The Reading Group 02

ANNOUNCER: 
You’re listening to “The Reading Group” from the BBC World Service. In this series we bring together listeners, students of English, literature teachers and other contributors from the world of books to share their enthusiasm for reading. We hope that following this series will 
encourage your own interest in reading books in English as a foreign language. 
Insert 1 – presenter 1 Gary Stevens outside Bush House 
Hello. I’m standing 2 a short distance away from Bush House - home of the BBC World Service - and I’ve come to see the statue of a famous man, described here as a critic, essayist, biographer, wit, poet, dramatist and talker. But Dr Samuel Johnson’s greatest achievement was perhaps as a 'lexicographer 3' – he was the creator of the first comprehensive English dictionary, published in 1755. 
Dr Johnson spent much of his life in this part of London, and he once said “when a man’s tired of London, he’s tired of life”! He worshipped in the church across the road and he lived in a house about ten minutes’ walk from here. 
Later in the programme, a Reading Group reporter visits this house – now a museum open to the public - to see the place where Dr Johnson wrote his dictionary, and to find out how he 
compiled it.
Gary: Now here we are – and I’m joined in the studio by two students and a teacher. 
Annemarit:Hello, I'm Annemarit. I'm from the Netherlands. I started learning English at school when I was 12. As I was not very good at languages, I spent a few summers as au pair in England. It was here that I started to read English books for pleasure as well. 
Adrian: Hello, I’m Adrian Sack, I’m a journalist from Argentina and I’m reading a play by William Shakespeare, King Lear. 
Jeremy: Hello. I’m Jeremy Page, Director of Studies at International House, a language school in London. I read and write a lot of poetry and short stories. 
Gary: You’re all welcome!Now, Adrian and Annemarit, you’ve joined the Reading Group because you love reading books in English, but I wonder, where do you like to read? 
Annemarit: Everywhere.I'm easily carried away by books so I take the book to the tube or the train, even when I have a bath I'll read a book. It's very difficult to put it aside. 
Gary: Do you read in the bath Adrian? 
Adrian: On the bus, in the train I can’t, because I lose my concentration. Maybe in my house, waiting room, and when I was a student at university I felt tempted 4 to read when I had to study. 
Gary: Do you use a dictionary when you read in English? 
Annemarit: I do, sometimes. If I can figure out what the word more or less means I won't look it up in the dictionary, but I think it's better because if you do look it up you'll remember them more easily. 
Adrian:I only use a dictionary when I finish reading, I take note of the words and after 
that I do it. Sometimes I have to give up because I can't understand the meaning of a paragraph, and I go to the dictionary and I search the word but I try to avoid it until I finish my reading. 
Gary: I'd like to turn to Jeremy now, our teacher from International House. How important do you think it is for students to have a dictionary on hand? 
Jeremy: I think it's important in terms of reader security but it's not a good idea to go to the dictionary too often because it really does destroy the pleasure of reading. 
Gary: Do you have any tips for listeners on how to maximise their vocabulary learning when they're reading? 
Jeremy: I think that it's important to be an active reader, not a passive reader.  In other words to make a note of any unfamiliar 5 collocations that you may come across within a text, any moments that you think when you're reading, "oh, so that's how you say that." Any language that you can imagine needing to use in your everyday life, any language that you would like to become part of your own active repertoire 6. I think that it's important to note that down and go back to it when you've finished reading. 
Gary: Thank you Jeremy. Now, each week in our BBC World Service Reading Group programme, we’re featuring an on-location report.  And today’s reporter is our studio guest, Adrian Sack. Adrian, you’ve been finding out about the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, and your investigations 7 took you on a short journey to find where it was written. 
Insert 2 – tour of Samuel Johnson's house package 
Adrian (Reporter): Yes … Walk for ten minutes east from Bush House along the famous Fleet Street. Turn left up a narrow passageway, and after a few twists and turns you may find yourself staring at a house that’s more than 300 years old.     It’s the place where Dr Samuel Johnson wrote his celebrated 8 dictionary.        The house is now a museum, and the museum curator, Natasha McEnroe, gave me a short tour and told me about Dr Johnson and his work. th 
Natasha:I think he’s arguably one of the greatest characters of the 18 century – great as a writer but also as an individual. He was a very charitable man, he had a great sense of fun, he was a really very strong character who stands out in society of that time. He was great company, people often described how much they loved talking to him, and that really comes across very strongly from all the letters that his friends have left behind. He did suffer throughout his life from poverty and from ill-health and certainly this is something that we can see is starting in his very early years. He contracted scrofula, which is tuberculosis 9 of the lymph nodes in his neck, and this left him very badly scarred around his neck, but also with very bad hearing and eyesight. 
Adrian:What is the significance of this house? 
