英语听力：Beethoven 贝多芬 - 07

 In 1796 or 97, Beethoven had suffered a serious illness, possibly meningitis.

 

My ears continue to hum and buzz day and night, He wrote, I can hear sounds, it's true, but can not make out the words.

 

He first noticed that his hearing was going, when he was around 28 years of age at the height of his early fame, producing great works. Suddenly he knew his hearing was beginning to go. The doctors said don't worry about it, it's a bit of wax, it'll be all right. But it kept getting worse and it lasted, in fact, I mean he was not fully¹ deaf, stone-deaf as we would call it, until his final years.

 

When we were little children we hear that Beethoven was deaf, so we find that fact away early on, and then we forget about it, and then we forget sort of what that means to be deaf. And every now and then I think we need to re-acquaint ourselves with that fact and sort of rethink about it, and re-read the Heiligenstadter Testament².

 

The Heiligenstadter Testament is a document that was written in 1802 after months of suicidal despair. Its name comes from the village where it was written. Beethoven had gone there for the summer to rest his ears.

 

Oh, you men who think or say I am hostile and peevish³ or misanthropic⁴, how greatly you wrong me.

It was impossible for me to say to people: Speak louder, shout, for I am deaf.

But how could I possibly admit weakness of the one sense which should be more perfect in me than another's, a sense which I once possessed⁵, in the greatest perfection,

I would have ended my life, only my art held me back.

It seemed to be impossible to leave the world until I produced all that I felt was within me.

 

Careful dating the sketches⁶ has been very revealing because the first work he wrote after the Heiligenstadter testament was this Oratorio⁷, Christ on the Mount of Olives. And it’s a very strange work, in that he doesn't deal with the whole of Christ's passions story, like most passions like Bach's passion. He deals with just the aspect of suffering, loneliness and isolation⁸ of Christ as he is about to be crucified the night before his crucifixion. And how Christ is going to overcome all these and save the world. And this is very much like Beethoven feeling his own isolation. And the other work he wrote straight after the Heiligenstadter Testament was the Eroica symphony.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

3 peevish   

adj.易怒的，坏脾气的

参考例句：

• A peevish child is unhappy and makes others unhappy.一个脾气暴躁的孩子自己不高兴也使别人不高兴。
• She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.她低头瞪着我，一脸怒气。

4 misanthropic   

adj.厌恶人类的，憎恶（或蔑视）世人的；愤世嫉俗

参考例句：

• Jane is filled with sympathy for the misanthropic Rochester. Nevertheless, she realizes she must now depart. 简对愤世嫉俗的罗切斯特满怀同情，但意识到此时她必须离开。 来自互联网

5 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

6 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 oratorio   

n.神剧，宗教剧，清唱剧

参考例句：

• It's the world's most popular oratorio.这是世界上最流行的清唱剧。
• The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital.高兴俱乐部的决定提出的清唱剧在其演奏。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。