环球英语 — 255：Listener Mail 89

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Voice 1

Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ruby Jones.

Voice 2

And I’m Marina Santee. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 7

My name is Maria - I’m Venezuelan. I’m learning English. Spotlight seems to be a great tool for learning this important language.

Voice 8

I am from the beautiful southern island of Phu Quoc. My favourite Spotlight programme was “The Children of Colombia.

Voice 7

I am from Yacapani, Bolivia. You have great topics. The programme that touched my soul was, “A Father’s Love”...

Voice 1

Welcome to our listener mail programme! We begin with a letter about Teachers’ Day. In an earlier Spotlight programme, we spoke about World Teachers’ Day. This is on October the 5th each year. On this day, people celebrate good teachers. The aim of the day is also to encourage support for teachers. This support helps teachers to meet the needs of future generations. Santiago from Quito, Ecuador wrote about Ecuador’s national Teaching Day:

Voice 3

‘I would like to share that in my country, we celebrate Teacher’s Day on April the thirteenth [13th]. On that date, some memories come to my mind of when I was a child. I remember when I had to give a speech about teacher’s day. I felt so nervous!’

‘I remember my first teacher. He is a priest. His name is Mariano Cruz. We call him ‘Brother Cruz.’ He was a good teacher. And he was a good person too!’

Voice 1

Thanks Santiago. Yes, giving speeches is not easy - especially when you are young! Teachers’ Day was a good subject to talk about. Good teachers are very important. Their teaching can influence the whole of children’s lives as they grow older. I can still remember my first teacher, and some of the things she said. And that was a long time ago now!

Voice 2

While we are on the subject of teaching - how about some idioms? Our next letter comes from Serdar Alagoz. He writes:

Voice 4

“I want to improve my English by idioms... I want to learn idioms. What must I do for this? Will you help me?”

Voice 2

Well, Serdar, the aim of Spotlight programmes is to communicate English clearly to our listeners around the world. An idiom is an expression of speech. Individual words in an idiom may mean something different from their usual meaning. They can make English more difficult to understand! So, you will not find many idioms in a Spotlight programme script. However, there are many good websites that are all about idioms. Look for some links on the script page of this programme.

Voice 1

But in today’s Spotlight, we will break our rules about idioms. Today’s hodgepodge is all about idioms! And not just any idioms. We are looking at idioms to do with...money.

Voice 2

“That car costs a pretty penny!” This does not mean that the car costs one beautiful coin! Just the opposite - the car costs a lot of money.

Voice 1

Someone may call a business or product, a “cash cow”. For example, "That coffee store is a real “cash cow!” They are not talking about an animal that produces money. They mean that the coffee store is very successful. It makes a lot of money.

Voice 2

Here is another idiom. “Where did you buy that watch? It looks as cheap as chips!” In other words, your watch did not cost very much money!

Voice 1

You may hear someone say, “money does not grow on trees!” They say this when they think someone is spending money too easily. “It does not grow on trees” means you cannot get money easily. So, you should be careful how you spend it.

Voice 2

And now a letter from Phuong. Phuong writes to tell us some cultural information about his country: Vietnam.

Voice 5

‘Vietnam is a beautiful country. The people are friendly and welcoming. We have a long history, and beautiful places to visit. We also have tasty food. Have you ever eaten ‘pho?’ This is a good traditional food for us!’

Voice 2

Thanks for sharing this information, Phuong. I read that people have been eating pho for around one hundred years. And it began as boiled meat - beef, broth and noodles! Is that right?

Voice 1

Phuong also writes about a problem with Spotlight!

Voice 5

‘I cannot listen to Spotlight on the radio in my country. We do not have it on any station here. So, I can only listen on my computer.’

Voice 1

Well, it is great that you can listen to Spotlight on the Internet. But you are right. Spotlight is not on the radio in Vietnam. Do you know any radio stations near where you live? You can share Spotlight with those stations. We would be happy to help you with this. Just e-mail us: radio@English.net.

Voice 2

Our final letter comes from Andrey Lopatin in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He writes:

Voice 6

“Recently I watched a Russian television show. It was about...transgene engineering...This issue has interested my mind. I would like to learn more about it. So I have written to you..."

Voice 2

Thank you for writing to us about this subject, Andrey. Transgene, or genetic, engineering is a very difficult issue. People usually have very strong opinions either for or against it. Genetic engineering involves very complex technology. And it gives scientists a degree of control over the development of life. For example, they can take the genes from one kind of creature and move them to another. Or, they can take the genes from an animal and put them into a plant. This gives the plant or animal new characteristics, and new abilities. It can make them more useful to people. But there are no barriers with genetic engineering. And that is what many people struggle with. They ask, how will this work affect the natural balance of the world? And if scientists can change plants and animals, how long before they start to “improve” on basic human design?

Voice 1

Andrey finishes his e-mail by saying:

Voice 6

"I am sure that this kind of programme on transgene engineering would be interesting not only for me but for many other listeners too.”

Voice 1

Well Andrey, there are several programmes on our website that deal with this subject. Here are 3 of them: “Pandora’s Box, “Cotton for Lunch” and “Saving Crop Diversity”. And look out for future programmes on this issue soon!