英语听力—环球英语 1416 A Global Language

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Adam Navis. 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

 

　　Saluton.

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　Saluton. Kiel vi fartas?

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　Bonege, dankon.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Did you recognize that language? It sounds European - a little like Spanish, or German. But it is neither. It is called Esperanto. You may have heard Esperanto before! It is the most popular invented world language. Today’s Spotlight is on Esperanto.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Conflict and troubles affect people in different ways. They make some people want to run and hide. And they make other people feel angry at the world and the people in it. But some people try and find a way to change things.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Ludovic Lazurus Zamenhof was one of these people. Zamenhof was born in 1859. He lived in the city of Bialystok, Poland. At that time the city was part of Russian territory. There were three major ethnic² groups in the city; Poles, Belorusians  and Yiddish-speaking Jews. The conflicts between these groups saddened the young Zamenhof. As a Jew, life was not easy. Several hundred years ago many Jews fled to Poland for safety. But conflicts continued. Even children were part of the conflicts. They had fights in the schools and on the streets. Zamenhof grew up in an environment of deep hatred³ and fear.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　However, Zamenhof did not feel hatred and anger in his heart. Some people say that his mother helped to create his good nature. His mother believed that all human beings were children of a loving God. The young Zamenhof began to think of ways to change the hostile⁴ environment he lived in.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Zamenhof believed that language barriers were a big part of the problem. He thought that if all people could speak the same language, they would communicate better. As a child, he believed that a common language would end hatred. He dreamed of an end to political and racial hatred. He dreamed of a united world.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Zamenhof began experimenting in creating an international language. In the beginning he tried to create a language with rich grammar. But this became very complex. Zamenhof learned⁵ many languages, including German, French, Latin⁶ and Greek. He decided⁷ that the international language must be as simple as possible. He worked hard for many years. He began by ‘testing’ the language.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　How do you test a new language? Well, Zamenhof tried translating existing books, stories, prayers and parts of the Christian⁸ Bible⁹. Let us hear how Esperanto sounds!

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　“Cio estigis per li; kaj aparte de li estigis nenio, kio estigis. En li estis la vivo, kaj la vivo estis la lumo de la homoj. Kaj la lumo brilas en la mallumo, kaj la mallumo gin ne venkis.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In English this means, ‘And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the word. Everything that was created received its life from him. And his life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark. And darkness has never put it out.’

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　After Zamenhof had tested the language he needed to publish his book. He called it, ‘Lingvo internacia. Antauparolo kaj plena lernolibro.’ This means ‘International Language. Foreword and Complete Textbook.’ Zamenhof did not put his real name on the book. Instead he used the name ‘Doktoro Esperanto.’ This means ‘Doctor Hopeful.’

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　So let us take a closer look at Esperanto. About 75% of the words come from Latin and Romance¹⁰ languages like French. About 20% come from German and English. And the rest comes from Russian, Polish and Greek. 28 letters form the Esperanto alphabet. And the language is ‘phonetic’ - you say every word exactly as it is written. There are no exceptions¹¹. Most of the grammar of Esperanto follows one of 16 basic rules.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In Esperanto all nouns¹³ end with ‘O’. For example the noun¹² bird is ‘birdo.’ If you have more than one bird it becomes ‘birdoj’.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Here is another interesting thing. If you add ‘mal’ to the beginning of a word, it gives the word the opposite meaning. For example - alta means tall. Malalta means short. Seka means dry. Malseka is wet. Pura is clean. Can you guess what dirty is?  Malpura!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　No one knows exactly how many people speak Esperanto. Some people estimate¹⁴ around 2,000,000. This is based on information such as sales of Esperanto language books and Internet users¹⁵. Esperanto is most common in Central and Eastern Europe. Speakers of Esperanto have developed some similar customs. But, many people argue that an ’international language’ should not have its own culture. They say that an international language should avoid cultural and racial divides.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Speakers of Esperanto say that the language makes communication easier when travelling. They say that Esperanto is a good second language - better than others like French, Spanish or English.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　People in many places in the world use these languages - more than Esperanto! But there are also many native speakers of these languages. The idea of Esperanto is that it makes everyone equal - because it does not ‘belong’ to any particular group. It belongs to the international community! Zamenhof hoped that this would unite people - and help create a peaceful world.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Most people argue that language alone cannot create peace. People in the same country, with the same language and culture still argue and fight.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Zamenhof was an idealist. He believed that the world could change. After all, the language is called ‘Esperanto’ - ‘one who hopes.’ And a person who has hope can do more than a person without hope! Zamenhof did not see his dream in his lifetime. There is still misunderstanding between people. But Esperanto has united many people across the world. It has crossed at least some cultural and racial divides. On an international website for Esperanto speakers, one person wrote,

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“Being a speaker of Esperanto means that I am part of a worldwide community. They are people who believe in equality - like me. There are sayings like ‘We are all born equals.’ Esperanto lets people express these ideas.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of today’s program was Marina Santee. The producer was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes 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 ‘A Global Language’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　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 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

4 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 romance   

n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇

参考例句：

• She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
• They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。

11 exceptions   

例外( exception的名词复数 )； 不包括在内的人（或物）； 规则的例外； 例外的事物

参考例句：

• Most children like sweets, but there are some exceptions. 大多数孩子喜欢吃糖果，但也有一些例外。
• Such exceptions do not invalidate the rule. 这些例外并不证明此规则无效。

12 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

13 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

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。