Artists and craftsmen try to preserve the sounds of old Beijing
艺术家和手艺人试图保存老北京的声音
With one's eyes closed, Beijing's main roads sound like any Chinese city. All around is the roar of traffic, punctuated by honks from delivery scooters, recorded safety warnings from buses and the occasional bell of a rental-bicycle.
如果你闭上双眼，北京大马路的声音听起来和其他任何中国城市并无二致。周围全是车辆的轰鸣，其中夹杂着外卖摩托车的喇叭声、公交车的安全警示录音，偶尔还有共享单车的铃铛声。
But in the capital's last hutongs, as its ancient grey-walled alleys are known, fragments of an older soundscape can be heard. The chirping of caged crickets is one. Hung in the doorways of courtyard homes or small shops, the insects bring a rural note into the city. Another relic is the musical clanking of steel plates strung on a cord, announcing a knife sharpener's arrival.
胡同——北京古老的灰墙小巷里，你尚能听到旧日背景声的零星片段。笼中蟋蟀发出的啁啾声便是其一。这些昆虫挂在四合院或小商铺的门口，将乡间的音符带进了这座城市。成串铁片发出的悦耳的当啷声是另一种遗音——它通告着磨刀匠人的到来。
An almost-vanished Beijing sound is one of the strangest. An eerie thrumming, like the noise of flying saucers in an old science-fiction film, it is made by homing pigeons, or more precisely by pigeon whistles. Tiny flutes made from bamboo or gourds, these are sewn into the tail feathers of pigeons kept in rooftop coops.***
一种几乎消逝的北京声音也是最奇怪的声音之一。这是一种怪异的嗡嗡声，就像老科幻片里面飞碟的声音。而发出这种声响的是信鸽，或者更精确地说，是鸽哨。鸽哨是用竹子或葫芦制成的小笛子，缝在鸽子尾巴的羽毛上。而这些鸽子养在屋顶的鸽舍里。
Zhang Baotong is one of Beijing's last master pigeon-whistle makers. He is advising a museum of sound in Songzhuang, a suburb of Beijing that is popular with artists. A rooftop coop is planned, with more than 100 pigeons that will take to the skies for visitors.
张宝桐是最后的鸽哨制作大师之一。他给一家位于宋庄的声音博物馆做顾问。北京郊区的宋庄深受艺术家们青睐。那家博物馆计划建造一个屋顶鸽舍，圈养 100 多只鸽子。届时，这些鸽子将飞入天空以供游客欣赏。
The co-founder of Fen Sonic HQ, a cultural institute that will run the museum, is Colin Siyuan Chinnery, a British-Chinese artist and collector of Beijing's sounds. He lists the gongs, rattles and rhythmic cries used by fortune tellers and medicine sellers, doctors, barbers and knife sharpeners. Many of these will feature in an exhibit about old Beijing narrated by an animation of Mr Zhang, among others.
文化机构“分响中心”将运营该博物馆，而机构的联合创始人秦思源是一位中英混血的艺术家，同时也是北京声音的收藏家。他罗列了算命人、药贩子、郎中、剃头匠和磨刀匠发出的锣声、摇铃声和有节奏的吆喝声。其中的许多声音会在一个有关老北京的展览中重点推出，一部关于张先生和其他手艺人的动画将会进行解说。
主编：迎迎
品控：Pita
审核：噔噔
重点词汇
preserve
/prɪˈzɝːv/
v. 保护，保存
英文释义：to keep something as it is
搭配短语：to preserve the forest
punctuate
/ˈpʌŋk.tuː.eɪt/
v. 时不时打断；加标点
相关词汇：punctuation（n. 标点符号）
例句：The silence of the night was punctuated by laughter.
occasional
/əˈkeɪ.ʒən.əl/
adj. 偶尔的
例句：He made occasional visits to London.
fragment
/ˈfræɡ.mənt/
n. 碎片，片段
例句：The vase hit the wall and shattered into fragments.
cage
/keɪdʒ/
v. 把……关到笼子里
词性拓展：cage（n. 笼子）
例句：The dogs are caged.
relic
/ˈrel.ɪk/
n. 遗物、遗迹
搭配短语：ancient Egyptian relics
vanish
/ˈvæn.ɪʃ/
v. 消失
例句：The aircraft vanished without a trace.
相关词汇：almost-vanished（adj. 几乎消失的）
eerie
/ˈɪr.i/
adj. 古怪的，吓人的
英文释义：strange and frightening
搭配短语：an eerie dark path
thrum
/θrʌm/
v. 低沉地嗡嗡作响
英文释义：to make a low, steady sound
例句：The engine thrummed.
homing pigeon
信鸽
coop
/kuːp/
n. （关家禽的）笼子；栏舍
搭配短语：a chicken coop
co-founder
/kəʊˈfaʊndə(r)/
n. 联合创始人
词根词缀：co-（一起，联合）
相关词汇：co-lead（v. 联合领导）
相关词汇：co-operation（n. 合作）
相关词汇：founder（n. 创始人）
相关词汇：found（v. 创立）
词根词缀：-er（人）
rhythmic
/ˈrɪð.mɪk/
adj. 有节奏的，有韵律的
相关词汇：rhythm（n. 节奏，律动）
搭配短语：complicated dance rhythms
英文释义：having a strong rhythm
feature
/ˈfiː.tʃɚ/
v. 作为重点推出的部分
词性拓展：feature（n. 特色）
例句：A feature of Van Gogh's paintings is their bright colors.
英文释义：to be an important part of something
例句：The movie features in the current film season.
narrate
/nəˈreɪt/, /ˈnæreɪt/
v. 做解说；讲述
搭配短语：narrate a strange experience（讲述）
搭配短语：narrate a documentary（做解说）