環(huán)球英語—1075:Listener Mail 123

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight 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.
Today’s Spotlight is on you! Today we look at comments from our listeners. What did people think about being shy, a global language, birds that help in times of war, and a particular sweet substance? Let’s get started!
Our first comments today come from the program “Being Shy”. In that program we told about the condition of shyness. A person who is shy may be uncomfortable around groups of people. Shyness is an issue all around the world. Many people believe being shy is a terrible thing. But in that program we told about some of the positive parts of being shy. However, not all of our listeners agreed with this. Skender, from Albania wrote:
Voice 2
“Being shy I think is not a good thing. But at the same time, I think that everyone can fight being shy. Some years ago, a student in my class was a good singer and a shy person too. Our teacher encouraged her. The teacher told her ‘You must think that this class is empty and you are alone’. And the teacher’s advice worked! My friend today is a good singer.
And now about myself. When I was a teen I was a little shy. So I was not comfortable to talk with my favorite girl. I liked her, but I never told her because of my shyness.”
Voice 1
Skender, that is great advice. There are some methods people can use to manage their shyness. But they are not always easy to do. Pajarita also writes about personal experiences with shyness.
Voice 3
“I think being shy is the worst. In my life, I have lost many chances because of my shyness. I felt fear expressing my thoughts, ideas and feelings. Now I have improved my shyness. But if I had not been shy, I would have a better life in all areas – personal, professional, and emotional.”
Voice 1
Being shy may affect a person’s ability to communicate. But a lack of common language can do that same thing. So what if there was a global language - a language everyone in the world could speak? That was the subject of our program “A Global Language”. In that program we told about the invented language Esperanto. This program began a debate in the comments on the script page of that program. People debated the better global language - English or Esperanto? Nature187_vn wrote:
Voice 4
“I think every country should have a separate language and culture and so on. But we can still talk with each other if we know English. It is a bridge to connect with people in the world. I am from Vietnam. I am proud of my national language. Each person around the world can trade knowledge if we talk with each other by a common language, English.”
Voice 1
But Bill thought Esperanto was a better choice.
Voice 5
“I agree with Nature187_vn. We need to keep each country’s separate language. That is exactly why I use Esperanto to connect with people throughout the world. Esperanto is supposed to be a second language for us all. It is not supposed to take the place of national languages. I am pleased to say that I have used Esperanto to speak to Vietnamese people and in about 15 different countries. Good luck to those who are learning English. But Esperanto is much easier to learn and use.”
Voice 1
Skender added:
Voice 2
“It seems like a good idea if one day every person in the world can speak Esperanto. And it seems to be an easy language to learn. But I still think that English will remain the most widely-used language in the world.”
Voice 1
And Adam made good points for both languages.
Voice 6
“I think that Esperanto is easier than English. But English is more widespread. That is the reason why English will be the first international language.”
Voice 1
What do you think? Visit the program “A Global Language” on our website at radioenglish.net. Add your opinions!Our next comments also have to do with communication. However, this time, it is a method of communicating through birds! In our program “War Pigeons” we told about birds that can transport messages – pigeons. Armies used these birds during World War Two. At the end of the war, some of the birds even earned awards! In the comments, Jose simply wrote about his love for pigeons!
Voice 7
“I love pigeons. I think they are intelligent animals, and also amazing.”
Voice 1
And Tanya wrote about different ways people can train and use pigeons even today.
Voice 8
“It would be true to say that a pigeon is not only a bird of the world, but a pigeon is a bird of war! It is said some Japanese military use pigeons to transport mail. It is said they even have some new kinds of pigeons to do this!”
Voice 1
Finally, Skender had some honest comments about pigeons earning awards. And he had a good suggestion for something the pigeons might like even better.
Voice 2
“This story seems a little strange to me. I cannot understand how people can give an award or medal to a pigeon? I think it cannot understand the value of an award. It might like a good-tasting meal instead of an award.”
Voice 1
Thanks for all your comments! Our last comments are not about communicating. Instead, they are about eating! The comments come from our program “Sweet Sugar”. In that program we looked at the different methods people use to make their food sweeter. Different areas use different substances. The substance they use depends on the tastes of area and the resources nearby. Alex, from Russia, wrote about his favorite sweet substance:
Voice 7
“One of the best and most useful products is honey. Eat honey in controlled amounts and you will be OK!”
Voice 1
Skender agreed with Alex. He said honey was a substance that was even good for you. But D told about a different substance.
Voice 9
“In my country, sugar made from the sugar cane plant is the main sweetener. People use it for cooking. But people in the southern part of the country also use another plant to make sugar. It is a palm tree called thot nut (borassus). Also in my country, people living in the south often eat food that is sweeter than people living in the north.”
Voice 1
Thanks for that interesting information! And thank you also to all of you who have written comments to us on script pages! If you have not written a comment, try it! We love to hear opinions and stories from all over the world. You can leave a comment on the script page of any program. We hope to hear from you soon!
The writer and producer of this program was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes have been adapted for radio and voiced by Spotlight. You can hear this program again, and read it, on the internet at https://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called “Listener Mail 123.”
You can also find us on Facebook - just search for Spotlight Radio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!