英语听力—环球英语 1018 Stories for Wise People

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Anne Muir.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I'm Mike Procter. 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

 

　　People sometimes call the lion 'the king' of all the animals. It is strong - and dangerous. But today's Spotlight is about animals in particular stories. The lion in this story is lying on the ground. It is sleeping! But it does not sleep for long! A little mouse runs over the sleeping body of the lion. The lion awakes and seizes the little mouse. He is just about to eat the mouse when the mouse speaks.

 

　　'Please do not harm me,' the mouse says. 'If you let me go, I will help you some day.' The lion laughs at the idea. How could a little mouse help a big strong animal like a lion? But he lets the mouse go.

 

　　A few days later, a hunter catches the lion. The hunter ties the lion to a tree with ropes. The lion struggles and cries out but he cannot escape.

 

　　The mouse hears the lion crying for help. He comes to see what he can do. He bites through the ropes and sets the lion free.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This famous story is about two and a half thousand years old. The story is one of a collection of stories called Aesop's Fables³. There are hundreds of such stories. Most of them involve animals and birds that can talk to each other. They can even talk to people! These stories are called fables: they are not true stories - but they contain truths and good moral⁴ ideas. Aesop's fables are famous all over the world. People still read them today. But who was Aesop? When and where did he live? What was his life like?

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Some people say that Aesop did not even exist! They say the fables are wise sayings that many different people have collected over hundreds of years. But several ancient writers wrote about Aesop - writers such as Aristophanes, Plato and Aristotle. They believed he was a real person!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Aristotle wrote that Aesop was a slave⁵ belonging to a man called Xanthus. Xanthus lived in Greece during the fifth or sixth century BC. Aesop received a very good education in the house of Xanthus. Later in his life Aesop was a slave of another master, named Iadmon. And Iadmon gave Aesop his freedom. As a free man, Aesop was able to meet with many rich and important people. Everyone respected his intelligence⁶ and his wisdom⁷.

 

　　Aesop discussed matters of politics⁸ and of the natural world with the leading thinkers⁹ of his time. He even defended one of his rich friends in a court of law. So why should such an intelligent and wise man choose to tell fables about animals and birds that talk to each other? Well, Aesop used fables for a reason. He knew it was easier for people to remember moral teaching¹⁰ if it came in the form of a story.

 

　　Here is one of the most famous of Aesop's fables.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　A hare¹¹ and a tortoise¹² were arguing about who could run the fastest. The hare is a small animal but it runs very fast. So the hare believed that he would win any race against a tortoise. A tortoise has short legs and it carries a heavy shell¹³ on its back. But this tortoise still believed he could win a race. There was only one way to find out. They agreed to race against each other.

 

　　The hare started to run very fast, but he was so sure he would win that he decided¹⁴ he had time for a rest. He lay down by the side of the road and went to sleep! The tortoise started slowly. He put one foot in front of the other and just kept going. Soon he passed the sleeping hare. The tortoise just kept on going.

 

　　After a while the hare awoke. He looked around. He could not see the tortoise anywhere. The hare jumped up and started to run as fast as he could but it was too late. He arrived at the end of the race to find the tortoise had already won.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　That is a simple story but it has several moral ideas

 

　　hidden in it. Ideas like not imagining we are always better, and the value of finishing what we start. Many of Aesop's fables are like this. The more you think about them the more truths you can find.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Where did Aesop's great wisdom come from? Did he think of the ideas for his fables himself or was he influenced by the wise sayings of other people?

 

　　Historians¹⁵ have discovered a long tradition of wisdom from the very earliest times. Wise sayings were written down for the first time in Ancient Mesopotamia. This is where people first settled¹⁶ down, built cities and developed the art of writing. It is where Abraham was born. This area is now mostly in modern Iraq.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Some ancient proverbs¹⁸ sound very modern. Around four thousand years ago someone wrote, 'Wealth is hard to come by but poverty¹⁹ is always nearby'. Another proverb¹⁷ from that time said, 'He who eats too much will not be able to sleep!' Proverbs have been passed down from parents to children for thousands of years.

 

　　The Bible²⁰ includes a collection of ancient proverbs. They were written around three thousand years ago. Many of these wise sayings were written by King Solomon. The Bible says that King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, because his wisdom came directly²¹ from God. People from many countries came to ask Solomon difficult questions and to hear his wisdom.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Around four hundred years later Aesop began telling his fables. But Aesop shared his wisdom in a different way from Solomon.

