全新版大学英语听说教程4原文

that everyone in the world celebrates their birthday. This just isn't the case. Low-income families

in India, for instance, simply can't afford any festivities. And most Muslims don't celebrate their

birthdays.

Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here. The Christian church, too,

was actively against celebrating birthdays, and in any case most people, until a couple of hundred

years

ago,

couldn't

even

read

and

wouldn't

have

even

been

able

to

spot

their

birthday

on

a

calendar anyway. Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey

and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small

villages.

Chairman: Here in England your twenty- first used to be the big one. But now it seems

to have moved to eighteen. Is that true?

Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the

most

important

birthday.

In

Finland,

for

example,

eighteen

is

the

age

when

you

can

vote, you

know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on. But in Japan I think you have to wait till you're twenty

before you can smoke or drink.

Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country,

girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at

twenty-one.

Chairman:

That's

interesting.

I

mean

is

it

typical

that

around

the

world

girls

are

considered

to

be

more

mature

than

boys?

Shaheen:

Yes,

I

think

so,

and

there

are

some

countries, particularly in

South America, which have a big party only for girls. In Mexico and Argentina, for example, they

have enormous parties for 15-year-old girls. Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for

anyone who's not married by the time they're thirty. It's kind of embarrassing. I mean you get

pepper thrown at you.

Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper? Pat: I'm not really sure.

Shaheen: So

does

that

mean

that

on

your

29th

birthday

you

can

start

thinking

'God

I

better

get

married'?

Pat:

Well,

I'm

not

sure

how

seriously

they

take

it.

Chairman:

In

England

we

have

quite

big

parties

for

your

fortieth,

fiftieth,

sixtieth

and

so

on.

Pat:

Well,

in

Japan

your

eighty-eighth

is

considered ...

Chairman:

Eighty-eighth?

Pat: ...

to

be

the

luckiest

birthday.

Eight

is

a

very

lucky number in Japan.

Part C

One World One Minute

One World One Minute is a

unique

film

project

that

invites

participants

in

every

country

around

the

globe

to

record,

simultaneously, one minute of their lives, one minute of our world. Sponsors of this project have

chosen 12:48 GMT, September 11th 2002 as the one minute to record. At that moment exactly a

year earlier began the terrorist attacks that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people from

over 60 countries. For many this will be a time of remembrance and reflection. And for others

this will

be

an

appropriate

time

for

international

communication,

cooperation

and

sharing.

It

will

offer

them an opportunity to share a moment of their world and their life with others, an opportunity

to both talk to and listen to the world, to join with others around the globe and create a truly

unique

record

and

experience.

This

is

the

idea

behind

the

project

One

World

One

Minute.

Participants are free to choose what and how to record their One Minute. Some may want to take

photographs, some paint or draw pictures, while others may want to write something and record

their readings. The material can be submitted to the project organizers in Scotland via e-mail or

post within 6 weeks of September 11th. All the material will then be made into a feature-length

film, which will capture that One Minute of our existence.

The film will explore the rich

diversity

that

is

both

humanity

and

our

world.

It

will

allow

a

voice

to

all

people

regardless

of

nationality, religion, race, political viewpoint, gender or age. The rich diversity that is Humanity

shall be there for all to see.

Participants will not only be kept informed of the progress