.Videos worked better than voice notes.

B.Videos captured the nuances of her son’s childhood better.

C.Voice notes made her son behave differently.

D.Voice notes helped the author to be present.

三、欣赏文中的句子，并做仿写。

1.The conversations I taped illustrate the nuances（差异）of Frank’s four-year-old self more vividly than any photo or video could.

仿写：我认为园艺活动和环保行动比任何旅行或观光都更明显地体现我对生命的崇敬和感激。I believe horticultural activities and ________________________________ can ______________my reverence and ______________ for life _____________________________________.

2.It’s like digging up buried treasure from the past.

仿写：感觉就好像在经历了一整天的疲惫之后从一杯香浓的咖啡之中找到了活力（vitality）。

That ____________________________ from a cup of rich coffee after ______________________________________________.

3.On the worst nights,what could have been a tender discursive chat devolved into pre-bedtime bickering,which never speeds anything up.

仿写：在最宁静的早晨，原本可能平淡无奇的一天演变（evolve into）成了充满惊喜的冒险，毫无预料可言。

____________________________________,a day that ____________________________ mundane________________________________ filled with surprises,beyond any expectations.

答案与解析

一、1.illustrated 2.vividly

3.was buried 4.acquires

5.fantasies 6.preservation

7.will occur

二、1.A。细节理解题。根据文章第一句话可知，作者最近偶然发现了一些与儿子Frank 在四岁时候的对话文件。故选A。

2.B。推理判断题。根据文章第二、三段可知，作者录制与儿子的对话，展现儿子四岁时的差异以及希望以最真实的嗓音再度听见亲人曾经说过的话。故选B。

3.C。推理判断题。根据文章第四段可知，四岁的儿子喜欢在洗澡时说话，同时也是他掌握语言的奇妙阶段，洗澡时间是儿子思维完全展开的神奇时刻，并且根据第五段第一句话可知，作者注意到只要能全心全意地倾听，儿子就会向作者述说最惊人的事。由此推断儿子喜欢说话，故选C。

4.D。细节理解题。根据文章第六段可知，作者尝试制作了洗澡的视频，但是儿子意识到摄像机的存在，他的行为会发生改变。而语言记录并未改变儿子的行为，且作者发现录音帮助自己成为一个更好的倾听者。文章第七段开头，随着录音的播放，作者更深地认识自己，这种认知以某种方式帮助作者投入当下。故选D。

三、1.environmental actions;demonstrate,gratitude;more clearly than any travel or sightseeing

2.feels like finding vitality;a whole day of exhaustion

3.On the most peaceful morning;could have been;evolved into an adventurous one