英语听力—环球英语 1409 The Forgiveness Project

 　　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

 

　　Marina Cantacuzino is a news writer.  In 2003, she started a project that changed her life.   For many months, Marina worked with an artist named Brian Moody³.  Together, they met with individuals that had been affected⁴ by crime. Some of the people were victims of crimes. Other people were criminals. Brian took pictures of each person. Marina asked each person to tell their story. These stories were about terrible pain, loss, and regret.  But they were also about forgiveness.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Marina and Brian gathered these stories and pictures together.  With them, they created an exhibit or public art show. They called the exhibit “The F Word.” It used the words and images of the people to show that forgiveness is complex. This exhibit led Marina to start an organization called “The Forgiveness Project.” Today’s Spotlight is on The Forgiveness Project and the power of spreading forgiveness around the world.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In 2004, The F Word exhibit opened in London, England.  Many people came and saw it. Soon, other cities wanted to show the exhibit too.  So, the exhibit started travelling around the world. People in over 350 places saw The F Word show.  Marina wrote about two main ways people reacted to the exhibit.

 

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　　“There are people who see forgiveness as a very honorable and humble⁵ way to react to terrible events. And then there are those who simply laugh at it. For the first group, forgiveness is a strong value. It is strong enough to end generations of trouble caused by revenge⁶ - when people choose to hurt those who hurt them.  But for the second group, forgiveness is just a weak answer. This group feels that forgiveness lets the violator⁷ go free and only encourages more violence.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Marina learned a lot about forgiveness through her work on the exhibit.  She discovered that forgiving is not easy for anyone. Talking about forgiveness causes strong emotions - both in people who choose to forgive and in people who do not forgive. Marina saw that forgiveness was a process that only worked if people freely chose it.  She also recognized that it had the power to transform or completely change difficult situations.  This power and the popularity⁸ of the exhibit caused Marina to start The Forgiveness Project.

 

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　　The goal of The Forgiveness Project is "to build a better future by healing the wounds of the past".  They do this by encouraging discussion and education about forgiveness.  They also work to spread positive stories of forgiveness.

 

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　　One part of the project is its prison program.  This program is designed to teach prisoners about forgiveness and help keep them from doing more crimes in the future.  The Forgiveness Project also works in schools.  It provides materials that help students explore ideas about forgiveness.  It also teaches students about conflict resolution.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The Forgiveness Project also has a special place on its website where it collects stories from men and women all over the world. This collection of stories shows how complex forgiveness is. For example, consider the stories of Tracey Ford⁹ and Mariane Pearl¹⁰.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Tracey Ford believes in forgiveness - even in the worst situations. And in 2007 her belief was tested.  Her son Andre was 17. He went to a friend’s birthday party.  When he was there, criminals shot guns at the party crowd.  They shot Andre two times and murdered him.  The police did not find the people who killed Andre.  And yet, Tracey says she forgives the people who killed her son.  She told The Forgiveness Project:

 

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　　“Forgiveness is not saying that what happened was okay. It is being able to say in your heart that you accept what has happened. And you will not let it stop you living a life or seeing humanity¹¹ in the person who has hurt you.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But Mariane Pearl feels differently about forgiveness.  Mariane lived in Pakistan with her husband. In 2002, her husband was murdered by a terrorist¹² group. She told The Forgiveness Project that she could not forgive her husband’s killer¹³.  But she also did not want revenge.  She did not want to hurt him in return.  Instead, she wanted the court system to provide justice.  She describes her feelings on The Forgiveness Project website.

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　“Revenge is a basic human desire. It is the animal part of man. It gets us nowhere... But forgiveness lacks substance as an answer to extreme situations...You have to win some sort of victory over the people who have hurt you. You can only do that by denying the terrorists¹⁴ their goal.  They try to kill everything in you... The only way to oppose them is by demonstrating the strength they think they have taken from you. That strength is to keep on living, to keep on valuing life.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　As Mariane’s story demonstrates, it is difficult to talk about forgiveness without talking about justice. So, The Forgiveness Project encourages people to seek restorative justice. This kind of justice works to build relationships between victims and the criminals who hurt them.  Restorative justice also identifies ways to repair harm when possible. Matthew James’ story is a good example of restorative justice.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Matthew is from England.  One day, while Matthew was at work, someone entered his house.  This person stole his things and left.  Matthew was angry.  A few weeks later, the same robber can back to Matthew’s home.  Now Matthew felt unsafe. He felt like he could not protect himself or his girlfriend.  After a month, the police arrested the man who entered Matthew’s house.  His name was Billy.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Soon after, a police officer invited Matthew to meet Billy.  Matthew decided¹⁵ to go to the prison and talk with Billy.  But he was not the only person there.  Other victims Billy hurt were there too. Billy told Matthew and the others about his past.  Then, the victims talked about how they were hurt by Billy’s actions. Matthew saw a change in Billy. Billy could now see how his actions had hurt real people like Matthew. Matthew told The Forgiveness Project,

 

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　　“When I left the prison I recognized that things had changed for me. I changed from being a victim of crime to being able to see things from Billy’s side. Some kind of balance had returned.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Forgiveness looks different in every situation.  For some people, it requires justice. For others, it is a process of grace. Some people can only forgive if the criminal shows regret for his actions. Others can forgive without even knowing the criminal. For some it means every day deciding to forgive again. Even though people may experience and describe forgiveness differently, Marina Cantacuzino believes it always has power. She writes,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“Forgiveness is difficult, costly¹⁶ and painful. But it has the possible ability to completely change a person.”

 

　　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 “The Forgiveness Project".

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 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

4 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。

5 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

6 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

7 violator   

违犯者

参考例句：

• Losses caused as a result thereof shall be borne by the violator. 由此而造成的损失，由违反者承担。 来自经济法规部分
• He was stigmatized as a violator of the agreement. 他受到破坏协定的指责。

8 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。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

11 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

12 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

13 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。

14 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

15 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。

16 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。