英语听力—环球英语 976 Messages through Ringtones

 　　Voice 1

　　Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Mike Procter.

　　Voice 2

　　And I'm Nick Page. 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

　　There was a time when all telephones had bells. Bells ring, so when you phoned someone you were ‘ringing' them. Today phones make all sorts of noises - all sorts of ringtones.

　　These are some of the original ringtones for mobile, or cell, phones. But today, many people are choosing and even creating their own ringtone sounds. In fact, many ringtones have political, social and even health messages.

　　Voice 2

　　‘Hello Garci' was one of the first popular mobile phone ringtones. It appeared in 2004, in the Philippines. It was supposed to be part of a telephone talk between the president of the country and an election official - Mr Garci. People said that in this talk, these two people were making plans to cheat in the elections. Officials denied the claims. The authorities also stopped broadcasts of the ringtone. They said it was part of a plot against the president. But people saved this ringtone from the website to their mobile phones. It soon became very popular. Public transport drivers used the horns of their vehicles to play it.

　　Voice 1

　　There are many political ringtones in the United States. People use them to express their support for one group or another. And they use them to criticise² leaders' actions too.

　　Voice 2

　　But the ringtone you choose for your mobile phone can tell people a lot about you. It can tell them what political party you support. And it can even tell people what race you belong to. In some places, this can cause problems.

　　Voice 1

　　Ahmed Ali was travelling on a bus in Kirkuk, Iraq. People from different religious and ethnic³ groups live there - and there is often tension between them. Some people describe Kirkuk as a bomb waiting to explode. While Ahmed was on the bus his mobile phone rang. He answered it. Then, he noticed something strange. Other people on the bus were looking at him - angrily. He wondered why. Then, he understood the reason. His ringtone was a Kurdish song. Some years ago, the Kurdish community in Iraq broke away to form a self-governing area of their own - Kurdistan. The other ethnic groups in Iraq did not fully⁴ agree with this move. So when the Arab and Turkomans on the bus heard Ahmend's mobile phone, they were not happy. Ahmend said:

　　Voice 3

　　‘Immediately after that, I changed my ringtone. I used the one provided with the phone when I bought it'

　　Voice 2

　　Mobile phones play out different political and national songs. There are even religious ringtones. Abu Saif owns a mobile phone repair store in Kirkuk. He said:

　　Voice 4

　　‘I can identify someone based on the ringtone he wants. ...I hope ringtones will not become another factor splitting⁵ the people of Kirkuk.'

　　Voice 1

　　The sounds of nature. Ringtone messages are not all about politics! One animal protection group is using ringtones to help spread its message. The Centre for Biological Diversity is a science-based group. It works to protect endangered species⁶. These are particular species, or groups of animals that are few in number. These species are in danger of no longer existing in the future. The Biological Diversity group is using ringtones to spread the message about this situation. People can download these animal ringtones from the group's website, directly onto their phones!

　　Voice 2

　　Having a bad day? Maybe you want to try the grizzly⁷ bear ringtone. This huge creature has long sharp claws - the size of fingers. You can find it in the forests in the western part of North America. But human development in the area has pushed grizzly bears out of 98 percent of their natural living environment. Experts worry about their survival⁸.

　　Voice 1

　　Another ringtone on their website is the Colombian screech⁹ owl¹⁰. This rare bird lives in the West Andes, Colombia and northwest Ecuador. However human activities endanger the screech owl's survival. Human settlement, cocoa plantations¹¹ and gold mining all damage and destroy forests. Scientists are not sure how many of these rare birds remain in the wild.

　　Voice 2

　　There are eighty different ringtones to choose from on the website. The Killer¹² Whale is one of the most popular! Peter Galvin is the Centre's director. He said:

　　Voice 3

　　‘Now you can easily download the sound of a polar bear. You can educate people about global warming each time your phone rings.'

　　Voice 1

　　Our last ringtone with a message is from the BBC World Service Trust. They have developed a ringtone with a health message. The Trust's aim was to try and stop people spreading diseases, like HIV/AIDS, through sex. These diseases are spread when people have sex with more than one person. Organisations and groups across the world are working to fight this problem. Religious groups are working to encourage people to be faithful to their husband or wife and to avoid having sex with more than one person. And health groups are working to encourage people to use protection when they do have sex. One way people can do this is by wearing rubber condoms during sex.  This is the message the BBC World Service Trust chose to spread in India.  Their idea was to get people talking about condoms freely.  Yvonne MacPherson from the BBC said:

　　Voice 3

　　‘Research says that people who talk about sex and condoms are more likely to have healthy behaviour - such as using condoms... We wanted to show that the condom user is an intelligent and responsible person. Having the ringtone on your phone shows that you understand this.'

　　Voice 2

　　You can hear the condom ringtone by following the link on our Listen and Read page for this programme.  But what do people think of this idea? Some people question if the ringtone will really change people's sexual¹³ behaviour. Yet the BBC reported over 270,000 download requests - in about a month. They are pleased with these numbers. Clearly it will be more difficult to judge if it succeeds in changing people's behaviours.

　　Voice 1

　　What do you think about using ringtones to create social change? Is it possible? There are now websites that encourage people to create their own ringtones for their societies. What message would you like to give to your society? Could you do it using a mobile ringtone?

　　Voice 2

　　The writer and producer of today's programme was Marina Santee. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find more Spotlight programmes on our website at http://www.radio.english.net This .programme is called, ‘Messages through Ringtones.'

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 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

3 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。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 splitting   

爆裂式的

参考例句：

• the splitting of the atom 原子的分裂
• We heard an ear-splitting scream from the terrified girl. 我们听见那个受惊的女孩发出一声刺耳的尖叫声。

6 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

7 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

8 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。

9 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

10 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

11 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

12 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

13 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。