环球英语 02 City Destroyed

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live
Voice 1
On the 13th of February 1944, British and American airplanes bombed the beautiful city of Dresden in Germany. There was a terrible fire. Over thirty thousand [30,000] people were killed. They died in great pain - starved of air in rooms under the ground, burned to ashes by the fire, or overcome by the heat. There were many refugees² in the city. They, too, were killed.
Voice 2
Why did it happen? People who survived asked this question many times. They did not know what to do. They were shocked. Their beautiful city did not deserve³ to be destroyed in this way. They were not ready for that. And they had not expected it.
People in England and America also asked this question. The pilot of one of the airplanes that took part in the bombing said: ‘I have asked God to forgive me several times’. But other people said that the bombing had to happen. They said it was needed to bring the war to an end.
Voice 1
After the war, people came from the church to help, to advise. They offered hope. They encouraged people in Dresden to help each other and to work hard. The Christian⁴ Bible⁵ would show them how to live. And people had to learn to live with little. And God would help them. But these people had much to think about. The fire had destroyed the most important Christian place in Dresden, the ‘Church of Our Lady’.
Voice 2
Five years earlier, bombs destroyed another important church. It happened in the city of Coventry, in England. German airplanes bombed Coventry in 1940. The bombs killed many people and destroyed the main church. People were shocked, and angry. They wanted to fight back.
But one man resisted the desire to fight back. He was Richard Howard. He was the chief priest⁶ of the ruined church in Coventry. He said:
Voice 3
‘Do not fight back. We must build a more simple, more kind, and more Christian world’.
Voice 1
This was not an easy message. Terrible things were happening in the war: people were being murdered in camps because of what they believed.
Voice 2
In the destroyed church in Coventry, people found some iron nails that had fallen from the burning roof. They made a cross from these nails. To Christians⁷, the cross is a sign of pain and forgiveness. The people who made it said: ‘We want to forgive the people who hurt us’.
In 1959, the people of Coventry and the people of Dresden decided⁸ to reach out as friends to one another. It was a special time. Sixteen young Germans visited Coventry. They helped to build an International Centre for Reconciliation⁹ in the ruins of the old church. Reconciliation means working to return to peace and friendship. And so a church leader from Germany opened the International Centre in Coventry, England. Then some young British people went to Dresden. They helped to build a hospital there. They took with them the message of the Cross of Nails. This message was that we must forgive other people for the wrong things they do.
Voice 1
Music helps to bring people together. British people made music in Dresden, and German people made music in Coventry. British and Germans learned¹⁰ to become friends, where before they were enemies.
Voice 2
By the early 60’s, a wonderful new church had been built in Coventry, next to the ruins of the old one. However, in Dresden, the great Church of Our Lady was still in ruins. People there wanted it to remain in ruins as a memorial. For much of the city’s centre had stayed as it was, in ruins. There were many plans to build it again in a modern way. It would be completely different from the beautiful city it had been before the bombing. People could not agree how the city was to be built. But, little by little, some of the old buildings were built again.
Voice 1
And in 1990, the people decided to build the beautiful Church of Our Lady as it had been before the bombing. It would take a long time. They moved the stones of the old building from the ruins and kept them safe. They would use the stones again in the new building. Spotlight’s Shelagh Godwin is from England. She remembers visiting the city during that time. She said:
Voice 1
‘I saw the stones from the old church. I felt very emotional¹¹. The stones were ready to be used again. It was very moving’.
Voice 2
But a church is more than just stones. It is people. The church leaders from Coventry and Dresden decided to work together. One of them wrote: ‘I have been happy to use our experience of peace work in Coventry to help people working to breathe life into the new Church in Dresden. This church will become an international centre in its own right, worthy¹² of its great past’.
Voice 1
Many people supported the re-building project by giving money - people from many countries, including Germany, Britain, and the United States. As the war separated people, this project has helped to bring people together.
Voice 2
For example, there was a gold cross on top of the old Church of Our Lady in Dresden. It stood on a golden orb¹³, or ball. In 1994, people found the damaged remains¹⁴ of the ‘orb and cross’ in the ruins of the bombed church. In Britain, people and companies formed a group called ‘the Dresden Trust’. The group made a new Orb and Cross for the top of the new church. Again, people said:
Voice 3
‘We must apologise for what we did and we must forgive you for what you did to us. And we must become friends and stay friends’.
Voice 2
Now the great new Church of Our Lady is complete. It has taken fifteen years to rebuild. Now people can worship¹⁵ in it again. People can play and sing music in it again. The re-opening of this church truly is a cause for celebration for the people of Dresden, and for their friends in Britain and in many other places.
Voice 2
But the story does not end there. There are plans to raise money so that young Germans could go to England to study. In the same way, young British people could go to Dresden to study. These young people will make friends with one another. They will forgive and forget what their parents did to each other. They will learn to live again in peace and friendship.
Voice 1
The writer of today’s programme was Shelagh Godwin. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. Computer users¹⁶ can hear our programmes, read our scripts¹⁷ and see our wordbook on our website at . This programme is called ‘City Destroyed’.
Voice 2
We love to hear comments and questions from our listeners. You can reach us by e-mail. Our address is radio @ English . net. Thank you for joining us in today’s Spotlight programme. Goodbye.
To see pictures and learn more about The Church of Our Lady, please visit its website.

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 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 deserve   

vt.应受，值得；vi. 应受报答，值得受赏

参考例句：

• You really deserve a good beating,you naughty boy.你这个调皮孩子真该打。
• I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.我不配得到这些赞扬。

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 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

6 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

11 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 orb   

n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形

参考例句：

• The blue heaven,holding its one golden orb,poured down a crystal wash of warm light.蓝蓝的天空托着金色的太阳，洒下一片水晶般明亮温暖的光辉。
• It is an emanation from the distant orb of immortal light.它是从远处那个发出不灭之光的天体上放射出来的。

14 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。

15 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。

16 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

17 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。