By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova — not as a musician but as her page turner. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.”
白天，Robert Titterton是一名律师。但在业余时间，他会与钢琴家Maria Raspopova一起登台，不是作为音乐家，而是作为她的翻页员。“我没有接受过音乐训练，但我学会了看乐谱，以便在她的表演中帮助Maria。”

Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.
Titterton先生是Omega乐团的主席，但在过去的四年里一直担任该组织的官方翻页员。他的工作是坐在钢琴家旁边，翻动乐谱的页面，这样音乐家就不必自己打断音乐的流畅感。他说他和那些演奏乐器的人一样紧张。

“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr Titterton explained.
“这项工作需要很多技能。你必须确保不要同时翻动两页，并确保找到音乐中的重复段落，从而返回正确的位置”, Titterton先生解释道。

Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding”to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.
成为翻页员需要大量练习。有些音乐作品长达40分钟，需要翻动多达50页，包括重复段落的返回翻页。舞台上的默契交流至关重要，每位钢琴家都有自己的“点头”风格，以示需要翻页，他们需要和翻页员练习。

But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand,” Mr Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”
但就像所有的表演一样，总会有事情出错的时候。“我正在翻页，准备翻到下一页，结果翻页的风一吹，把多余的页面从架子上刮落了下来”, Titterton先生说，“幸运的是，我能把它们接住并放回去。”

Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.
大多数翻页员是钢琴学生或新晋演奏家，尽管Raspopova女士曾经要求她的丈夫在台上帮助她。

“My husband is the worst page turner,” she laughed. “He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ “Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”
“我的丈夫是最糟糕的翻页员,”她笑着说。“他对音乐很感兴趣，感受每一个音符，我不得不说：‘快翻页，快翻页！’“Robert是我一生中遇到的最好的翻页员。”

1. What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?
   A. Read music.
   B. Play the piano.
   C. Sing songs.
   D. Fix the instruments.
   答案：A

2. Which of the following best describes Titterton’s job on stage?
   A. Boring.
   B. Well-paid.
   C. Demanding.
   D. Dangerous.
   答案：C

3. What does Titterton need to practise?
   A. Counting the pages.
   B. Recognizing the “nodding”.
   C. Catching falling objects.
   D. Performing in his own style.
   答案：B

4. Why is Ms Raspopova’s husband “the worse page turner”?
   A. He has very poor eyesight.
   B. He ignores the audience.
   C. He has no interest in music.
   D. He forgets to do his job.
   答案：D