『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 22 Lec 4听力练习：Why does the professor point out that 20,000 jobs for musicians disappeared at the end of the silent-film era?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 22 Lec 4听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 22 Lec 4听力原文Why does the professor point out that 20,000 jobs for musicians disappeared at the end of the silent-film era?【新东方在线】

旁白：听一段音乐史课堂的讲解。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a music history class.

教授：嗯，如果你是美国二十世纪早期的音乐人，你会在哪里工作呢？

Professor: So, uh, if you are a musician in the United States in the early twentieth century, where could you work?

教授：好的，那么管弦乐队又在哪里演奏呢？

Professor: Ok. And where would the orchestra be playing?

学生：呃，在音乐会或者舞厅？

Student: Uh, in a concert hall or a dance hall?

还有一些视觉娱乐项目，如卡巴雷歌舞及各种各样的表演等也会需要一群音乐人在剧场里伴奏。

And smaller groups of musicians were needed in theaters as accompaniment to visual entertainment, like cabarets and variety shows.

但是那时候最需要音乐人的产业却是电影业，尤其是在无声电影时代。

But the largest employer for musicians back then was the film industry, especially during the silent-film era.

学生：真的吗？你的意思是钢琴家之类的？

Student: Really? You mean being a piano player or something?

我以为电影剧场里会用些录制好的音乐。

I thought movie theaters would have used recorded music.

那三十年，音乐人最好的工作就是在电影剧场里面工作。

We are talking a period of maybe thirty years where working in movie theaters was the best job for musicians.

电影业的迅速发展使电影剧场到处涌现。

The rapid growth of the film industry meant movie theaters were popping up everywhere.

所以突然间对音乐人的需求非常大。

So suddenly there was this huge demand for musicians.

事实上，在无声电影时代结束的时期，有两万多的音乐人失业。

In fact, over 20,000 jobs for musicians were gone, disappeared at the end of the silent-film era, 20,000.

好了，那我们从头来说，音乐是电影中非常重要的一部分，即使是在在最初……

Ok. So from the beginning, music was a big part of film, even at the first…

我想我在哪里读到过，他们是用音乐的声音来淹没电影放映机的声音是吗？

I think I read somewhere that they used music to drown out the sound of the film projectors?

教授： 是的。很有意思的事吧。

Professor: Yeah. That's good story, isn't it?

问题是人们总在这样说，好像这是放音乐唯一的原因一样。

Too bad it keeps getting printed as if it were the only reason music was used.

即便如此，不久之后有噪音的放映机就与放映厅分割开来了，但还是有音乐继续来为电影伴奏。

Even if that were the case, noisy projectors were separated from the main house pretty quickly, yet music continued to accompany film.

所以正如我说的，即使是第一个公映的电影也有钢琴的伴奏。

So, as I was saying, even the very first public projection of a movie had piano accompaniment.

而让我感到奇怪的是，起初的电影配乐是不需要和荧幕上的内容相关的。

What's strange to me though, is that at first film music didn't necessarily correspond to what was on the screen.

你们知道，嗯，追逐场景用快节奏的音乐，危险的场景用低沉的贝斯，喜剧用轻快幽默的音乐。

You know, eh, a fast number for a chase, deep bass notes for danger, something light and humorous for comedy.

现在大家很快就能识别出来，甚至人们期待这样的背景音乐。

And that's instantly recognizable now, even expected.

但是在电影早期，任何音乐都演奏过。

But in the very early days of film, any music was played.

剧院的院长就是随便买来一堆活页乐谱，音乐人们演奏就可以了，不管内容是什么。

A theater owner would just buy a pile of sheet music and musicians will play it, no matter what it was.

幸好不久之后，大家意识到音乐应该和电影的内容相符合。

Pretty quickly though, thankfully, everybody realized the music should suit the film.

所以最终，电影制片人开始尝试控制音乐人的伴奏，专门规定该使用什么样的音乐，用快节拍还是慢节拍来进行演奏。

So eventually, film makers tried to get more control over the musical accompaniment of their films, and specify what type of music to use and how fast or slow to play it.

学生：你的意思是说没有专门为电影写的音乐吗？

Student: Are you saying there was no music written specifically for a particular movie?

教授：没有，原创音乐在那时还并不普遍。

Professor: Yeah. Original scores weren't common then.

很少有电影制片人会专门为一部电影进行原版音乐创作，通常是使用已经存在了的音乐。

Rarely a filmmaker might send along an original score composed especially for a film, but usually a compilation of music that already existed would be used.

是啊，那时候对于音乐人来讲真是个黄金时期。

Yeah, that was a good time for a lot of musicians.

但是在有声电影技术出现以后，一切都改变了。

But that all changed with the introduction of sound on film technology.

事实上，甚至在那之前，风琴可以模仿许多乐器，还可以做一些音效。

Actually, even before that, organs could mimic a number of instruments and also do some sound effects.

所以在一些电影剧场就开始雇佣一个人来演奏风琴，从而取代了乐团。

So they were starting to replace live orchestras in some movie theaters, and it only takes one person to play an organ.

学生：好的。但是即便在那之后，还是需要有人继续为音乐录制来演奏啊，就是电影配乐唱片。

Student: Ok. But even after that, someone still had to play the music for the sound recordings, the soundtracks.

教授：是的，但是想想那时所有电影剧院多数都雇佣六到八个音乐人，有的甚至是整个管弦乐队。

Professor: Yeah. But think of all the movie theaters there were, most employing about six to eight musicians, some even had full orchestras.

而在20世纪30年代初，多数的剧院拥有者们都安装了新的有声系统。

But in the early 1930s, most theater owners installed new sound systems.

所以突然间， 音乐人们都开始找工作了。

So suddenly a lot of musicians were looking for work.

