源作者:听说加油站
counter星座Star signs
106.星座
音频文本:
Rob: Hello I’m Rob – a Gemini
Neil: Hi Rob. I'm a Virgo supposed to be
Rob: Really? OK, observant quick at witty adaptable
Neil: I think that's true. You are adaptable, Rob. You get used to
Rob: Well, these characteristics we've mentioned are based on what astrologers
Neil: Astrologers are people who say they can find out about your personality, and maybe your future, by analysing the position of stars and planets the day you were born.
Rob: It's controversial astronomers
Neil: People born under the sign of Virgo are said to be very precise
Rob: OK. Let's see if you can answer this question accurately. Which of these famous people were publicly criticised when it came to light horoscopes
a) Margaret Thatcher
b) Nancy Reagan or
c) Michael Jackson
Neil: I think… I can remember this. I think it's Nancy Reagan, b.
Rob: OK. Are you sure?
Neil: I am.
Rob: OK. Well, you'll have to be patient because you won't get the answer until the end of the programme.
Neil: Now, let me read my horoscope for today…
Rob: Oh, you and your horoscopes, honestly, Neil! Do you know when newspapers and magazines started to offer horoscopes to their readers?
Neil: No, I don't.
Rob: Well, let's hear from Nicholas Campion, who teaches the cultural history of astrology at the University of Wales. What does he have to say about it? Campion, a Pisces, uses one particular word when he describes how people feel about their place in the universe. Which word is it?
Nicholas Campion, University of Wales:
The newspaper horoscope was invented about 1930. There's a parallel between what was happening in astronomy popularised metaphor
Neil: Insignificant! It means of very little importance. He says that's how people felt when astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered how huge the universe is…
Rob: And this academic thinks astrology tried to bring this idea under control; it domesticated
Neil: How interesting. It makes us think that the stars are all about us. Astrology tells us that the stars are all about me! I want to read my horoscope now!
Rob: Well, before you do that, you have to listen to what another specialist, this time a psychologist, has to say. Paul Rogers, a Sagittarius, teaches at the University of Central Lancashire, in the north of England.
Neil: A Sagittarius
Rob: OK. Well, he might spoil
Paul Rogers, University of Central Lancashire, England:
People are misperceiving generalised counter biases fall prey to confirmation bias
Neil: He talks about belief! Something which you think is true without much proof. He says that people who think horoscopes are true do so because the predictions seem to confirm what they already think about themselves.
Rob: Yes, people look for evidence – an indication that something they believe is true. But it's all in their mind and not in the stars themselves. People believe what they want to believe. They need some sense of control over
Neil: You know what? This is true. Believe in horoscopes or not, it's very comforting to have this sense of direction
Rob: Everything seems so unpredictable! Here's something predictable: our quiz. Let's go back to it and see if you got the question right. I asked you which of these famous people were publicly criticised when it came to light
Neil: I said Nancy Reagan.
Rob: And you were right. Nancy Reagan, wife of the late president Ronald Reagan, has long been interested in astrology. In 1988, she was criticised and ridiculed
Neil: I knew I was right because I'm always accurate!
Rob: Of course. Well done! Right, well, before we go, could you remind us of some of the English words we’ve heard today?
Neil: personality
observant
adaptable
astrologers
astronomers
insignificant
domestication
evidence
belief
Rob: Thank you, Neil. Well, that’s it for this programme. Please join us soon again for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
Neil: Here's one thing you can predict: we’ll be back! Bye.
Rob: Bye bye.
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语料:
Star signs 星座
Gemini 双子座
Virgo 处女座
Sagittarius 射手座
supposed to be 本应如此
observant善于观察的;机警的;严格遵守的
quick at敏捷;于…很迅速
witty诙谐的;富于机智的
adaptable能适应的;适应性强的
get used to 习惯于…,适应于
astrologer 占星家
astronomer 天文学家
astronomy 天文学
controversial 有争议的
precise 一丝不苟的;精确的;明确的;严格的
came to light 泄露;曝光
horoscope占星术;星象
popularize v.普及,通俗化
metaphor 暗喻;比喻说法
domesticate v.驯化;教化;引进
spoil vt.溺爱;糟蹋;破坏;掠夺vi.掠夺;变坏;腐败
misperceive 误解,看错
generalized 概括,推广
counter adj. 相反adv. 反方向地;背道而驰地vi.逆向移动,对着干;反驳vt.反击,还击;反向移动,对着干;反驳,回答n. 柜台;对立面;计数器
bias 偏见,偏爱
fall prey to成为...的牺牲品;深受...之害
confirmation bias确认偏差
sense of control (over) sth. 控制感
sense of direction 方向感
ridicule n.v.嘲笑,奚落