英语听力—环球英语 1391 Drumming to End Bullying（在线收听）

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Robin Basselin.

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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.

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It is a school day in West Valley City, Utah - in the United States.  A bright red bus arrives at a local school. The bus stops. It opens its doors.  Students gather around the bus.  They notice it is not a normal bus.  This bus is full of large drums. The students wonder about the musical instruments.

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Slowly, a few students climb into the bus. Soon, the bus is full.  The students begin to play the drums.  They hit them to create sound. The students also begin to talk about a particular subject – bullying.  Bullying is when a person uses force, violence or hateful words to cause another person harm.

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Leaders ask the students questions about bullying.  Some students answer with words.  Other students do not say anything. Instead, they answer by hitting the drums.

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Today’s Spotlight is on the anti-bullying program called ”No Bully Beat.”  This unusual program uses drums to help students understand and prevent bullying.

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Bullying is a problem around the world. Sometimes children bully using words - like calling a person bad names or sending mean messages using a mobile telephone. Other times children bully using physical violence. They hit, kick or push other children. Bullying can hurt children - both physically and emotionally. Often, bullying is a repeated behaviour.  And repeated bullying makes a victim feel very alone.

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Carla Kelley has been educating people about the problem of bullying since 1999. She is the director of The Human Rights Education Center of Utah.  Kelley does not like the separation bullying causes between students. So, she decided to create a new anti-bullying program.  And she thought using drums would be an effective way to educate students.  Kelley believes playing drums in a group can connect students in a very basic way.  She told Latitude News why she believes drums can make a difference.

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“Drumming is perfect for talking about bullying. Bullying is all about exclusion - separating one person from the group. When students drum together, they may be experiencing being connected for the first time in their lives.”

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Carla Kelley had the idea for the “No Bully Beat” program.  But to make the program work, Kelly needed a drumming expert.  So, Kelley talked to Mike Liston. Liston owns a company called Rhythms of Life. This company organizes drum playing events for many different groups of people. Liston agreed that drumming would be a good way for students to communicate and learn about bullying.  Liston told the Human Rights Education Center,

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“For kids and adults, playing the drums is another way of expressing one’s self. It does not depend on words...It is something everybody can do.”  

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Together, The Human Rights Education Center and Rhythms of Life created the “No Bully Beat” program. They designed it to help students communicate with each other. Once the students get on the bus, they meet a leader from the “No Bully Beat” program. This leader teaches them how to play the drums. At the same time, the leader guides a talk about bullying. But the leader does not justtell the students what is right and wrong. Instead, the leader asks the students to participate.

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Liston talked to the KSL news organization. He explained what happens at a “No Bully Beat” program.

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“We talk about emotions. Then we play those emotions on the drum. Each student can play what sad or angry or happy feels like to them. We talk and drum and talk and drum. In the process, the students gain a new understanding of bullying...They gain a new understanding of what it feels like. And then they learn how to take some action to stop it.”

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“No Bully Beat” works by helping teach students good social skills. Playing the drums together develops positive group behaviour. It encourages the students to work together as a team. It teaches them to listen and respect each other. This creates healthy group relationships. And when this happens, students are less likely to bully other students.

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“No Bully Beat” also develops communication skills. Using the drums permits students to express feelings.  They can communicate their emotions by playing the drums - even if they do not know how to express their emotions in words.

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Liston told Latitude News a story about a young boy.  The boy surprised everyone when he expressed his emotions using the drum.  Liston explained,

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“We will ask the children, ‘How would you feel if someone was bullying you?’ Then we ask them to play what that emotion would sound like on a drum.”

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Most students express pain or anger. They hit the drums very hard. But, the young boy answered differently.  He moved his fingers across the top of the drum. It made a quiet, repeating sound. The boy explained that it was the sound his heart beating fast when he was frightened.

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The “No Bully Beat” program was created for school aged students.  But children of all ages can enjoy and learn from the program. Kathy is a child care director.  She operates a center that cares for young children in Utah. The “No Bully Beat” program came to her center to work with the children. Kathy’s experience was so good that she wrote to The Human Rights Education Center. She said,

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“I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed having you at our center today!!!  All day the children have been repeating what you taught them.  The staff really enjoyed the activity. They said that all of the children seemed to really understand the ideas.  You have a wonderful program."

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Teachers are not the only people talking about the effects of the “No Bully Beat” program.  Students are also expressing how the program has changed the way they think about bullying.  Kelley remembers one particular student that participated in “No Bully Beat.” This student was very forceful. At the beginning of the program, he told the group that he was a bully. But participating in “No Bully Beat” made him think differently about bullying. Kelley shared his response with Latitude News.

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“He said, ‘Seriously, this made me think about what I have been doing. I should stop bullying.’”

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The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Mark Drenth. The voices you heard were from the United States. 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, “Drumming to End Bullying.”

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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye