英语听力—环球英语 532 John Francis: Walking Not Talking

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Steve Myersco,
Voice 2
And I'm Marina Santee. 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 3
‘Thank you for being here'
Voice 1
Five simple words. But they meant a lot to the people who heard them. Even the man who said them seemed surprised by the sound of his voice. He was John Francis. And these were the first words he had spoken in seventeen years.
Voice 2
John Francis lives in the United States. He helps to manage an environmental organisation². He also works³ for the United Nations. But people know him mostly for a decision he made on his twenty-seventh birthday. On this day he decided⁴ to do something very unusual. John Francis explains,
Voice 3
‘I decided that I argued and talked too much. So I decided I would stop speaking for just one day. And so I did. I got up in the morning and I did not say a word. And I have to tell you, it was a very emotional⁵ experience. I began to listen for the first time... And it was very sad for me. I understood that for many years I had not been learning⁶. ... And so I decided I should do this for another day, and another day. Finally I promised myself I would keep quiet for a whole year. I decided that I would rethink this on my next birthday, and maybe then I would talk again. Well, that lasted for seventeen years.'
Voice 1
But this was not the only big decision that John Francis made. One year earlier, he decided never to ride in a car. He lived in California in the United States. Choosing not to use a car seemed like a very strange idea.
Voice 2
John Francis decided this after seeing two ships crash near San Francisco. Both ships were carrying oil. The oil poured into the sea. It killed thousands of sea birds and covered the coast. John Francis decided he did not want to use vehicles that used oil. So he walked instead. He hoped that other people would follow his idea. They did not. But John Francis continued his own protest⁷ against oil by walking everywhere.
Voice 1
Then John heard about an environmental class. It was in a university that was about six hundred kilometres away, in the state of Oregon. So, he walked the six hundred [600] kilometres to begin at the university.
Voice 2
Two years later, John completed his time at the university. So, he walked to another university in Montana. He joined another environmental class. Here, he also began to teach some classes. He did all this without saying a word. His family did not understand why he refused to speak and ride in cars. John Francis says,
Voice 3
‘My father came to see me finish university. He said "We are very proud of you son. But you must start riding and driving, and start talking. What are you going to do with your university degree?" I did not know. I took my bag and then I went on to the University of Wisconsin. I spent two years there writing about oil spills. No one was interested in oil spills. But then something happened: Exxon Valdez.'
Voice 1
In 1989 there was another huge oil spill. A ship, the Exxon Valdez, hit land in Alaska. Oil ruined much of the local environment. Suddenly John Francis's work became very important. It was also around this time that John decided to start speaking again. He organised a meeting for people to hear him speak.
Voice 3
‘On April twenty-second 1990 I began to speak. I said, "Thank you for being here." I said this because it was sort of like a tree that falls in a forest. If there is no one there to hear it, does it really make a sound? I thanked my family. They had come to hear me speak. And that is communication. They also taught me about listening - they listened to me. It is one of the things that I learned⁸ from the silence - the need to listen to each other. That is really very important.'
Voice 2
Now John Francis could speak, the United States government offered him a job. He helped to write laws on how to manage oil spills. The United Nations also made him a UN Environmental Ambassador⁹.
Voice 1
But later, John began to question himself again. He saw that he was limiting himself by walking everywhere. He began to think that this restriction¹⁰ had made him a prisoner. He wanted to ride in cars and airplanes again. So, for the first time in twenty-two years he rode in a vehicle - a bus. John Francis talks about this decision,
Voice 3
‘I had become a prisoner... The prison that I was in was the fact that I did not drive or use vehicles. ... Every birthday I had asked myself about my silence. But I never asked myself about me only using my feet. But now I was a UN Ambassador. I had finished university. And so I saw that I had a responsibility to more than just me. I was going to have to change. But I was afraid. I was so used to the man who only walked. I did not know who I would be if I changed. But I knew I needed to change.'
Voice 2
John Francis now does a lot of work teaching¹¹ other people about the environment. He has also created an organisation called Planetwalk. Planetwalk encourages people to care for the environment. John says people need to be willing to change if they want to care for the environment. However he knows that people can often be afraid to change. John Francis hopes the way that he changed can be an example for everyone. He says,
Voice 3
‘We can often find ourselves in a wonderful position. But then there is another place for us to go to. We have to leave behind the security¹² of whom we have become. We have to go to that new place - to whom we are becoming. And so I want to encourage you to go to that next place... We have to do something now. We have to become activists¹³... We are part of the environment. How we treat each other is really how we are going to treat the environment.'
 

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 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

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 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

6 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。

7 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

8 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。

9 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

11 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。

12 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》