Natasha:Well, it's very significant in that it's the only house that Johnson lived in in London that's still standing. It's particularly important as it was here that he wrote the English dictionary, so he took on the house as somewhere to live but also as a place to work. In this room we've got a facsimile of the first edition of the dictionary, open on the table, and as it's a facsimile, people can flick 10 through and read it. 
Adrian: The dictionary contains about 40,000 words and was published as two large books. I wanted to know how Dr Johnson wrote his definitions, and as there are copies of the dictionary on the table for people to touch and read, we decided 11 to look something up. I chose the word 'education.' 
Natasha: Let's have a look, that will be in the first volume. To educate, education… 
Actor: Education – from educate. Formation of manners in youth, the manner of breading youth; nurture 12. 
Adrian: What in particular is special about Samuel Johnson's dictionary? 
Natasha: Well, it was the first modern dictionary. So he was the first to write a dictionary that gives a proper definition of the word and who actually looks at the route of each of the words, and in addition to this he actually gives illustrative quotations 13 that contain the word. 
Actor: Education and instruction are the means (the one by use, the other by precept) to make our natural faculty 14 of reason both the better and the sooner to judge rightly between truth and error, good and evil. 
Natasha: The quotations are interesting for two reasons. Firstly because they very much reflect Johnson's own tastes, as obviously they are poets and writers that he has chosen, but also it's really a very modern way of actually explaining what the word means as you really get to see the word in action. 
Adrian: Where did he work on the dictionary? 
Natasha: I'm afraid it's right at the very top of the house in the famous dictionary garret, so we can go and see that now…. 
Adrian:  ... So, this is the room where he wrote the dictionary. 
Natasha:  That's right. We're actually standing in the dictionary garret itself. We do know that it was set out with long trestle tables, in the centre of the room, and he had six copyists who helped him with the physical writing out, although all of the actual work, the brain power was Johnson's own. The way in which he wrote it was quite interesting. He first of all made very long lists of all the different words and then he wrote out with one word per slip of paper, and these were all filed alphabetically 15. He then wrote out the definition, and then when he'd finished it was handed over to his copyists (who we can imagine all working for hours on end) and they would copy out the slips onto one sheet of paper, and the sheet would be sent out to the printers on Fleet Street. 
Adrian: How long did the whole process take? 
Natasha: It took nearly ten years. He was commissioned to write the dictionary in the mid-1740's and it wasn't actually published until 1755. 
Gary:  Adrian, thank you very much for that report. We stay on the subject of words and vocabulary now, and Gillian Lazar joins us once again, and draws together some of the themes of today’s programme with advice on how to gain a better understanding of the words you read.white marks on the page which make up the language in which the book is written. And it is often this language which is so difficult to understand. So when we read, how can we understand the language we read more easily? How can we become better ‘book detectives’? First of all, we should probably choose a book that is relatively 16 easy to understand. Pleasure in understanding helps with confidence, and along the way we will find ourselves acquiring some new words. Ah, words! Yes, when we read we will have some decisions to take about these. Which words are really important for understanding the book? Which words can we safely ignore, as we don’t really need to know what they mean? Apparently 17, good readers in both a first and second language don’t bother to find out the meaning of every single word. They are selective, focusing on words which seem important for understanding the gist 18 of a story or the key ideas of a book. And when good readers decide they do need to know the meaning of a word, they use a number of helpful strategies. Firstly, they may use the context to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Can you guess what the meaning of ‘toofle’ is in this sentence: ‘We gave him a toofle for his fifth birthday’? Well, I don’t know what a toofle is, even though I invented the word, but we can guess that it is something that a five-year-old would enjoy because the context of the sentence tells us this. As well as using context, good readers also use the structure of the word itself to help them guess the meaning.  For example, the word may include a prefix 19, such as Un- as in ‘uncomfortable’ and Dis- as in ‘dislike’, or a suffix 20, such as – ful as in ‘helpful’ or ‘ness’ as in ‘happiness’. If we know the meaning of these prefixes 21 and suffixes 22 they can help us to guess the meaning of the whole word. But when good readers can’t guess the meaning of a word, they do make use of dictionaries by carefully selecting the relevant meaning, the meaning of the word in the book, from all the possible meanings in the dictionary. And it is useful to record these words and their meaning in a small notebook or address book to make a personal dictionary. So next time you pick up a book, enjoy the detective work. 
Gary: Gillian Lazar.  And we’ll have more clues on how to improve your detective skills and reading techniques in the next programme – so join us then.
ANNOUNCER: 
And that brings us to the end of today's programme. If you'd like to share your reading experiences, you can join our BBC Learning English group on Facebook. We'll have topics on the Discussion board linked to the subjects covered in The Reading Group programmes. So, until next time, happy reading! 





