Mind the Gap　只想再听一遍

Mind the Gap只想再听一遍

by Olivia Wycech

What happens when a loved one's voice is gone for good?
当你再也听不到深爱的人的声音该怎麽办？

For more than 40 years, Oswald Laurence's voice could be heard by tens of thousands of commuters across London's Tube daily. In a gentlemanly tone, what the message said was simple—mind the gap, please. To one woman, the voice meant a lot more, and her heart broke when it was phased out after being played for decades.
Margaret McCollum is Laurence's widow, and after her husband passed away in 2007, the one place she could go and still hear her beloved's voice was Embankment station on London's Northern Line. There, she would sit on the platform bench and listen to him say, "Mind the gap!" over and over. Hearing his voice allowed her to find comfort in his absence and remain close to him even though he was gone forever. A few months ago, though, a digitized voice replaced the reassuring message from her late husband. McCollum was devastated and felt the only gap that needed minding now was the one in her life. She wrote letters to Transport for London, pleading with them to reinstate the iconic message.
Her story eventually touched the heart of one kind soul at Transport for London. Soon, she not only received a recording of her husband's voice on a CD, but her husband's recorded warning was reinstated. The computerized voice was ditched, and Laurence's voice could once again be heard at Embankment station, with plans to expand the use of his voice even further. McCollum is delighted that she can now continue to ride the train while being reminded of the love of her life. These small acts of kindness remind us that there are people out there who care.
1. What happened to the message that was played on London's Tube?
(A) It was put in a museum.
(B) People didn't like it.
(C) It was replaced.
(D) A woman asked them to stop playing it.
2. Why did McCollum sit on the platform listening to the message?
(A) She hoped it would remind her of the time she spent there with her husband.
(B) It was the only place that she was able to catch glimpses of9 her husband.
(C) It reminded her of her youth.
(D) It was the place where she could hear her dead husband's voice.
3. What sort of voice replaced Laurence's?
(A) A man's voice.
(B) A child's voice.
(C) A woman's voice.
(D) An electronic voice.
4. Why did Transport for London decide to bring the original message back10?
(A) The woman's story moved them.
(B) The public demanded it.
(C) The woman paid them to do it.
(D) The woman wrote a letter to her relatives.

1. commuter n. 通勤者
2. tube n.（英国）地铁
3. gentlemanly a. 绅士般的
4. widow n. 寡妇
5. beloved a. 心爱的
6. digitized a. 数位化的
7. reassuring a. 令人欣慰的
8. late a. 已故的
9. reinstate vt. 使复原
10. iconic a. 具代表性的，象徵性的
11. computerized a. 电脑化的
12. ditch vt. 丢弃；抛弃
13. delighted a. 感到高兴的

...and Laurence's voice could once again be heard at Embankment station, with plans to expand the use of his voice even further.
注意
可用来修饰比较级形容词或副词的有下列副词∶even, far, much, a lot, a great deal, still。
Compared to that singer, my older sister is a much better performer.
和那个歌手比起来，我姊姊唱得好多了。
The future of cloud computing promises even more customization options for businesses.
云端运算将来有可能提供企业更多客制化的选择。

1. for good永久地
   = forever adv.
   John quit smoking for good in November.
   约翰在十一月时永远戒菸了。
2. phase out...逐渐淘汰……；逐步撤出……
   The cell phone company is phasing out last year's model.
   这家手机公司正逐步淘汰去年的机型。
3. absence n. 缺席
   Miranda compensated for her colleague's absence by working twice as fast as usual.
   米兰达以平常两倍的工作速度来弥补她同事的缺席。
4. replace vt. 取代，替代
   replace A with B以 B 取代 A
   The dentist replaced my bad tooth with an artificial one.
   那位牙医用假牙来取代我那颗烂牙。
5. devastated a. 伤心欲绝的
   Linda was devastated by the news of her husband's death.
   琳达获悉丈夫的死讯而感到伤心欲绝。
6. plead with sb to V恳求某人（做）……
   plead vi. 诉求
   Tom pleaded with his girlfriend to forgive him.
   汤姆恳求女友原谅他。
7. expand vt. 扩展，发展
   Peter is planning to expand his company after the new year.
   彼得预计在新年过後扩展他的事业。
8. remind A of B使 A 想起 B
   remind vt. 使想起
   That song reminds me of my childhood when I was living with my grandmother.
   那首歌让我想起和祖母住在一起的童年时光。
9. catch a glimpse of...瞥见……
   Stan caught a glimpse of his ex-girlfriend on the crowded street.
   史丹在拥挤的街道上瞥见他的前女友。
10. bring...back / bring back...恢复……
    The fashion industry has brought back high-waisted shorts.
    时尚圈又开始重新流行高腰短裤。

