英语听力—环球英语 575 Cricket for Change

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Steve Myersco.
Voice 2
And I'm Ruby² Jones. 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 1
A man walks slowly along the sports field. He is wearing a blue and red shirt. He is carrying a white ball in his hand. He stops, turns then begins to run as fast as he can. He is running towards three pieces of wood. They are set close together, sticking up from the ground to form a target. In front of the target, another man waits. He is holding a wooden bat. This man positions his bat, ready to strike the ball. He concentrates on the man running towards him.
Suddenly, the man with the ball stops running. He turns his arm over in a circle and throws the ball as hard as he can. The ball flies through the air at speed. The man with the bat tries to hit it. But it is too fast for him. The ball strikes the middle piece of wood of the target, behind the batsman's legs. And it falls to the ground. He is out!
The man in the blue and red shirt runs towards other members of his team. They jump up and down to celebrate. They have just won the cricket³ game! The players turn to shake the hands of the opposite team. On the back of their red and blue shirts is the name of their country: Afghanistan.
Voice 2
In April 2009, the Afghanistan cricket team played in a competition in South Africa. The team's aim was to be one of the four most successful teams in the competition. This would win them the right to play in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. This is the highest honour for any national team! The Afghan team played very well. They defeated more experienced⁴ teams like Ireland. But they only managed to make fifth place. However the team members were happy with their achievements. Fifth place gave them the official right to play international one-day games.
Voice 1
The Afghanistan cricket team has achieved some amazing results in a very short time! You may remember another Spotlight programme about cricket. In it, we talked about how people started to play cricket in Afghanistan. Afghan refugees⁵ living in Pakistan learned⁶ the game there. When they returned home, they brought the game with them! The Afghan national team has only been playing together since 2003. But it has brought much joy and pleasure to the people of that troubled country. Kabir Khan is the team's trainer. He says:
Voice 3
"These days, cricket in Afghanistan is like cricket in India or Pakistan. Huge numbers of people follow it. They love it... If you turn on the television, it is showing either the Taliban or cricket!"
Voice 1
Afghanistan is not the only place where cricket is influencing people's lives. It is also bringing people together in another area of conflict in the world.
Voice 2
Some boys and girls run around a dusty piece of ground. They are chasing⁷ after a yellow ball. One of them catches it and throws it at a set of three plastic sticks. The ball hits the sticks and the children shout happily. Cricket has come to the small village of Hura, in southern Israel!
Voice 1
The people who organised the game are from an aid group. It is called "Cricket for Change." The group started in the United Kingdom in 1981. Its aim was to help unemployed⁸ young people learn new skills. Group members taught the young people a street version⁹ of cricket. This was easy to play anywhere. And, they helped to train those who wanted to teach cricket as a job. Cricket for Change also works¹⁰ in prisons and in areas of poverty and conflict around the world. And that is why they are in Hura!
Voice 2
The Cricket for Change people were in Israel for just one week. They came to provide training. On the third day, they took some of the children from Hura to the town of Beer-Sheva. It is only a few kilometres away. But normally¹¹ these two communities keep themselves separate. The population of Hura is Arab. And Beer-sheva is a Jewish¹² town. It is rare for the two communities to mix. This is not surprising. In ethnic¹³ terms they represent opposite sides of the conflict in the Middle East.
Voice 1
Tom Rodwell is the founder¹⁴ of Cricket for Change. He is one of the many people who is working to improve the situation in the Middle East. He explained what it was like for him as a foreign visitor to experience such extreme division¹⁵. He said:
Voice 4
"This situation is really shocking¹⁶ for me. Coming from Britain, I am used to different communities living next to each other and mixing. But here there is no communication at all between the two. It is because of history. But here we have a chance with the children. Their thinking has not yet been influenced to believe that they must be separate. And there is no reason it should be. That may sound too simple. But they do not need to be separate. "
Voice 1
And that is why Tom Rodwell brought the children from Hura to play cricket in Beer-sheva. The children did not seem to have any trouble mixing! Osher is from Beer-sheva. He said:
Voice 5
"It has been a lot of fun."
Voice 1
Abdullah agreed with him. He has never travelled from his home in Hura to Beer-sheva before. It was also the first time he has played with anyone outside his community. He enjoyed the experience very much. He said:
Voice 6
"I feel really good, because I felt I was playing with good people."
Voice 1
Tom Rodwell was encouraged by the way that the children found it so easy and natural to mix with each other. He commented:
Voice 4
"These children, they are all playing happily together. And hopefully maybe they can grow up together. And then maybe they can help to solve some of the problems between the two communities."
Voice 2
Tom plans to return to Israel in the future. He wants to hold cricket training in Jerusalem. It may be wishful thinking that a game can help to solve such a complex conflict - or any conflict! But it is providing some people with the chance to bring change to their troubled communities. And that is something worth playing for.
 

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 cricket   

n.蟋蟀，板球运动；adj.公平的

参考例句：

• The England cricket team scored quite a useful total.英格兰板球队得分总数令人满意。
• We could hear the shrill of the midsummer cricket.我们可以听到仲夏时节蟋蟀的尖叫声。
• Your behaviour isn't cricket.你的行为不光彩。

4 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。

5 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

6 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。

7 chasing   

n.雕镂术，雕刻工作；车螺丝；抛光；螺旋板

参考例句：

• My dog likes chasing rabbits. 我的狗喜欢追捕兔子。
• The children were having fun, chasing each other's shadows. 孩子们追逐着彼此的影子，玩得很开心。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

10 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。

11 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

12 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。

13 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。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

16 shocking   

adj.令人气愤的；令人震惊的

参考例句：

• His attitude was shocking to her.他的态度令她感到震惊。
• Such behaviour is really shocking.这种行为真不像话。