英语听力—环球英语 961 Kong Nai: Master of the Cambodian Guitar

 　　Voice 1

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Robin² Basselin.

　　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

　　Today's Spotlight is on the Cambodian musician Kong Nai and his story of survival³ and service.

　　Voice 2

　　In 1975, the Khmer Rouge⁴ political⁵ group took control of the country of Cambodia. At this time, Cambodia was suffering from war. Fighting from the American War in Vietnam⁶ had moved into parts of Cambodia. And the Cambodian people hoped the Khmer Rouge would bring peace and hope to their country.

　　Voice 1

　　Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, the Khmer Rouge tortured⁷ and killed thousands of people. And many more died from lack of food and difficult forced labor⁸. In three years, the Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of 1,500,000 Cambodians.

　　Voice 2

　　The Khmer Rouge tried to change the culture of Cambodia. They wanted to create a perfect farming⁹ based society. To do this, the Khmer Rouge killed many people that did not agree with their political views. They also killed people they thought threatened their idea of the perfect society. This included highly¹⁰ educated¹¹ people, old people, disabled people, artists and musicians. In fact, over ninety percent of all traditional Cambodian musicians were killed during the rule of the Khmer Rouge.

　　Voice 1

　　However, one unlikely¹² musician survived the rule of the Khmer Rouge. His name is Kong Nai. Now, in his sixties, Kong Nai is one of a few traditional musicians left in Cambodia. Kong Nai is also blind. Both of these things make Kong Nai's survival under the Khmer Rouge amazing. But what is really amazing is the work Kong Nai is doing now.

　　Voice 2

　　Kong Nai was born to a family of poets and musicians. At age four, Kong Nai become very sick with the virus¹³ smallpox¹⁴. This virus blinded him. Because of his blindness, Kong Nai did not attend school as a young child.

　　He told a reporter from the Agence France-Presse, or AFP, about those early years.

　　Voice 3

　　"I thought life had no meaning and I wanted to kill myself some of the time. I worried for my future. How would I survive? I could not even walk without someone helping¹⁵ me. I felt that there was no use for me."

　　Voice 1

　　Then, Knog Nai heard the chapei. This traditional Cambodian instrument is much like a guitar. Musicians play the chapei by moving the instrument's strings¹⁶ with their fingers. Kong Nai loved to listen to chapei music. And he asked his mother many times if he could learn to play it.

　　Voice 2

　　Most people did not think Kong Nai would be able to learn the chapei - even his close family members. Kong Nai asked his uncle, his mother's brother, to teach him to play. Kong Nai told the news organization NPR, that his uncle said,

　　Voice 4

　　"It will be difficult for me to teach you because you are blind."

　　Voice 1

　　But Kong Nai's blindness did not stop him. At age thirteen, Kong Nai began learning¹⁷ to play the chapei. From the beginning, it was clear that Kong Nai had great skill. By age fifteen, he was good enough to play the chapei for money. People from all over the country invited him to play in their villages. Kong Nai became very famous. He also made a lot of money. And he married a woman he knew when he was a child - a beautiful singer named Tat Chen.

　　Voice 2

　　This was a very good time in Kong Nai's life. He was successful and happily married. Because of his blindness, he had thought that these things would never happen for him.

　　Voice 1

　　However, Kong Nai's fame and happiness began to end in the early 1970s. New government leaders did not support music and the arts as much as past leaders. Cambodia was also beginning to suffer the effects of the American War in Vietnam. Kong Nai told the AFP,

　　Voice 3

　　"The country had changed - people did not care about good music. They cared only for their security¹⁸. What I earned from the chapei was just enough to feed myself from day to day."

　　Voice 2

　　Things became even worse when the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia. They sent many Cambodians to labor camps. At first, the Khmer Rouge let Kong Nai keep his chapei. However, they made him play songs only about the greatness of the Khmer Rouge. They also made people listen to the songs. Kong Nai remembered,

　　Voice 3

　　"I could not sing what I wanted or I would be killed"

　　Voice 1

　　Then without warning¹⁹, the Khmer Rouge took away Kong Nai's chapei. He was separated²⁰ from his family and made to work hard labor. Like many other Cambodians, Kong Nai suffered from difficult labor, beatings and a lack of food. Kong Nai told NPR about this terrible time,

　　Voice 3

　　"They beat us up and we had to eat leaves in order to survive. This was so painful, but we had to live through the Khmer Rouge."

　　Voice 2

　　One day, Kong Nai was taken by soldiers into the forest. He thought he was going to die. However, the soldiers left him in the forest alone. The next day, the Vietnamese army took over the labor camp. Kong Nai was freed. He later found his wife and children.

　　Voice 1

　　Kong Nai wrote a chapei song about that day. It is called "Liberation²¹ Song." These are some of the words.

　　Voice 3

　　"For 3 years we suffered things we cannot forget; everything was destroyed.

　　Blood was spilled and children lost parents.

　　Cambodia became a place of killing²²...

　　Husbands and Wives, brothers and sisters, were separated.

　　We were made to forget each other.

　　Until January 7th, when the Cambodian people were freed of the sadness."

　　Voice 2

　　Kong Nai's survival is an amazing story. He is the only master of the chapei left in Cambodia. However, his story does not end there. Today, Kong Nai continues to play the chapei. He is no longer rich and famous. But he is continuing a tradition.

　　Voice 1

　　And Kong Nai is not alone in his work. An organization called Cambodian Living Arts is helping support traditional artists and musicians like Kong Nai.

　　Voice 2

　　The organization pays the traditional artists to continue playing. They also pay them to teach young people their traditional skills.

　　Voice 1

　　Kong Nai has taught his sons to play the chapei. He is also teaching²³ a few young students at the Cambodian Living Arts center. Kong Nai knows this work is important. He told NPR,

　　Voice 3

　　"I am the oldest one now and when I die, I hope that the music will continue to the young generation."

　　Voice 2

　　The writer of this program was Robin Basselin. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. All quotes²⁴ were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users²⁵ can visit our website at www.radio.english.net. This program is called "Kong Nai: Master of the Cambodian Guitar." We hope you can join us again, for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

4 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

5 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

6 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。

7 tortured   

使痛苦( torture的过去式和过去分词 )； 使苦恼； 使焦急

参考例句：

• There were several problems which tortured the elderly man. 有几个问题折磨着那老人。
• They tortured the man to make him confess his crime. 他们拷打那个人，使他招认他的罪行。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 farming   

n.农事；耕作

参考例句：

• He lives by farming.他靠务农过活。
• He is farming in Africa.他在非洲经营农场。

10 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

11 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

12 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

13 virus   

n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序）

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• There is a virus going round the world.世界上流行着一种病毒性疾病。

14 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 warning   

n.警告，告诫，训诫，警戒，警报

参考例句：

• The other side paid no attention to our warning.对方不重视我方的警告。
• He realized that his doctor was warning him off drink.他意识到医生在告诫他戒酒。

20 separated   

adj.分开的v.分开(separate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Her parents are separated but not divorced. 她父母分居但没离婚。
• No child should ever be separated from his mother by force. 绝不能强行使任何一个孩子与母亲分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 liberation   

n.解放，解放运动（为获得平等权利和地位的行为）

参考例句：

• We should help those who are still struggling for liberation.我们应当帮助那些仍在为独立而斗争的人们。
• Many people died during famines every year before liberation.解放前每年有许多人在饥荒中死亡。

22 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

23 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。

24 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

参考例句：

• He quotes a few verses from Tennyson in his paper. 他在论文中引用了英国诗人丁尼生的几行诗句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。