英国新闻听力 融合不仅仅意味着语言的学习

The last country I visited where I couldn’t speak the language was Poland. Yes, most people spoke¹ in English and communication was hardly a struggle but it still made me realise how dependent I was on others to translate occasionally, and the way this limited my enjoyment² of another society. Knowing a language isn’t simply about communicating words, it’s about entering another world, a world which remains³ partially⁴ closed if you can’t express yourself.

In this sense the government’s proposed 20 million pound language fund to help help end what the prime-minister called the "passive tolerance⁵" of separate communities, is welcome. While many of the big statistics focus on Muslim women, money will be spent on all women who are in the greatest danger of isolation⁶, whether it’s voluntary or imposed. English language therefore is a means to building the Prime-minister’s goal of an `integrated, cohesive⁷ one nation country.’

But knowing English doesn’t necessarily lead to integration⁸ and certainly can’t guarantee one of the ultimate aims of this investment, which is curbing⁹ the tide of extremism and radicalisation within certain sections of the Muslim community. After all most young people who have been drawn¹⁰ to violent jihadism speak fluent English. In such societies, parents are the repositories of tradition and culture, but if they’re struggling to communicate with their children, it’s not necessarily because of their inability to speak English.

Language skills may help some women gain access to education, become empowered and mobile, all necessary for a more just and equal society. But if integration is to mean anything, it must harbour a sense of emotional belonging and shared citizenship¹¹ despite cultural differences. Culture is more than holding onto food, dress and ritual. Cultural awareness¹² and feelings of belonging demand a mindset, an ability to have vision for your life wherever you live, to be aware of your heritage but not be held back by traditions that encourage only imaginary rather than real bonds. This has to come from the individual and the state for all its good intentions, and its vast reach, is limited in what it can do to foster this.

Many people may share a neighbourhood but they share little in terms of thoughts or activities. Often there’s no resentment¹³, no hostility¹⁴ but only apathy¹⁵ to how other people live and male female relations. The Qur’anic verse ‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women’ has been subject to decades of interpretation¹⁶ but also decades of abuse, in which communities have denied women their rights. I think all women should have freedoms and opportunities. But the truth is that there are many women who don’t wish to enter another world because the world they’re in is enough for them. And it seems to me that no amount of English language lessons will be able to change that.

波兰是我上一个访问时不会讲当地语言的国家，是的，大多数人都讲英语的话，沟通对我来说根本不是问题，但偶尔也会让我意识到自己多么依赖于他人的翻译，这样也限制了我享受另一个国家的乐趣。通晓一门语言并不是简单的沟通字句，而是要进入另一个世界，在这个世界里，如果你无法表达自己，那么它对你来说仍是半封闭的。

从这个意义上讲，政府提出提供2000万英镑语言基金的提议是值得欢迎的，该项目意在帮助结束首相所谓的对隔离社区的“被动容忍”。尽管很多统计资料都集中关注于穆斯林妇女，这些资金事实上将用于每一个面临最大的隔离风险的妇女，无论她们是主动还是被动的。因此英语这种语言是用来实现首相“融合、团结之国家”目标的工具。

但通晓英语并不一定能促进融合，当然也不能确保这一投资终极目标的实现，也就是在穆斯林社区一些群体内遏制极端主义和激进主义的潮流。毕竟大多数被暴力圣战主义吸引的年轻人能讲流利的英语。在这样的社会里，父母满脑子都是传统和文化，但如果他们为了和孩子们沟通而费尽力气，那么未必是因为他们不会讲英语。

语言技能可能会帮助一些女性获得教育机会，被赋予权利和流动性，所有这些都是一个更公正、公平的社会所必须的。但如果融合有什么意味的话，那么不管有怎样的文化差异，它必须包含一种情感归属和共同的公民身份。文化不仅仅意味着食物、服饰和仪式，文化意识和归属感需要一种心态，一种不管身在何处，能为自己的生活进行畅想的能力，能够意识到自己的传统同时又不被传统绊住手脚，而这些传统只能鼓励想象中的束缚而不是真实的束缚，为了很好地利用其功能，这种心态和能力必须来自个人和国家，而这种心态和能力的广度，要取决于它能培育这种意识的能力。

很多人可能共享一个社区，但他们在思想或活动方面共享的很少，通常并不存在愤恨和敌意，但只是对他人生活和男女关系漠不关心。《古兰经》有云：“男人是妇女的保护者和维护者”，这句话经过了几十年的解释，但也一直被滥用，一些社区拒绝给妇女以权利。我想所有的妇女都应该有自由和机会，但事实上，很多妇女不愿意进入另一个世界，因为她们所身处的世界对她们来说已经足够，在我看来，无论多少的英语语言也改变不了她们的现状。

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

8 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

9 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

12 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

14 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

15 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

16 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。