只想再听一遍
当你再也听不到深爱的人的声音该怎麽办？
过去四十多年来，

每天有数万名搭乘伦敦地铁的通勤者聆听著奥斯维德·罗伦斯的声音。他的声音带著绅士的语调，所说的留言也相当简单--请小心月台间隙。这个声音对某位女士来说意义相当深远，而当它历经数十年後却遭到汰换时，她的心也碎了。
玛格莉特·麦克科仑是罗伦斯的遗孀，在她的丈夫於 2007 年逝世之後，她唯一能够听见自己爱人声音的地方便是伦敦北线的堤岸车站。在那儿，她会坐在月台的长椅上反覆地聆听他说∶『请小心月台间隙』。听著他的声音能让她在失去他的日子里内心得到慰藉，且即使他永远离开了，她仍然能与他紧紧相依。然而，几个月前，数位声音取代了她已故丈夫那安抚人心的留言。麦克科仑心痛至极，她觉得如今唯一需要留意的是在她人生中的空隙。她写信给伦敦运输局，恳求他们恢复播放那则具代表性的留言。
她的故事最终感动了伦敦运输局的一位善心人士。很快地，她不仅收到一片收录丈夫声音的光碟，她丈夫录下的警告留言也恢复使用。电脑化的声音被摒弃了，罗伦斯的声音得以在堤岸车站重现，而有关单位也计划将他的声音扩展到更远的地方。麦克科仑对於她能够继续在搭车时缅怀她毕生的最爱感到相当喜悦。这些微小的善行在在提醒我们人世间充满了温情。

1. 之前在伦敦地铁播放的留言发生了什麽事？
(A) 它被放置在一间博物馆里。
(B) 人们不喜欢它。
(C) 它遭到取代。
(D) 有位女士要求他们停止播放。
题解∶根据本文第二段第四句，几个月前，

数位声音取代了她已故丈夫那安抚人心的留言，故 (C) 项应为
正选。
2. 为何麦克科仑要坐在月台上聆听那则留言？
(A) 她希望那样能让她想起与丈夫在此共度的时光。
(B) 那是唯一让她可以看丈夫一眼的地方。
(C) 那让她忆起自己的青春岁月。
(D) 那是她可以聆听亡夫声音的地方。
题解∶根据本文第二段第一句，在她的丈夫於 2007 年逝
世之後，麦克科仑唯一能够听见自己爱人声音的地方便是伦敦北线的堤岸车站，故 (D) 项应为正选。
3. 罗伦斯的留言变成了何种形式的留言？
(A) 男子的声音。
(B) 小孩的声音。
(C) 女子的声音。
(D) 电子化的声音。
题解∶根据本文第二段，数位声音取代了她已故丈夫那安抚人心的留言，故 (D) 项应为正选。
4. 为何伦敦运输局决定换回原本的留言？
(A) 那位女士的故事感动了他们。
(B) 因应大众的要求。
(C) 那位女士付钱请他们这麽做。
(D) 那位女士写了一封信给她的亲戚。
题解∶根据本文第三段第一句，她的故事最终感动了伦敦运输局的一位善心人士。很快地，她丈夫录下的留言也恢复使用，故 (A) 项应为正选。

答案∶1. C2. D3. D4. A