We are constantly surrounded by noise, most of which is not audible to us unless we hold something like a seashell close to one of our ears. The sound waves collected from a larger area resonate inside it and we hear a greater amount than usual of the ambient sound around us, though in a jumbled up form.

我们处在不断的杂音包围之中，其中大部分杂音我们是听不见的，除非把贝壳之类的东西靠近耳边才能听到。从周围大范围空气中收集来的声波会在贝壳里面产生共鸣，这样我们就能听到更多环绕在我们四周的杂音，不过听起来杂乱不堪。

(短文节选,本篇始于：贝壳传来海洋之音)