Overcoming Life's Obstacles - ASC 2017 March 03-04

《Overcoming Life's Obstacles - How a top oboist overcame a neurological disorder to play again》

©Advanced Studio Classroom
Vol: 2017 MARCH 3-4

Hosts:

• What is your dream?
• be out of fear / because they don't want to get hurt
• Let's find out what happened to Alex Klein
• There is always obstacles in life and that's just how the world works.
• It's good to remember that the bigger the obstacle, the bigger the victory.
• We face them, we challenge them and we overcome them. That can be very inspiring.
• If it is easy for him, I don't think this article even exists.

March 03

a dozen years ago, the music stoped for Alex Klein.

• a dozen years ago - more than ten years ago

---

…found himself losing control of his fingers when he played.

The affliction sent garbled signals from his brain to fingers.

• you garble my words from their real meaning.

The dystonia robbed him of his identity and self-esteem as an artist.

• it was so humiliating, a terrible blow to my self-esteem.
• rob … of / take … of

---

• incurable affliction
  • His deafness is a great affliction to him.
  • She sympathizes with people in affliction.
• sweat it out / be very nervous

tolerate / endure

• we can't endure much longer in the desert without water.

Hosts:
that's kind of sucks

facing a harsh reality

• His independence had been forged on the harsh environment.

---

The insidious thing was that when he was away from the oboe, his fingers worked just fine.

• an insidious disease
• sid - residual

He was faced with the reality that…

…announced his retiring from his position

it was the most depressing time of his life. he had nothing to do and nowhere to go.

• frustrating - the current situation is very frustrating for us

he hesitated to play the oboe again. whenever he did, after a couple of days his fingers would tighten up.

• nightmare
• you were the best of best
• how to choose - look for other options / just give up?

---

March 04

Eventually the need to make a living forced him to turn his attention to other means of musical expression.

• eventually
  • at the end of a period of time or a series of events
  • Our fight eventually left five hours late.
• the need to make a living
• turn one's attention to…

he couldn't sit on couch forever

---

His determination to keep the dystonia at bay while continuing to pursue the oboe persisted.

• keep … at bay
  • prevent sth. or sb. from approaching or having an effect.1
  • If we can keep the rabbits at bay, we should have a good crop of vegetables in the garden
• persist
  • persist in sth/ in doing sth./ with sth.
  • He persisted in his search for the truth.
  • She persisted with her questioning.

---

And he refused to abandon his dream of playing once again with a major orchestra.

• refuse to abandon one's dream of doing sth.
• once again / once more
  • one more time; another time
  • Once again the flight was late.
  • No wonder you were late once again -- you ate your breakfast so slowly.
  • Let me hear it just once again.

---

This is a really recent story, right?
twelve years as one day
if you have dream, don't be afraid to go for it.

He played for the audition committee. Lo and behold, he won the audition.

• lo and behold
  • (idiom) a big surprise
  • used for calling attention to a surprising or annoying thing.
  • And lo and behold, we succeeded.

---

"I never thought this would happen again in my life." Klein remarked.

Asked why he feels physically and mentally able to take on so demanding a full-time playing position now,2 he said, "To tell you the truth, I do not have an answer for that. I am still disabled, but I am determined to give this a new shot."

How so? "I have a system in place3. I have installed a new G key on my oboe that allows me to play a bit sideways … in a way that tricks the brain."

• the great solutions in the world have always come up from people's "thinking outside the box"

---

Future plan
"I fully intend to stay in the Chicago Symphony for the rest of my life," Klein said. "I am hoping that also is the hope of my colleagues."

• persevere
  • ~ in sth/in doing sth | ~ with sth/sb
  • (approving) continue trying to do or achieve sth despite difficuties.
  • They are determined to persevere in the fight.
  • I am a hardworking person, for the reading, I will persevere.
  • It's difficult, but I'm going to persevere with it.

---

Hosts:
the bigger obstacle, the bigger victory.
don't give up, guys!
it is a reminder that we need to enjoy the present now.

---

1. 控制住，牵制 ↩
2. 克莱恩被问到，为什么他觉得自己现在生理和心理都承担得起如此严苛的全职演奏工作时， ↩
3. 我有一个新办法 ↩