環(huán)球英語 — 322：Wintershall
Voice 1
Hello. I’m Mike Procter
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Come with us to a large farm. The farm is in the south of England. Many people have gathered here, men women and children. They are the audience for something that is about to happen. At fifteen minutes past ten in the morning, music begins to play.
A man appears in front of the people. He begins to tell a story. Other people appear around him. These people are acting out the story. The story becomes a play. The actors wear clothes just like those of the Middle East, 2000 years ago.
Voice 2
Four hours later the play has not finished. The actors have moved to a different part of the farm. The whole audience has moved with them. The story has progressed. Now things look very bad. A man, almost naked, is hanging on a wooden cross. There are soldiers, who fixed him to the cross by his hands and feet. There are people making fun of the man. But there are also people crying for him. Finally, he dies.
Voice 1
Then the story moves forward again. All the people have moved to another part of the farm. They are near a tomb - a place where a dead person was buried. But the tomb is empty. The man who was in it is now walking by a lake! It is the same man who was on the cross. But he is no longer dead. He meets people, and talks to them. People are surprised to see him. He leads them to a place by the lake where some men are trying to catch fish. He helps the fishermen to catch a lot of fish. The fishermen are very surprised. The man then says goodbye to them and walks away. The other actors walk through the crowd who have been watching - the audience. They give pieces of bread to the audience. And they say, to everyone, “Peace be with you.” Then play is finished. The people in the audience gather their belongings together and start their trip home. It has been a great day out, but it has affected them deeply. They have been watching the story of Jesus Christ.
Voice 2
The play is acted every year at a farm called Wintershall in southern England. It is very popular. Many people enjoy acting in the play. Other people enjoy watching. The man who produces the play is Peter Hutley. He owns the farm at Wintershall. Peter explained that he had always believed in Jesus Christ. But about twenty years ago he went to Bosnia, to a place called Medjugorje. He thought it was a wonderful place. People there took their faith very seriously. It made Peter think deeply about what he believed. When he returned home he felt that he knew what God wanted him to do. God wanted him to tell people about Jesus Christ. Peter said:
Voice 3
‘I enjoyed writing. I had a lovely house and a large amount of land. So I decided to write a play about the birth of Jesus Christ. Many people know what happened. They know how the baby Jesus was born in an animal shelter, and how his first bed was an animal feeding box. But I wrote the play as a fight between good and evil, between God and the devil. We perform this play every year on my farm a few days before Christmas. Many people come to see it.
‘In 1990, I wrote a play about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This play was performed every year during the Easter festival - in late March or early April. We had a wonderful young actor to play the part of Christ. While he was acting the part of Christ he decided to become a Christian. He decided to devote his life to following Christ.’
Voice 1
Peter Hutley decided to write a much longer play for the year 2000. The play lasted five hours. He called it, ‘The Life of Christ’. Every year, at the end of June, this play is acted six times. Experienced actors play the main parts: Jesus, his followers, the priests and the Roman soldiers who executed Jesus. But there is a large crowd of other actors. These are about 100 people who live in the local area.
Voice 2
Shelagh Godwin lives close to Wintershall farm. In 2006, she acted in the play. She told of her experience,
Voice 4
‘I had to learn my part. I had to go to many rehearsals. And if I missed one, the words I had been given to say were given to another person. I feel it is a real honour to put on a first-century costume and to act as a member of the crowd. The actor who plays the part of Jesus is wonderful. He brings Jesus’s stories to life. And then there are the things that Jesus did. For example, he fed a crowd of people from almost nothing, and he made sick people well. I am happy to take part in this great story. And the music is so good, too’.
Voice 1
What of the future? Peter Hutley hopes that this play will take place every year, for many years to come. And he has written another play. The new play is about what the followers of Jesus did after Jesus had left them. The Christian Bible says that after Jesus came alive again he spent some time with his followers before he went to heaven. He gave these followers great power so that they too could do the wonderful things that he had done, like making sick people well.
Voice 2
Peter and Ann Hutley want to use Wintershall farm to tell people about Jesus. In Europe today, people are often so busy that they do not have time to consider spiritual matters. They do not have time to think about what life means. They worry about many things. Peter and Ann Hutley have designed Wintershall as a place to rest, to think and to learn about God. It provides a space for people in a busy world. Peter says,
Voice 3
‘Since I know about Jesus, I feel it is my job to tell other people about him. And the best way I can do this is to use my farm and write these plays and have them performed. I hope this will continue for many years to come’.
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