环球英语 — 268:Ways to Use a Kite
时间:2019-03-04 作者:英语课 分类:环球英语 Spotlight
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight 1 program. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
A young boy is in an open field. It is a perfect day. The sun is shining. The wind is blowing, but it is not too strong. He takes the thin paper kite into his hand. He unrolls a length of the thin rope. It is attached to the kite. He stands with his back to the wind. He holds the kite up to the wind. And he begins to run.
The kite begins to catch the wind. The boy pulls the thin rope until it is straight. The kite floats in the wind. It seems to be dancing in the sky with joy.
Have you ever had an experience like this?
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight is on kites. Many people think of kites as toys - something only children play with. Or they believe that kites are just something beautiful to look at. But this is not true! Many different kinds of people have used kites for their work - including scientists, explorers, soldiers, photographers, and many more! On today’s Spotlight we will look at the many uses of a kite.
Voice 2
Kites come in many different shapes, sizes and colors. A person makes them out of paper or light-weight cloth, thin pieces of wood and thin rope. This thin rope is called string. The thin wood forms the frame 2 of the kite. It is like the kite’s skeleton 3. A person attaches the cloth to the frame. The string attaches to the kite. The person holds the end of the string to control the movement of the kite. This is only the simplest version 4 of a kite. Other kite designs can be much more complex! Kites may be flat or box-like. Some kites are even shaped like animals or insects!
Voice 1
No one knows exactly when the first kite was invented. But experts do know that the kite is an ancient idea. Some history experts believe that the Chinese people invented the first kite. However, other cultures may have also independently invented kites. Chinese people may have flown the first kites more than three thousand five hundred [3,500] years ago!
Voice 2
The first written evidence of kites comes from about two thousand [2,000] years ago in China. There, a famous Chinese thinker named Mao-tse built a kite out of wood. The kite was shaped like an eagle - a large strong bird. The story says that Mao-tse spent three years making this beautiful kite.
Voice 1
Today, children in many different countries enjoy the pleasure and excitement of flying a kite. Flying a kite is a fun experience. But that is not how people used kites when they were first invented.
Voice 2
People often used kites for military purposes. A flying kite could be a signal to another part of an army. Soldiers in training could practice their aim by shooting flying kites. Or, by flying a kite, armies could measure distances.
Voice 1
One ancient story tells of a Chinese General - General Han Hsin. The General wanted to invade 5 an enemy castle. He believed he could dig a tunnel under the ground to invade it. But he needed to know how long to make the tunnel. The General flew a kite over the castle. He measured how long the kite’s string was. Based on this length, he used mathematics to estimate 6 the distance his tunnel would have to be.
Voice 2
Later, kites became stronger and better built. Military kites could lift up a man to see over a wall or over a long distance.
Voice 1
Another way people used kites was for scientific purposes. Kites helped scientists understand how birds can fly, and how wind works 7. Many inventors used kites to give them ideas about how to build airplanes. Some scientists have also used kites to study the weather. Kites can help measure differences in temperature at different heights.
Voice 2
Benjamin Franklin used a kite in a very dangerous, and very famous, scientific experiment. He lived in the eighteenth [18th] century in the United States. Experts disagree on the exact facts of this story, but most agree that it must have happened something like this. Franklin attached a piece of metal to a kite. He flew the kite in a large storm. Electricity from the storm hit the kite. It travelled down the metal piece and through the wet string. Franklin proved that electricity could pass through metal.
Voice 1
People can also use kites in common useful ways. Kites can perform particular jobs for people. Ancient people in Malaysia, Indonesia and the South Pacific Islands may have invented kites to help them fish. They could attach a long string with a hook 8 to the kite. Then, they could fly the kite over the water. In this way, fishermen could fish much farther 9 away from where they were standing 10!
Voice 2
Finally, people can use kites for cultural purposes. Many cultures use kites in national celebrations. People can use the kites with beautiful pictures on them to represent parts of a country. Or, the kites may be part of a competition.
Voice 1
One popular way to use kites in India is kite fighting. Kite fights are very popular in many other countries too! These are kite competitions where kite flyers compete against each other for fun or prizes. Fighter kites are light and quick. The person flying one of these kites can move it easily.
Voice 2
People competing try to cut the string of another person’s kite. The last kite flying in the sky is the winner! In India, people cover the string of the kite in a mixture of substances, including very small pieces of glass. This makes it easier to cut another person’s string!
Voice 1
Kites are very popular in Indian culture. People in India have participated in kite celebrations for hundreds of years. One kite celebration is called Makar Sankranti. On this holiday, the people celebrate by eating sweets. People all around the city gather on the tops of houses. There, they all fly kites.
Voice 2
Kites can do many things. They are useful for science, beauty, work and more. But can people use kites to praise the Lord 11? Christians 12 say yes! In the Bible 13, there are many songs. One of the songs encourages people to praise the Lord any time. It says:
Voice 3
“Praise the Lord!
... Praise him for his powerful acts.
Praise him because he is greater than anything else.”
Psalm 14 150
Voice 1
The song says that people can praise the Lord by playing instruments and with dancing. It says that people can praise God at any time and in any place.
Voice 2
God has given people a wonderful beautiful earth. He created the wind that the beautiful kites dance on. God has also given people ways to enjoy his earth. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
- 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。
- The house has a wooden frame which is faced with brick.这个房子是木质结构的砖瓦房。
- We must frame up that picture.我们必须给那幅画装上框。
- A long illness made a skeleton out of him.长期的卧病使他骨瘦如柴。
- Her notes gave us just the bare skeleton of her theory.她的笔记只给我们提供了她的理论的梗概。
- His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
- What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样?
- I don't want to invade your private life unnecessarily.我不想过多地干涉你的私生活。
- He ordered the army to invade at dawn.他命令军队在拂晓入侵。
- We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
- The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at $200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。
- We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
- The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
- The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
- He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。
- I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
- The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
- I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
- How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊,竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾!
- Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
- His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
- According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的,我们都是亚当的后裔。
- This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时,这本字典应是你的主要参考书。