环球英语 — 137：Listener Mail 81

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². 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
Welcome to our listener⁴ mail programme! Today we share letters from different countries about different subjects! We will also hear from Mike Procter - who visited one of our listener areas! First, a letter from Josef in Slovakia.
Josef had a very special time at New Year. He went on a pilgrimage - a trip with a special religious⁵ meaning. He writes:
Voice 3
“I took part in a pilgrimage in Geneva, Switzerland. There were another thirty thousand young people from all over Europe there. The pilgrimage lasted five days. Most of the young people stayed with families in Geneva. It was very nice how families from Switzerland accepted strange people into their houses during the New Year holiday.”
Voice 1
An international religious community called Taize organized this pilgrimage. They called it, ‘The Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth’. The idea is to find ways that young people can trust each other. Josef describes what happened during this pilgrimage:
Voice 3
“All the young people met together two times a day in a big room. They prayed and sang together. It was a beautiful thing to see - thousands of young people praying for peace and quiet in the world. It filled us with joy and hope. And we felt God’s presence⁶ in this place.”
Voice 1
Thank you, Josef, for sharing such a special experience with us.
Voice 2
Next, a letter from Tan³ Ngoan in Vietnam⁷:
Voice 4
‘I love to hear Spotlight. There are lots of subjects. And I understand because my English is limited. Thank you so much! I want to hear the Bible⁸ and subjects in easy English. Could Spotlight help me?’
Voice 2
Thanks for your request Tan Ngoan. There are some websites with the Bible in easy English. Easyenglish.info has the whole Bible. BibleGateway.com has different copies of the Bible. And you can hear it on this website too! We have links to these on our website. Look for the script⁹ of this programme, Listener Mail 81:
www.radio.english.net
Voice 1
And now, it is time for our Spotlight language hodgepodge. We hope you enjoy this, as it is the last one you will hear! As many of you know, this will be the last Spotlight programme. We have enjoyed making the programmes. And we hope you have enjoyed listening to them!
Voice 2
What?!
Voice 1
April Fool! Today’s hodgepodge is on April Fools’ Day!
Voice 2
So it isn’t the last Spotlight programme? That wasn’t true?
Voice 1
No, of course not! It was a trick - to introduce our hodgepodge about April Fools! April Fools’ Day is on the first of April. On this day, people everywhere play tricks. If the person believes them, they shout ‘April Fool!’
People believe that this day started hundreds of years ago. In 1582, Pope¹⁰ Gregory was the head of the Catholic¹¹ Church in Europe. He decided¹² to change the calendar - the system of organizing the days of the year. He declared that every country should operate by his new calendar. The beginning of the year was to be January the first. Before, it had been April the first.
Voice 2
But Gregory was only a religious leader - not a political¹³ one. And, some governments chose not to use this new calendar for a long time. So some people kept celebrating the New Year on April the first. Other people laughed at them for doing this. They thought those people were fools not to use the new calendar. They played tricks on them and called them, April Fools! And so the tradition began!
Voice 1
You can read more about the Gregorian calendar on our website: http://www.radio.english.net.
For more information about the Gregorian calendar:
The History of the Gregorian Calendar
Calendar Reform¹⁴
Voice 2
And now a special greeting to the Dalat English Speaking Club in Vietnam! Thanks to all of you who write to us! And thanks too for your warm welcome to Mike Procter!! Here’s Mike with some words about his trip to Vietnam!
Mike
Well, Vietnam is a country full of surprises, and Dalat is one of them. It is a small city high in the mountains. It is in an area of waterfalls, lakes, and pine forests. It made me think of Mediterranean¹⁵ countries in Europe. But the best part of the visit was meeting the members of the Dalat Language Club. I hope to say more about that in another programme. It was great to see people of so many different ages coming together and enjoying Spotlight, and enjoying being together. We sang songs and talked together - in English of course. And I felt very welcome. The next day two of the club members showed us Dalat. They were Vy and Kim. They took us around on their motorcycles¹⁶. It was great fun. I want to thank Vy, Kim, Dennis and all of the club members for their friendly welcome. It was a great visit.
Voice 1
Our last letter comes from Augusto in Quito. He listened to a programme about the English writer, John Donne. Augusto writes:
Voice 5
“His story was very interesting. He was a person that suffered great changes in his life…he was joined in true love with his beloved¹⁷ wife. But he wrote about being lonely - that a person is not an island... The message was very wise.”
Voice 1
Augusto also talks about part of a line from one of Donne’s poems. It is about death:
“So, never ask to know
For whom the bell tolls¹⁸,
It tolls for you.”
Voice 1
Augusto comments:
Voice 5
“I think that death is something real for everyone.”
Voice 2
This is very true, Augusto. And John Donne’s words seem to encourage people. He found a way to deal with death. He trusted in God. And he had faith that he would be with God after he died - death was not the end.
Voice 1
Well, we have reached the end - the end of today’s programme! Thank you for listening. If you have comments or questions about any Spotlight programmes, you can reach us by e-mail. Our address is: radio @ english . net.
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 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。

3 tan   

n.鞣制革，黄褐色；adj.黄褐色的，鞣皮的；vt.晒黑，鞣(革)，鞭打；vi.晒成棕褐色

参考例句：

• She had gotten a good tan after the holiday at the sea.在海边度假之后，她的皮肤晒得黑黑的。
• His arms and legs had a dark tan.他的手臂和腿晒得黑黑的。

4 listener   

n.听众；收听者

参考例句：

• I'm a regular listener to her show.我经常收听她的节目。
• She became an attentive listener.她变成了一个专心致志的聆听者。

5 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

6 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。

7 Vietnam   

n.越南

参考例句：

• Vietnam is suffering from food shortage.越南正遭受食物短缺之苦。
• Laos is on the west of Vietnam.老挝在越南西面。

8 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。

9 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

10 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

11 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

12 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。

13 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

14 reform   

n.改革，改正，感化；vt.改革，改过，革新，改善，重新组成；vi.革新，改过，重组

参考例句：

• All their efforts at reform have been set back.他们所有的改革努力都遭受到挫折。
• Frankly speaking,I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

16 motorcycles   

n.摩托车( motorcycle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Twelve guards on motorcycles preceded the president's car. 骑着摩托车上的12名侍卫行于总统车前。 来自辞典例句
• This scooter didn't have a foot pedal to accelerate like the military motorcycles back then. 这台速克达并不像当时的军用摩托车是用脚踏板来加速。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

17 beloved   

adj./n.受爱戴的，敬爱的；爱人，被心爱的人

参考例句：

• She longs for the early return of her beloved.她盼着心上人早日归来。
• She is Tom's beloved wife.她是汤姆的爱妻。

18 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。