Like smell, sound can evoke memories, too
evoke v.唤起
Earlier last month, I attended a fascinating talk about the disappearing sounds of the hutong, auditory artifacts like the song of candied hawthorn vendors, the jingle of camel coal trains, the blind fortune-teller and his one-handed tongdian gong, and the ethereal, theremin-like sound of the pigeon whistle.
上月早些时候，我听了一个非常有趣的演讲，是关于胡同里逐渐消失的声音。卖糖葫芦的游商口中的吆喝，运煤的驼队驼铃声，盲人算命先生和他单手敲打的小铜锣（铜点）声，还有如特雷门琴声一般空灵悠远的鸽哨。这些都是胡同里的听觉艺术。
auditory adj.听觉的
candied adj.蜜饯的，糖制的；甜蜜的；甜言蜜语的
hawthorn n.山楂
vendor n.贩卖商
jingle n.铃铛声
fortune-teller 算命先生
gong n.锣
ethereal adj.优雅的
pigeon n.鸽子
Together, the speaker said, these sounds were part of a distinct, and distinctive, daily soundtrack. That was equally fascinating. Apart from the occasional horn, a snatch of music or raised voice, Beijing's crowded hutong neighborhoods have always struck me as almost preternaturally quiet, especially given their location.
讲者说，这些声音共同构成了与众不同又独具特色的日常生活“原声带”。这个观点也很有趣。除了偶尔的汽车鸣笛声，零星响起的音乐声，或是几句抬高嗓门的说话声，北京拥挤的胡同总是让我觉得安静得近乎不可思议，尤其是考虑到它们的位置。
distinct adj.有区别的；清楚的；确切的
distinctive adj.独特的，有特色的
soundtrack n.声带
horn n.喇叭
strike sb as sth 让某人觉得……
preternatural adj.不寻常的；超自然的；难以解释的
But as our host, Colin Siyuan Chinnery explained, that silence is engineered. Sound travels in a straight line and with their high walls and narrow streets laid out in anything but straight lines, a hutong is designed to keep city noise out - although I'm reliably informed that individual houses are rather less successful at keeping the sound of immediate neighbors at bay.
但是，演讲活动的主办人秦思源（Colin Siyuan Chinnery）先生解释说，这样的宁静实则源于精巧的工程设计。声音沿直线传播，但胡同高高的院墙和窄窄的街道在布局上却避直就曲，因此它才得以阻隔城市噪声。尽管也有充分的证据表明，胡同里的单栋住宅其实并不能很好地阻隔近邻传出的声音。
immediate adj.附近的
at bay 陷入困境
The loss of such a soundtrack would probably strike harder had I ever experienced it for myself. Alas, in my time in Beijing, which has included stints in a hermetically-sealed rooftop apartment in deepest Fengtai district, so soundproof, I could have slept through Armageddon, a couple of months in a womb-like apartment block off Gongti Beilu and now the China Daily residences, the only characteristic sounds I've ever noticed have been those made by upstairs neighbors.
如果有亲身经历，这些声音的消逝可能会让我感触更深。唉，自我到北京以来，住过丰台区最远处密不透风的屋顶公寓。那里隔音效果极佳，哪怕外面是末日决战，我依然能在屋内鼾声如雷。也曾有几个月，我住在工体北路附近的公寓楼里，那里也安静得宛如母亲的子宫。现在，我搬到了中国日报大院儿。在这些地方，除了楼上邻居的响动，我从没注意到任何特别的声音。
stint n.从事某项工作的时间
hermetically-sealed 密不通风的
rooftop n.屋顶 adj.屋顶的
womb n.子宫
But then most Beijing ren (people) have not noticed the loss either, as many of the most distinctive sounds, particularly the songs of the vendors, began to die out in the 1950s, when New China phased out peddling on the grounds that the age-old profession might have certain nostalgic appeal, but there was nothing romantic about the grinding poverty peddlers endured.
但其实，大多数北京人也没有注意到这些声音的消逝。因为大部分最具特色的声音，尤其是小贩的吆喝声，是从20世纪五十年代开始销声匿迹的。那时新中国逐渐取缔了走街串巷的小商贩。虽然街头叫卖由来已久，承载着人们对于过去的美好怀恋，但再多的浪漫与怀旧在艰难的生活面前都变得不值一提。
phase out 逐步停止
nostalgic adj.怀旧的
grinding adj.难熬的
peddler n.小贩；传播者
As usual, it is only when looking back that one remembers what is gone. Sound, like smell, is a thing of memory.
一如往常，只有蓦然回首时，方可忆起逝去之往昔。声音如同气味，是记忆的一部分。
it is only when doing 只有……
Chinnery, who views old Beijing's soundscape as uniquely rich, is co-founder of UCCA and the man behind the sound installation at the Shijia Hutong Museum, which occupies his former family home. With over 30 years of recordings, he is opening a larger museum later this year complete, of course, with its own flock of whistling pigeons.
秦思源先生认为北京的声景丰富而独特。他是尤伦斯当代艺术中心（UCCA）的创始人之一，同时也是史家胡同博物馆声音专区的创意人，而后者所在院落正是他家曾经的祖宅。过去三十余年中，他一直坚持收集声音。今年晚些时候，他计划开放一个更大的博物馆，当然，其中会有自己的鸽群和鸽哨。
complete with 连同，包括
Miss the jingle taxi meters used to play or the grating chirp of guoguo (green katydid)? Ever wonder what the Bell Tower's bell sounded like when it was rung 108 times on the hour? Chinnery has them all on tape.
怀念出租车的打表声或是蝈蝈清脆的鸣叫？想听听整点时钟楼108次撞钟的声响？这些都可以在秦思源先生收集的录音中找到答案。
grating adj.声音刺耳的
chirp n.吱吱声