 

　　King Solomon told people directly what was good and what was bad. He explained the kind of behaviour God loves and the kind he hates.

 

　　Aesop's fables use stories to tell what happens when people act in different kinds of ways. The people who hear Aesop's fables have to decide what the story means²² for them. They have to work out the moral ideas for themselves. Sometimes a fable² can have two or three meanings.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Did Aesop read the proverbs of King Solomon? Was King Solomon influenced by the early proverbs from Mesopotamia? We may never know the answer to these questions.

 

　　What we do know is that King Solomon believed all true wisdom comes first from God. The Bible says, 'If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. God is generous²³. He enjoys giving to all people, so God will give you wisdom'.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of today's programme was Joy Smith. The producer was Nick Mangeolles. The voices you heard were from the United²⁴ Kingdom.

 

　　This programme and many more are on our website - http://www.radio.english.net This .programme is called 'Stories for Wise People'.

 

　　Thank you for listening to Spotlight today. 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 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

3 fables   

n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说

参考例句：

• Some of Aesop's Fables are satires. 《伊索寓言》中有一些是讽刺作品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Little Mexican boys also breathe the American fables. 墨西哥族的小孩子对美国神话也都耳濡目染。 来自辞典例句

4 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。

5 slave   

n.奴隶，附件，卑鄙的人；vi.拼命工作

参考例句：

• Don't be a slave to custom.不要做风俗习惯的奴隶。
• Why should I slave away all my life!我为什么要辛辛苦苦地干一辈子呀！

6 intelligence   

n.智力，聪明，智能；情报

参考例句：

• He was a man of intelligence and of firmness of will.他是个聪明而又意志坚定的人。
• He equals me in strength but not in intelligence.他和我力气相等，但智力不同。

7 wisdom   

n.智慧，明智的行为，学识，名言，贤人

参考例句：

• Experience is the mother of wisdom.经验为智慧之母。
• Ancient Greece was a fountain of wisdom and philosophy.古希腊是智慧和哲学的发源地。

8 politics   

n.政治，政治学；政纲，政见，策略

参考例句：

• They seldom talk on politics in those days.那时人们很少谈论政治。
• The two brothers differed about politics.这兄弟俩政见不同。

9 thinkers   

n.思想家( thinker的名词复数 )；思考者

参考例句：

• Einstein was one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. 爱因斯坦是20世纪最伟大的思想家之一。
• Children should be encouraged to be independent thinkers. 应该鼓励孩子独立思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

11 hare   

n.野兔

参考例句：

• The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.兔子正睡觉时，乌龟赢得了比赛。
• I saw a hare in my backyard this morning.今天早晨我看见后院有一只野兔。

12 tortoise   

n.龟，乌龟

参考例句：

• The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.兔子正睡觉时，乌龟赢得了比赛。
• A tortoise has a shell on his back.乌龟背上有硬壳。

13 shell   

n.贝壳，壳，外形；v.去壳，脱落；n.[计算机] DOS命令:安装备用的COMMAND.COM文件，并改变环境尺寸

参考例句：

• Please shell some peanuts for the cake.请为做点心剥点胡花生。
• This kind of beetles have hard shell.这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。

14 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。

15 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

16 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

17 proverb   

n.谚语，格言，箴言；vt.使成为谚语，用谚语表达

参考例句：

• As the proverb goes,time is money.俗语说，时间就是金钱。
• "Practice makes perfect." is a proverb.”熟能生巧 ” 是一句谚语.

18 proverbs   

n.谚语，格言( proverb的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His conversation was larded with Russian proverbs. 他交谈时夹杂了很多俄国谚语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 poverty   

n.贫穷， 贫困， 贫乏， 缺少

参考例句：

• We must continue to war against poverty and disease.我们一定要继续同贫穷和疾病作斗争。
• He showed his poverty in his knowledge of agriculture.他表现出缺乏对农业知识的了解。

20 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。

21 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

22 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

23 generous   

adj.慷慨的，大方的，慷慨给予的

参考例句：

• She was kind and generous.她心地善良，宽容大量。
• She was generous with her money.她很乐于仗义疏财。

24 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。