英语听力—环球英语 1358 Benda Bilili: Achieving Dreams through Music

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹.  I’m Ryan Geertsma.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Robin² Basselin.  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

 

　　Every year in May, actors, film makers³ and experts gather together in Cannes, France.  They gather for the international Cannes Film Festival.  There, they watch new films from all over the world.  And groups of experts judge the films.  In 2010, one of those new films was called Benda Bilili!  Filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye created this film. In it, they tell a true story of an unusual music group from the city of Kinshasa.  Today’s Spotlight is on this film and the Staff Benda Bilili music group.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Kinshasa is in the Democratic⁴ Republic of the Congo.  Life in this city can be difficult.  Most people suffer from poverty. Often, they do not have enough food to eat.  And large groups of people live together in shelters. In these conditions diseases⁶ like polio spread very easily.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Papa Ricky Lickabu and Coco Ngambali grew up in Kinshasa. They both had the disease⁵ polio as children.  Polio left Papa Ricky and Coco disabled or handicapped⁷. The two men could not use their legs.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　However, both men could play music. In fact, they were extremely skilled⁸.  Still, many people could not look beyond their handicaps⁹.  Papa Ricky told BBC News that he could not find work as a musician.

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“When I went to see my musician friends to look for work, they did not want to work with me even though I knew how to sing and play the guitar. They did not want to work with me at all because I am handicapped.  They said ‘You are always late and you cannot dance. Working with us just will not work.’”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　So Papa Ricky and Coco started their own music group called Staff Benda Bilili. Soon, other musicians joined their group.  They were also handicapped from polio. Some played instruments. Some sang. And some of them even danced by using their hands like feet.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　All of the men worked other jobs during the day.  But, they played their music as often as they could.  The men of Staff Benda Bilili believed they could do anything they wanted, even with their physical handicaps. Benda Bilili means “look beyond appearances.” And this is what they wanted people to do - look beyond their physical handicaps.  The members of Staff Benda Bilili dreamed of being famous for their music, not for their handicaps. They hoped that one day their music would even be popular in Europe.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Staff Benda Bilili started by playing their music on street corners.  They played their music outside bars and restaurants where people ate. People liked their music and gave them money.  But the musicians did not earn enough money to stop working their other jobs.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Then, in 2004, filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye heard Staff Benda Bilili performing in the streets.  In their film Benda Bilili!, Barret describes how they felt when they first met these musicians.

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“When we met Staff Benda Bilili on the corner of a street... We immediately loved these undiscovered, skilled musicians.  Their songs were about living on the streets of a city that had no mercy. Their music went straight to our hearts.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　After that, they decided¹⁰ they wanted to work with this music group.  They wanted to help them make a music album.  And they wanted to film the process. Staff Benda Bilili and the filmmakers began to work together.  The filmmakers recorded everything.  They filmed the musicians as they practiced their music at the Kinshasa zoo. They filmed the musicians when they played in the streets. They even filmed the musicians when they were not playing music. And they were filming when Staff Benda Bilili met Roger Landu, a 13-year-old musician.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Roger worked in Kinshasa to support his family. He created his own instrument from a bent¹¹ wood bow, a tin can, and one metal wire. He called his instrument a satonge. With it, he played popular songs to make money. Papa Ricky and Staff Benda Bilili heard Roger play and were very amazed¹². Papa Ricky knew that Roger could be a very skilled musician if he trained more.  So Papa Ricky invited Roger to join Staff Benda Bilili.  Roger practiced with the group.  He learned¹³ from the more experienced¹⁴ musicians.  Soon he began to perform with them.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　After a while, the group went to a music studio to record their first music album. Recording¹⁵ was not easy. The musicians made many mistakes. And during the recording, Papa Ricky’s wife called.  She told him there was a fire.  The fire destroyed the shelter where many of them lived. As a result, the men went home - without finishing their album.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　A year later, Barret and de la Tullaye came back to Kinshasa.  They had found a music recording company that would help Staff Benda Bilili create their first music album.  In their film, Barret and de la Tullaye show Papa Ricky encouraging the rest of the group before recording.

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“Let us put our problems away until we have an album in our hands.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Finally, in March, 2009, after five years and many difficulties, Staff Benda Bilili finished recording their album. They called it “Très Très For?,” which means very, very strong. A few months later, they travelled to Europe to play for a music celebration event in France.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Staff Benda Bilili continues to travel and play their music - sometimes for crowds with thousands of people.  The men of Staff Benda Bilili have seen their dream become real.  Their music became famous in many countries around the world.  And they travelled to Europe.  They achieved this because they never stopped hoping and working hard. Staff Benda Bilili is also thinking about the future.  Music gave Papa Ricky and the other men hope. It helped them think positively¹⁶ about the future.  They want to share that hope and positive thinking with future generations.  De la Tullaye explained,

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　“...With the money they earn from the film, they want to start an organization. They want to build a place to teach young musicians and continue the Staff Benda Bilili experience.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Staff Benda Bilili should have no trouble achieving their new dream. Roger is a good example.  He learned a great deal from the men of Staff Benda Bilili.  He said,

 

　　Voice 6

 

　　“I am the youngest member of the group. I grew up with the others, so I cannot let them down. When I met Ricky, he told me that someday I would become the leader of the Staff Benda Bilili. So I have a lot of responsibility and a lot of work to left to do.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Ryan Geertsma.  The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called “Benda Bilili: Achieving Dreams through Music.”

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 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

5 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。

6 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

7 handicapped   

a.残疾的，有智力缺陷的

参考例句：

• a visually handicapped child 弱视儿童
• mentally and physically handicapped 身心俱残

8 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

9 handicaps   

妨碍，使不利( handicap的第三人称单数 )； 使（某人）行动和生活不正常

参考例句：

• His lack of English handicaps him. 他的英语不好对他是一件不利的事。
• In the first winter of the war these accumulated and glaring deficiencies were serious handicaps. 战争的第一个冬季，此种累积且显著的弱点，成了严重的障碍。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

12 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

13 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。

14 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。

15 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

16 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。