英语听力—环球英语 1331 Storytellers: Shaping History and Community

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Rena Dam.

 

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　　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.

 

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　　Scheherazade had a problem. She needed to protect her life. She had just married the powerful King of Persia. But Scheherazade was not the king’s first wife. His first wife had not been faithful² to him. This made the king very angry. So he sent his first wife away to be killed. But he was still angry. Every day, the king married a new wife. And the next morning, he would send her away to be killed.

 

　　Scheherazade knew that marrying the King would lead to her death. But she was very wise. She had a plan. Scheherazade began to tell the king a story. She told him the story all night long. The king was very interested in the story. The sun began to rise the next day. But Scheherazade did not finish her story. She asked the king to let her live. Then she could finish her story the next day. He agreed.

 

　　That night Scheherazade finished her story. And then she quickly began another one. Again, day came in the middle of the story. The king wanted to know the ending of this story too. He let Scheherazade live for another night. This continued for one thousand and one nights. By then the king knew that he loved Scheherazade. He would not send her to be killed. Scheherazade’s storytelling saved her life.

 

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　　This famous story is called ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’  It shows the power of a good storyteller, like Scheherazade can have great power. She can influence individuals and the community. Today’s Spotlight is on story tellers⁴.

 

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　　Storytelling began a very long time ago. The oldest surviving record of storytelling is from Egypt. It is a famous document called the Westcar papyrus⁵. Most of the stories include magic events. Ancient Egyptians believed that some people had special powers. In one story, a magician⁶ puts the head of a bird on to the body of a cow. Experts think that these stories are 4,000 years old.

 

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　　People told the first stories orally - they would speak the stories out loud. A community would gather together. They listened to the storyteller. The storyteller told the action of the story. Many storytellers also acted out the different characters. To do this the storyteller would make large expressions with his face. He would use his voice in different and funny ways. People enjoyed watching and listening to the storyteller.  The stories were good entertainment. But the storyteller did more than this.

 

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　　Tawennihake is from the Mohawk Tribe⁷ of North America. He is an artist and community leader. He says that the storyteller was the most influential⁸ person in Mohawk culture. He wrote in an online article:

 

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　　“The storyteller was the origin of wisdom, history, literature, knowledge, moral⁹ instruction and learning¹⁰. The old story tellers were often called "tricksters." They would inject valuable lessons into the message they were sharing. The people would hear the stories thinking that they were being entertained. But they were learning through the lessons and morals¹¹ of the story. These stories stayed forever in the collective¹² mind of the tribe.”

 

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　　Storytellers helped communities understand their history. Chris Abani [ah bah knee] is a Nigerian writer and activist¹³. He thinks that stories are the best way to learn. He says that we understand ourselves through stories. He said:

 

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　　“Language makes the world in which we live. Language can only be understood in connection to story. Everything, everything...all of this - is story. It is important to remember that. If we do not, we lose our history.”

 

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　　In West Africa, the community learned¹⁴ their history from a story teller³ called a Griot. Usually, each village would have one Griot. At the end of the day the Griot would call people to come hear a story. Children and adults would gather around to listen. The Griot often beat on a drum or played another musical instrument. Griots told stories about tribal¹⁵ history such as wars and famous events. They also told stories about village events such as births or marriages. Some of the Griots stories were about made up characters. Through these stories the Griot taught people good moral values.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In ancient China, stories also ended with a moral lesson. The storyteller would stand behind a table in the market. He would wear a long cloth robe¹⁶. In one hand he held a folded paper fan. When he opened the fan it was big enough to cover his face. In the other hand he held a gavel, like a judge in a court. He hit this wooden tool on the table to mark important parts of the story. Chinese storytellers often used music and poems in their stories. Like the Mohawk storyteller, they used humour to teach people good lessons.

 

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　　Storytellers urged people to try to make their lives better. Their stories encouraged people to create something new. Steven Denning¹⁷ writes popular books on leadership. In his book “The Leaders Guide to Storytelling” he writes:

 

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　　"Story produces creativity. A story encourages us to bring new things into the world. It moves us forward AND backward. It makes us do new things. But we must also look back to history.”

 

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　　Over time, people began to record their stories in writing. Many more people became storytellers by writing books. Some people wrote down old stories - such as the story of Scheherazade and “One Thousand and One Nights.” And many more people began to write new stories.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　A storyteller may tell a story with her voice. Or she may write her story in a book. Either way, storytelling is an important part of human history. Storytellers have had a large influence in every culture. And they probably will continue to do so. Writer Steve Denning says:

 

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　　"Hearing a powerful story makes the listener feel more alive. So listening to the story turns it into a living thing. The seeming aliveness of the story makes listeners want to pass it on."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer and producer of this program was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes 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, ‘Storytellers: Shaping History and Community’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at radio at radioenglish dot net. 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 faithful   

adj.守信的，忠实的，如实的，可靠的

参考例句：

• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever.他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。
• We must be honest and faithful to the people.我们对人民必须忠诚老实。

3 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

4 tellers   

n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者

参考例句：

• The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里，还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句

5 papyrus   

n.古以纸草制成之纸

参考例句：

• The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.埃及人书写用薄草纸。
• Since papyrus dries up and crumble,very few documents of ancient Egypt have survived.因草片会干裂成粉末所以古埃及的文件很少保存下来。

6 magician   

n.魔术师，变戏法的人，术士

参考例句：

• With a wave of his hand,the magician made the rabbit vanish.魔术师手一挥兔子便不见了。
• The magician transformed the man into a rabbit.魔术师把那个人变成了兔子。

7 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。

8 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

9 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。

10 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。

11 morals   

n. 道德; 名词moral的复数形式

参考例句：

• a self-appointed custodian of public morals 自封的公共道德的卫道士
• We must arm the people against the lowering of our morals. 我们必须武装人们的头脑，以防我们的道德标准降低。

12 collective   

adj.集体的，共同的；n.团体，集体

参考例句：

• I do feel deeply the strength of the collective. 我确实深深地感到了集体的力量。
• They hold together for collective security.他们为了共同安全而团结在一起。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 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。

15 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

16 robe   

n.长袍，长衣，浴衣

参考例句：

• She was sitting at her mirror in a robe.她穿着长裙坐在镜子前。
• She put her robe on the chair.她把睡袍搭在椅子上。

17 denning   

vi.穴居（den的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• From now on, Dorothy Denning's IDES model was come into being. 在这之后，桃乐茜·顿宁(Dorothy Denning)的IDES（入侵检测专家系统）模型产生了。 来自互联网