英语听力—环球英语 462：Besa and the Good Samaritan

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
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 3
“Albanians would die rather than break besa.”
Voice 4
“An Albanian can sacrifice his own son for besa.”
Voice 2
You may recognize that besa is not an English word. It is an Albanian word, and it has much meaning and a long cultural history. Besa is often translated into English as faith, trust or word of honour. However, the best translation of besa is “to keep the promise.” The promise is to serve family, community and nation. And the promise is even for people coming into the community in need.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight program will be on two great stories of besa during the terrible events of World War II.
Voice 2
During Word War II, the Nazi² government of Germany killed millions of Jews, and other minority groups, from all across Europe. Today, this event is called the Holocaust³. In 1943, Germany invaded⁴ the country of Albania. Albania came under the control of Germany. And the people of Albania had to turn over Jews to the Nazi government. However, the people knew that this often meant death for the Jews.
Voice 1
The Albanian people knew the Nazi rules, but they still had a strong sense of besa. So, many Christian⁶ and Muslim Albanians refused to turn their Jewish⁷ neighbours over to the Germans. Instead, they “kept the promise.” Many Albanians put their own lives at risk by hiding and caring for the Jews around them. Jews even came from other countries because Albanians offered protection and help.
Voice 2
Shortly after the Nazis⁸ invaded Albania, an orthodox⁹ Christian priest¹⁰ asked a man named Mefail Bicaku for help. He hoped to protect the Jewish people of the area. Mefail, a Muslim, was known by many to be a brave and honest man. He was a person who strongly represented the Albanian way of besa. This is why the priest asked Mefail to help him.
Voice 1
Mefail agreed to help protect the Jews. And his wife and seventeen [17] year old son, Njazi, agreed too. In fact, the Bicaku family hid and cared for twenty–six [26] Jews.
Voice 2
At one time, a group of dishonest men suggested to Njazi that he turn the Jews over to the government. They said that if he did this, he could claim all the Jews’ money. However, Njazi refused. Like his father, Njazi lived by besa.
Voice 1
The Bicaku family cared for the twenty–six Jews for over six months. And in the end, all twenty–six Jews were saved.
Voice 2
The way of besa, however, was not easy. Years after the war, the new communist government of Albania arrested Mefail. He was arrested for protecting and working with Jews. And sadly, he died in 1969, still in prison.
Voice 1
Mefail’s family was targeted by the government for many years. And besa continued to be difficult for Mefail’s family even after he was dead. They had risked their lives to hide the Jews during the war. And they lived under a hostile¹¹ government for years after the war.
Voice 2
However, after more than fifty [50] years, the great bravery of the family was finally recognized. Mefail and Njazi Bicaku died before they were recognized for their great act of besa. But, their family has been honoured with many awards for them. And their great example of besa has become known to many.
Voice 1
Our second story of besa is also about Jews and Muslims in Albania during WWII. However, it is not a story of those who gave their besa. Instead, it is a story of a family who was blessed by the besa of others.
Voice 2
Anna Kohen is the daughter of Nina and David Kohen. Her parents were both Jews that lived through the holocaust. One day, when Anna was young, she experienced¹² a strange event. A woman shouting “Bule, Bule!” ran down the street toward¹³ Anna and her mother. Anna was very confused, because her mother’s name was Nina. However, the woman cried as she kissed and held Anna’s mother close.
Voice 1
Anna’s mother later explained this strange event to Anna. Anna’s mother and father were living in Albania when the Nazis invaded. To get away from the Nazis, her parents ran to the mountains. They hid in a small village with a Muslim family. Her parents took the Muslim names “Bule” and “Daut” for safety.
Voice 2
The woman who was running down the street that day, shouting “Bule, Bule!” was the woman whose besa had saved her mother years before.
Voice 1
Anna gave a speech about this experience to honour Albanians who saved Jews during the holocaust. In the speech she said,
Voice 6
“As you can see, the Albanian people risked their lives for the Jews. I would not be here today giving this speech if it were not for the courage and kindness of those Albanians.”
Voice 2
Many people today think of Muslims and Jews as enemies. However, these stories of besa show that goodness¹⁴ crosses all borders – national, ethnic¹⁵ and religious.
Voice 1
Christians¹⁶ have a story that shares the idea of besa. Jesus Christ⁵ first told this story, the story of the “Good Samaritan”. At the time Jesus told the story, Samaritans and Jews were terrible enemies. Jews thought very badly of Samaritans.
Voice 2
This story takes place in ancient Palestine. It begins with a Jewish man walking along a dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Thieves attacked the Jew and took everything he had. They beat him and left him almost dead on the road.
Voice 1
Now, a Jewish priest happened to walk down the same road. He saw the man, but walked past him on the other side of the road. In the same way, a Jewish temple worker, a Levite, came along the road. He too looked at the man, and also walked past him on the other side of the road.
Voice 2
Next, a Samaritan man came walking down the road. Like the Jewish priest and Levite, the Samaritan man came upon the beaten Jew. But, when he saw the man, he felt bad for him. He went over to the man and cared for his wounds. He then put the man on his animal and took him to a hotel. The Samaritan paid the man who owned the hotel. He also asked the owner to care for the man. And he said he would pay for whatever it cost to care for the Jew.
Voice 1
Besa and “the way of the good Samaritan” show us that goodness crosses all borders. It does not depend on nation, ethnic group, or religion. It is willing to sacrifice. And sometimes, the greatest goodness can be found in a surprising place.
 

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 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

4 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

6 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。

7 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

8 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 orthodox   

adj.正统的，传统的，惯常的

参考例句：

• They are orthodox Jews.他们是正统的犹太教徒。
• His ideas are very orthodox.他的思想非常合乎规范。

10 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。

11 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。

12 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

13 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

14 goodness   

n.善良，善行，美德

参考例句：

• Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
• Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！

15 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

16 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。