| 释义 |
▪ I. listening, vbl. n.|ˈlɪs(ə)nɪŋ|
[-ing1.]
1. a. The action of the verb listen.
13..K. Alis. 4798 Yif yee willeth yive listnyng, Now yee shullen here gode thing. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 68 This Cuffe was but to knocke at your eare, and beseech listning. 1641Milton Ch. Govt. ii. Pref. Wks. 1738 I. 59 It were a folly to commit any thing elaborately compos'd to the careless and interrupted listening of these tumultuous times. 1847Tennyson Princess vii. 95 Lonely listenings to my mutter'd dream.
b. listening gallery Fortif. (see quot. 1872–6); listening key Teleph. (see quot. 1940); listening post Mil., an advanced position used to discover movements or the disposition of the enemy; also transf.
1833Straith Fortif. §213. 160 Listening galleries. 1872–6Voyle Milit. Dict. (ed. 3), Ecoutes, listening galleries... These galleries are run out under and beyond the glacis at regular distances in the direction of the besiegers' works, and enable the besieged to hear and estimate how near the besiegers have carried their mining operations.
1906J. Poole Pract. Telephone Handbk. (ed. 3) x. 159 (heading) Kellogg combined listening and ringing key. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 505/1 Listening key, the lever key which the operator throws, to put her head-set on to a cord circuit and speak to a subscriber.
1916War Illustr. V. 69/1 At a listening-post. 1928Blunden Undertones of War xv. 167 The men lying at each listening-post were freezing stiff. 1945Life 19 Nov. 119/2 The barbed wire was up everywhere, and the few listening posts that we did have at Vichy, at General Weygand's North African Headquarters—were in perpetual danger of sabotage by the well-meaning but essentially stupid remonstrances of the more emotional Left press. 1961Guardian 29 May 9/5 Vienna is Europe's busiest listening post. 1965Mrs L. B. Johnson White House Diary 3 Nov. (1970) 335 John Gronouski was seated on my left and I enjoyed hearing him talk about Poland and how it serves as a sort of listening post for what is going on in Red China. 1971J. Tunstall Journalists at Work iii. 86 Fairly standard features are centres like Hong Kong and Beirut which are used as ‘listening posts’ and jumping-off points for covering China and South East Asia, and the Middle East respectively. 1972Guardian 25 Jan. 15/8 Paris uses the Commission mainly as a listening post to find out what the others are up to.
2. (Also listening-in.) The action of listening to a radio broadcast, a record-player, etc.; also, the action of listening (esp. secretly) to a telephone conversation. (Cf. listen v. 2 e, f.) Also attrib. and transf.
1904Electr. World & Engin. 7 May 875/2 The removal of the operator's plug, or her ‘listening-in’, restores the circuits to their proper condition for subsequent use. 1921Wireless World 10 Dec. 581/1 ‘Listening in’ was indulged in. 1925A. Huxley Those Barren Leaves ii. v. 149 But of what use is leisure, when leisure is occupied with listening-in and going to football matches? 1927Sat. Even. Post 24 Dec. 80/2 These telephones were connected with a listening-in device concealed behind a picture on the wall. 1929Radio Times 8 Nov. 389/3 The sounds heard had emerged from the loud-speaker of the caretaker... The caretaker was extremely annoyed at this interruption to his listening. 1939War Illustr. 21 Oct. p. ii/1 Its [sc. the B.B.C.'s] dud programmes have led to a great falling-off in listening. 1940Manch. Guardian Weekly 2 Feb. 83 From South West Germany it is stated that controllers have been appointed in blocks of flats to supervise the listening-in. 1941B.B.C. Gloss. Broadcasting Terms 17 Listening log, list, in prescribed form, of the broadcast programmes heard by one person over a period of time. 1951J. B. Priestley Festival at Farbridge ii. ii. 217 Dan Cobbley was another radio personality, although he was on a lower listening figure level. 1957Encycl. Brit. X. 619/2 The new possibilities for continuous listening helped enormously. On the debit side was the tendency especially of solo artists to record whole programs on LP disks, repeating endlessly the same established repertoire. 1969John Edwards Mem. Foundation Q. V. iv. 126 The transcriptions of the songs..are as nearly accurate as I can make them. After countless listenings I still can't make out some of the words. 1971Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) iii. ii. 31 Listening-in, listening to a call in progress.
3. (With qualifying adj.) Broadcast, recorded, or other matter for listening to, esp. with reference to its quality or kind. Cf. reading vbl. n. 7 a.
1938Listener 25 May 1120/2 There must be a great deal of material available on this subject which would make more good listening. 1962[see compulsive a. 3 b]. 1966Listener 10 Feb. 221/3 The portrayal of..the jostling and jockeying of the foreign ambassadors, made really good listening. 1985Church Times 19 July 9/3 Other incidents in his life also made interesting listening.
▪ II. ˈlistening, ppl. a.
[-ing2.]
a. That listens or hears attentively. Also fig.
a1275Prov. ælfred 654 in O.E. Misc., So deit þe lusninde luþere mon. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxi. i, Lord, lend my voice a listning eare. 1608Shakes. Per. i. ii. 87 That I should open to the listning ayre How many worthie Princes' blouds were shed. 1727–46Thomson Summer 745 Thro' the soft silence of the listening night. 1750Gray Elegy 61 Th' Applause of list'ning Senates to command. 1820Keats Hyperion i. 37 There was a listening fear in her regard. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt (1868) 59, I pray for a listening spirit, which is a great mark of grace.
b. (Also listening-in.) That listens to a broadcast, recording, etc.
1926Punch 14 July 39 (caption) Husband (to listening-in Wife). ‘What's the matter, dear? Is it bad news or Stravinsky?’ 1935Discovery Sept. 277/2 They are providing ever better products and service to enable the listening public to get more enjoyment from the ‘audio’ programmes. 1941B.B.C. Gloss. Broadcasting Terms 17 Listening group, group of listeners meeting regularly with the twofold object of hearing a particular series of broadcast talks..and engaging in discussion. 1957B.B.C. Handbk. 104 Audience Research set up permanent Listening Panels to report their reactions to the programmes they heard. 1970Ibid. 112 A special listening section keeps track of the activities of foreign radio stations. 1974Times 30 Nov. 10/4 The practitioners [of religious broadcasting]..are impeded by some notion of what the listening public expects their output to be. |