英语听力—环球英语 1087 Nursery Rhymes Around the World

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Ryan Geertsma. 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

 

　　A mother sits and rocks her baby to sleep. She sings quietly. She wants the baby to fall asleep. She sings this song about a cradle² -a small bed for a baby:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“Rock a bye baby in the tree top.

 

　　When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

 

　　When the branch breaks, the cradle will fall.

 

　　And down will come baby, cradle and all.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　‘Rock a bye baby’ is a rhyming³ song from England. The sentences rhyme⁴ - they end with the same sounds like ‘fall’ and ‘all’. Rhyming songs and poems are very popular all around the world.  Parents often sing them to young children. And children sing them in nursery⁵ school - when they are only three or four years old. Today’s Spotlight is on nursery rhymes⁶ around the world.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Most countries have nursery rhymes. People sing nursery rhymes like a song. Or sometimes they say nursery rhymes like a poem. Nursery rhymes are fun for both adults and children. But nursery rhymes also have other purposes.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　There are different kinds of nursery rhymes. Some nursery rhymes are for helping⁷ a child to fall asleep. “Rock a bye baby” is one of these. Other nursery rhymes are educational. They teach children about cultural traditions or about good behaviour. Some nursery rhymes are games - they include movements. The children must do these movements with their hands or bodies.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Let’s listen to some different kinds of nursery rhymes from around the world. This first nursery rhyme is from Uganda in East Africa:

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“Keep keep keep your health

 

　　Eat good food!

 

　　Milk and eggs, fish and beans

 

　　Are excellent for you.

 

　　Comb comb comb your hair

 

　　Do not forget your teeth!

 

　　Brush brush brush your teeth

 

　　Clean up all those germs⁸!”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This nursery rhyme teaches children about healthy food. And it teaches children to take care of their bodies. Because it has rhyming sounds, this song is easy to remember! Parents and teachers often use songs to teach lessons. Songs can help children to remember important things - like cleaning their teeth.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The next nursery rhyme also uses rhyming to teach. This poem is from China. It teaches about the traditional customs⁹ of a very important Chinese holiday. It is called ‘Chinese New Year’:

 

　　Voice 5

 

　　“You will find when ever the New Year comes

 

　　the Kitchen God will want some plums.

 

　　The girls will want some flowers new;

 

　　The boys will want firecrackers, too.

 

　　A new soft hat will please Papa

 

　　And a sugar cake for dear Mama”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This nursery rhyme teaches children about the special customs of the Chinese New Year holiday. For example, families celebrate Chinese New Year with special food. The nursery rhyme also teaches children to share with their family members. By repeating this rhyme, children will remember their traditional customs.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Many cultures also have nursery rhymes to teach children about right and wrong actions. Here is a nursery rhyme from Thailand. It is named after a large fruit. The jackfruit has a hard, green skin. But inside, it has soft, yellow fruit around big seeds:

 

　　Voice 6

 

　　“Jum-Jee Jackfruit Seed

 

　　Those who have done good deeds

 

　　Can eat all the food

 

　　Those who tell lies

 

　　Must eat old dead dog!”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This nursery rhyme teaches children to tell the truth. It explains that people who tell the truth will get good things. But people who do not tell the truth will NOT get good things.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　There are two more interesting things about this nursery rhyme. One is that it uses words that are not real! The beginning words - “Jum-Jee” - do not mean anything. These are just words that sound fun. They rhyme to make the song sound good. Many nursery rhymes have these kinds of words in them.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The “Jum-Jee” nursery rhyme is also a game. While the children sing it, they sit in a circle. They all put their hands into the middle. Then, one child counts the other children’s fingers while they sing together. When the song is finished, the child stops counting. The person with the finger last counted must pull their hand away. The song continues until only one child has a hand left in the middle of the circle.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Many other nursery rhymes can also be used for games. Some have special motions¹⁰ for the children to do. They sing and move parts of their bodies at the same time. Listen to this nursery rhyme from Switzerland in Europe. It is a rhyme about a child named Joggeli riding a horse. Imagine how children would move while saying it.

 

　　Voice 7

 

　　“Joggeli, can you ride?

