环球英语 — 663：Making a Home
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Welcome to Spotlight, I'm Christy VanArragon.
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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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"The desire for home lives in all of us. It is the safe place where we can go. We can be ourselves, and not be questioned." [Maya Angelou]
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This quote describes what it means to be safe at home. This idea of home is important to people everywhere. Today's Spotlight is on homes around the world.
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Have you ever heard someone say the words "Home Sweet Home" or "Home is where the heart is" or "There's no place like home"? In English these are common expressions. People have very strong attachments to the places where they live or call home.
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Home can mean different things to different people. Some people think of a building or a house when they think of home. Some people think of a street or a town. Some people think of a person or group of people. The saying "home is where the heart is" means that wherever there are places or people that you love, that is your home. Around the world, people find many different ways to make a home.
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In Tanzania, Africa, when men and women marry, the man's father gives them land. Then that man passes the land down to his son when his son gets married. Land can stay in a family for many years. The people in Tanzania have an idea of what home is. The land that they live on is home.
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In some European cities, there is not a lot of space for people to live. People live in apartments, or flats, during the week. These buildings are large structures with many rooms. Many families live very close together. It is very crowded. But some people also have homes in the country. They go to these homes at the end of the week or on holidays. For these families, home is not in the city. Instead, these country houses are home for them. When they go there, they can find peace and rest.
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For some families, a home changes all the time. This is true of nomads. These traditional people move from place to place. This may be because they keep animals like cows, horses or goats. The animals travel to find new feeding grounds. Or it may be because they hunt and gather food. Some nomads travel all the time. Others move at special times of the year - for example, when seasons change. There are nomads in most places around the world.
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So how does a nomad family make a home? In Mongolia, traditional nomads carry their homes with them. These homes are called "ger". Gers look like round tents. The structure is made of wood. The outside of the ger is covered with felt. Felt is a material made from sheep's wool. Nomads stretch the wool over the wood structure. They attach the felt to the wood structure with rope. They can move the felt to let in cool air in the summer, or to keep out the winter cold. The ger is easy to take down and move. So for Mongolian nomads, home is a ger that moves with them.
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But in England, one family has the opposite experience. There is a castle in the country that was built over 800 years ago. The Berkeley family has owned it for all those years. All of the Berkeley family's history has happened in or around that building. Home for the Berkeley's is their huge castle.
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In the Fujian province of China, there is a very different kind of ancient home - the Hakka tulou. This part of China is full of mountains. The tulou are also very large! They are round buildings, built for up to 80 families to live together. Usually they have three or four floors, with many rooms on each floor. The outside is very strong - made of hardened earth and wood. But the inside is open. It is a place for worship, meetings, and other events. Some tulou are thousands of years old. Others are more recent - just fifty years old. For people who live there, the tulou are a shared home - shared with the many other families in their community.
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People are happy in places that they find familiar or that they recognize. Being out of our natural environment can be very difficult. Having a home is a very important thing, especially for children. Children need places to feel safe. Today, people all over the world are moving around a lot. People are moving from the country to the city to get better jobs. People immigrate to other countries to have a better life. All this moving can be hard for children.
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But it is important to remember that home does not always mean a building or possessions. The most important part of a home is the people. A home is a place where you feel loved and safe. You do not have to live in the same building or town for a long time to have a home. Even if you move around a lot, you still have a home. Home is where the heart is. Your heart could be with your family or your friends. Or your heart could be in a house or an apartment. It does not matter if your heart is in a city or a country. Wherever it is, that is your home.
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Famous Christian minister Billy Graham had a quote about this. He said, "My home is in heaven. I am just travelling through this world." But what did he mean by this? Billy Graham did not see his home in any special place in the world. Instead, he knew that his home was with Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus Christ made him feel safe and loved everywhere. This is true for many other Christians too.
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Think of the places that you would call home. What does home mean for you? Maybe you have many people that love you and that make you feel at home wherever you go. But if you are looking for a home, you are not alone. There are many ways to make a home, where ever you live.
