Reading the classics

    Alice: Hello – this is 6 Minute English, I'm Alice and today, I'm joined by Yvonne. Hello, Yvonne!
    Yvonne: Hello Alice!
    Alice: Now Yvonne, if I said Don Quixote, what would you say?
    Yvonne: Oh, it's a famous classic¹ Spanish novel – but that's all, because sadly, I'venever read it.
    Alice: Oh well, don't worry - because you're not the only one! In fact, Don Quixotehas been described as Spain's best-known, but least read book.
    Yvonne: So like me, most people have heard of it, but not many people have actuallyread it.
    Alice: Exactly. But before we find out what the Royal Spanish Academy² is doingabout that, here's today's question: in 2005, the BBC announced the UK's bestloved- or favourite book. What was it?
    a) Harry³ Potter and the Goblet⁴ of Fire by JK Rowlingb) The Lord⁵ of the Rings by JRR Tolkien orc) Pride and Prejudice by Jane AustenYvonne, what was your guess before you looked up the answer?
    Yvonne: Well, I said Harry Potter - because I must be the only person on earth who’snever read it!
    Alice: Oh, me neither! Isn’t that terrible? Well we'll find out what the UK's best-lovedbook is later on. Now people say that most Spaniards have never managed tofinish reading Don Quixote, even though it's a classic. What do you thinkmakes a classic novel or book, Yvonne?
    Yvonne: Well, excellent writing that people want to continue reading into the future, but,it doesn't have to be old - although Miguel De Cervantes finished writing DonQuixote way back in 1615.
    Alice: No, I suppose you can have modern classics⁶. But the Royal Spanish Academyhas been trying to get people to feel more passionate⁷, more excited, about thisold book by using new technology. And what they're doing seems to beworking, as the BBC's Nkem Ifejika reports:
    Extract⁸ 1: Nkem Ifejika, BBC reporterByte size chunks⁹ for a sound bite culture - the novel was divided into 2,149 shortpassages. Any Spanish speaker can then pick a passage, record themselves reading itand upload to the internet. A quick search for video of Don Quixote shows they'vealready done so; the novel being read aloud by people across the globe - the exactmanner in which young servants used to read it when it was written, never all at once.
    Alice: So the novel was divided up into 2,149 short passages or sections – whatNkem Ifejika describes as 'bite size chunks for a sound bite culture'. Yvonne,can you help us out with that phrase, please?
    Yvonne: I'll try, Alice. Now, lots of people can't or don't like to concentrate – or focuson one thing for a long period of time, so they're happier with things they cando quickly – with 'bite size chunks' of information, for example.
    Alice: And what would you say is 'a sound bite culture'?
    Yvonne: Well, lots of us like to listen to a short piece about something rather than readabout it, so we're 'a sound bite culture'. For example, we seem to enjoy short,snappy advertisements that get messages across really quickly.
    Alice: Yes - and more and more people on trains are listening to a chapter of a bookon their iPods rather than reading it. As we heard, it's all about 'bite sizechunks for a sound bite culture!'
    Yvonne: It certainly is!
    Alice: Now the Royal Spanish Academy is asking people to read passages of DonQuixote out loud, just as people used to when the book was first written in the1600s. People never read the entire book all at once.
    Yvonne: And most people don't do that today either.
    Alice: No, they don't - but Spanish speakers from all over the world are recordingthemselves reading Don Quixote out loud, which means more people arelearning about and can listen to this classic.
    Yvonne: And that's a good thing – plus, I think it must be fun listening to all thosedifferent voices reading it.
    Alice: And lots of different accents.
    Yvonne: Hmmm – really nice.
    Alice: What about other classics? Here's what a few of our colleagues had to sayabout what they've read – or rather, what they haven't!
    Extract 2: BBC Learning¹⁰ English colleaguesMAN: I read a lot of Dickens and I even read Moby Dick when I was at school -and I think I am one of the few people who's ever read Don Quixote.
    WOMAN: Well, I’ve read quite a few classics, mainly English classics like ThomasHardy and Jane Austen. However I did try to read James Joyce’s Ulyssesand actually carried it around on holiday with me for 6 weeks once - and Istill didn’t manage to get through it!
    Alice: Ah-ha – so we've found someone who's read lots of classics and has even readDon Quixote!
    Yvonne: Good – the Royal Spanish Academy will be extremely pleased.
    Alice: They certainly will, although he read the translation of it in English. He's alsoread Moby Dick, an American classic about a whale.
    Yvonne: Now I've never been able to finish reading that!
    Alice: Well, unlike many of us, our other colleague has done rather well - althoughshe hasn't managed to finish the Irish classic, Ulysses.
    Yvonne: Well, that's not exactly relaxing reading, is it?
    Alice: No, it’s not really holiday reading I think. Now earlier on, Yvonne, I asked:
    which is the UK's favourite book? You thought it was Harry Potter and theGoblet of Fire – which is a good guess, but it's Lord of the Rings by JRRTolkien. He wrote the book between 1937 and 1949 - mainly during theSecond World War.
    Yvonne: Now that is amazing. I couldn't concentrate long enough to write a book -during a war. No way!
    Alice: No, it’s probably because now, we live in ‘a sound bite culture’ and need ‘bitesize chunks’! Well, that's all for today's 6 Minute English. Join us again soonfor more.
    Both: Goodbye!

1 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

2 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。

5 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

6 classics   

n.文豪( classic的名词复数 )；文学名著；优秀的典范；古希腊与古罗马的文化研究（尤指对其语言与文学的研究）

参考例句：

• There are three great constituents of modern education --the classics, modern history and literature, and science. 现代教育有三大内容 -古典文学、现代历史和文学、以及自然科学。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "The Classics on Tea", written by Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty (618 A.D.-907 A.D.) was the world's earliest treatise on tea leave production. 中国唐代陆羽写的《茶经》是世界上最早的茶叶制作专著。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

8 extract   

vt.取出，提取，获得，摘录；n.摘录，提出物

参考例句：

• The article was a choice extract from her writings.这篇文章是从她的著作中摘录出来的精粹。
• We can extract oil from olive.我们可以从橄榄中榨油。

9 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。