英语听力—环球英语 1145 Ring Those Bells

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Colin Lowther.

 

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　　And I’m Robin² Basselin. 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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　　The sound of bells. People use bells for many different things. Bells in city clocks tell time. Bells on farm animals, like cows or goats, help a farmer find the animal. Bells in schools tell children when to go in. And people of different faiths use bells in worship³ in their churches and temples.

 

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　　People also use bells to mark special events. In some Christian⁴ churches, large bells ring when people get married. This is a happy sound. Several bells play together. When someone dies it is different. A single bell sounds very slowly. It is a serious, sad sound.

 

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　　In the United Kingdom, people have special bell ringing events. Hundreds, or even thousands of people ring bells together. Today’s Spotlight is on some of these very large bell ringing events.

 

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　　It was Friday the 27th of July 2012 - the first morning of the London Olympics. The time was twelve minutes past eight in the morning. Thousands of people in all parts of the United Kingdom were ready to take part in a special event. It was a bell ringing event, to celebrate the start of the Olympics. The bell ringing was going to last for three minutes. And it was going to be very loud.

 

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　　A very famous bell started the event - Big Ben. Big Ben is in Elizabeth Tower near the Houses of Parliament⁵ in London. Big Ben sounded 40 times during the three minutes.

 

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　　While Big Ben rang, everyone else rang their bells too. All over the country people rang bells. People used many different kinds of bell. There were clock bells, church bells, door bells, animal bells, hand bells and fire bells. There were even Tibetan singing bells, and Swiss cow bells. But everyone rang their bells as loudly and quickly as possible.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The idea for this mass bell ringing came from the artist Martin Creed⁶. He wanted everyone in the country to share in the Olympic Games. Most people could not attend the Games in person. But anyone could ring a bell and join in the fun. He told the BBC,

 

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　　‘It is a piece of music for a special event’.

 

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　　Creed also hoped to set a new world record - a record for the largest number of bells rung at the same time. But this was not possible. No one could count all the individual bells that rang during the special event!

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But we do know that thousands of people and organisations took part in the event. And they were not just in the United Kingdom. Ships at sea sounded their bells. British Embassies⁷ in many countries rang bells. Even scientists at the British Antarctic⁸ Survey found a way to join in. They were at the bottom of the world, in Antartica. They did not have anything at all like a bell. So they hit their cooking pots and pans⁹ to make a loud and happy noise! Everyone wanted to experience the celebration together.

 

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　　Earlier in 2012 there was another mass bell ringing. It was to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee¹⁰ of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Queen Elizabeth had reigned¹² for 60 years.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Eight new bells were made especially for the celebration. Each bell was given the name of a member of the Queen’s family. The largest bell was called Elizabeth. A large boat carried the eight bells. This bell boat led a huge parade of boats on the River Thames. The Queen was in the one of the boats. People in the bell boat rang the bells. The bells were very loud. The bells continued ringing as the boats floated down the river.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But it was not just the eight special bells that rang. The boat parade passed churches on both sides of the river Thames. People rang the bells in these churches as the boat parade passed. And at the same time people rang church bells all over the country. They all celebrated¹³ the Queen’s long reign¹¹.

 

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　　That mass bell ringing event celebrated a 60th anniversary¹⁴. Another mass bell ringing event was held on the anniversary of something that happened more than 200 years ago.

 

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　　Over two hundred years ago it was legal to buy and sell slaves in the British Empire. Most people accepted this fact. But some people thought it was wrong. This group included writers, government leaders, religious leaders and normal citizens. But it took many years of hard work to change the law. Protesters gathered information about the terrible conditions slaves experienced¹⁵. They shared this information in books, newspapers and at public meetings.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　People were shocked when they heard about the suffering of the slaves. Opinions began to change. Finally the British Parliament voted to end the slave trade in the British Empire. They called this law the Abolition¹⁶ of the Slave Trade Act. King George the Third signed the Act at noon on the 25th of March 1807.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Exactly 200 years later a mass bell ringing event celebrated this law. At noon on the 25th of March 2007 many people rang bells in towns and cities across the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. In the city of Bristol people rang bells for three hours. Individual people rang many different kinds of bells too. They did it to remember the struggle to end the slave trade.

 

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　　But this mass bell ringing event had another purpose too. It was a call to change things that are still wrong in the world. The Bishop¹⁷ of Bristol told the BBC,

 

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　　‘It is a good time to ring the bells. It is to remember past wrongs. It is also to call for action. Unequal and unfair things still exist both in our own communities and all over the world’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Have you ever rung a bell? Was it for a special event? Share your experiences on our website, www.radioenglish.net.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this programme was Joy Smith. The producer was Luke Haley. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this programme and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this programme again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This programme is called, ‘Ring Those Bells’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　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 will join us again.

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 worship   

n.崇拜，礼拜；v.崇拜，敬仰；做礼拜

参考例句：

• The Greeks used to worship several gods.过去，希腊人崇奉好几种神。
• Blind worship must be ended.盲目崇拜必须停止。

4 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。

5 Parliament   

n.议会，国会

参考例句：

• She won a seat in Parliament at the election.她在选举中赢得了议会中的席位。
• The drug was banned by an act of parliament.议会的法案明令禁止该药品。

6 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

7 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句

8 Antarctic   

adj.南极(区)的；n.(the A-)南极洲，南极圈

参考例句：

• The Antarctic is a mountainous area.南极洲是一个多山的地区。
• It is well known that penguins live in the Antarctic.企鹅生活在南极洲是众所周知的。

9 pans   

n.平底锅( pan的名词复数 )；（天平的）秤盘；马桶；盘状凹地（尤指盆地）

参考例句：

• Pots, pans, kettles and mops are kitchen utensils. 锅、盘、壶及拖把是厨房用具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She clashed these pans down on the floor. 她将这些盘子哗啦一声摔在地上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

11 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

12 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

14 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

15 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

16 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

17 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。