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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2013-12-31 The Clock Is Ticking to 2014 - It's New Year's Eve!

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AS IT IS 2013-12-31 The Clock Is Ticking to 2014 - It's New Year's Eve!

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is for New Year’s Eve. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, calendars – choosing the right one takes time – and New Year’sResolutions:  Making ones you can keep takes…well, we’ll talk about that,and even share some  of ours.

You'll need a new calendar - Got yours yet?

The New Year is the time for new beginnings. It is also the time to buy anew calendar. Have you bought yours yet?

With so many choices, it can take a lot of time just to choose the right one.

There are small ones. Big ones. Calendars that sit on a desk. Calendars thathang on the wall. Calendars you can carry around with you. Calendars thatshow a whole  month, or one day at a time.

Of course, in one way all calendars are the same. They all list the same daysof the year in exactly the same order. But people do not buy calendars justto know what  day it is. Calendars have become popular gifts because manyare filled with beautiful pictures.

You can even learn from calendars. They often give information about theirsubject -- such as famous writers or American Indians or flower gardens.

There are calendars about food and about beautiful places in the world.

For pet lovers, there are calendars with pictures of cats doing unusualthings. Three hundred sixty-five of them – one for each day of the year. Andof course, there’s  one more in leap years.

Would you rather look at pictures of cars? Or trains? Or airplanes? There are calendars with those, too.

Some people do not just look at their calendars. They use them to write down important things they must remember, like meetings or doctor’sappointments. Busy people  can buy small calendars to carry around to help them organize and plan their life. But what if they forget to look at theircalendar? No worries there - there are  electronic organizers that makesounds to remind people of things they must do. These days, if you forgetsomething, it is getting harder and harder to find a good  excuse.

Then, there are some people do not like little calendars, or big ones, or noisyelectronic ones. They are happy just to write down notes to themselves onsmall pieces of  paper.        Then, there’s the matter of New Year’s Resolutions….have you made yours?

More importantly, do you keep yours? We’ll talk about that next.

It’s As It Is, New Year’s Eve edition from VOA Learning English, I’m SteveEmber.

New Year’s Resolutions – Plan to keep yours?

Now, depending on where in the world you are and when you’re joining us,the start of the New Year is just hours, or maybe minutes, or even secondsaway.  Yes, the  clock is ticking toward 2014.  As far back in history as we can tell,people have celebrated1 the start of a new year. The people of ancient Egyptbegan their new year in  summer.  That is when the Nile River flooded itsbanks, bringing water and fertility to the land.

Today, most people celebrate New Year’s Day on January first.  Peopleobserve the New Year’s holiday in many different ways, usually starting withNew Year’s Eve.

The ancient Babylonians celebrated the New Year by forcing their king togive up his crown and royal clothing.  They made him get down on his kneesand admit all the  mistakes he had made during the past year.  That idea of admitting mistakes and finishing the business of the old year isfound in many cultures at New Year’s.   So is  the idea of making New Year’s resolutions.  A resolution is a promise tochange or do something different in the coming year.  Making New Year’s resolutions is a  common American tradition. Breakingthem is, too!

Today, popular resolutions might include the promise to lose weight, stopsmoking, or be more productive at work.

Some members of our Learning English group have offered New Year’sresolutions of their own, and told me I could share them. So here goes.

One of our people promised to stop telling stories about others. That practiceis known as gossip. Another staff member promised to spend more time withhis family. Our  boss resolved to be “the best Dad ever.”  And one said about resolutions, “Oh, I gave that up years ago.”  Here’s one we’ve all at least thought about:

[Sound of lottery2 terminal]

“I resolve to win the lottery.”

Another colleague wants to stop smoking.

Every year, she says, she makes that resolution…and every year it hasn’thappened. Well, maybe in 2014. Another one of our group is resolving to lose some weight.  Those resolutionsusually have to wait until after the holiday season. Lots of festive3 meals, youknow.

Here’s one I like: My resolution is to stop making resolutions, because Inever keep them. For example, this colleague told me, I have not given upeating too many  sweets, resolved on many a January first.  She says, shewill still work for chocolates! That’s good to know.

One person – that would be me - decided4 to get a new cat to replace a much loved one that had recently died. 

Now, that resolution was made at the end of 2002. It took me almost two years to keep it, but in October of 2004, at an animal shelter in Virginia, I was “adopted”  by a very handsome, and very talkative, gray and white cat. Mewer and I have been together ever since. He even helped me out on a recent As It Is, all about cats.  Perhaps you heard him? He’s the one that purrs like a diesel5 locomotive.

Other people use New Year’s resolutions to make changes in how they live their lives.  One such resolution might be to “stop and smell the roses.” That’s always a  pleasant thing to do, but what the expression means to taketime to enjoy life’s simple pleasures…instead of always being too busy and ina hurry. Another resolution  might be “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  This means not toworry or get angry about unimportant things.  Another resolution might beto be happy now and to forget  about bad things that happened in the past.

Or, to be thankful for the most important things in life, like family andfriends.   Here’s a little musical resolution I made – to wrap up today’s program with  amusical question.

Maybe it’s much too early in the gameAh, but I thought I’d ask you just the sameWhat’re you doing New Year’s Eve?

That’s Margaret Whiting’s classic recording6 of the Frank Loesser tune7 “WhatAre You Doing New Year’s Eve”

As It Is is a production of VOA Learning English.

Steve Ember here, and no matter what you’re doing New Year’s Eve ourresolution is to wish you a happy, healthy and productive New Year!  Seeyou in 2014.

[Margaret Whiting continues]

Maybe I’m crazy to supposeI’d ever be the one you choseOut of a thousand invitations you’ll receive…


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
2 lottery 43MyV     
n.抽彩;碰运气的事,难于算计的事
参考例句:
  • He won no less than £5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
  • They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。
3 festive mkBx5     
adj.欢宴的,节日的
参考例句:
  • It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节,每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
  • We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。
4 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
5 diesel ql6zo     
n.柴油发动机,内燃机
参考例句:
  • We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
  • My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。
6 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
7 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

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