英语听力—环球英语 1430 Richard III: the Crooked King

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Katy Blake.

 

　　Voice 2

 

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

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　More than five centuries ago, two armies fought a great battle.  The battle ended years of civil war in England. On one side of the battle field was the army of King Richard the Third. On the other side was the army of Henry Tudor. Henry wanted to become king.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　During the battle, King Richard saw a chance to kill Henry.  Richard rode his horse quickly toward² Henry.  He killed many of Henry’s soldiers.  But then, King Richard’s horse became stuck in the wet battlefield. The king fell. He fought hard, but there were too many enemy soldiers around him.

 

　　The soldiers crushed³ Richard’s head and killed him. Later, they carried his dead body through the streets for all the people to see.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Religious leaders finally buried Richard’s body in a nearby church. But years later the church was destroyed.  And Richard’s body was forgotten.  Today’s Spotlight is on the recent discovery of Richard III’s body. This news about his death has caused many people to look again at his life.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Richard III was the last king of England to die in battle.  His body did not receive honour. He was not buried in Westminster Abbey, the great Christian⁴ church in London where many English kings are buried. He was also not buried where he wanted to be. Richard wanted to be buried at his family home near the ancient city of York. Instead King Richard was buried in the city of Leicester, near the battle field where he died. And there he lay, forgotten.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Hundreds of years went by. The church building had been destroyed long ago. The city around Richard’s body had changed. No one knew where his bones were. Then, in 2012, a team of experts began a new search.  These archaeologists were looking for the body of King Richard.  But they were not looking in a place that would honour a king. The team was digging under a car park, a place where people leave their cars.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Soon, the team found human bones.  Immediately, they thought it was King Richard. They thought this because the skeleton⁵’s spine⁶ was unusual.  This bone in the middle of a human’s back is usually straight. However, the spine they found was bent⁷ or crooked⁸.  And history books had long told of how King Richard’s spine was crooked.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The archaeologists wanted to be sure it was King Richard. So, they performed many tests on the skeleton. Many things proved that the bones were Richard III’s, including DNA⁹ tests.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　However, many people believed it was Richard just because of the reports about the crooked spine. For hundreds of years, people had remembered Richard for this.  Artists painted pictures of Richard with one of his shoulders higher than the other. And writers told stories of ‘crooked’ Richard. However, crooked has another meaning too. For example, people say that criminals are crooked. This means that their character is not straight and honest.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Many people say that Richard III was a crooked king - both in the way he looked and in his character. This is how England's greatest writer, William Shakespeare, described King Richard. Over four hundred years ago, Shakespeare wrote a famous play about Richard III. At this time, many people believed that a disability was a sign of evil¹⁰. So Shakespeare made Richard even more disabled in his play. His character did not just have a crooked back. He also had an arm that did not work. In the play, Richard also murdered his brother. And he made secret plans to steal power.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Shakespeare’s play is not historically true. However, his work has shaped many people’s opinions of King Richard III. Shakespeare wrote his drama when the granddaughter of Henry Tudor ruled England. And here is the problem. Most of our information about Richard III comes from people who supported Henry Tudor and his family.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　There is another famous story about Richard’s crooked character. This is not a story from literature. It is a mysterious story from history. But no one knows the full truth. It is the story of ‘The Princes in the Tower.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Richard's older brother, Edward, had been king before him. He died, but his two sons were too young to rule the country. So Richard took his brother's place. He was supposed to protect the young boys from their enemies. He was supposed to take care of the country, until his oldest nephew could rule.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But the boy princes disappeared.  They were never seen again. Richard became king instead. Followers¹¹ of Henry Tudor said Richard killed his brother’s sons. Others believe that Richard cared for the boys, but that Henry had them killed when he became king. However, what exactly happened is still a mystery today.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　We do know some facts about Richard. Richard lived in a dangerous time. Powerful men spent much time plotting against each other. And he did have many of his strongest enemies killed.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But other facts do not match the stories about Richard’s crooked character. While his brother Edward was king, Richard was loyal¹² to him. As a soldier, he fought for Edward in many battles. Richard also had a loving relationship with his wife and his own son.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　We also know that his people loved Richard. He gave money to universities and churches. He did many things to help the poor. This does not seem like the kind of person who would murder his brother’s children!

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　We may never know the truth about Richard III. The history of his life seems to be crooked too! However, like all people, Richard was probably a mix of good and evil. This is exactly what Philippa Langley believes. Langley is a film writer. She has long believed that Richard was not as evil as many people think. She is part of an organization that defends Richard’s character. And she was one of the people responsible for finding¹³ Richard’s body. Langley hopes the discovery will create discussion¹⁴ about his life. Langley told the New York Times newspaper,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“The truth will turn out to be somewhere in between. Richard III was a man of his time. But what we know of him does not equal him being a vicious¹⁵ man and a purely¹⁶ evil killer¹⁷. Now, we may be able to finally discover who the real Richard is.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this program was Alan Harris. The producer was Nick Mangeolles. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, ‘Richard III: the Crooked King.’

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　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 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

3 crushed   

a.压碎的，倒碎的

参考例句：

• The car was completely crushed under the truck. 小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。
• The box was crushed when the car ran over it. 汽车辗过箱子时把它给压碎了。

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 skeleton   

n.骨骼，框架，骨干，梗概，提要

参考例句：

• A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
• Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。

6 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

7 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

8 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

9 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

10 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 loyal   

adj.忠诚的，忠心的

参考例句：

• He is a loyal friend.他是一位忠诚的朋友。
• I judge him to be loyal.我认为他很忠诚。

13 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

14 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

15 vicious   

adj.恶毒的，恶意的，凶残的，剧烈的，严重的

参考例句：

• He gave the dog a vicious blow with his stick.他朝着那只狗狠狠地打了一棍子。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard.作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。

16 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

17 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。