大城市的公交车,拥挤又拥堵,这个时候不找点合适的项目,时间还真难打发。
我曾经在公交车上听BBC新闻,坚持了半个月,听力有明显进步。不过,这个行为很难持续下去,因为它对我来说有一定难度,要在公交车上保持注意力的高度集中很费力。BBC新闻是锻炼听力的好材料,却不是在公交车上打发时间的好帮手。
后来我就开始听英语童话故事了。我在喜马拉雅FM上找到了外研社的《萤火虫世界经典童话故事》有声书,中英双语,我几乎听完了所有的英文故事。这个材料的好处在于,它非常浅显易懂,即使你因分神而漏过了一段故事,回过神来还能继续听下去。
每个故事我都会听3-5遍,直到我能用中文将故事的细节讲述出来。我一直都不是一个讲故事的能手,通常四五句就将一个故事的来龙去脉给了结了。但过年回家的时候,我能将《小红帽》讲上5分钟左右,大大地赢得了小朋友的欢心。
外研社在2015年11月就停止更新了,我也没有再继续听。这本有声书有25个故事,我选择了其中3个给大家展示一下。我都给出了链接,不过手机要收听喜马拉雅似乎必须下载APP。大家可以在APP中搜索《萤火虫世界经典童话故事》,下载好,在公交和地铁上可以离线听。
1. 小红帽 Little Red Riding Hood
难度:★
链接:http://www.ximalaya.com/36608066/sound/9923302
故事梗概:小红帽在去看望奶奶的路上无意向大灰狼透露了奶奶的住处,大灰狼先一步赶到奶奶家,吞下奶奶,然后又乔装成奶奶吞下了小红帽。猎人听到小屋里发出的狼的鼾声,拿剪刀剖开狼的肚皮,救下了小红帽和奶奶。
可能要注意英文词汇:
•Hood: 风帽。Her grandmother loved her very much and gave her a red hood.
•Come up with an evil idea: 想到了一个坏主意
•Cabin: 小木屋。 The wolf came to grandma’s cabin.
•Swallow: 吞下。 The wolf went inside and swallowed grandma.
•Snore: 打鼾。 He snored loudly.
•Scissors: 剪刀。The hunter cut open the wolf’s stomach with scissors.
•Bang: 猛击。He banged on the door.
•Stretch: 伸展。He stretched his neck so long to smell that he fell into the pot and drowned.
•Bother: 打扰。From then on, no wolf dared to bother her again.
2. 渔夫和金鱼 The Fisherman and the Golden Fish
难度:★★
链接:http://www.ximalaya.com/36608066/sound/9923379
故事梗概:渔夫有一天捕捞到了一只会说话的金鱼,金鱼承诺,如果将它放生,它将满足渔夫的所有愿望。渔夫的妻子很贪婪,先要了一只木盆,后来又要了一栋小木屋,一个大房子,还当上了女王。但她并未满足,还想成为海皇,并让金鱼来伺候她。结果,金鱼收回了所有的一切,渔夫和妻子重归贫穷的生活。
可能要注意的词汇:
•Shabby: 破烂的。Once upon a time, there lived a fisherman and his wife in a shabby hut near the sea.
•Suffer from hunger: 忍饥挨饿
•Cast: 投。He cast his net into the sea.
•Arrogant: 傲慢的。The arrogant old woman was wearing expensive clothes and a pearl necklace.
•Whip: 抽打。All the servants were working hard, but she still whipped them.
•Scold: 责骂。Seeing the fisherman, the old women scolded him and sent him to do some dirty and tiresome work.
•Empress: 女皇。This time, she wanted to be an empress.
•Intrude: 闯入。How dare he intrude into the palace and irritate the noble empress!
•Summon: 召唤。She summoned the fisherman to the palace.
•Beat: 拍打。Great waves beat against the rocks fiercely.
3. 尼尔斯骑鹅旅行记 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
难度:★★
链接:http://www.ximalaya.com/36608066/sound/9922736
故事梗概:尼尔斯是个喜欢恶作剧的小男孩。有一天,一只被惹恼的小精灵将他变成了小矮人。缩小版的尼尔斯因为想阻止家鹅莫顿飞走而与莫顿以及其他野鹅一起踏上了远赴他乡的旅程。在这八个月的旅行中,尼尔斯也变成了一个勇敢、愿意保护动物的好孩子。
可能要注意的词汇:
•Trick: 恶作剧。What heliked most was to play tricks on others.
•Elf: 小精灵。The elf was very angry. He turned Nils into a very little man.
•Geese: 鹅,goose的复数。At this moment, some wild geese passed by.
•Drag: 拖。He dragged Morten to the lake and fed him with water.
•Squirrel: 松鼠。I will help the squirrels, then all the small animals may like me.
•Crow: 乌鸦。One of the crows shook him back and forth. Nils passed out.
•Match: 火柴。Niles lit a match quickly. He lit some oakum and throw it on the fox.
这些材料,不难,又稍有趣味,不用刻意保持注意力也可以轻松跟上故事的进度,很适合在公交车上听。不过,它并不是专门拿出时间学习英语的好材料,因为太简单。
大家在公交车上是怎么打发时间的呢?欢迎与我分享呀。
另外,如果你在收听这些童话故事的过程中,碰到了怎么也听不懂的句子,欢迎与我探讨呀(故事都没有文本的)。