英语听力精选进阶版 7858

Anita O’Brien: And I think there is this tradition of, somehow, unmarried women, or the women before they’re married, are pretty and attractive, and then once they get married they become ugly and to be feared...

Steve: Hi, I’m Steve, and welcome to On the Town. Now, Wang Fei, I’ve got to tell you about a really funny museum I’ve just visited.

Wang Fei: What’s a funny museum 好玩的博物馆? I had no idea a museum could be funny.

Steve: Well, the museum I visited displays hundreds of cartoons for visitors to laugh at.

Wang Fei: Oh, cartoons 卡通，这个好玩儿！So you’re a fan of cartoons?

Steve: Oh, yes! I’ve enjoyed reading cartoon strips like Peanuts or The Far Side in newspapers since I was a child. And the museum has an exhibition of British cartoons which poke¹ fun at marriage… just in time for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton here in the UK.

Wang Fei: Poke fun at marriage. 也就是捉弄、取笑婚姻。But surely marriage is a serious commitment? 严肃的承诺，是不是？

Steve: It is, but cartoonists have always enjoyed making jokes about serious subjects. The curator of the exhibition, Anita O’Brien, says cartoonists like to joke about many issues affecting marriage - from divorce, families, to domestic² violence.

Wang Fei: Divorce 离婚，Domestic violence 家庭暴力。So does the exhibition feature a broad range of subjects 有很多不同的主题吗?

Steve: Yes, let's listen to my interview with Anita.

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Steve: How did you decide which cartoons to include in the exhibition?

Anita: Well, I think we wanted to have a broad range of styles, different subjects, and also, I suppose, different… issues relating to marriage. All of those things, trying to show how marriage has changed over time, how certain issues, questions relating to marriage or divorce or … size of families, domestic violence. All of those things we felt were valid³ subjects.

Steve: So Anita said that these issues were valid subjects – or worth including in the exhibition.

Wang Fei: Valid subjects 有效的主题，值得用的主题。And the cartoons show how attitudes have changed over the years in Britain. Did you find these cartoons funny, Steve?

Steve: There was one which I found particularly funny, by Royston Robertson. In it, a mother and father are with their four children, talking to a friend of the family. The mother is introducing the children to their friend and says, “This is our daughter, my son from my first marriage, John’s daughter from his second marriage… and I’ve no idea who the one on the end is!”.

Wang Fei: (Laughs) So the children are not all from the same marriage, and do not all have the same parents!

Steve: No, exactly – the family situation is so complicated, the mother can’t even remember whether she’s related to the small boy!

Wang Fei: Now, Steve – surely Britain’s newest royal couple – Prince William and his wife Kate – can’t escape being lampooned⁵ by cartoonists? 我估计英国新婚的威廉王子和他的妻子凯特也逃脱不了卡通画家的讥讽吧! Lampoon⁴ 讥讽、奚落。

Steve: Definitely not - many other royals have been lampooned by cartoonists over the last few centuries. Anita thinks the fact that Kate is a commoner – or not from an aristocratic background – could be a source of jokes for cartoonists.

Wang Fei: Commoner 平民, aristocratic 贵族的。Yes, I heard Kate’s mother was an airline stewardess⁶ 空中小姐。But aren’t her parents millionaires 百万富翁，是不是？

Steve: That’s true – and Anita says cartoonists have already used these facts to make jokes about her.

Insert

Anita: We’ve got a joke here… The Queen is asking William, “Is she common-common, or is she posh-common?” And obviously, her (Kate’s) mother was an airline stewardess, but her parents are millionaires. She may not be from that kind of background but in many other respects the distance between them is not as great as it might appear on paper. And I suppose that is really the only thing that cartoonists have made a joke about.

Wang Fei: So, Steve - do you think William and Kate can ever be funny?

Steve: Well, to be honest, I prefer cartoons which poke fun at everyday people and their marriages – and situations which I can relate to.

Wang Fei: Like who’s going to do the washing up 洗碗? 谁来洗碗，是不是？

Steve: Yes, exactly. At least when you’re married you can ask someone else to do it!

Wang Fei: Definitely!

Steve: Well, that’s all the joking around we’ve got time for today.

Both: Bye!

1 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

2 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 lampoon   

n.讽刺文章；v.讽刺

参考例句：

• His cartoon mercilessly lampoon the leading politician of the day.他的讽刺漫画无情地挖苦了当今的政界要人。
• He was lampooned for his short stature and political views.他的矮小身材和政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。

5 lampooned   

v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His cartoons mercilessly lampooned the politicians of his time. 他的漫画毫不留情地嘲讽了他那个年代的政治人物。
• He was lampooned for his political views. 他的政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。 来自辞典例句

6 stewardess   

n.空中小姐，女乘务员

参考例句：

• Please show your ticket to the stewardess when you board the plane.登机时请向空中小姐出示机票。
• The stewardess hurried the passengers onto the plane.空中小姐催乘客赶快登机。