何高伦

随着数字流媒体的兴起，可能已经没有多少年轻人记得传统的电台广播了。但是对于想要探索全球电台的好奇宝宝们来说，Radio Garden显然是一个相当棒的可以线上收听全球电台广播的网站。

Lately， Ive been traveling around the world. And each day my travels begin like this： I sit down at my dining table， usually early in the morning or late at night when nobody else is awake， with a cup of tea， and I listen to the radio. The radio station is always from somewhere that is not here in New York， and most often it comes from Radio Garden.

This free?to?use website would be almost indistinguishable from other websites if it were not for the thousands of little green dots. Each dot is one of the local radio stations around the world， streaming live.

Move your mouse and maybe youll land in Bujumbura， at the edge of Norways Arctic or on the edge of the South Pacific. Seemingly， no matter how large or small the broadcaster is—and no matter how urban or remote the location is—it can appear on the site， and you can listen in.

There is hardly anything easier or more intimate （温馨的） than listening to live radio. During the pandemic， Radio Garden has flourished， drawing as many as 15 million monthly listeners. “We received lots of heart?warming emails from people stuck at home expressing their gratitude for the service，” says Jonathan Puckey， the sites founder.

When I first showed my grandparents that they could scan the radio from Argentina—where my grandfather and grandmother were born， their thoughts turned to vivid memories of easier days. “Sometimes I hear tangos that I havent heard in a very， very long time，” Grandfather says. “It makes me happy. I sing along， and the words just come back. Listening to them reminds me of my childhood.”

Indeed， the radio is a comforting reminder of the sounds that shape our worlds， the soundtracks of our lives， no matter where we live. Perhaps the most spellbinding aspect of the Radio Garden site is its ability to bring us to the most distant places， allowing us to experience those communities that weve always wanted to visit but， for whatever reason， never could.

1. What can we know about Radio Garden？

A. It is a radio program about gardens. B. It is located in New York.

C. It is a website free of charge. D. It involves dots of different colors.

2. The underlined word “flourished” in paragraph 4 can be replaced by “            ”.

A. developed quickly B. grown healthily

C. decreased sharply D. changed suddenly

3. How does the authors grandfather feel about Radio Garden？

A. Tolerant. B. Positive. C. Indifferent. D. Curious.

4. Whats the last paragraph mainly about？

A. Sounds of the world. B. The meaning of life.

C. Benefits of the Internet. D. Advantages of the website.

Useful expressions

be indistinguishable from 與……无法区分

listen in 收听广播节目

express gratitude for 对……表达感激

remind sb of 使某人想起……

bring us to the most distant places 带我们去最遥远的地方