环球英语 — 240：Listener Mail 88

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.

Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. 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
From Hungary to Mexico, from Albania to Mongolia, from Vietnam to Italy, people are listening to Spotlight! We invite listeners to send us comments and questions about our programs, and each week, many of you do. Today we share mail from the United States, Mexico, and Ecuador. Let’s get started.

Voice 2
Our first letter today comes from the United States. Shana writes about the program “The Bhopal Gas Leak.” In 1984, dangerous gas began to leak from a chemical factory in the city of Bhopal, India. Thousands of people died because of the gas. And many thousands more suffered bad effects from it. Sadly, people in Bhopal still suffer the bad effects of the gas leak. Shana writes:

Voice 3
“I wanted to thank you for your recent coverage² of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. I am the US Coordinator³ for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.”

Voice 1
In her e-mail, Shana included some websites for our listeners to visit. These websites tell what people are doing to improve the lives of the Bhopal victims. If you would like to find out more about the Bhopal tragedy, or what you can do to help, you can visit the websites Shana suggested. Visit the script⁴ page for this program. There, we will provide links for you to visit.

bhopal.net
studentsforbhopal.org

Voice 2
Shana, thank you for your e-mail! The event at Bhopal was a tragedy. But we are glad to know more about your work. We hope that more people will learn of this tragedy. And we hope with you for a better life for the people of Bhopal.

Voice 1
Jeronimo, from Mexico, also wrote to us about a recent program. Jeronimo heard our program called “Skin Whitening.” In many countries, people use chemical products to make their skin lighter⁵. These products are dangerous. But people are willing to use them to change how they look. For many reasons, people want whiter skin. Jeronimo told us he believes TV and films are one source of people’s wrong ideas about white skin.

Voice 4
“I believe that television and films “sell” worldwide the wrong idea that just white–skinned people are good–looking and can be successful. The worst is that a lot of people “buy it” and believe the false words.”

Voice 1
He also described a similar situation in his country.

Voice 4
“It is sad to say, but in Mexico, a lot of women – and even men – want to have blond⁶, or light, hair. In fact, Mexico is the world’s biggest user⁷ of blond dye⁸ for the hair.

Like the majority of Mexicans, I have black hair and brown skin. I am really happy with that, I have no problem at all. I believe a person’s opinion of himself should depend on his skills and moral⁹ values, not his hair or skin color.”

Voice 2
Jeronimo, thank you for sharing your ideas. It is good that you can be proud of who you are and what you look like. It is sad when people cannot be happy with themselves. In fact, these ideas can lead to serious problems, like depression. We hope that others can share your ideas about their value as people!

Jeronimo also gives us the subject for today’s Spotlight Language Hodgepodge. He asked,

Voice 4
“I have a question about numbers. I learned¹⁰ at school that we can say one hundred [100], nine hundred [900] and one thousand [1,000] – not ten hundred. But I have listened to expressions like “nineteen hundred” [1,900] or “fifteen hundred.” [1,500] Is it correct to say one hundred [100] to ninety nine hundred?” [9,900]

Voice 1
That is a great question! English is sometimes a very strange and confusing language. Your observation about “hundreds” is correct. You can say eleven hundred [1,100] instead of one thousand one hundred, for example. But there are a few exceptions¹¹. It is not correct to say the numbers of tens. So, you would never say “ten hundred”. Instead, you would always say “one thousand.” [1,000] The same is true for two thousand [2,000], three thousand [3,000] and so on. For example, you would not say “twenty hundred” or “thirty hundred.” Instead, you would say “two thousand” and “three thousand.”

Voice 2
Are you confused yet? This method may seem very strange! So, WHY do we use it? Well, a person might say “eleven hundred” instead of “one thousand one hundred” because it is a little faster and easier. But saying numbers the way you were taught is clearest! That’s all for today’s Spotlight Language Hodgepodge! Thanks for your letter Jeronimo.

Our last e-mail today comes from Ecuador. Julio writes:

Voice 5
“I usually listen to Spotlight radio programs. I understand ninety [90] percent of them. With the radio programs I am practicing my English. I would like to get the scripts¹² for the programs. Also, I would like to get the scripts to programs about subjects like sickness.”

Voice 1
Thanks for your e-mail Julio. We are glad that Spotlight is so helpful and interesting to you! We get many requests for the scripts to our programs. And we are happy to share them.

Voice 2
Our website is a great resource for our listeners. There you can find all of the scripts to our programs. You can read along on our website as you listen to a program. Or you can print a copy of the script and read through it later. You can also find audio¹³ files of our programs for one year. So, you can listen to many programs again.

Voice 1
But you also asked for scripts about particular subjects. Well, you can also use our website to find some of our old programs on subjects like sickness. First, go to the listen and read page. Then click on “Find more programs.” There you can search for any words you are interested in. We have made many programs about many different subjects, so you will probably find something that will interest you. If you would like to hear a Spotlight program about a particular subject, e-mail us. If we have not already made a program about that subject, we may write a program using your idea!

 

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 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 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。

5 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

6 blond   

adj.金发的；n.白肤碧眼金发的人

参考例句：

• Her long blond hair spilled down over her shoulders.她那淡黄色的长发披垂在双肩。
• This blond man delivers newspaper every morning.这个白肤金发碧眼的男人每天早晨送报纸。

7 user   

n.用户，使用者

参考例句：

• The company is the biggest user of oil.该公司是最大的石油用户。
• The umbrella keeps the rains off the user.雨伞使撑伞人免受雨淋。

8 dye   

n.染料，染色；v.染，染色

参考例句：

• Black will dye over other colours.黑色能把大多数其他颜色盖住。
• This material does not dye well.这料子染不好。

9 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。

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 exceptions   

例外( exception的名词复数 )； 不包括在内的人（或物）； 规则的例外； 例外的事物

参考例句：

• Most children like sweets, but there are some exceptions. 大多数孩子喜欢吃糖果，但也有一些例外。
• Such exceptions do not invalidate the rule. 这些例外并不证明此规则无效。

12 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。

13 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。