英语听力—环球英语 1198 Zombies: the Walking Dead

 　　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

 

　　Night has come. Shaun and Ed are hiding in a house. They look out the window. They are very frightened. They are as quiet as they can be. Noises come from the street outside. Something hits the window. Feet move against the surface of the street. Something makes a long, low noise. Shaun and Ed look at each other. They must get out of the house now. Shaun raises his weapon and prepares to attack.  Shaun and Ed run out of the house.  They are swinging their arms side to side. They are fighting a crowd of creatures. But these creatures are not animals or normal humans - they are zombies. These once dead human bodies have come back to life.  And they want to eat Shaun and Ed!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This story is from the recent British film Shaun of the Dead. It is a funny film about zombies.  However, there are many kinds of zombie stories.  And around the world, zombie stories, films and television programs are becoming more and more popular.  Today’s Spotlight is on zombies.

 

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　　You may have read books or seen films about zombies.  In modern stories, these creatures are often slow moving and mindless.  However, zombie stories are very old.  And they have changed a lot over time.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The idea of zombies developed within the voodoo religion. Voodoo began in West Africa.  However, starting in the 17th century, slave traders captured³ many African people and brought them to North and South America.  These West African slaves brought many of their voodoo beliefs with them.  Belief in zombies is one example.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Belief in zombies became particularly strong in the country of Haiti.  In Haitian voodoo, beliefs about zombies are not like today’s ideas about zombies.  Instead, a zombie in voodoo tradition is a dead human brought back to life by a magician⁴, or a bokor. Once the zombie is back alive, the bokor uses the zombie as a slave.  The bokor has full control over a zombie’s actions.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Throughout Haitian history, many people have claimed to be zombies.  In 1980, a man claimed to be Clarivus Narcisse. But Narcisse was a man who had died in 1962! The man said a bokor had brought him back to life as a zombie.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Authorities⁵ questioned this man. Experts checked his medical records. He knew things about Clarivus Narcisse that no one else could know. He seemed to be the person he claimed to be. Some people believed he truly was a zombie. But other people were sure it could not be true.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This event led Doctor Wade⁶ Davis to start the Zombie Project in 1982. Dr. Davis traveled to Haiti to research zombies in Haitian culture.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Davis found that many bokors in Haiti used a special “zombie powder.” His theory was that this ground up dust contained drugs that made a person appear dead. Davis believed a bokor would rub⁷ the powder on a person’s skin.  Then, everyone would think the person was dead.  The family would bury their family member.  And later, the bokor would remove the body from the burial place. When the drug’s effect ended, the person would wake up. Then, they would think they were a zombie.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Not all scientists agree with Davis’ research.  However, one thing is clear from his study of Haitain zombies. Today’s popular zombie stories are very different from voodoo beliefs. For example, the zombies of popular culture are not slaves for magicians⁸. Instead, they are slow moving creatures who want to attack people.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Many recent zombie stories are also about the idea of a “zombie apocalypse.” The zombie apocalypse is when the number of zombies grows very large, very fast.  Zombies begin to take control of the world and destroy humans. Zombies in these stories do not become zombies by magic.  Instead, many times the “zombie apocalypse” starts because of disease⁹ or radiation.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Then the zombies spread through the world. Often, a zombie bites a healthy human. The human dies. Then he comes back to life, but  not like he was before. Now, the person is a zombie. He cannot think or feel or reason. He only has one thought: to eat humans. So he finds other humans to bite and eat, and those humans turn into zombies too.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The most famous zombie film is probably Night of the Living Dead.  George Romero wrote and directed this film in 1968. In his film, radiation from the planet¹⁰ Venus kills a large number of humans and turns them into zombies.  These zombies then infect more people and create more zombies.  Humans finally defeat the zombies.  However, many people are killed in process.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Today, there are many kinds of zombie stories.  There are funny films like Shaun of the Dead. There are also frightening films - like the Japanese film Versus¹¹.  Ideas and stories about zombies continue to grow and change.  But what has not changed, is people’s interest in zombies.  So what has kept people interested in zombies over all these years? And why are zombies popular across cultures and languages?

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Some experts believe it is because zombie stories struggle with common human questions - questions about the end of the world, questions about life after death, and even questions about a human’s ability to make their own life decisions.  Experts believe we like zombies because we understand them.  We understand what it is like to lose our individual spirit or soul.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Christopher Moreman is an expert on the study of philosophy and religion at California State University in the United States.  He wrote a news story for the Washington Post called “Why do we love zombies?”  In it, he wrote,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“The popularity¹² of the zombie is because of our similarity to this creature without a soul…”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　However, Moreman does not think that people are hopeless creatures like zombies.  Although some people are lost as zombies, many are not.  Moreman also finds hope in zombies stories.  He explains,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“What also continues in these stories is the idea that a world of zombies can be defeated.  They can be defeated by individual acts and social responsibility.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　What about you?  Do you enjoy zombie stories?  Do you think they are frightening or hopeful?  Tell us what you think.  You can e-mail us at [email protected].

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net You c.an also find Spotlight on Facebook and Twitter - just search for spotlightradio. This program is called, “Zombies: The Walking Dead.”

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 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

4 magician   

n.魔术师，变戏法的人，术士

参考例句：

• With a wave of his hand,the magician made the rabbit vanish.魔术师手一挥兔子便不见了。
• The magician transformed the man into a rabbit.魔术师把那个人变成了兔子。

5 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

7 rub   

n.摩擦，困难，障碍，难点，磨损处；vt.擦，搓，摩擦，惹怒；vi.摩擦，擦破

参考例句：

• Don't let the wire rub up against the pipe.别让电线碰到管子上。
• He used to rub up against many famous movie stars.他过去经常偶然碰到许多有名的影星。

8 magicians   

n.魔术师( magician的名词复数 )；巫师；术士；施妖术的人

参考例句：

• Like all magicians, he kept his secrets to himself. 象所有魔术师那样，他对此守口如瓶。 来自辞典例句
• The early priests were also doctors and magicians. 早期的僧侣又是医生又是巫士。 来自辞典例句

9 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

10 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

11 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

12 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。