英语听力—环球英语 513 Unknown to No One

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Ruby² Jones.
Voice 2
And I'm Ryan Geertsma. 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 band Unknown to No One has a dream. This music group wants everyone around the world to know their music. But that is not their only dream. They also desire to use their music to share a message of love and peace.
Voice 2
The words from their song While We Can are a good example. Liz Waid shares some of the words from the song.
Voice 3
"If you're looking for some hope
and searching for a better life,
You can have it if you want it,
but what will you sacrifice?
Love's the key to set us free...
why can't you understand?
Let's change it while we can."
Voice 1
But why do the band members care so much about peace? Unknown to No One began in Baghdad, Iraq, when government of Saddam Hussein was in power. They have lived through the end of this government, the American invasion³, and the current conflict. These experiences have shaped the band's music and their message.
Voice 2
Unknown to No One began in 1999 with two members, Art and Shant. The two shared a love of music, particularly English-language music. But they knew they needed a few more voices for their band. So they put a message on a local radio station in Baghdad.
Voice 1
A musician named Hassan heard the message on the radio. He then told his cousin Akhlad and his friend Nadeem about it. All three became members of the band. They all liked pop music - so that was what they decided⁴ to play.
Voice 2
Nadeem is one of the band's main singers. But Unknown to No One does not have just one lead singer. Each of the five members sings. The band's website explains,
Voice 4
"Since they each have different voice qualities, they can choose the right lead for any given song or mood. It's a shared position that they all enjoy."
Voice 1
Each of the band members has special musical gifts that he brings to the band. Four of the band members play musical instruments. Hassan plays the guitar. Shant plays the drums. Akhlad plays a very interesting instrument. It is a Middle Eastern instrument called the joza. The joza is made from the shell of a hard round coconut⁵ fruit. It has strings⁶ and is played with a stick called a bow. Art plays the piano. He is also the main song writer.
Voice 2
However, at first, the band struggled to find listeners. During this time, the government made firm rules against anything that came from the West. Unknown to No One had popular songs, but local radio stations would not play them.
Voice 1
Then in 2003, the United States led a military invasion of Iraq. This war made it difficult for the band members to practice. However, they played together when and where they could. Often they played at their houses. Sometimes, they played in the back of a car. And other times they would go to the desert to practice.
Voice 2
After the war ended in 2004, Iraq became increasingly⁷ more dangerous. The war was officially over, but the conflict got worse. It was still not safe for Unknown to No One to play English music. They stopped playing together and found other jobs. But not one of them gave up their dream of becoming a world famous band.
Voice 1
And, then, things changed again. Shant met a business man. And the business man offered to help Unknown to No One make another record. So Shant worked to gather the band back together again. Towards the end of 2004, the members of Unknown to No One reunited in Iraq.
Voice 2
But it was clear that it was not safe to stay in Iraq. So they went to Jordan. They hoped that in Jordan they would be able to get travel documents. The business man had made plans for them to make a new record in London. It was not easy to get the visas and documents they needed. Shant even had to sing in the government office in front of a crowd of people, just to prove he was a singer!
Voice 1
In London, the band was able to record three songs. One of these was their popular song While We Can. The band wrote the song in 2006, in reaction to the situation in Iraq. The disorder⁸, violence, and death they saw caused them great sadness. The song describes this great sadness, as in this part:
Voice 3
"In the time of guilt⁹, in the time of wasted years
Nothing more than hate and never ending fears
Controls your mind, takes away your pride
Nothing seems to be spared"
Voice 2
But mostly, the song represented the hope that could come from that sadness. The song shares their desire to see the situation change. It expresses the band's belief that love is the way to change. The song also encourages people to take action. To love and make changes while they have the chance. Akhlad expresses this opinion on the band's website,
Voice 4
"When we sing about the importance of peace, we are coming at it from our own experiences. We want people to feel the same way we do and music is the best vehicle for that. You can send any message you want by music, and people will react to it more than anything else."
Voice 1
For Unknown to No One, music is a way for people to unite even with their differences. Art and Shant are Christians¹⁰. Akhlad, Hassan, and Nadeem are Muslims. They live and work together peacefully. The war in Iraq showed the world violence and hate. So the five members of Unknown to No One decided to use their music to make a positive change. They felt responsible to use their music to unite people from different religions, places, and experiences. Art writes on the band's website,
Voice 5
"I think music can make communication easier between people of different ethnic¹¹ groups as they share together the common emotions that unite us - love, fear, happiness, sadness and hope."
Voice 2
If you would like to learn more about Unknown to No One or hear their music, please visit the script¹² page of this program for a link to their 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 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 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

4 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。

5 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

6 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

7 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。