 

　　Yes, yes, yes.

 

　　Have you got one leg each side?

 

　　Yes, yes, yes.

 

　　Did you give the horse some hay¹¹?

 

　　Yes, yes, yes.

 

　　Did you water it today?

 

　　Nay¹², nay, nay.

 

　　So let's ride to town

 

　　And go three times around.

 

　　But then the horse starts bucking¹³

 

　　And Joggeli falls down down down.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Nursery rhymes can teach many things! They can teach children about being healthy and behaving well. They also teach about traditional culture. Nursery rhymes often use language in a fun way. And they can be used for movements or games. But one of the most important things about nursery rhymes is that they help create relationships.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Nursery rhymes help children create friendships with each other. They help teachers to give good lessons. And they also help create closeness between a child and her parent. Nursery rhymes are a way for parents to teach important lessons.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Lastly, parents use nursery rhymes to put their children to sleep - like the first rhyme we heard.  The last nursery rhyme is also a song from a parent to his child. The child is named Iro. This rhyme is from the Mina language of Benin, in West Africa. It shows the most important lesson that a parent can teach a child: that her mother and father love her.

 

　　Voice 8

 

　　“My Iro, what am I going to give you?

 

　　My Iro, what am I going to give you?

 

　　I have nothing to give you -

 

　　I am going to pray for you.

 

　　Your life will be happy for all time.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　What is your favourite nursery rhyme? Does your culture teach any good lessons with children’s songs? You can leave your comments on our website or email us at radio at radioenglish dot net.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer and producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United¹⁴ States and the United Kingdom. All quotes¹⁵ were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, ‘Nursery Rhymes Around the World’.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

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 cradle   

n.摇篮，策源地，支船架；vt.把...放在摇篮里

参考例句：

• The baby was rocked to sleep in a cradle.婴儿在摇篮里被摇得睡着了。
• Tokyo was the cradle of Japanese culture.东京是日本文化的发源地。

3 rhyming   

n.押韵v.（使）押韵，押…韵( rhyme的现在分词 )；（词或音节）押韵，和…同韵；（诗歌）押句尾韵

参考例句：

• a poem written in rhyming couplets 用押韵对句写成的诗
• Some kinds of poems are very strict about rhyming. 有些词牌对词韵的要求是相当严格的。 来自互联网

4 rhyme   

n.韵，押韵，韵文；vi.押韵，作诗；vt.使押韵，用韵诗表达

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to " hiccups ".我不能找到和 “hiccups”同韵的词。
• The last two lines of this poem don't rhyme properly.这首诗后两句不怎么压韵。

5 nursery   

n.托儿所；苗圃

参考例句：

• They have decided to start up a nursery in the factory.他们已决定要在工厂里开办一个托儿所。
• Her company ran its own workplace nursery.她的公司开办了内部的托儿所。

6 rhymes   

n.韵；同韵的词；押韵诗；韵文；同韵词( rhyme的名词复数 )；押韵词；押韵的短诗vt.使押韵；作押韵诗；成韵v.（使）押韵，押…韵( rhyme的第三人称单数 )；（词或音节）押韵，和…同韵；（诗歌）押句尾韵

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• She almost proposed to her hero in her rhymes. 她差不多已经在诗行中向她的英雄提出了求婚。 来自辞典例句

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 germs   

n.微生物( germ的名词复数 )；病菌；起源；发端

参考例句：

• Dirty hands can be a breeding ground for germs. 脏手会滋生病菌。
• The air is full of millions of invisible germs. 空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 customs   

n.海关，关税

参考例句：

• The customs officials turned the man over to the French police.海关官员把那个人移交给了法国警察。
• They are collecting customs.他们正在收缴关税。

10 motions   

n.（物体的）运动( motion的名词复数 )；提议；通便

参考例句：

• She just went through the motions of being a poetess. 她只不过装成一个女诗人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always accompanied his speech with motions. 他讲演时总是伴以手势。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

12 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

13 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

14 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

15 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

参考例句：

• He quotes a few verses from Tennyson in his paper. 他在论文中引用了英国诗人丁尼生的几行诗句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》