一位聽障人士的DJ生活

孫啟祿

他5歲時，耳朵受到感染，聽力受損。但是，這并沒有阻止他成為一個成功的音樂人……

1. hooked /h kt/ adj. 著迷的

2. bass /be s/ n. 低音

3. snare /sne （r）/ n.響弦

I was born in England with perfect hearing. In 1990， when I was five， my ears got infected. We didn t have health insurance at the time and my parents couldn t pay for the treatment. My doctors predicted that I would be completely deaf， so I think I m doing pretty well.

There was always music on in my house when I was little. My dad was a DJ， so he played disco， folk， dance， rock， and music from other countries. For my 18th birthday， my dad asked me to deejay at the restaurant he owned. After doing that for a few weeks， I was hooked. I wanted to learn more.

I emailed DJ Shiftee， a well？鄄known New York City DJ， when I was 25. “I know you like a challenge. How about teaching a deaf person to deejay？” He wrote back the next day， “Challenge accepted.” He tutored me twice a week for two years， helping me develop correct skills. I practiced four hours a day. Now when I m performing， muscle memory takes over.

When I started， I wouldn t tell the club managers I was deaf. I would just show up， introduce myself， and start playing music. At the end of the night， someone would say， “Oh， here s the check.” And I d say， “What？ Oh， I can t hear.” They were always so surprised. Sometimes I would bring doctor s note because they wouldn t believe me.

I use software that turns the music into lines of color on a computer screen. Red is the bass; blue is snare; green is the vocals or melody. I m visually hearing the music. What I love about DJ is the creativity. Cover your ears the next time you go dancing， and you ll feel a little bit of how I do it. You ll start using your other senses. You ll start seeing that you re able to hear the music in a different way. Music is not all about hearing.

I play from college parties to corporate events now. I also go to elementary schools for the deaf and talk to the students about motivation and believing in themselves. I m big on talking to the parents. I tell them， “My advice to you is to let your kids chase their dreams. I m a deaf DJ， so why not？”

1. Which of the following helps the author perform well？

A. Muscle memory.

B. The doctor s note.

C. The sense of hearing.

D. The sense of touching.

2. Who helps the author most in his DJ skills？

A. His father.

B. The doctor.

C. DJ Shiftee.

D. The club manager.

3. What can be concluded from the text？

A. Dreams have power.

B. Bad news has wings.

C. From saving comes having.

D. He that climbs high falls heavily.