【一起听英语】写日记
你是否有写日记的习惯呢？
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 1 of 4
Kate: Hello and welcome to this week's 6 Minute English. Joining me today for
the first time is Neil! Hi Neil.
Well, Leonardo da Vinci wrote his in mirror writing and Anne Frank 1's has
been read by millions throughout the world. We are of course talking
about …. diaries. So Neil - do you have or have you ever kept a diary or any
sort?
Neil: Answers…
Kate: Well, throughout history many people have kept diaries and these days some
still handwrite in a private notebook while others blog on the Internet for all
to see. In fact recently there have been an increasing number of diaries being
published - the public seem to love reading them. Why do think this is?
Neil: answers
Kate: Before we go any further, here's my question for this week: one of the
world's most famous diaries was written by Anne Frank, the thirteen year
old Jewish 2 girl who chronicled her life while in hiding in Amsterdam during
the German occupation in World War II. How many people worldwide do
you think have read her diary since it was published in 1947?
Is it:
a) 10 million
b) 17 million
c) 31 million
Neil: answers
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
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Kate: Good answer - we'll check if you were correct at the end of the programme.
But first of all, could you tell me what is it do you think that makes people
want to keep a diary?
Neil: answers
Kate: Our speaker today is Gyles Brandreth – before we listen to what he has to
say, let's go over some of the vocabulary: reassure 3
Neil: reassure means to comfort someone and stop them from worrying about
something in particular
Kate: and the verb to rush?
Neil: To rush means to go past very quickly.
Kate: And finally the expression to pin down
Neil: This means to focus on something - if you pin something down, you
concentrate on one thing in particular and you are able see it clearly.
Kate: Thanks, so let's listen. Why does Gyles like keeping a diary?
It's like sort of looking in the mirror to reassure yourself that you're there. And it does make
things seem more real. If you don’t write a diary it all just rushes past you and so I
record things to sort of pin them down…
Neil: He said writing a diary makes things seem more real to him and he says that
if he doesn't write things down life just rushes by him. He likes to record
things and pin them down.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 3 of 4
Kate: So if he enjoys writing his diaries so much, what does he think of re-reading
them years later?
Extract 2
I've been keeping a daily diary since I was 11 years of age but before now, I've not looked
back on it and it's actually been quite a difficult experience, you know, seeing the …you
know, the missed opportunities - so it's been quite traumatic.
Kate: He said that re-reading them was a difficult and traumatic experience.
Traumatic means that something causes emotion shock and is upsetting.
Neil: I think he also mentioned missed opportunities. This is a phrase we use to
talk about situations in the past when we had the possibility of doing
something but we never did it. There is often a feeling of regret when people
talk about missed opportunities. (Neil gives and example)
Kate: In our last extract we're going to hear some more about what Gyles thinks
about diaries. You're going to hear the expression time capsule. This is a type
of container which is filled with objects considered to be typical of the present
period in history and then buried so it can be dug up and studied at some point
in the future. Let's listen:
Extract 3
It is a kind of time capsule and in a sense the best diaries I think are ones that give
you that domestic 5 detail and not necessarily 6 also about the great events of history.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 4 of 4
Neil: He said that a diary is a type of time capsule – which I suppose it is. It's like a
hidden container filled with interesting information from the past which we
can study at a future date. And I like what he said about it being the small
domestic details that make the most interesting diaries. The word domestic is
related 7 to the home so I suppose he's talking about the daily chores we do
around the house, like making dinner, shopping, chatting to the neighbours etc.
All the things that might not seem that exciting now, but he thinks it is these
details that people enjoy reading about many years later.
Neil and Kate: We're nearly out of time today so let's go over some of the vocabulary we've
come across today. First of all the verb reassure, rush, to pin something
down, traumatic, missed opportunities, domestic detail and time capsule.
Kate: Finally to the question I asked you earlier. I asked you how many people
worldwide have read this The Diary of Anne Frank?
Neil: And I said 31 million.
Kate: And you were correct! Congratulations. Anne Frank's diary has sold more
than 31 million copies and has been published in approximately 67
languages. That's all we've got time for. Thanks Neil - until next time.
Goodbye.
- A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
- She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。
- The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
- They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。
- This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
- The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。
- The article was a choice extract from her writings.这篇文章是从她的著作中摘录出来的精粹。
- We can extract oil from olive.我们可以从橄榄中榨油。
- This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
- She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。
- More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
- A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。