听播客学英语 208 陨石降落

 　　It happened sixty-eight years ago. On 30 October 1938, strange explosions were observed on the surface of the planet Mars. There were also reports of a meteorite¹ landing in New Jersey² in the United States. But then it became clear that it was not a meteorite, but a space ship carrying Martian invaders³. A crowd of people gathered around the place where the spaceship had landed. They included a radio reporter who broadcast live descriptions of the event. The Martians however had other ideas; they turned their Heat Ray guns on the people, killing⁴ many of them.

　　More Martian space ships then landed. The US armed forces tried to stop the advance of the invaders, but in vain. The Martians had poison gas, which they sprayed into the air. Many people fled their homes and gathered in churches to pray. The Martians entered New York City. A radio reporter on the top of the CBS building in New York described the scene live to horrified⁵ radio listeners until he, too, was killed by the cloud of poison gas.

　　Did this really happen? Well, no, actually. What really happened was this. In 1898, the English author H G Wells published a science fiction novel called The War of the Worlds, about a Martian invasion of the earth. Later the American writer Howard Koch turned the novel into a radio play. The play took the form of “news flashes” and live reports, as if the events it described were really happening. The American radio station CBS broadcast the play on 30 October 1938. Many listeners panicked because they were convinced that the United States had indeed been invaded. It was a very interesting early example of the power of communication media such as radio (and later television). Today the play is regarded as one of the classics of radio broadcasting. Recordings⁶ of it are still re-broadcast from time to time, and you can find it also on the internet

　　The picture is of the famous actor and director Orson Welles, who worked with Howard Koch in writing and directing the radio play, and also appeared in it.

1 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