英语听力—环球英语 536 How Mad Are You?

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Christy Van Arragon.
Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Today's Spotlight is about a TV show. It asks an interesting question: how insane² are you?
Voice 1
Groups of people sit in the room of a small hotel. A man with a microphone³ appears at one end of the room. He explains to the people what is going to happen during the evening. A number of people will each talk for five minutes in front of everyone. The aim is to tell stories and make people laugh. These people then appear one by one. All of them look very worried! But everyone claps to encourage them. And each of the people manages to perform well.
Voice 2
This event was from a BBC⁴ television programme. It is called "How Mad Are You?" Its aim was this: to explore the line separating⁵ mental sickness from ‘normal' mental behaviour. The programme producers invited ten people to stay in a large country house for one week. Five of the people had experienced⁶ mental health problems at some point in their lives. The other five people had no record of mental sickness at all.
Voice 1
During the week, mental health experts organized a series⁷ of tests for the ten visitors to perform. They designed each test to cause a particular kind of mental reaction. For example, the test where people told stories and tried to make people laugh. This test shows if anyone has social anxiety⁸ disorder⁹ - a fear of people. Somebody with this condition becomes worried if he is surrounded by a crowd. He may start to shake. He may produce a lot of sweat¹⁰ - just as if he had been doing hard exercise. And he would have a strong desire to run away.
Voice 2
Cameras recorded each of these tests - and how each person reacted¹¹. Then, three different mental health experts watched the recordings¹² in secret. They had to use their expert knowledge and experience to make a difficult decision. They had to discover which five people had mental problems - and which ones did not. They did not know anything about the ten people - except for what they saw on the film.
Voice 1
At the end of the week, the mental health experts finally met the people they had been watching. And, they told them what they had decided¹³. They asked to see one of them - a young man called Dan. They told Dan that they believed he suffered from OCD - obsessive/compulsive disorder. This mental condition makes a person experience unwelcome thoughts and fears. It is hard for the person to control these thoughts. So someone with OCD may repeat a particular action many times during the day. This is to try and calm the fear. The experts had noticed that Dan spent a lot of time washing after one of the tests - cleaning a cow shed¹⁴. He hated being dirty. Dan told the experts that they were right! But Dan did not feel any shame at having a mental health problem. He said:
Voice 3
"I am proud to have OCD. OCD is part of who I am. It is part of my character."
Voice 2
The health experts then explained their second choice - a woman called Alex. They had noticed her during another test. This test dealt with people's ideas about their body image. The group used a camera to take pictures of each other. They were all wearing close-fitting clothes. Later, they saw the same pictures on a computer. But the pictures had been changed to make each person's body look bigger. Each person then had to use the computer to correct the picture. Each had to estimate¹⁵ what was his or her correct body size. The result was that everyone over-estimated their size.  But Alex over-estimated more than most. She thought that she was thirty [30] percent  bigger than she truly was. And this signalled¹⁶ something important to the mental health experts. They believed that Alex had experienced some kind of eating disorder in her life. They were right! Alex told them about suffering from anorexia¹⁷:
Voice 4
"I was fourteen [14] when...I think I had thoughts that I was too fat...I actually stopped eating. I lost nearly thirty [30] kilogrammes in about a year and a half...I never stopped feeling hungry...everyone told me I was going to die."
Voice 2
Finally, Alex knew that if she did not try to improve her situation, then she would die. She agreed to go to the hospital. She accepted help to try and learn how to eat healthily. And since that time her health has greatly improved. She said:
Voice 4
"I like the fact that I do not show any signs of anorexia now. I think that shows that I am healthy in mind and body."
Voice 1
So, the mental health experts made two correct choices. This left them with three more people to find. But, they got it wrong! They chose two people who had never had any mental health problems. And the final person they guessed did have a mental condition - but not the one they thought. Finally, the three people with mental problems came forward. First, there was Yasmin. She had suffered from depression¹⁸. Next, there was Kamili. He had social anxiety disorder. And third, Stuart. He suffered from Bipolar disorder. Yasmin, Kamili and Stuart were very happy! Their behaviour did not demonstrate¹⁹ the signs of having mental problems. Yasmin said:
Voice 5
My worst fear was that... people would notice immediately that I have some sort of disorder. But the point of the programme for me was to show people this: it is not easy for people to see that I have had mental health problems... It was amazing!
Voice 2
Martin Hewlett was one of the experts. He said:
Voice 6
"We were very happy that we got it wrong. It makes a very important point to the public. It helps us to remember that even experts can make mistakes. But it makes a point to everyone else too. You cannot just look at someone and judge them without knowledge. Someone may have mental health problems...But it is not helpful to judge everything they do because of that."
Voice 2
The aim of the BBC's programme was important: to change people's ideas about mental health. It showed that people with mental problems can live normal lives. And it encourages the public to accept people for who they are. What are opinions about mental health like where you live? Write and tell us. Our e-mail address is Radio @ English . net.
 

