【JQool * IVY 閱讀森林 8 週陪讀計畫】#week2 配音員一開口　角色靈魂便有

一個十幾歲男孩的聲音可能其實出自一位四十歲女性之口，而令人毛骨悚然的怪物也可能由你所見過最友善的人來配音。

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篇章結構

　　A teenage boy's voice can actually come from a 40-year-old woman, and a terrifying monster might be played by the friendliest person you'll ever meet. Though often confused with voice-over artists, voice actors focus on "acting." Voice-over work values clarity to ensure that the audience understands a message, whether they are narrating a documentary or a fast-paced commercial. ___1___ They bring out the personality of a hero in an anime or dub characters in a foreign movie.

　　The human voice has always been a powerful tool for bringing stories to life. ___2___ Around the same time, the success of Steamboat Willie, one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, further increased the demand for skilled voice performers. As synchronized sound became a standard feature in animation, filmmakers increasingly relied on voice actors to give their characters unique identities.

　　When TV became common in the mid-20th century, cartoons like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo made the profession more widespread. ___3___ Voice actors began to play a key role in making virtual worlds feel real and immersive for players.

　　___4___ Today, voice actors are struggling as celebrities are now taking over their roles. Ever since Robin Williams played the Genie in the 1992 film Aladdin, movie studios have preferred using famous names to help sell tickets. On top of that, the rise of AI technology has added another threat. New software can mimic human voices with surprising accuracy. Faced with competition from celebrities and AI-generated voices, the industry is entering a very challenging period.

(A) Also, their voice is the tool to convey the full depth of emotion.

(B) Meanwhile, voice actors are there to breathe life into their roles.

(C) The role of the voice actor is changing, but not all of it is for the better.

(D) The 1980s and 1990s marked another turning point as video games became popular.

(E) In the 1920s and 1930s, when radio was hugely popular, radio dramas gave voice actors their first major platform.

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　　A teenage boy's voice can actually come from a 40-year-old woman, and a terrifying monster might be played by the friendliest person you'll ever meet. Though often confused with voice-over artists, voice actors focus on "acting." Voice-over work values clarity to ensure that the audience understands a message, whether they are narrating a documentary or a fast-paced commercial. Meanwhile, voice actors are there to breathe life into their roles. They bring out the personality of a hero in an anime or dub characters in a foreign movie.

　　The human voice has always been a powerful tool for bringing stories to life. In the 1920s and 1930s, when radio was hugely popular, radio dramas gave voice actors their first major platform. Around the same time, the success of Steamboat Willie, one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, further increased the demand for skilled voice performers. As synchronized sound became a standard feature in animation, filmmakers increasingly relied on voice actors to give their characters unique identities.

　　When TV became common in the mid-20th century, cartoons like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo made the profession more widespread. The 1980s and 1990s marked another turning point as video games became popular. Voice actors began to play a key role in making virtual worlds feel real and immersive for players.

　　The role of the voice actor is changing, but not all of it is for the better. Today, voice actors are struggling as celebrities are now taking over their roles. Ever since Robin Williams played the Genie in the 1992 film Aladdin, movie studios have preferred using famous names to help sell tickets. On top of that, the rise of AI technology has added another threat. New software can mimic human voices with surprising accuracy. Faced with competition from celebrities and AI-generated voices, the industry is entering a very challenging period.

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　　一個十幾歲男孩的聲音可能其實出自一位四十歲女性之口，而令人毛骨悚然的怪物也可能由你所見過最友善的人來配音。雖然配音員與旁白常被搞混，但配音員著重於「演出」。旁白工作則注重清晰度，以確保觀眾都能夠理解訊息，無論是在紀錄片中還是在節奏明快的廣告中進行旁白解說都是如此。另一方面，配音員的存在則是為了替他們的角色注入靈魂。他們把日本動畫中主角的個性展現出來，或是為外國電影中的角色配音。

　　人聲一直是讓故事生動起來的強大媒介。在廣播大為盛行的 1920 至 1930 年代，廣播劇讓配音員有了第一個主要表現平臺。大約同時，最早的聲音同步卡通之一《汽船威利號》的成功讓優秀配音員的需求進一步提升。隨著聲音同步成為動畫的標配，製片人益發依賴配音員來賦予角色獨特的氣質。

　　二十世紀中期電視變得普及，《摩登原始人》和《叔比狗》等卡通讓配音員這一職業更加普遍。隨著電玩遊戲流行起來，1980 至 1990 年代標誌了另一個轉捩點。配音員開始成為讓玩家感受到虛擬世界很真實、能沉浸其中的重要關鍵。

　　配音員的角色正在變化，但並非所有改變都是朝著好的方向發展。現今，配音員正苦苦掙扎，這是因為名人正逐漸取代他們來為角色配音。自從羅賓．威廉斯在 1992 年的電影《阿拉丁》中為精靈配音以來，電影公司就傾向請名人來幫助帶動票房。此外，人工智慧科技的興起也增添了新的威脅。新軟體能以驚人的準確度模仿人聲。配音產業面對名人和人工智慧生成音的競爭，正步入一個極其艱難的時期。

答案： 1. B  2. E  3. D  4. C