英语听力—环球英语 890 Growing Peace

　　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
For fifty years, the governments of Cuba and the United States of America have seen each other as an enemy. There has been little communication between the people of both countries. However, today’s Spotlight is on a man who is respected by both cultures. His example could provide a cultural bridge of new understanding between Cuba and the U.S. He is the famous Cuban poet Jose Marti.
Voice 2
Jose Marti was born in Cuba in 1853. At that time, Cuba was ruled as a colony of Spain. During his life, many people struggled for self rule in Cuba. This struggle shaped Marti’s life and choices. As a boy, Marti studied to be an artist. He also learned to express his ideas in writing.
Voice 1
As a young man, Marti studied law in Spain and received a law degree. But the Spanish government was afraid of his support for Cuban independence. So, the government would not let him work as a lawyer. Instead, he became a teacher in a private school in Cuba. Teaching let him express his ideas. It also provided him with time to write.
Voice 2
Marti published important academic writing and news columns. He wrote to support the cause of Latin American freedom. During his early years, Cuba still had slaves. Slavery did not end in Cuba until 1886. Marti argued against many laws and social customs that treated non-Europeans unfairly.
Voice 1
Marti was often criticized for his words. Some governments banned his words from being printed. Marti even had to leave both Spain and Cuba. He had to live and write in exile³. His studies and his work as a writer led him to Mexico, Guatemala, and Venezuela. Marti finally found freedom to write in New York City.
Voice 2
Marti is most famous for his poems. His most loved book of poems is Simple Verses⁴, or Versos Sencillos. The poems express his belief in writers’ freedom and loving concern for all people.
Voice 1
The following is a poem from Simple Verses. It is named “39”. It talks about growing beautiful white roses. These flowers are highly valued in Cuba and the Americas.
Voice 3
I grow white roses
In January as in July
For the honest friend who freely
Offers me his hand.
And for he who tears from me
The heart with which I live,
Neither sharp thorns⁵ nor unwanted weeds do I grow
But grow white roses.
Voice 2
”Poem 39” is “simple” for several reasons. It is briefly⁶ stated in two short verses. In both Spanish and English, the language and images are simple. Yet in being simple there is still complex beauty. Marti uses the simple image of a person who grows and cares for roses. The action of growing this flower expresses friendship, forgiveness, and peace.
Voice 1
”Poem 39” can also be found in the words of the Cuban popular song, “Guantanamera.” Joseito Fernandez wrote the music for Guantanamera in 1929. In the words of the song, he included several Marti poems. Many famous singers around the world have performed and recorded this song. Some of the singers perform the song as a social protest. Many sing the song for its simple beauty.
Voice 2
”Poem 39” begins and ends with the same idea, “I grow white roses.” The symbol of the poem is that image - the image of a person who grows and cares for white flowers. And that person provides the voice of the poem.
Voice 1
Yet other words and images suggest ideas of extreme difference. Marti’s roses are grown “in January as in July”---in winter months as well as in summer. The roses are grown also for the enemy as well as for “the honest friend.” The friend “freely offers a hand” of love, of help, and of welcome. But the enemy “tears the heart” with a vicious⁷ hand. A final difference is between the beautiful roses and the harmful weeds and painfully sharp thorns.
Voice 2
In this poem Marti is expressing his desire for brotherly love – the loving concern for all people. He expresses his desire for peace. The rose is a beautiful gift of love. The rose’s white color is a symbol of good will and of peace. Marti expresses forgiveness and peace for his enemy - not blame and fighting back.
Voice 1
Working for peace is difficult. It is human nature to return evil for evil. Human nature often gives “weeds and thorns” in return for violence and oppression. Many people think loving and forgiving an enemy cannot be done. Forgiving an enemy can be as difficult to do as growing roses in the winter month of January. Marti wrote this poem while in exile. He was in New York City in the United States. Winter is very cold there. While he was in exile, Marti must have struggled to think kind things about his enemies.
Voice 2
A second look at the beginning and ending lines of “Poem 39” shows Marti’s special use of the word “grow.” Taking care of and growing roses is not easy work. Beautiful roses are the result of long and often difficult labor⁸. Roses do not grow without care. Bad weather conditions, a lack of rain, harmful insects, poor soil quality, all can have a negative effect on a rose’s growth. The grower must work hard to defeat many problems which interfere⁹ with their success.
Voice 1
Marti’s image, “I grow white roses,” is similar to his life’s work. He desired peace and loving kindness toward all people. He also worked for freedom and self rule for Cuba and Latin America. It was a hard and difficult job for Marti to do. He spent many years living and writing in exile. And in 1895, he died fighting in Cuba against Spanish forces.
Voice 2
Memorial statues in Jose Marti's honor can be found both in the United States---in New York City’s famous Central Park---and also in Havana, Cuba. People from both nations respect Marti as a hero. Today the United States and Cuba are not at all friendly. But that does not mean there is no hope. Some day soon, it may be possible for the governments of both nations to “grow white roses” for each other.
 

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 exile   

n.流放，被流放者；vt.流放，放逐，使流亡

参考例句：

• After an exile of eight years her uncle returned to Cairo.她叔叔背井离乡8年后返回开罗。
• Napoleon was sent into exile on an island.拿破仑被流放到一个岛上。

4 verses   

诗( verse的名词复数 )； 韵文； 诗节； (的)节

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。
• Tom sang the verses and everybody joined in chorus. 汤姆唱独唱部分，然后大家一起唱合唱部分。

5 thorns   

（玫瑰之类植物的）刺( thorn的名词复数 )； 棘刺； 带刺的树； 荆棘

参考例句：

• I was sitting on the thorns while waiting for the outcome. 等待结果时我如坐针毡。
• They had to stop to pick out thorns from their feet. 他们只得停下来把脚上的刺拔去。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 vicious   

adj.恶毒的，恶意的，凶残的，剧烈的，严重的

参考例句：

• He gave the dog a vicious blow with his stick.他朝着那只狗狠狠地打了一棍子。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard.作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。

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 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。