譯/陳韋廷 You see them on every block: people being propelled through their routines listening to their own individualized soundtracks, with the outside world serving as a stage set.
Headphones are now fashion statements. Status symbols. Fetish objects on par with luxury watches and limited-edition Nikes.
在每個街區你都會見到耳機的蹤影：人們從事於例行公事時聆聽著個人化的音樂，外在世界成了舞台布景。
現下，耳機是時尚的展示、身分地位的象徵，且為媲美精品手表和限量版耐吉商品的戀物對象。
William Crosson, a 28-year-old executive recruiter and part-time DJ, wears V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones, a $270 set that looks like something a cyberhooligan might wear to a Berlin disco.
Alexander Gilkes, a member of Vanity Fair's best-dressed list and founder of the auction site Paddle8, wears $400 headphones made by Master & Dynamic.
現年28歲的威廉．克羅森是高級主管招募者，也是個兼職DJ，戴的是要價270美元的V-moda全罩蓋耳式無線耳機，看起來像是網路流氓會戴到柏林迪斯可舞廳去的耳機。
亞歷山大．吉爾克斯名登「浮華世界」雜誌最佳衣著金榜，也是拍賣網站Paddle8的共同創辦人，戴著要價400美元、由紐約頂級耳機品牌Master & Dynamic所製作的耳機。
Martin Gaynor, a 27-year-old freelance app developer for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, wears Symphonized 2s, a pair of wood-covered, over-the-ear headphones that he bought on Amazon for $53.
"The wooden earthy look just seemed to complement the subdued classical look I have on a day-to-day basis," he said. "It just matched."
紐約市公園及康樂事務局的自由接案應用程式開發人員，27歲的馬丁．蓋諾戴的則是他在亞馬遜網站上以53美元購買的一對木質耳掛式耳機Symphonized 2s。
他說：「木頭樸實的外表似乎跟我日常展現的低調古典外觀搭配。很搭。」
Don't forget the cultural bellwether Beyonce. In her "Lemonade" video last year, she belted out "Sandcastles," a ballad of a woman scorned, while wearing $550 Prymas.
Global headphone sales hit a peak of $8.4 billion in 2013, and two years later, that figure rose to $11.2 billion, according to the research firm Futuresource Consulting. The company predicts that sales will rise another $2 billion by 2018, meaning we have yet to reach Peak Headphone.
可別忘了文化領頭羊碧昂絲。在她去年的「檸檬水」影片中，當她大聲唱著敘述女人遭鄙視歌謠「沙堡」時，戴的是要價550美元的Pryma耳機。
研究公司Futuresource Consulting指出，全球耳機銷售額在2013年達到84億美元的高峰，兩年過後這個數字上升至112億美元。該公司預估，2018年前銷售額將再增加20億美元，這意味著我們還未達到「耳機高峰」。
The combination of the iPhone and headphones in many varieties (in-ear, over-the-ear, shaped-to-your-ear and so on) gives city dwellers the ability to largely avoid an experience that was once arguably the whole point of living in the crowd — interacting with others.
In a fraught public sphere, headphones provide a measure of privacy. Those who fall deeply into a Spotify playlist or the latest installment of an addictive podcast enter a cocoon-like zone all but impenetrable to tourists, beggars and those do-gooders with clipboards.
"Headphones are the front line of urban social defense," said Julie Klausner, a comedian, actor and writer. "I'm introverted and socially anxious by nature. My worst nightmare is sitting next to someone on a plane or someone who wants to strike up a conversation on an elevator."
iPhone和許多種（耳塞式、耳掛式、按耳型而製耳機等等）耳機的組合，讓城市居民在很大程度上能夠避開跟他人互動，而這種互動經驗曾經堪稱生活在人群中的唯一理由。
在令人不安的公共空間裡，耳機提供了一定的隱私。那些深陷於Spotify播放列表，或最新一期令人上癮的播客的人，進入了一個繭狀地區，幾乎讓觀光客、乞丐以及那些帶著剪貼板的不切實際社會改革家無法侵入。
身兼諧星、演員和作家的茱麗葉·克勞斯納說：「耳機是城市社交防衛的第一線。我天性內向且對社交感到焦慮。我最大的夢魘就是坐在飛機上時旁邊有人，或是乘電梯時有人來搭訕。」
說文解字看新聞
文/陳韋廷
耳機是現代人幾乎不可或缺的配備，無論聽音樂、講電話、玩遊戲等等都不能沒有它，稱之為生活必需品也不為過，而這項裝置近年更成為時尚年輕人追求的潮貨。
耳機類型繁多，除文中提到的耳塞式與耳掛式外，還有on-ear（耳罩式）、over-the-head（頭戴式）、backwear（後掛式）及wireless（無線）等形式。
此外，earphones也指的是耳機的意思，無論是headphones或earphones，通常都使用複數型態，還有要注意的是，中文所說的「戴」，英文會用動詞wear來表達，而近年來流行的可穿戴裝置，英文即為wearable device，例如智慧手表（Smart Watch）、智慧眼鏡（Smart Glasses）健身追蹤器（Fitness Trackers）、穿戴式相機（Wearable Camera）等等。
文中片語on（a）par with意指「等同於、與其相當」，on 後面也可以加個冠詞 a，介系詞with後接人或事物，例句：He is on（a）par with his brother in intelligence.他的智力跟弟弟不相上下。
