环球英语 — 226：Listener Mail 87

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹, I’m Ruby² Jones.

Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1
Welcome to our listener mail programme. People from all around the world have been writing to us this month.Our first letter is from Abdullah Yousif. He writes,

Voice 3
‘I am a Sudanese teaching³ English in Saudi Arabia. I like your programme and your strong concern for human life. I also like the way you treat other people well. I am a Muslim. My religion orders me to live at peace with everyone. I have a question: How do I download your speech? Can you send me your programmes? Thank you.’

Voice 2
Thank you for your letter, Abdullah. We are Christians⁴, and we share your desire to live at peace with other people. We hope that your students also enjoy the programmes. The question you asked is a common one. And we will be answering it later in the show.

Voice 1
Our next letter comes for a listener looking for help at work. Osama is an accountant. An accountant is someone who deals with the financial side of a business.

Voice 4
‘I am facing a problem with my English. I have a good position in the company where I work. But I want to go to the weekly meetings with my manager. But he does not want me to. This is because my English is not that good. Also I do not have time to get more information to improve my English. Please help in this matter.’

Voice 2
Well Osama, This is a difficult problem! But, there is good news. There are ways to improve your English skills – even if you do not have very much time. An English class would be best – but there are many other choices too. The main thing is to speak, write or listen to English as much as you can. Take time every day to do this. Spotlight does not teach English, but Spotlight programmes can help you with listening skills. They can also help with learning⁵ how to say words correctly. For more detailed⁶ English help, there are links to English teaching websites on our website: http://www.radio.english.net.If possible, it is also very good to speak English with other people. Do you know anyone else who is learning English? When you speak together, you can encourage each other. We hope that you can also talk to your manager. Tell him that you are learning English. Tell him your plan for improving your skills. If he knows that you are working hard, he may involve you more in company matters.

Voice 1
Our next letter comes from Vance. He lives in Korea.

Voice 5
‘I am very pleased to have found Spotlight Radio. I now share this with other students in Korea who are also studying English. Are there any old programmes that I can listen to? I could not find any? Thanks for any information you can provide. Keep up the great work.’

Voice 2
Thanks for writing Vance. You are not the only one looking for more of our programmes. Abdullah from Saudi Arabia also wanted to listen to more programmes. We also had a letter from Carlos from Ecuador. He wanted to know where he could get scripts⁷ for the programmes. Well, the answer to all those questions is to visit our website.

Voice 1
That’s right, http://www.radio.english.net. On the website you can find all our old programmes. You can also find scripts of the programmes for you to read. To do this, go to the ‘listen and read’ part of the website. Here you can save programmes to your computer. At the bottom of the list there is a link to all of our old scripts. There are enough programmes to last you for a very long time!

Voice 2
And now it is time for this week’s Hodge Podge!

Voice 1
Recently, a listener wrote to us about a particular Spotlight programme. This programme was called Sickle⁸ Cell Anaemia. Today’s Hodge Podge is about this medical condition. The month of September is also National Sickle Cell Awareness⁹ Month in the United States. This is a month–long campaign designed to inform the public about Sickle Cell diseases¹¹. Events include education conferences and fund–raising activities.

Voice 2
Sickle Cell Anaemia is a blood disease¹⁰ that causes great pain. It can also cause breathing problems. It may turn a person’s skin yellow. In rare cases, it can lead to death! So, why do some people develop it and not others? And how can people get the disease?

Voice 1
Well, sickle cell anaemia is genetic¹³ – it passes from parent to child. This was what our listener was particularly concerned about. He was worried about how a genetic disease could affect his children.

Voice 2
The first thing to know is that, in most places, Sickle Cell disease is rare. Most people do not suffer from it. And, like many genetic diseases, people with the Sickle Cell gene¹² do not always know that they have the disease. An individual can be a carrier¹⁴ of the disease – that he has the sickle cell gene in his body – and he may not ever develop the disease.

Voice 1
So, how can someone know if he is a carrier of this genetic disease? Well, a simple blood test can show this. If the person does have the sickle cell gene, then he may face some difficult decisions in the future. For example, choosing somebody to marry.

Voice 2
If a sickle cell carrier marries another carrier, this could create problems. Their children may develop the disease, and they may also pass the disease to their own children in the future. If Sickle Cell Anaemia is common in your community, or in your family, it is a good idea to be tested. Then, you can ask your doctor for more information about the risks to your children. This is also true for other genetic diseases. Blood tests are important to aid in planning a family.

Voice 1
Sickle Cell Anaemia affects people all over the world. It is common among people who have some family history in Africa, the Caribbean, or Asia. But it can affect anyone, no matter where they are from! And that is why many health experts want to teach people about this serious blood condition.

 

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 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。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。

8 sickle   

n.镰刀

参考例句：

• The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
• There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

11 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

14 carrier   

n.运货人；带菌者；运输军队的交通工具

参考例句：

• The airplane lifted from the aircraft carrier.飞机从航空母舰上起飞。
• I applied for the job as a mail carrier.我申请邮差的工作。