英语听力—环球英语 460：Teaching in a New Way

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby² Jones. 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
The little girl was three years old. She was using all her effort to concentrate. She sat in front of a few containers. Each container had a different size opening. She held a few round tubes in her hands. The size of each tube was the same size as the opening of one of the containers. She was concentrating on placing the right tube in the right container.
Voice 2
The little girl’s teacher decided³ to test the girl’s concentration⁴. Would the girl stop if she moved the girl? The teacher lifted the girl and the chair she sat in. Then she placed her on a small table. The little girl did not look up. She moved the containers to her knees. She continued to work.
Voice 1
The little girl’s teacher was Maria Montessori. She was a teacher who influenced change in teaching⁵ methods. Today, her influence can be seen in classes all over the world.
Voice 2
Maria was not always a teacher. She was born in Chiaravalle, Italy in 1870. When Maria was twelve years old, her family moved to Rome. There, she received a good education. Her parents wanted her to become a teacher. But she wanted to be a doctor. In 1890 she went to the University of Rome to study medicine. And she became the first female⁶ doctor in Italy. As a doctor, she worked mostly with children.
Voice 1
Some of these children did not perform well in school. People considered them stupid. School authorities⁷ claimed they had mental problems. So, families and teachers sent these children away to medical centres. But Maria saw they still had a natural desire to learn. She did not believe the children had medical problems. Instead, she said the problem was in the school and teaching methods. She did not think they served a child’s way of learning⁸. She explained her ideas this way.
Voice 3
“Suppose I said there was a planet⁹ without schools or teachers, and no–one studied. And yet the people – doing nothing but living and walking about – came to know all things, to carry in their mind the whole of learning: would you think I was imagining? Well, this, which seems so imaginary¹⁰, is a reality. It is the child’s way of learning. He learns everything without knowing he is learning it.”
Voice 2
Montessori wanted to see all children learn and succeed. She was also very interested in social reform. She wanted to see schools and teaching methods change. She wanted education to support how children learned¹¹ most naturally.
Voice 1
By 1899, Montessori was doing very little work as a doctor. Instead, she spent most of her time studying education. She read about the ideas of other people who wanted to reform education too. And she spent lots of time watching and observing children learn.
Voice 2
Maria observed that when children wanted to learn, they did. If a child has an interest in something, he will search for ways to learn about it until he is satisfied. She also noticed that often children did this learning with their hands. Just like the little girl in the beginning of our program with her containers and tubes.
Voice 1
Maria formed a theory from her observations of the children. She believed that a child would work or play with something until the child has satisfied her desire to learn about it. So Maria developed a method of education based on her theory. And she developed special materials from watching children learn naturally. She designed each material to develop a particular skill.
Voice 2
In Montessori classes, the room appears very structured. Many of her special materials are present for the students to use. There is space for children to explore any subject they wish. Students can choose which materials they want to use. And they can use them for as long as they wish. However, it is important that they use the materials correctly.
Voice 1
Maria believed that a teacher’s purpose should be to create an environment for learning. Then, in that environment, a teacher should permit students to satisfy their own desire to learn. So, one student may use one set of materials for many hours. But another student may do many things in that same amount of time. In her book Discovery of the Child, Maria explains:
Voice 3
“A teacher becomes a director of the child’s own natural, unplanned work.”
Voice 2
Maria also believed that using this method would help a child develop in many areas. So, she supported using a great variety of materials in her classrooms. Children could study subjects like mathematics, science, and history. And they could study music, art, and skills for life. Montessori’s method helped children learn independently.
Voice 1
Students reacted well to Montessori’s method of teaching. Children learned to read and write at an early age. Some were even as young as three or four. Maria shared this story from one of her classes.
Voice 3
“One beautiful December day...I went up to the top of the building with the children. I said to a little five–year–old boy who sat next me, ‘Make me a picture.’ He obeyed and made a picture. When he finished, the child looked at me. He smiled and remained still. It seemed as if he was about to burst into some act of joy. And then he cried out, ‘I can write! I can write!’ He wrote on the ground in front of him “m–a–n–o”, the Italian word for hand. His cries of joy brought the other children. Two or three of them excitedly said to me, ‘Give me the chalk. I can write too!’ And they too began to write many kinds of words.”
Voice 2
Maria Montessori began to change the way many people thought about education. When she was alive, many people considered her methods strange. They thought children were too free in her classes. And they thought there was a lack of discipline – of order and control.
Voice 1
But today, her ideas are part of almost all kinds of teaching. For example, many classrooms include activities or projects in which the children can use their hands as well as their ears and eyes. Her work influenced other teachers and scientists to research more about how people learn. Now there are theories about multiple¹² intelligences and different learning styles. Sometimes it takes an idea that is completely strange and new to change an established system for the better.
 

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 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。

3 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。

4 concentration   

n.集中；专注；浓度；浓缩

参考例句：

• She wrinkled her brows in concentration.她蹙额皱眉，陷入沉思。
• If smoke is going that way,then it means the concentration here should be decreasing.如果烟雾沿着这个方向飘，这意味着，这里的浓度应该是减少的。

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

6 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

7 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

9 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

10 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

11 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。

12 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。