英语听力—环球英语 1400 What the World Eats

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Dave Bast.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“Peter Menzel and I invited ourselves to dinner with 30 families in 24 countries. We wanted to explore people’s oldest social activity: eating.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　These are the words of writer Faith D’Aluisio. Peter Menzel is her husband. He is also a photographer - he takes beautiful pictures. Together, they travel the world. Faith writes about the things and people they see. And Peter takes pictures.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In the mid² 1990s, Faith and Peter began to notice how people’s diets across the world were changing. They decided³ to write a book about their observations⁴. Today’s Spotlight is on this book called Hungry Planet⁵: What the World Eats.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Food is a very important part of family life. It is part of everyone’s history and culture. Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel wanted to show how diet affects health and culture. And they wanted to present this information in a beautiful way. In their book, Faith explains:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“To learn more about how diets are changing, we watched normal families all over the world. We watched as they farmed, shopped at the market, cooked, and ate. At the end of each visit, we created a picture of the family. In the picture, the family is surrounded by all the food they normally⁶ eat in one week.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Each chapter in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, starts with this large picture of a family. All the food they eat in a week is spread around them. Under the picture are the names of the family members. There are also the names of the city and country where they live.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The information also includes how the family prepares their food. Some families use a stove or a small electric microwave to cook their food. Other families cook around a fire on the ground. The book also explains how each family keeps their food fresh. Many families use an electric refrigerator to keep food cold. But other families must eat everything they prepare immediately. They have no way to keep their food fresh.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　For each picture, D’Aluisio and Menzel organized the families’ weekly food into groups – like meat, fruits and vegetables, milk products, grains and bread, and drinks. They added⁷ up the money spent on each food group. Then they found the total amount of money each family spends on food in one week. Nick Page and Marina Santee share some examples from the book:

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　The Madsen family lives in Cap Hope village in Greenland. Five people live in the home. They spend $277 each week on food. They also hunt animals to eat fresh meat. These are animals that live in ice cold water such as polar⁸ bears, walrus⁹, and arctic¹⁰ geese. Many people in Greenland hunt these large animals for their meat.

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　The Mendoza family live in Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Guatemala. Eight people live in the home. They spend $25 a week on food. The Mendoza family only eat meat less than once a week. They spend most of their money on fruits and vegetables like bananas, zapote, passion¹¹ fruit, avocados, green beans, and red chili¹² peppers¹³.

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　The Al Haggan family lives in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Eight people live in the Al Haggan home. They spend $221 on food each week. Much of the food they eat is imported from other countries. They buy it at a western style market.

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　The Revis family live in North Carolina, in the United¹⁴ States. There are four people in the family. They spend $342 each week on food. They spend a lot of their money on fast food from eating places like McDonalds, Taco Bell and pizza places.

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　The Aboubakar family is from Darfur, Sudan. But they live as refugees¹⁶ in the country of Chad. D’jimia is a single mother. She has five children. The family spends a little over one dollar on food each week. Food does not cost as much here as in some other places. In other countries, where food costs more, this amount would be equal to about $24. Most of their meals are a thick liquid porridge made from the grain sorghum¹⁷. D’jimia also receives food aid in her refugee¹⁵ camp. Some days the family lacks food. They must make difficult decisions. They must decide who gets more food, and who gets less.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　These are just a few of the examples of the families in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. All of the pictures in the book show the different food cultures of people around the world. Some people grow most of their food on their own land. Other people buy almost everything at a market. Others do not even cook much of their food. They buy food that is already prepared.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　People reading the book can also see how money influences food. Some families have enough money to eat any kind of food they want. They can buy food imported from other countries at the market. But many people must eat only what grows in their own area, depending on the season.  Some families eat a large amount of food. And other families must divide a limited amount of food.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats is not about food politics¹⁸. The book’s authors, D’Aluisio and Menzel, are not exploring why hunger exists in the world. They are only sharing what they experienced¹⁹. The purpose of the book is to help people understand how other people live.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The book also encourages people to look at their own family and how they eat. Remember the Revis family from the United States? After seeing their picture in the book, the Revis family felt shame about the food they were eating. Mrs. Revis told D’Aluisio and Menzel:

 

　　Voice 6

 

　　“Everyone in our family felt very troubled by the large amount and kinds of food on the table for the picture. Before my son eats something now, he will say to me, ‘Mom, how healthy do you think this food is?’ That never happened before”.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　People have different customs²⁰ but we share many similarities²¹. D’Aluisio and Menzel found that around the world people love food. And people in every culture love to welcome new friends to eat with their family. What are the cultural food customs in your family?  What foods are common in your culture? You can share your thoughts on the script²² page of this program on our website at http://www.radioenglish.net

 

　　.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this program was Rebekah Schipper. The producer was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes²³ were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, "What the World Eats".

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. 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 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 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。

4 observations   

n.观察资料( observation的名词复数 )；观察力；注意；言论

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion. 他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He made valuable observations on the prices. 他对物价问题提出了宝贵的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

6 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

7 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

8 polar   

adj.两极的，极地的，南辕北辙的，南极的，北极的，极性的；n.极线，极面

参考例句：

• It's very cold in the polar regions.南北极地带是很寒冷的。
• Love and hatred are polar feelings.爱与恨是完全相反的感情。

9 walrus   

n.海象

参考例句：

• He is the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.他穿着高及膝盖的皮护腿，留着海象般的八字胡，真是个古怪的老家伙。
• He seemed hardly to notice the big walrus.他几乎没有注意到那只大海象。

10 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

11 passion   

n.热爱，强烈的感情，热情，耶稣的受难

参考例句：

• He had a passion for music.他酷爱音乐。
• In his passion,he tore the letter into pieces.在盛怒之下，他把那封信撕得粉碎。

12 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

13 peppers   

n.胡椒粉( pepper的名词复数 )；辣椒

参考例句：

• She takes a few peppers in the hand. 她拿了一些辣椒在手里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Peppers sting the tongue. 胡椒蜇舌头。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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。

15 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

16 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

17 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

18 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。

19 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。

20 customs   

n.海关，关税

参考例句：

• The customs officials turned the man over to the French police.海关官员把那个人移交给了法国警察。
• They are collecting customs.他们正在收缴关税。

21 similarities   

[ similarity ]的复数形式； 类似( similarity的名词复数 )； 相像性； 相仿性； 类似性

参考例句：

• similarities between human and non-human animals 人和其他动物之间的相似之处
• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。

22 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

23 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》