英语听力—环球英语 1280 The Monopoly Game

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　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.

 

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　　And I’m Christy VanArragon. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

 

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　　Park Place!

 

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　　Oxford² Street!

 

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　　Luxury³ Tax!

 

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　　Go directly to jail⁴. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars.

 

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　　These are all parts of one of the world’s most famous games, Monopoly⁵! Today’s Spotlight is on this game. Want to play?

 

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　　Monopoly is a board game. The game has a flat paper playing board. Players move small game pieces around this board. The players roll dice⁶, solid squares with six sides. Each side has a number. The numbers represent the spaces a player moves to go around the game board.

 

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　　Each space on the board represents a different property. When a player lands on a property he may decide to buy the property or not to buy it. But the idea of the game is to own as much property as you can!

 

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　　When another player lands on your property, that player must pay YOU money! It is like they are renting your property. There are many ways a player can make more and more money from his property.

 

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　　The idea is to monopolize⁷, or control, much of the playing board. The more property you own, the bigger your monopoly. When one player controls most of the property, then he will have the most money. In the end, the person with the biggest monopoly wins the game.

 

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　　Monopoly was first sold in the United States in 1935. But it was invented a long time before that. In the 1900s a woman named Lizzie Magie created the first monopoly game. She called her game “The Landlords⁸ Game.” Lizzie gave the properties names like “Poverty Place”. She used her game as a teaching⁹ tool. The point was to teach people about the problem of rich, large land owners. Lizzie was a Christian¹⁰. And she was particularly concerned about poor people.

 

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　　Over the years the idea of Lizzie’s game spread. Other people began making their own versions¹² of the game. And they gave the properties their own names, based on where they lived.

 

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　　The game was very popular among university economics¹³ students. They studied the economy. These students did not like the idea of big businesses replacing small businesses. They did not think this was democratic¹⁴. They called these big businesses “monopolies¹⁵.” They used the game to show the problems monopolies created.

 

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　　In the 1930s, the game arrived in Atlantic City, New Jersey¹⁶, in the United States. A young teacher gave the properties the names of Atlantic City streets. The streets had names of US states like Pennsylvania Avenue, Indiana Avenue, and New York Avenue. These names are the property names that many people play with today! The names remained popular because they included much of the nation.

 

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　　But by the 1930s the point of the game hadcompletely changed. At this time, the United States was experiencing the Great Depression. The US economy was at its lowest. Many people were without jobs and without hope.

 

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　　At that time, a man named Charles Darrow enjoyed playing a version¹¹ of Lizzie’s game. He liked it so much that he designed a beautiful playing board. He called his version, “Monopoly.” Charles took his Monopoly game to Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers was the most well-known game company in the USA. Charles wanted them to help him sell his game.

 

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　　The people at Parker Brothers rejected Charles’ game. But Charles did not lose hope. Instead, he created five thousand copies of his game. He brought them to a local store. Within a short time, Charles sold all of his games! Then, Parker Brothers was interested. They bought the game from Charles. And the rest is history!

 

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　　Parker Brothers began selling Monopoly. And they changed the point of the game. They used the game to bring glory to big businesses. When people play Monopoly today, they want to create monopolies. Then they win the game. Many people today may not understand the first meaning of the game.

 

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　　Parker Brothers has sold over 275 million copies of Monopoly. It comes in more than forty different languages. You can find the game in more than one hundred different countries.

 

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　　Over the years people have changed the playing board design along with the property names. But the rules remain the same. There is a London Monopoly board, a Thailand board, and an Indonesian board. There are superhero boards, sports team boards, and popular landmark¹⁷ boards. There is even a board representing my city, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

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　　Blind people have their own Monopoly playing board too. Their board uses Braille. These small raised points let blind people read the property names as they move around the board.

 

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　　People love playing the game Monopoly. And they have played the game in some very strange places--like under water! Some people hold world records for playing Monopoly in these strange places.

 

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　　For example, the longest game in a tree house was 286 hours. The longest game underground lasted 100 hours. The longest game played upside down was 36 hours. The longest game of Monopoly ever was 1680 hours. That is 70 days of Monopoly playing!

 

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　　People have not always used Monopoly as just a game. During World War Two, Monopoly helped captured¹⁸ soldiers. These British and American soldiers were in prison camps in Germany. Aid groups brought them food, and mail. But sometimes they would also bring Monopoly games. The German soldiers trusted that the games were just games.

 

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　　But hiding inside the games were maps, real money and other materials! Cloth maps easily fit between small spaces cut into the game box. And the money hid under the game money. Just imagine the surprise of the German soldiers when they discovered the truth. Monopoly was helping¹⁹ their prisoners escape!

 

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　　Some people may think that Monopoly is just a fun game. And it is. But this game has its own special history that can teach us new things. It is important to remember that everything has a history. And history can give us special knowledge about ourselves, our culture, and even about the games we play.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this program was Rebekah Schipper. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, ‘The Monopoly Game’.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 luxury   

n.难得享受到的愉悦；奢侈，奢华的生活

参考例句：

• He invited me to his suite. The luxury takes your breath away.他请我到他的套房里去，那豪华的气派真会令你吃惊。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods.政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

4 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

5 monopoly   

n.垄断，专卖，垄断物（商品），专卖商品

参考例句：

• His monopoly of shipbuilding in that country has been established.他对那个国家造船业的垄断已经建立起来。
• In many countries,tobacco is a government monopoly.在许多国家，烟草由政府专营。

6 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

7 monopolize   

v.垄断，独占，专营

参考例句：

• She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
• They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。

8 landlords   

房东； 房东，地主( landlord的名词复数 )； 店主

参考例句：

• Local landlords drove them off their plots. 当地的地主们把他们从小块土地上赶走。
• Think on this, you drunken rich, and scornful landlords. 想想这个问题吧，你们这些醉醺醺的富人，傲慢的地主。

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

12 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

14 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

15 monopolies   

垄断( monopoly的名词复数 )； 专卖； 垄断权； 专利权

参考例句：

• Regional monopolies were bitterly fought for. 为夺取地方垄断权发生了激烈的竞争。
• Other state monopolies included linen, wool and hemp. 此外，政府还垄断了亚麻、羊毛和大麻等产品。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

16 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

17 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

18 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

19 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。