Shortage of Church Bell-Ringers Causes Concern in UK
BBC新闻: 英国教堂敲钟面临用工荒
燕山大学 刘立军
TRANSCRIPT
(Q1) Here in the UK, a centuries-old tradition of church bell ringing is under threat. There is a shortage of new recruits. A BBC local radio survey suggests it's getting more and more difficult to persuade new comers to take on the task. So how do you attract a new generation? Joe Tillie is a tower captain at St. Dunstan's in Stepney in east London. (Q2) What first lured him to bell ringing?
I think part of it was just curiosity because you hear the noise and behind stain glass windows you can see shadow of figures moving around, and you think, oh what is it that they are doing. So yeah I suppose it's just curiosity really and then once I got in the tower and found out what the mechanics of it, that's really what motivated me to do it. And I think what I found was when you first try it, you think it looks really easy. And it's actually much harder than it looks as most things are. And so you get a real motivation to try and perfect your technique and to do it correctly.
So share some of the skills you found out you needed in case any of our listeners also have a dream to be a bell ringer.
So you are doing an activity that has maybe six, eight or ten people. (Q3) So your communication has to be very good. You can't really talk whilst the bells are ringing. So a lot of it is to do with listening. So you are listening for other people's bells and your bell in relation to that but also the visual clues. So you are looking to see where they are looking, to see where you should be ringing. Or perhaps you might go a bit wrong and someone will turn at you and smile. And you've got to pick that up and think "ah, right, what am I supposed to be doing? Am I ringing after that person? Are they telling me to ring more quickly?" And then the other aspect of it would be the physical strength. So ringing that requires quite a lot of energy. And so you are perfecting your technique to get the bell up to the balance which with something that big can be quite difficult.
(Q4) You don't look like the hulk. So is it the way you pull the bells down coz usually it's a big rope, isn't it or it's a technique rather than strength?
Yeah, so it relies a lot on I suppose gravitational potential energy. So the bell is, we call it "up", so it's balancing. And you just need a tiny pull for it to swing on a wheel. And so that's where the skill comes because if you pull it too hard, it will spin round too quickly and potentially break. And if you don't pull it hard enough, then it's not going to go anywhere. But we have a ringer and I'm sure she wouldn't mind me saying she is quite petite.
VOCABULARY
1. hulk n. a very large person, especially one who moves in an awkward way 高大的人；（尤指）高大粗笨的人。例如：a great hulk of a man 粗笨的大汉
2. gravitational adj. connected with or caused by the force of gravity 引力的；重力引起的。例如：a gravitational field 引力场；the gravitational pull of the moon 月球的引力
3. potential adj. that can develop into sth. or be developed in the future 潜在的；可能的。 possible 例如：
· potential customers 潜在的客户
· a potential source of conflict 潜在的冲突根源
· a potential prime minister 未来的首相
· First we need to identify actual and potential problems. 首先，我们需要弄清实际的问题和潜在的问题。
4. petite adj. (approving) (of a girl, woman or her figure 女孩、妇女或其身材) small and thin 纤弱的；娇小的。例如：a petite blonde 娇小的金发女郎
QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1: Why is the old tradition of church bell ringing under threat?
A. A shortage of new recruits.
B. Lack of financial aid.
C. Lack of technology support.
D. Lack of financial aid and technology support.
QUESTION 2: What first lured Joe Tillie to bell ringring?
A. Responsibility.
B. Curiosity.
C. Personality.
D. Facility.
QUESTION 3: Which 2 skills do you need to be a bell ringer?
A. Communication and intelligence.
B. Communication and diligence.
C. Communication and strength.
D. Communication and trustworthiness.
QUESTION 4: According to Joe Tillie, which is more important in operating the bell?
A. Creativity.
B. Cooperation.
C. Strength.
D. Technique.
KEY
1. A 细节题。命题出处：Here in the UK, a centuries-old tradition of church bell ringing is under threat. There is a shortage of new recruits.
2. B 细节题。命题出处：What first lured him to bell ringing? I think part of it was just curiosity because you hear the noise and behind stain glass windows you can see shadow of figures moving around, and you think, oh what is it that they are doing.
3. C 概括题。命题出处：So your communication has to be very good. … And then the other aspect of it would be the physical strength.
4. D 细节题。命题出处：You don't look like the hulk. So is it the way you pull the bells down coz usually it's a big rope, isn't it or it's a technique rather than strength? Yeah, so it relies a lot on I suppose gravitational potential energy.