听播客学英语 81 我病了

 　　I am ill. I have flu¹. I have been sent to bed with a hot water bottle and my teddy bear until I am better. So I have not had time this week to make a proper podcast. I hope to have time in a few days.

　　But maybe this is a good opportunity to give you some information which I hope you will find useful. Some of you have sent me e-mails asking me whether there is a podcast similar to mine, but in American instead of British English. I have recently looked at the Voice of America website. Voice of America is a radio station which is largely³ funded by the American Government. I remember Voice of America in the old days, when it used to broadcast anti-Communist propaganda⁴ to listeners⁵ in Eastern Europe. But times have changed, and Voice of America is more balanced today. Among other things, there is a Learning⁶ English section on the VoA website, and it includes podcasts. Like the Listen to English podcasts, you can listen to the podcast and read the text at the same time. If you are interested in American English, try listening to some of these podcasts.

　　There is a link from the VoA website to Ted² Lamphair’s blog. Ted has had a long career as a radio reporter and he writes about the many places in America, and in the rest of the world, which he has visited. At the end of each blog post, he explains some of the more difficult or unusual words which he has used. His blog posts are quite long, but they are written in good American English, and you will find them both interesting and useful reading practice.

　　Recently, I received an e-mail from Mike Marzio. He tells me that he runs a language school in the south of France. He has also built a large collection of short video clips⁷ of people speaking English, in the streets in America and in many other English speaking countries. The video clips are on his website. Many of the videos are linked to quizzes⁸, so that you can test how well you understood what the people in the video were saying.

　　Finally, the English Cafe website has an article on how to use Google to improve your English. If you cannot remember whether you should say “I arrived to London” or “I arrived in London”, just try Googling “I arrived to London” and “I arrived in London”. Go on. Try it. Which one is correct?

　　That’s all for today. I must go and look after my teddy bear. He seems to have flu as well.

1 flu   

n.流行性感冒

参考例句：

• I've been laid up with flu for a week.我患流感已在家休息一个星期了。
• Mind that your children don't catch the flu.小心别让你孩子传上流感。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。

4 propaganda   

n.宣传，宣传机构

参考例句：

• A lot of propaganda has painted him as bad.大量宣传把他说得很坏。
• Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.艺术可以用作为宣传的媒介。

5 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 clips   

n.剪（ clip的名词复数 ）；剪短；剪报；（塑料或金属的） 夹子v.用别针别在某物上，用夹子夹在某物上（ clip的第三人称单数 ）；剪掉；缩短；给…剪毛（或发）

参考例句：

• toe clips on a bicycle 自行车上的踏脚夹套
• Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。

8 quizzes   

n.问答比赛（游戏）( quiz的名词复数 )；小测验

参考例句：

• Quizzes (lecture and take-home) must be turned in on time. 测验（报告和课外）必须一次交上。 来自互联网
• Students can take quizzes with the software to evaluate the learning effect. 学生可以用软件中的一些测验来评估他们的学习效果。 来自互联网