录制技术蓬勃发展起来以后，播音室专门为一个电影公司工作，呃，播音室的工作就炙手可热起来。

Once recording technology took off, studio jobs working exclusively for one film company, eh, studio jobs did become available.

但问题是，每个大的电影公司基本都只有一个乐团来负责所有的电影生产，就是一群固定的音乐人。

But the thing is, each major movie company pretty much had only one orchestra for all their productions, a set number of regular musicians.

所以你就会发现，播音室音乐人的工作是很好的。

So if you could get it, studio musician was a good job.

如果不能做这项工作的话，那么音乐人就要具备很好的读懂音乐的能力，因为制片人们知道他们的钱要花的恰到好处。

If you were cut out for it, musicians had to be able to read music very well, since the producers were very conscious of how much money they were spending.

所以音乐人要在毫无准备的情况下来演奏许多复杂的音乐。

So a musician was expected to play complicated pieces of music pretty much without any preparation.

如果你不能做到的话，还有很多人乐意去尝试。

If one couldn't do it, there were plenty of others waiting to try.

因此想做好的话需要很大的压力。

So there was a lot of pressure to do well.

Why does the professor point out that 20,000 jobs for musicians disappeared at the end of the silent-film era?

What is the professor's attitude about the view that music was used in movie theaters to cover up the noise of the film projecor?

What does the professor find unusual about the music accompanying early silent films?

What does the professor imply about the use of organs to accompany silent films?

According to the professor, why was it difficult for musicians to get a job at one of the film studios?

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a music history class. 
Professor: 
So, uh, if you are a musician in the United States in the early twentieth century, where could you work? 
Student: 
Same as now, I suppose. In an orchestra, mainly. 
Professor: 
Ok. And where would the orchestra be playing? 
Student: 
Uh, in a concert hall or a dance hall? 
Professor: 
That’s right. And smaller groups of musicians were needed in theaters as accompaniment to visual 
entertainment, like cabarets and variety shows. But the largest employer for musicians back then was the film industry, especially during the silent-film era. 
Student: Really? You mean being a piano player or something? I thought movie theaters would have used recorded music. 
Professor: 
Well, no. Not during the silent-film era. We are talking a period of maybe thirty years where working in movie theaters was the best job for musicians. It was very well-paid. The rapid growth of the film industry meant movie theaters were popping up everywhere. So suddenly there was this huge demand for musicians. In fact, over 20,000 jobs for musicians were gone, disappeared at the end of the silent-film era, 20,000. Ok. So from the beginning, music was a big part of film, even at the first… 
Student: 
Excuse me, professor. I think I read somewhere that they used music to drown out the sound of the film projectors? 
Professor: 
Yeah. That’s good story, isn’t it? Too bad it keeps getting printed as if it were the only reason music was used. Well, think about it. Even if that were the case, noisy projectors were separated from the main house pretty quickly, yet music continued to accompany film. So, as I was saying, even the very first public projection of a film had piano accompaniment. So music was pretty much always there. What’s strange to me though, is that at first film music didn’t necessarily correspond to what was on the screen. You know, eh, a fast number for a chase, deep bass notes for danger, something light and humorous for comedy. And that’s instantly recognizable now, even expected. But in the very early days of film, any music was played. A theater owner would just buy a pile of sheet music and musicians will play it, no matter what it was. Pretty quickly though, thankfully, everybody realized the music should suit the film. So eventually, film makers tried to get more control over the musical accompaniment of their films., and specify what type of music to use and how fast or slow to play it. 
Professor: 
Yeah. That’s good story, isn’t it? Too bad it keeps getting printed as if it were the only reason music was used. Well, think about it. Even if that were the case, noisy projectors were separated from the main house pretty quickly, yet music continued to accompany film. So, as I was saying, even the very first public projection of a film had piano accompaniment. So music was pretty much always there. 
What’s strange to me though, is that at first film music didn’t necessarily correspond to what was on the screen. You know, eh, a fast number for a chase, deep bass notes for danger, something light and humorous for comedy. And that’s instantly recognizable now, even expected. But in the very early days of film, any music was played. A theater owner would just buy a pile of sheet music and musicians will play it, no matter what it was. Pretty quickly though, thankfully, everybody realized the music should suit the film. So eventually, film makers tried to get more control over the musical accompaniment of their films., and specify what type of music to use and how fast or slow to play it. 
Student: 
Are you saying there was no music written specifically for a particular movie? 
Professor: 
Yeah. Original scores weren’t common then. Rarely a filmmaker might send along an original score composed especially for a film, but usually a compilation of music that already existed would be used. Yeah, that was a good time for a lot of musicians. 
But that all changed with the introduction of sound on film technology. Actually, even before that, organs could mimic a number of instruments and also do some sound effects. So they were starting to replace live orchestras in some movie theaters, and it only takes one person to play an organ. 
Student: 
Ok. But even after that someone still had to play the music for the sound for the sound recordings, the soundtracks. 
Professor: 
Yeah. But think of all the movie theaters there were, most employing about six to eight musicians, some even had full orchestras. But in the early 1930s, most theater owners installed new sound systems. So suddenly a lot of musicians were looking for work. Once recording technology took off, studio jobs working exclusively for one film company, eh, studio jobs did become available. But the thing is, each major movie company pretty much had only one orchestra for all their productions, a set number of regular musicians. So if you could get it, studio musician was a good job. If you were cut out for it, musicians had to be able to read music very well, since the producers were very conscious of how much money they were spending. They didn’t want to waste any time. So a musician was expected to play complicated pieces of music pretty much without any preparation. If one couldn’t do it, there were plenty of others waiting to try. So 
there was a lot of pressure to do well.

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