点击收听单词发音  






1
presenter

  
 


n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者


参考例句：





Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。












2
standing

  
 


n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的


参考例句：





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。












3
lexicographer

  
 


n.辞典编纂人


参考例句：





A lexicographer's job is to describe the language.词典编纂者的工作就是对语言加以描述。
The lexicographer knew that the English lexis was changing. 字典编纂者知道英语词汇在不断变化。












4
tempted

  
 


v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）


参考例句：





I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。












5
unfamiliar

  
 


adj.陌生的，不熟悉的


参考例句：





I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。












6
repertoire

  
 


n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， (某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表


参考例句：





There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。












7
investigations

  
 


（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究


参考例句：





His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。












8
celebrated

  
 


adj.有名的，声誉卓著的


参考例句：





He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。












9
tuberculosis

  
 


n.结核病，肺结核


参考例句：





People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。












10
flick

  
 


n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动


参考例句：





He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。












11
decided

  
 


adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的


参考例句：





This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。












12
nurture

  
 


n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持


参考例句：





The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。












13
quotations

  
 


n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价


参考例句：





The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》












14
faculty

  
 


n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员


参考例句：





He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。












15
alphabetically

  
 


adv.照字母顺序排列地


参考例句：





I've arranged the books alphabetically so don't muddle them up. 我已按字母顺序把这些书整理了，千万不要再弄乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
They are all filed alphabetically under author. 这些都是按照作者姓名的字母顺序归档的。 来自辞典例句












16
relatively

  
 


adv.比较...地，相对地


参考例句：





The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。












17
apparently

  
 


adv.显然地；表面上，似乎


参考例句：





An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。












18
gist

  
 


n.要旨；梗概


参考例句：





Can you give me the gist of this report?你能告诉我这个报告的要点吗？
He is quick in grasping the gist of a book.他敏于了解书的要点。












19
prefix

  
 


n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面


参考例句：





We prefix "Mr."to a man's name.我们在男士的姓名前加“先生”。
In the word "unimportant ","un-" is a prefix.在单词“unimportant”中“un”是前缀。












20
suffix

  
 


n.后缀；vt.添后缀


参考例句：





We add the suffix "ly" to make the adjective "quick" into the adverb " quickly ".我们在形容词“ quick”后加“ly” 构成副词“quickly”。
It described the meaning of suffix array and also how to built it.它描述的含义，后缀数组以及如何建立它。












21
prefixes

  
 


n.前缀( prefix的名词复数 )；人名前的称谓；前置代号（置于前面的单词或字母、数字）


参考例句：





The prefixes cis and trans are frequently applied to disubstituted cycloalkanes. 词头顺和反常用于双取代的环烷烃。 来自辞典例句
Why do you use so many prefixes while talking? 你说起话来，怎么这么多中缀？ 来自互联网












22
suffixes

  
 


n.后缀，词尾( suffix的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Many domain name suffixes have failed to gain general popularity. 很多域名后缀没有获得一般的通用性。 来自互联网
For example, consider the use of prefixes and suffixes. 例如，那前缀和后缀的使用来说。 来自互联网