英语听力—环球英语 1244 Dancing on a Wire

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Adam Navis.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Liz Waid. 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

 

　　It is August 7, 1974. A man stands at the top of a tall building, 420 meters off the ground. He faces another building. Between the two buildings, there is only a thick wire cable². The man feels the wind blow. He can see birds flying below him. He feels excited. Years of training and planning have led him to this place. The man steps off the building, on to the wire.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　This man’s name is Phillipe Petit. Petit is a high wire performer. He is also an entertainer and artist. He finds the most joy in amazing people with his performances. Today’s Spotlight is on Phillipe Petit.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Petit is not a usual kind of performer. From a young age he made his own decisions. He was expelled³ from many schools. He then went to a special school for performers. This school trained the students to work for a circus. Circus performers do many kinds of amazing physical tricks. Circus performances may also include trained animals, and funny clowns. High wire performances are common in the circus. But young Philippe was even expelled from circus school.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Instead of a circus, Petit liked to perform on the street. He juggled⁴, throwing balls high into the air. He performed magic tricks, and acted out stories. He always created new and different art. And instead of learning⁵ from other people, Petit taught himself how to walk the high wire. He told New York Magazine,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“I taught myself all the things you could do on a wire. It took one year. I learned⁶ the usual tricks - the backward somersault, the front somersault, the unicycle, the bicycle, the chair, and jumping through round hoops⁷. But I thought, “Why is this popular? It looks almost ugly.” So I stopped doing those tricks. I remade the art.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In 1970, Petit started planning more difficult acts. He wanted to set up high wires on famous buildings. He wanted everyone to see. He knew that he would not get permission to do this. It was too dangerous. So he made his plans in secret.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Petit knew the first place he wanted to perform. It was Notre Dame⁸. Notre Dame is a famous, beautiful church in Paris. Petit knew this was the first place he wanted to tight rope walk. In 1971, he and a friend climbed to the top of the church. They went in the night so no one would see them. They worked together to stretch a wire between the two famous towers. As the sun came up, he walked between these two tall towers of the church.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Petit was excited by this experience. After that, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to perform like this again. He planned another high wire walk. This time it would be where more people could see him.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Petit’s second public high wire walk was in Australia. In 1973, he walked between the tall towers of the Sydney Harbor⁹ Bridge. Cars were driving under him. Soon they stopped to watch him walk. Police came and arrested Petit when he came down from the bridge.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　These two performances were exciting, but Petit was not satisfied. He knew he wanted to perform again in public. This time he wanted it to be even more amazing. He wanted to walk between the two buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City. At the time, these buildings were new, and famous. They were very tall - more than four hundred meters tall!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Petit knew that the authorities¹⁰ would never permit this performance. Like his other public performances, it was too dangerous - even insane¹¹! Instead he would do it secretly, and without permission.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　He visited New York many times to work on his plan. He rode in a helicopter over the buildings to take pictures of the top. He studied plans of the buildings. He watched the guards and security¹² police. He took pictures of construction workers’ clothes. He wrote down the time everyone came and left. He wanted to know everything about the buildings.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Petit often went into the buildings secretly. He climbed to the top floor. He took many pictures. He waited to see if anyone came up to the top floor. He also talked to construction workers who built the buildings. Finally, in 1974, he was ready to perform. Petit called this performance “le coup¹³.” This is a French word meaning ‘an intelligent plan.’

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　On the day of “le coup” Petit had a crew of friends helping¹⁴ him. They each had a false identification¹⁵ card for the building. They wore the clothes of construction workers, office workers, and building security. They each had a special job to do.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The crew entered the building on the night of August 6th. They took their supplies to the one hundred and fourth floor. All night, they worked to set up the wire. Finally, in the early morning, it was ready.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　On August 7, at 7:15 in the morning, Petit stepped on to the wire. He spent forty-five minutes walking between the two towers. He sat on the wire. He jumped. He lay down on the wire. He laughed and talked happily to the birds flying by.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　People gathered by the buildings to watch. They were amazed¹⁶. Police officers met on the top of the buildings. They tried to get Petit to come down. One officer later told the television program American Experience,

 

　　Voice 4

 

　　“I saw him half way between the two buildings. When he saw us he smiled and laughed. He started dancing on the wire. When he got close to the building, we asked him to get off the high wire. But instead, he turned around and ran out to the middle. He was bouncing¹⁷ up and down. His feet left the rope and then he landed again. It was unbelievable.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　When he was finished, Petit was arrested by the police. But because of public attention, the authorities gave him a different kind of punishment. They ordered him to perform for children in Central Park in New York!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Philippe Petit had made his dream come true. He had completed “le coup”. This performance made him famous. And his work did not stop there. He stopped doing the kind of illegal tricks he did in the past. But he continued to do amazing high wire walks. Very few people can do this kind of dangerous art. But he continues to bring joy every time he performs.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this program was Johanna Poole. The producer was Joshua Leo. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the Internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called ‘Dancing on a High Wire’. 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 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

3 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

4 juggled   

v.歪曲( juggle的过去式和过去分词 )；耍弄；有效地组织；尽力同时应付（两个或两个以上的重要工作或活动）

参考例句：

• He juggled the company's accounts to show a profit. 为了表明公司赢利，他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

8 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

9 harbor   

n.海港，港口；vt.庇护，藏匿；心怀(怨恨等)

参考例句：

• The harbor lies to the south of the city.港口在城市的南边。
• At that time,our ship was tied up at this harbor.当时我们的船停靠在这个港口。

10 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 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。

13 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

14 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。

15 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

16 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

17 bouncing   

adj.精力充沛的；精神饱满的；活泼的vt.“bounce”的现在分词

参考例句：

• a bouncing baby boy 茁壮的男婴
• He kept bouncing up and down like a yo-yo . 他像个悠悠球似的蹦蹦跳跳。