英语听力—环球英语 932 Mary’s Long Walk

 　　Voice 1

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹, I'm Tony Ford².

　　Voice 2

　　And I'm James Totton. 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

　　Is there something you really, really want? Perhaps a new cycle, a motorcycle, or even a car? Or new clothes, or a cell phone. What is it that really makes your eyes shine?

　　Voice 2

　　How long would you be willing to save up your money to buy it? Could you wait one year, or two years? Do you want it so much that you would save your money for six years to have it?

　　Voice 1

　　Today's Spotlight tells the true story of a girl who wanted ... a book - just a book. She was very poor and had no money to buy it. But the book was so special that she saved and saved what little money she could earn until she had enough coins to buy it.

　　Voice 2

　　She saved for six years.

　　Voice 1

　　Yes, it took her six years to save enough money for the book. But, when at last she had saved up enough coins she could not buy the special book in her own village.

　　Voice 2

　　No. She had to walk 25 miles – 40 kilometres – to the nearest town. She had no shoes. She walked with bare feet over rocks and through streams to reach the man who was selling the special book.

　　Voice 1

　　The girl's name was Mary Jones. She and her parents were very poor. They lived in a small village in the mountain region³ of Wales more than two hundred years ago.

　　Voice 2

　　Wales is part of the United Kingdom, but in those days many of its people did not speak English. They spoke⁴ only the Welsh language. Many people in Wales still speak Welsh today.

　　Voice 1

　　The special book that excited Mary was written in her Welsh language. She had to have it. So, at the age of nine she did whatever jobs she could to earn money. A few coins here. A few coins there.

　　Voice 2

　　At last, when she was fifteen years old, she had enough money to buy the special book. So one day, in the year 1800, Mary started to walk to the distant town of Bala to buy the thing her heart desired. She went barefoot because she did not want to spend her money on shoes - or any new clothes. No. This book was more important to her.

　　Voice 1

　　It was a long walk – 40 kilometres – alone through valleys and across streams to reach a man called Thomas Charles. He was the man who was selling the book that Mary wanted so much.

　　Voice 2

　　But when Mary arrived at Bala, tired and hungry, there was no book for her. Most copies of the special book had already been sold. The others were waiting to be collected.

　　Voice 1

　　Mary was very sad in her heart.

　　Voice 2

　　But Thomas Charles was a kind man. He did not like to see Mary cry. He took one of the books waiting to be collected, and he sold it to Mary. What was this book that brought sunshine into Mary's heart?

　　Voice 1

　　It was the Christian⁵'s holy book - the Bible⁶. But Mary's Bible was also special because it was written in her own language, Welsh. All over the world today, people will walk many miles under the hot sun or through cold snow to buy a Bible in their own language.

　　Voice 2

　　Yes. And Mary had an important part in that. You see, Thomas Charles was greatly affected⁷ by meeting Mary. He was amazed⁸ that someone would want a bible so much. It made him ask himself if he could do anything to help other people like Mary get the Bible in their own language. He discussed his idea with the people he worked with. And together they started the Bible Society. The Bible Society has now grown into a large organisation⁹. It tries to make sure that anyone, anywhere in the world, can get a Bible if they want one.

　　Voice 1

　　The Christian Bible was written thousands of years ago. It was first written in ancient Hebrew and Greek languages. But Christians¹⁰ do not think of these as holy languages. That is, Christians do not have a special language, like Muslims have Arabic and Hindus have Sanskrit. Jesus commanded his followers¹¹ to spread his teachings¹² all over the world. And it is that command that made Thomas Charles want to translate the Bible into as many languages as possible.

　　Voice 2

　　There are nearly 7000 different languages in the world. So far, the Bible has been written in nearly 3000 of these languages. It is the most popular book in the world. Today, you can also find the Bible in many languages on the Internet.

　　Voice 1

　　What happened to Mary after this story?

　　She lived a long life. She married a cloth-maker named Thomas Lewis. They had children, but most of them died young. She went blind when she was old and could not see to read her Bible. She died in 1864, aged¹³ 80.

　　Voice 2

　　But by then, Mary remembered much of what she had read. It was as if she carried the words in her head. When she died, her special book was on a table by her bed. It is now kept at one of England's most famous universities - Cambridge.

　　Voice 1

　　Mary was poor all her life, but gave what money she could to help the Bible Society so that other people like her could have a Bible.

　　Voice 2

　　After she died, people built a large stone memorial in her village to give her honour. And each year many people remember Mary Jones. They walk the forty  kilometres she walked when she bought her special book.

　　They wear shoes or boots. But they imagine how hard this walk was for the young girl who was too poor to buy shoes. But she had a strong desire for something more important to her.

　　Voice 1

　　The writer of today's programme was Alan Harris. The producers were Nick Mangeolles and Luke Haley. The voices you heard were from Wales and New Zealand. All quotations¹⁴ were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users¹⁵ can read our scripts¹⁶, hear our programs and see our word list on our website: http://www.radio.english.net This .programme is called "Mary's Long Walk".

　　Voice 2

　　You are welcome to write to us with questions and comments about Spotlight. Our email address is [email protected]. You can also leave comments on our website and you can find us on Facebook - just search for Spotlight Radio.

　　From all of us at Spotlight, goodbye.

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 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。

3 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

7 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。

8 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。

9 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

10 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 teachings   

n.教学( teaching的名词复数 )；教学工作；教诲；学说

参考例句：

• We must never be unworthy of our teachers' untiring and sincere teachings. 我们决不要辜负老师的谆谆教导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Party's teachings were ringing in her ears. 党的教导在她耳边回响。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

14 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

16 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。