美国国家公共电台 NPR Podcasts And Audiobooks Reach Out To A New Audience: Children

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It is a good time for the spoken word. There's a whole lot out there - from radio to podcasts to audio books. Turns out there are lots of choices out there for young audiophiles too.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WOW IN THE WORLD")

THE POP UPS: Stay seated - three, two, one, ignition.

MARTIN: That is sound from a new podcast from NPR, for kids. It's called Wow In The World, and it's about science, technology and discovery.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "WOW IN THE WORLD")

MINDY THOMAS, BYLINE²: There are lots of different types of pollution to give a hoot³ about.

GUY RAZ, BYLINE: Yeah.

THOMAS: There's water pollution and air pollution...

MARTIN: For the first piece in our series, What's My Kid Doing?, NPR's Elizabeth Blair explores lots of choices.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: There are children's podcasts for just about everything. For science, there's Brains On.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "BRAINS ON")

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Internal combustion⁴ engines create tiny explosions by combining fuel, air and heat.

BLAIR: Need help with bedtime? There's "Storynory."

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STORYNORY")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Mr. Fox was strolling through the woods when he noticed a plump hen sitting on the branch of a tree.

BLAIR: And let's call it the self-help category - there's "Dream Big," co-hosted by 8-year-old Eva Karpman.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "DREAM BIG")

EVA: One of Nicholas' biggest advice for you, big dreamers, is not to worry too much and the importance of keeping a positive attitude.

BLAIR: Most of these kids podcasts started with an adult.

JENNY TURNER HALL: We were dismayed that our kids were obsessed⁵ with their screens.

BLAIR: Jenny Turner Hall is a writer and performer who lives in Maplewood, N.J. She and a few of her friends are fans of "Serial⁶," a suspenseful⁷, non-fiction podcast for adults.

TURNER HALL: As "Serial" broke new ground in podcasting and opened the possibilities of storytelling and really addictive⁸ storytelling, we wanted to do that but bring it into the realm of a fiction and for kids.

BLAIR: The result, "The Unexplainable Disappearance⁹ Of Mars Patel."

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: So if your mom or dad is listening, tell them not to pay attention. I created this podcast for you.

BLAIR: Mars Patel is a middle school student whose friends go missing one by one.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL")

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: She hasn't posted anything on Instagram all week. There's no one at her house.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Just cause someone forgets to say goodbye doesn't mean she's missing. I mean, wouldn't her parents be freaking out?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: We don't even know where they are.

BLAIR: "The Unexplainable Disappearance Of Mars Patel" recently won a Peabody Award. Last year, The Guardian¹⁰ named it one of the top 50 podcasts of the year for kids or adults. But best-of doesn't always mean most listened to. According to the data source Podtrac, less than 1 percent of podcast downloads are for those aimed at kids. Jenny Turner Hall admits kids podcasters have a ways to go.

TURNER HALL: We're continuing to try to reach people and let people know that something like this does exist, and we're not the only ones out there doing it.

BLAIR: Turns out audio just doesn't compete with screens, unless an adult introduces the idea.

Who even got the idea that audio books was a possibility?

OMAYMA AL-AWAR: Gosh, I don't even remember how it started.

KIYAN: It was you.

AL-AWAR: It was me?

KIYAN: Yep.

BLAIR: I spoke¹ with Omayma Al-Awar and her 9-year-old son Kiyan at their house in Washington, D.C. They didn't even know there were podcasts for kids, but they're big fans of audio books as a supplement to reading aloud together.

KIYAN: The first one that you got for me was, like, "Goosebumps."

AL-AWAR: Oh, that's right. It was before "Harry¹¹ Potter."

KIYAN: Yeah, then I got "Mouse And The Motorcycle."

AL-AWAR: And he's a voracious¹² listener. Let's put it this way (laughter). So it's...

KIYAN: I don't want to stop.

BLAIR: For now, young audiophiles like Kiyan are the exception, not the rule. But they may have a leg up on their peers academically. Past studies have shown that listening comprehension is a good predictor of reading success later on. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

4 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

5 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

6 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

7 suspenseful   

adj.悬疑的，令人紧张的

参考例句：

• If his experiences then had been carefully recorded, it would undoubtedly have made a suspenseful and moving book. 若是把他所经历的事实记录下来，那就是一部充满着大智大勇，惊心动魄的小说。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lily is an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of love, loss and obsession. 这是一个关于爱情、失落与迷恋的故事，充满情调与悬疑色彩。 来自互联网

8 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

9 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

10 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

11 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

12 voracious   

adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
• Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。