VOA慢速英语2014 治疗与魔法

Healing with Magic 治疗与魔法

Magician Kevin Spencer interacts with people during a magic workshop. (Oct. 2014, Maryland, U.S.) Photo credit: VOA/Julie Taboh

From VOA Learning English this is the Health Report.

Magic is the performance of tricks. It has been a part of almost every culture in the world for centuries. Magic shows today might include a disappearing act, card tricks, or pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But what could that have to do with health?

One American magician goes beyond just entertaining crowds. Kevin Spencer also makes magic to improve the lives of people with disabilities. VOA’s Julie Taboh attended one of Mr. Spencer’s special workshops near Washington, DC to learn how.

Kevin: “Solid?"

Client: "Yes!"

Kevin: What’s the magic word again?”

Client: “Abracadabra!”

Kevin: "We’re going to bend the dollar bill over like this ..."

Kevin Spencer has been a magician for more than 30 years.

“I saw my first magician perform when I was five years old and I can remember then, vividly¹, telling my mom, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a magician.’”

But early in his career, a bad car accident changed the focus of his work.

“The car I was in was crushed by a tractor trailer. I woke up in neurological intensive care with a closed brain injury and a lower spinal² cord injury and spent almost a year in therapy just trying to regain³ the skills I’d lost as a result of the accident.”

His accident made him think about using magic tricks as a tool for healing.

“We know from research that magic is therapeutic⁴, but we also know from research that all of the movements that are required to perform a magic trick are the same kinds of things that we would be working on in more traditional forms of therapy.”

Kevin: "Push all the way down..."

So Spencer started conducting workshops all over the world. He teaches magic tricks to children and adults with disabilities.

Mr. Spencer says that magic therapy may seem non-traditional. But he adds many skills needed to perform a good magic trick are used in traditional forms of therapy – physical movement, thinking, understanding and social skills are all there.

“So we’re working on motor skills, cognitive⁵ skills, perceptual skills, social skills and when you’re done, you actually have a really cool magic trick you can show somebody when it’s all over with.”

Kevin: "Yes! Like that!"

And that social connection with other people can also help people feel better about themselves and increase their confidence.

Kevin: “One, two, three, four …”

Liam: "Oh, I get it. It's like a pattern!"

Kevin: "Uh huh, five ..."

Liam Shannon is an example.

Liam has autism, a brain disorder⁶ that can make learning and connecting with people difficult. People with severe autism may also have trouble understanding complex emotions. The 10-year old boy says that after he learned a few simple tricks, he felt many different emotions.

Liam: “Whoa! That’s so great!"

Liam says that after learning how to perform a magic trick he felt like an old magic man, a wizard, or as he puts “wizardy.”  He also says he felt serious, happy and proud. 

“It made me feel wizardy. Serious, happy, proud. It was great!”

Gitra Maitra is Liam’s mother. She says learning to perform a magic trick just made him feel good about himself.

“I think it just made him feel good about himself. Because he realized he had accomplished⁷ something. He’d seen it, he observed it, he learned it, and he did it.”

Kevin Spencer says seeing kids like Liam come alive during a workshop is better than all the applause in the world.

“We can be on a stage and get the applause of thousands of people, and that is nothing compared to the smile that comes across a kid’s face and when they say ‘Look! I did it’ and it’s like, yeah, you did!”

Kevin: "Parachute jump out of the plane..."

He says he plans to spend more and more of his time working with people with disabilities. He says he wants to help them discover their own inner wizard.

Or as Liam would say, to help them feel wizardy!

“It made me feel wizardy. It was great!”

Words in this Story

magic – n. tricks that seem to be impossible and that are done by a performer to entertain people

focus – n. a main purpose or interest

therapy – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses

wizard – n. a person who is skilled in magic or who has magical powers

confidence - n.  a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

proud - adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done, something you own, someone you know or are related to, etc.

applause - n. approval or praise expressed by clapping

1 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

2 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

5 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

6 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

7 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。