環(huán)球英語—917:Listener Mail 119

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight’s Listener Mail program. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And 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.
Voice 1
Listeners to Spotlight come from all over the world. They have different opinions and beliefs. They have different traditions and customs. Today, we share your thoughts and opinions on recent Spotlight programs. We look at some of the differences in culture and traditions. We think about why it is sometimes important to do nothing, and what shoes were invented by Vietnamese soldiers. Keep listening!
Voice 2
Our first comments today come from a program about doing... nothing! It was called “The Importance of Doing Nothing”. Many people try to fill their lives with more and more things. But in that program we told about how people can experience things more deeply when they are bored - when they do not have anything to do. Many of our listeners agreed with these thoughts. Anhnt2407 wrote:
Voice 3
“Everyone can become bored, and everyone should be bored. In Vietnamese poetry we have some poetic sentences about boredom: ‘Today the sky is beautiful. Today the cloud is very high in the sky. I am bored but I do not know why I am bored.’
I like boredom. Boredom makes us feel empty in our minds. It means that we have to fill that feeling to flee boredom. So, I always think and find a new way to live, to act after boredom and kill that boredom. Experiencing a period of boredom can make us healthier and more creative.”
Voice 2
Thanks for those beautiful words! They say perfectly why it is important to be bored sometimes. Nature187_vn wrote:
Voice 4
“I think in our lives there are two sides: happiness and suffering. And life only has meaning when both of these sides are present. This is the same as the program’s idea: life has two sides, boredom and excitement. For example, imagine a football game. The team who won feels happiness. But the team who failed feels disappointed.
Voice 2
This is an interesting theory - that life is a series of balances. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Max wrote that he believed boredom was only good for short periods of time. But if it happens for too long, it becomes a bad thing. However, he did have a simple way to stop being bored if someone wanted. He wrote:
Voice 5
“Boredom becomes a bad thing when it is always present in our days. But we have Spotlight to avoid boredom!”
Voice 2
Thank you Max! We are happy we can help you to avoid boredom!
Voice 1
Our next comments are about a simple object with complex designs – shoes! In our program “Shoes Around the World” we told about shoes from the Middle East, India, Northern Europe, Japan, and other places. We asked you about traditional shoes from your country. Witchdalat wrote to tell us about a Vietnamese shoe. It is a sandal - a shoe that does not cover the whole foot. But is usually held on by thin pieces of animal skin or cloth.
Voice 6
“This program makes me think of Uncle Ho’s sandal. It looks like any other pair of sandals. It has two straps which cross each other like an “X” shape. These are fixed in place at the front of the shoe. There is another strap that is also fixed at the back of the shoe. This keeps the foot in the sandal in place.
This is why it is special: this design began when my country entered into a war with other countries. Soldiers wore these sandals. They made them from old rubber car wheels - tires. The materials were easy to find and use. These sandals can pass through the forest and the river. They can climb a mountain and go into the sea. We depend on these sandals. They helped us gain independence after fighting for 20 years. I am very proud of it.
Voice 1
Thanks for this information! We found that these shoes are also called “Ho Chi Minh sandals”. Den also wrote about a shoe from where he comes from.
Voice 7
“I am from Russia and a big part of our country has a cold climate. We have our own shoes too called Walenki or Filzstiefel.”
Voice 1
Thanks for telling us about these! Valenki are a kind of boot. They cover the whole foot and part of the leg. They are made from dried sheep’s hair – wool. They are very warm. The form of the boot is hard. But it is soft enough to move easily. Traditionally, people used these boots on very cold days to walk on dry snow. But, these boots do not resist water. So people often wear them inside bigger rubber boots. Valenki have been around for more than 1,500 years. Thanks for sharing parts of your culture with us!
Voice 2
Our next comments are also about traditions and culture. Recently, we released a program called “National Songs”. In this program we told about the upcoming Olympic Games. The London Philharmonic Orchestra must prepare to play each nation’s song, or anthem. They play the winning player’s national anthem. In this program we explored the history and story of some anthems. We also invited you to tell us about your country’s anthem. Here are some of the comments we received:
Voice 5
“Every time I sing our anthem, I feel proud of my country.”
Voice 8
“When I watch a game of our national football team, I feel proud of my country because each member of our national team sings our national anthem! And I stand and sing our national anthem too! I think that every man should love his country and know our anthem because your country gave you a life!”
Voice 3
“Music makes me happy. I love to hear music. I am Vietnamese. Like people all over the world, I feel very proud of my national anthem. It represents a long history, and struggle for independence and freedom of my country.”
Voice 2
Thank you to all who wrote to us! At the 2012 Olympics, many people will be listening to national songs around the world. Maybe you will hear yours too!