英语听力—环球英语 820 Listener Mail 116

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹’s listener² mail program. I’m Adam Navis.
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 1
Today’s Spotlight is on YOU! Today we look at what you had to say about our programs. Join us as we talk about stopping smoking³, the history of chess, and mobile⁴ phones changing poverty⁵.
Voice 2
Our first comments today come from the program “Stop Smoking”. In this program we told about the bad health effects of smoking tobacco⁶ cigarettes have on a person’s health. We also gave a few suggestions to help people who want to stop smoking. This program affected⁷ many people. Many had personal stories about smoking.
GelezniyDen shared:
Voice 3
“I was a smoker⁸ about eight years ago. And I knew that stopping smoking would be very difficult. But I do not agree with the writer of this program. For me I did not depend on the nicotine⁹. It was just a habit - something I did without thinking about it. It just did not seem like I could live without cigarettes. But I had a strong will and I could stop smoking. People who need pills or other methods to stop smoking just do not have any will. Do not spend your money on cigarettes that are harmful for your health and on different pills and on different doctors. Just stop.”
Voice 1
Thanks for sharing your opinion! It is great that you could stop smoking. For some people, like you, the power of will is enough to stop smoking. However, it is extremely¹⁰ difficult to stop smoking. That is because the nicotine drug inside the cigarettes influences people’s brains.
Voice 2
Other listeners¹¹ wished that the people around them could stop smoking. Anhnt2407 wrote:
Voice 4
“This is a fitting¹² story for me and my father. I do not like to use cigarettes or breathe smoke. But I have a sad story from my father. He is a smoker. He smokes every day. He has spent a huge amount of my family’s saved money on tobacco. My mother, my older sister, and I have talked to him about this. But we have not had any good results. He will not stop smoking. In my country, reaching private doctors is impossible. We just have public and private hospitals just for curing. But this program gives me a lot of helpful suggestions. I will translate this page and explain to my father about the risks of smoking and methods of giving up smoking. Thank you very much.”
Voice 2
And Ly [Nature187_vn] had a similar story from her family.
Voice 5
“In my family, my father smokes. Each member of our family has told him to stop smoking because it is harmful for his health. Now, I will always encourage him. I believe he will have success. I think we should teach children and teenagers now about the dangers of smoking. Later they will know and should not smoke.”
Voice 1
Sometimes it can be helpful to know that other people are facing the same problems that we are. We wish both of you luck in encouraging your family members! Stopping smoking can be extremely difficult. But, as we said in our program: “If you want to stop smoking, do not stop trying!” Thanks for all your comments.
Voice 2
Our next comments come from a program about an ancient game that is still popular around the world today – chess! That program was called “A History of Chess”. Ly [Nature187_vn] has lots of experience with chess - she plays it! She writes:
Voice 5
“Although I am a girl, I like playing chess very much. When I was a child, I always played with my brother. Now I always play with my friend. And I am proud of my country, Vietnam¹³. We have a boy named Nguy?n Ng?c Tr??ng S?n. He received a lot of awards for chess around the world. I think this is an interesting game. It is useful for relaxing when we feel bored or tired.”
Voice 1
We are happy that you enjoy the game so much. And thank you for sharing about Nguy?n Ng?c Tr??ng S?n. We looked up a little bit of information on him. He learned¹⁴ chess when he was only three years old. Then, at age ten, he won a gold medal at a world championship for children under ten. He is Vietnam’s youngest Grandmaster ever. Grandmaster is one of the highest levels a chess player can achieve. Saeid also told us about a famous Persian chess player named Ehsan Ghaem Maghami.
Voice 2
We also looked up some information on this chess player. Ehsan Ghaem Maghami currently¹⁵ holds a world record for chess! In April 2011, Maghami played over 600 games of chess at the same time! This took him over 25 hours to do. In all, Chessdom.com reports that he walked over 55 kilometers as he moved from game to game. And he won 590 of the games!
Voice 1
Our last comment about this program comes from Indraanddriyadi.
Voice 6
“I am happy that I now understand how chess was made and used. I got an interest in playing chess.”
Voice 1
We hope you enjoy the game! And thank you for writing to us.
Voice 2
Our last comments today come from the program “Mobile Phones Changing Poverty”. In that program we told how mobile telephones have helped people improve communication. Better communication means¹⁶ less waste - of time, money and fuel. Many of our listeners have mobile phones. And those mobile phones are very important to them! Tanya [tank!] wrote:
Voice 6
“Now I cannot imagine my life without my mobile! And recently I taught my grandmother how to use a mobile phone! She is 86. Now I can call her any time and know she feels good”
Voice 1
What a great story! Other listeners wrote how they are not just using their phones for communication! GelezniyDen wrote:
Voice 3
“I cannot imagine my life without my mobile phone. I usually use it to listen to music, for calls, reading electronic¹⁷ books, as an alarm clock, a photo camera, to look at the internet, to communicate through different programs like ICQ and Skype, and to do video calling. For me, my mobile phone is not just about communication. For me it is a center of many kinds of information.”
Voice 1
It is easy to see how mobile phone technology is changing people’s lives all over the world. It makes you wonder what mobile phones will be able to do next!
 

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 listener   

n.听众；收听者

参考例句：

• I'm a regular listener to her show.我经常收听她的节目。
• She became an attentive listener.她变成了一个专心致志的聆听者。

3 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

4 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

5 poverty   

n.贫穷， 贫困， 贫乏， 缺少

参考例句：

• We must continue to war against poverty and disease.我们一定要继续同贫穷和疾病作斗争。
• He showed his poverty in his knowledge of agriculture.他表现出缺乏对农业知识的了解。

6 tobacco   

n.烟草；烟草制品；抽烟

参考例句：

• Tobacco is considered by some to be an evil.烟草被有些人认为是一种祸害.
• A large amount of money is spent on tobacco every year.每年在烟草上花去大量的钱.

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

9 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

10 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

11 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 fitting   

n.[pl.]设备，家具，配件，试穿；adj.适合的

参考例句：

• I'm going to a fitting tomorrow.明天我要去试穿新衣。
• The President's address was a fitting end to a bitter campaign.总统的讲话为一场激烈的竞选运动适时画上了句号。

13 Vietnam   

n.越南

参考例句：

• Vietnam is suffering from food shortage.越南正遭受食物短缺之苦。
• Laos is on the west of Vietnam.老挝在越南西面。

14 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。

15 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

16 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

17 electronic   

adj.电子的；n.[-s]电子学，电子设备

参考例句：

• It is an electronic device with many uses.这是一部具有多种用途的电子仪器。
• Father needs a new electronic shaver.爸爸需要一个新的电子剃须刀。