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 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

3 microphone   

n.扩音器，麦克风，话筒

参考例句：

• He gave a tap at the microphone before speaking.他在讲话前先轻叩了一下扩音器。
• She behaved naturally before the microphone.她在话筒前表现自然。

4 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

5 separating   

adj.分开[离，裂]的v.分开( separate的现在分词 )；（使）分离；区分；隔开

参考例句：

• In ancient mythology there was no impassable gulf separating the divine from the human beings. 在上古神话中，神与人之间没有不可逾越的鸿沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Once again, the key is separating the storage and retrieval systems. 关键是分离存储系统和检索系统。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

7 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 anxiety   

n.忧虑，担心，挂念，焦急；渴望，热望

参考例句：

• Tom's anxiety to succeed led him to work hard.汤姆对成功的渴望使他更加努力。
• He received the news of his father's sickness with great anxiety.他得知父亲生病的消息时焦急万分。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 sweat   

n.汗，汗水，水珠，焦急；vi.出汗，渗出，冒出水气，结水珠，烦恼，懊恼；vt.使出汗，流出，榨出，使汗流浃背

参考例句：

• She was all of a sweat.她一身大汗。
• She is always all of a sweat before the exam.她临考前总是急得不得了。

11 reacted   

起反应( react的过去式和过去分词 )； 反对； （对食物等）有不良反应； 物质起化学反应

参考例句：

• He reacted violently only under provocation . 只因为被激怒，他才暴力相向。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

12 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

13 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。

14 shed   

n.车棚，小屋，脱落之物，分水岭；vt.使流出，放射，脱落，散发，摆脱；vi. 流出

参考例句：

• There are a lot of straws in the shed.棚子里有许多稻草。
• His nose told him that he was getting near the cow shed.他的嗅觉告诉他，他正走近牛棚。

15 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。

16 signalled   

v.发信号，用信号传达，用信号通讯( signal的过去式和过去分词 )；发暗号；示意

参考例句：

• A police car drew abreast of us and signalled us to stop. 一辆警车开过来与我们并排，示意我们停下来。
• The visIt'signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries. 这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 anorexia   

n.厌食症

参考例句：

• Anorexia can creep up on young girls when they least expect it.年轻女子可能在最没有防备的情況下患上厌食症。
• Anorexia is a common eating disorder.厌食是一种常见的饮食紊乱症。

18 depression   

n.压抑，抑制，沮丧；萧条，衰退

参考例句：

• During a depression money circulates slowly.在商业萧条时期，货币流通滞缓。
• He suffers from acute depression.他患有严重的忧郁症。

19 demonstrate   

vt.论证，证明；示范；显示；vi.示威游行

参考例句：

• Let me demonstrate to you how this machine works.我给你演示一下这台机器的运转情况。
• How can I demonstrate to you that my story is true?我怎样才能向你证明我的话是真实的呢？