英语听力—环球英语 871 Traditions of Love

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Christy VanArragon.
Voice 2
And I'm Joshua Leo. 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
Do you know how your parents first met? Do you know what happened before they got married? What did your grandparents do to get to know each other before they got married? How have you looked for a husband or wife? Today's Spotlight is on courtship, the many different ways men and women find a husband or wife.
Voice 2
Courtship is a name for the process of finding² and getting to know someone that you will marry. Today, many people do this through "dating". But not in every culture! Courtship happens differently in cultures around the world. And courtship today often is very different from courtship hundreds of years ago. Let's look at some of the different ways people find love.
Voice 1
In ancient times many marriages started when men from one group or tribe³ would steal a woman from another tribe. The woman would then be forced to become the man's wife. She would become a part of her new tribe.
Voice 2
Family and community are often important in finding a husband or wife. For royal families, this choice can also affect a whole country. Often, these marriages are arranged⁴. That is, someone helps to choose the husband or wife, or even forces a particular choice.
Voice 1
Arranged marriages were common through history among royal families, as a way to bring security⁵ to a country. One example of this is Queen Maria Theresa of Austria⁶. She had thirteen sons and daughters. She used her children as a way to help her country avoid wars. The Queen forced her children to marry dukes⁷ and duchesses' from other countries. By the end of her life, Maria had children who were part of the royal families of Spain, France, Netherlands, and Italy.
Voice 2
Arranged marriages do not just happen among rich and powerful⁸ people. And they are often a way for parents to love and care for their children. This kind of marriage is common in many cultures.
Voice 1
In some areas of Pakistan, families follow a courtship tradition called Pait likkhi. In the Urdu Language, Pait means⁹ "written". Likkhi means Stomach. So Pait Likkhi means "written on the stomach". Two families agree to marry their children before they are born or when they are very young. The marriage then happens when the children are young adults. The children must follow the wishes of their families. They are not permitted¹⁰ to decide who they will marry. But recently, courts in Pakistan have tried to fight this tradition.
Voice 2
There is also a form of arranged marriage in Japan. There, this process is called Miai. Parents will choose a boy for their daughter to meet. Sometimes the family will hire a nakodo or "go between" - a person who knows many young people in the community. This nakodo will then choose two available people. The man and woman look at pictures of each other and then decide to meet. The families and the son and daughter all attend this first meeting. If the meeting goes well, then the couple may meet again and someday get married.
Voice 1
But if a marriage is not arranged, how do two people find each other for marriage? There are many other traditions that help people meet each other.
Voice 2
Meeting in public places is a common custom for courtship. In the village of Croscombe in England, young men and women had an interesting courting tradition. In the fourteen hundreds the young unmarried¹¹ women in the village would block the village streets. They would make all the unmarried men pay a fine to pass through. The next day, the unmarried men would block the street and the women would have to pay. All the money collected went to the local church and the young men and women got to know each other a little better.
Voice 1
A newer form of courtship is called "speed dating". The idea started in Beverly Hills, California¹² in nineteen ninety eight. Here is how speed dating works¹³. Many men and women gather together at a restaurant or bar. A speed dating leader tells the people what to do. Each man finds a woman to talk to and they sit down at a table. The man and woman talk and ask questions to quickly learn about the other person. After about five minutes, the speed dating leader rings a bell. Everyone must find a new person to talk to.
Voice 2
The men and women talk to many people throughout¹⁴ the night. If a man enjoys talking to one particular woman, he writes her name down. The women do the same thing. At the end of the night everyone gives these names to the speed dating leader. If a man and woman wrote each other's names, they are a match! The speed dating leader gives them the phone number or email address of their match.
Voice 1
Speed dating may seem like a foolish way to meet people. How much can you really learn about a person in just five minutes? But many experts say that some of the most important opinions you make about someone happen within the first thirty seconds. Speed dating is quick courtship!
Voice 2
Courtship traditions in the Philippines are not quick like this. Instead, it has many different parts. The man and the woman slowly show interest in each other. When the interest is confirmed¹⁵, they begin to go on dates. But in different areas of the country, there are other traditions too. In the Palawan region¹⁶, men perform courtship through the use of love riddles¹⁸. A riddle¹⁷ is a question that must be solved. Riddles often have hidden meanings. The parents of the girl ask the man and his parents riddles to learn more about them.
Voice 1
In the Pangasinan region of the Philippines, the man makes liquid love potions. He gives them to the woman hoping she will drink them and fall in love with him. If this does not work, he will act out a story or drama¹⁹ to show his love for the woman.
Voice 2
In the Vasayas Region the men sing songs to the women they want to marry. Men also will write love letters and give them to a close friend to bring to the woman. But the man does not only write to the woman. He also writes to her family.
Voice 1
Whatever the culture, courtship is an important part of life. Courtship is how we decide who to marry. It is part of forming families. No matter how you find a husband or wife, courtship is the first part of forming a good marriage relationship.
 

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 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

3 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

4 arranged   

adj.安排的v.安排，准备( arrange的过去式和过去分词 )；把…（系统地）分类；整理；改编（剧本等）

参考例句：

• The party was arranged quickly. 聚会很快就安排好了。
• Chairs in rows are not as conducive to discussion as chairs arranged in a circle. 椅子成排摆放不如成圈摆放便于讨论。

5 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

6 Austria   

n.奥地利(欧洲国家)

参考例句：

• Austria lies to the southeast of Germany.奥地利位于德国东南。
• I always confuse Australia with Austria.我总是把澳大利亚同奥地利弄混。

7 dukes   

公爵( duke的名词复数 )； 君主； （尤指旧时欧洲部份地区小公国的）君主； 大公

参考例句：

• She was a good friend of six British dukes. 她是六位公爵的好朋友。
• But the difference between different clinical Dukes stages had significance(P<0.01) 统计学有意义的是临床Dukes分期(P<0.01)。

8 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！

9 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

10 permitted   

允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 )； 许可； 许用

参考例句：

• Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
• Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。

11 unmarried   

adj.未婚的，单身的

参考例句：

• Though he is forty,he is still unmarried.尽管他已经40岁了，但还是独身。
• I was still unmarried then.当时我还没有结婚。

12 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

13 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

14 throughout   

adv.到处，自始至终；prep.遍及，贯穿

参考例句：

• These magazines are sold at bookstores throughout the country.这些杂志在全国各地书店均有发售。
• Guilin is known throughout the world for its scenery.桂林以山水著称于世。

15 confirmed   

adj.确认的；坚定的；根深蒂固的v.批准(confirm的过去式和过去分词)；证实

参考例句：

• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
• The truth of his conjecture was confirmed by the newspaper report. 新闻报道证明了他的推测果然不假。

16 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

17 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

18 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句

19 drama   

n.戏剧；戏剧艺术

参考例句：

• He acted his part very well in the French drama.他在这出法国戏剧中演得很成功。
• The college published a drama review.学院出版了一份戏剧评论刊物。